“Reading is a passport to countless adventures.”– Mary Pope Osborne

Seedlings:

The Seedlings have enjoyed a wide range of activities this week at Broughton Cottage.

We’ve spent plenty of time in the garden enjoying the glorious weather. Monday saw the children explore a fish-themed Tuff Tray where they made their own rods from pipe cleaners and lolly sticks. The children tried so hard to catch fish with their homemade rods. All the Seedlings demonstrated excellent perseverance.

While outside, the Seedlings loved making vibrant flower soup by blending together pink, purple and blue water that had been sprinkled with petals. The children enjoyed using pipettes and spoons.

They were all delighted to have a go at making their own ‘ice cream’ by using pipettes to add droplets of food colouring to cotton wool balls. They were fascinated to watch the colours spread. Pom-poms and sprinkles made their creations look good enough to eat.

We’ve worked on developing the children’s gross motor skills too through a variety of physical activities. They’ve all done so well at mastering our balance beams, slides and climbing frames.

Stars Of the Week:

All our Seedlings – For showing such brilliant enthusiasm all week.

Saplings:

This week in Saplings, we have spent time doing lots of inset puzzles, an activity that brilliantly helps to boost hand/eye coordination.

Emilia amazed her friends when she built a rocket house using the magnetic shapes. Well done!

Teddy proved to be a dab hand at catching fish when the children used pipe cleaner fishing rods in our cooling water-filled Tuff Tray.

Another animal-themed activity saw the Saplings transform paper plates into pig faces using pink paint and paper ears. Alba made everyone smile when she stated that ‘pigs like to roll in mud’.

While threading pipe cleaners through the little holes in a colander, the Saplings had the opportunity to improve their fine motor skills.

Saplings enjoyed our music and movement sessions too this week – we challenged the children to move like farm animals. We were particularly impressed with Devon’s pig impersonation.

Star Of the Week:

Jasper – For being so very helpful when tidying up.

Acorns:

This week in Acorns, the children have thoroughly enjoyed spending time outside.

We of course encouraged the youngsters to apply lots of suncream by squirting it in their hands and showing them how to rub it in. Once the Acorns were suitably protected from the sun, we headed into the courtyard and set up a beautiful pink flower Tuff Tray. The little ones loved pouring the mixture from one vessel to another and used their fine motor skills effectively while picking out the different petals.

During the week, we had a lovely story time from Mel who read Eric Carle’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Next, we put pen to paper and tasked the children with drawing the caterpillar and butterfly. Luca and Arlo wowed us with their fantastic pieces of art.

To end the week we mapped out masking tape on the courtyard floor and all our Acorns grabbed some chalk and started colouring in the spaces. Nellie loved pulling up the tape to reveal what shapes had been made.

Star Of the Week:

Olivia – For settling in so well.

Upper Oaks:

Upper Oaks kicked off their week with a yummy breakfast as we celebrated National Porridge Day!

There’s nothing quite like a warm bowl of porridge to ease into the morning, and this time, we jazzed it up with sweet slices of banana and juicy blueberries. Whether you like yours creamy and simple or loaded with fruit, it’s the perfect way to start the day feeling nourished and happy.

On Tuesday, we celebrated National Up-Cycling Day in style. The children showed off their flair for fashion as they turned old leggings into a pair of shorts, a dress and a T-shirt. Ada, Jessica and Amelie created the perfect party outfits, proving that a little bit of masking tape can go a long way. This activity was a brilliant way to celebrate the joy of reusing and reducing waste, while discovering the potential in what we already have.

We couldn’t round off the week without mentioning sports day! The children powered through in the warm weather with buckets of enthusiasm and team spirit. We’d like to thank all parents for setting the tone with their energy and support.

From the hurdles to the classic egg and spoon race, the children truly gave it their all. And who could forget Xander’s unforgettable exit in the sack race, coming last has its advantages – pounding homeward with a great crowd behind you, chanting your name!

A huge thank you for your donations at our cake sale purchasing our delicious homemade cookies and cakes, courtesy of our amazing Annette. Thanks to your generosity, we raised over £100 for PHAB, a charity very close to her heart.

Star Of the Week:

All our group – For being super sports stars.

Forest School

Foraging for items to create some very funny faces, the children sought out leaves, grasses, acorn cups and bark which they all felt would make for perfect ingredients. The result was very sweet. 

We left basecamp to view the corn crop which only two weeks before was a slurry laden landscape, rather barren and bare, but now? Well, what a transformation; the children explored with glee, respecting the farmer’s efforts and only walking between the very straight rows so expertly planted. We are looking forward seeing the emerging corn cobs in the coming weeks.

Luca made an X in honour of his good friend Xander and proudly showed off his tying skills – quite a tricky job!

Lower Oaks:

This week we saw some superb sporty stars at our very hot sports day! Well done to all the children for taking part.

As we get closer to the oldest children starting their new beginnings at school, we have been talking about school visits and their new teachers.

In our classroom we have been involved in lots of writing, working on our pencil grip and practicing cutting with scissors. Some of the artwork created has been so intricate!

To reinforce our number work, we have been counting everything – please continue this at home! We’ve also progressed to matching quantities which is the next step in learning.

The children have adored tending to our vegetable patch this week as well. They carefully picked peas before helping prep’ them for tea. It’s such a wonderful experience for the youngsters to learn how to grow vegetables from seed to fork. Our carrots and strawberries are coming on well now too. We’d love to see any photos of your children gardening at home.

Star Of the Week:

Willow – For getting three stickers on her chart, she’s shown huge perseverance.

Until next week

Yours,

The Broughton Team