“I shall find out thousands and thousands of things!” – The Secret
Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Broughton Cottage Day Nursery Home Page
Seedlings:
This week in Seedlings, we’ve continued our journey of discovery together as we get to know each other better.
Throughout the week we’ve been getting out cardboard boxes and letting the
children get truly creative. Devon decided to turn hers into a horse and cart,
while Jasper transformed his into a rocket. This proved to be a great way to get the children to express their ideas through play.
The Seedlings have thoroughly enjoyed exploring ‘loose parts’ this week too. We
asked the children to have a go at trying to fit different chains into a selection
of containers. This activity was brilliant for promoting the exploration of
various shapes and textures, while also invigorating the senses of touch and sound.
Star of the Week:
Teddy – For being so chatty and always playing nicely.
Saplings:
The Saplings have been exploring water this week, while also working on their hand-eye coordination to pour, squeeze and stir.
The children loved transferring water from one cup to another. George
confidently told peers his cup was green, while Otis quipped that his was blue.
Another activity the Saplings adored was testing whether various items would
float or sink. The children loved using tweezers to pick up pom-poms from the
water before placing them into a cup. This was no mean feat.
Later on in the week, we tasked the youngsters with making ‘soup’ using natural
resources foraged in the garden. The children placed them into a bucket of water before stirring the mixture with sticks.
Star of the Week:
Lola – For learning the concept of saying ‘stop’ when something is wrong and she needed help.
Acorns:
This week the Acorns have been building their relationships with new friends and adults.
In the room, we created a sensory mat which involved taping down different
textured toys and fabrics for the children to discover and explore. They had so
much fun rolling the toys on the floor and passing them from one hand to
another. Some of the children were able to use their fine and gross motor skills to pick up the items from the floor independently.
While in the garden, the children used paintbrushes and chalk water to create
different patterns on the outdoor blackboard. As the Acorns got to work,
practitioners chatted about what colours the youngsters were using and of course their wonderful mastery.
Baby sensory has been a hit with all this week and has been really instrumental
in helping the new joiners settle into the room. We all enjoy singing lots of songs
and reading different stories, with animals being a particular favourite as we all sing out their particular ‘calls.’
Star of the Week:
River – For caring for her friends when they were upset.
Oaks:
This week, the children have been looking at different foods from around the world.
One morning saw the youngsters tuck into a texture and colour-filled breakfast.
They started with delicious pieces of mango, oats and yoghurt plus a banana and
strawberry puree. As the children ate, we talked about the origins of our
favourite foods and how certain foods grow better in certain climates.
We’ve also been continuing to learn a number of new games at Circle Time.
We have also been reading Hansel And Gretel and it inspired a host of fun activities.
With the help of Annette, we got to work measuring out the ingredients needed
to create our own gingerbread house. The children worked brilliantly as a team.
We also spent time talking about the power of vegetables. After learning how
many portions we should be eating each day, we discovered a number of fun
facts. The Oaks were particularly fascinated to discover that you’d need to eat 20-30 carrots per week to see better in the dark.
Our Letter of The Week was ‘S’ and the youngsters created a brilliant board
featuring items beginning with it. Luca decided to hunt for a snake in the
garden, and Colby cleverly stated that ‘sky’ starts with the letter ‘S’.
Stars of the Week:
Amelie – For her confidence in helping her friends when they were in need.
Alaire – For settling in so well.
Forest School:
We were blessed with incredible weather and voted on which path we would take as we left basecamp to explore the wider terrain.
We took the children towards Christmas tree land so that they could explore;
they were aghast at the scenery and used their own bodies to measure
themselves against the trees – somewhat disappointed that it might be many,
many years (if ever) that they would grow as big as some however we had a few
comments about how daddies and mummies were as tall as this one or that one.
We came upon the sour apple tree which resulted in many extraordinary,
contorted faces which was very amusing. Although we didn’t see any deer this
week the children looked for any evidence and discarded their sour apples
placing them in a pile for the wandering deer when they next visit. We shall
revisit another time and see whether the veritable feast has been consumed.
Until next time ……..
Yours sincerely
The Broughton team