All posts by Mrs Hutcheson

Mealtime

We are developing good self help skills which we are demonstrating at snack and lunch. We are making good use of our utensils and are beginning to confidently use our own forks and spoons without help. We can identify our own lunches and can ask or indicate for refills on milk and water. We enjoy mealtimes and are building and developing friendships and language skills whilst sitting together at the table.

Snack outdoors
Enjoying our pasta
Making healthy choices for lunch

Activities in the 2s

We have settled back into nursery routine and are exploring all the fun activities on offer in the nursery. We have been building towers with blocks as well as discovering the names of our building block shapes. Our home corner has been busy with lots of cooking, looking after the babies and sorting out the ironing. We have been creative in the art area, discovering new skills in the playdough area and using our imagination in the tuff spot by using oats to create cakes, to scoop and pour. It’s busy work in the nursery but lots of fun.

Hugs

As we continue to stay at home and keep safe, which you are doing such a good job at, we can sometimes feel a little bit sad about the people we can’t visit and hug. I wanted to share this little video with you as felt the words were so true. Keep safe everyone and remember we will hug again and they’ll be the biggest, bestest hugs ever 🤗

https://www.facebook.com/TomHardyChile/videos/3102014973176843/

Lets take a picture

Good morning everyone. I hope you are all stay safe but of course having lots of fun. Stumbled across this great, easy activity to do at home with your grown up or maybe an older brother or sister. At nursery we like to experiment with taking pictures. Our children have access to iPads and cameras to develop their ICT skills and to explore the nursery environment through a different perspective.  I hope you all have fun trying this activity out and it would be lovely if you could post examples of your photography skills. Have fun everyone and stay safe. 🤗

Messy Play 2

Hope everyone is staying safe and having fun. At nursery slime is a big hit with all the children. Usually we make our slime with PVA glue but I have a couple of recipes for easy edible slime which myself and my teenage daughter have tried and tested whilst stuck at home. The recipes are as follows:

JELLY SLIME

Ingredients: Cornflour, shop bought jelly sachets and water

Method

– Combine the powders in a bowl with a fork, stir in the water. It might seem a little solid but after a lot of kneading (with your hands) it becomes good stretchy consistency for playing with.

– There are a range of different fruity jelly flavours to choose from, so can be pink (raspberry) red (strawberry) or green (lime)

MARSHMALLOW FUNFETTI SLIME

Ingredients

Cornflour, icing sugar, mini marshmallows, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and sprinkles to decorate!

Method

– Melt the marshmallows in a large heatproof bowl in the microwave for 30-50 secs, until melted, stirring after 30 seconds.

– Stir in the oil and vanilla, mix well and then stir in the cornflour and mix again.

– Add icing sugar and stir in and now knead until flexible. If it feels a little sticky, add in the rest of the cornflour.

– Use extra cornflour for the surface if you need to, having a little veg oil to hand is good to keep your hands sticky free. Knead and play. Add some cake sprinkles for a funfetti effect!

Hope you have lots of fun trying out these different slimes and remember its ok if children put in their mouths as there all edible. Enjoy and if you do try them out we’d love to see some pics. Keep safe, keep smiling, stay happy.

 

Messy Play

Messy play is a form of play everyone enjoys in the nursery (even the ladies). I know at home the thought of messy play can be a little bit daunting, and a little bit messy!!! But messy play has so many benefits. Through this form of play children embrace their curiosity, imagination and exploration, building and developing confidence and self-esteem. The sensory side of messy play allows children to develop their senses as they explore how things touch or smell or look. Together you develop communication and language by using descriptive words, talking about the experience together. Mark-making in messy play encourages fine motor skills and early literacy. Anything can be used to mark make, from twigs to toy cars. There are endless amounts of learning and I trust you it is lots of fun.

2 ideas for messy play:

Made with cornflour and water this is such a strange mix. It can feel both hard and slimy. If you want you can add food colouring. Put everything in a bowl or dish.
Using shaving foam you can spray onto a tray and add different tools to make marks or add colouring to make a rainbow like the picture.

They might be messy but mess can be cleaned the fun and the memories will be precious. Stay safe everyone. Miss you lots.xx

Familiar Songs

In nursery we are always singing. Sometimes we sing along to the radio, sometimes we sing nursery rhymes and sometimes we discover an amazing song on Youtube which soon becomes our most played song. In the 2’s our most requested song has been the Transportation song by Singing Walrus. I have played this song many times whilst being on lockdown as it brings a smile to my face as I picture all the children happy, singing and joining in with the actions. Songs and music have a powerful way of helping us remember people, places and feelings.  So today I am going to play this song again and remember all my boys and girls as I dance crazy round the kitchen. Maybe you can ask an adult to play this song or a song that reminds you of your friends at nursery and just take a moment to talk about our friends and think about all the fun times we will have when we’re back together.

Follow the link for the singing walrus song:

Baking Fun

Whilst we are stuck indoors it is a good time to practice our cooking and baking skills. In nursery we have carried out lots of cooking activities, pancakes, clootie dumplings and biscuit decorating. Making a sweet treat to cheer ourselves up needn’t be difficult. You can start off easy by making simple rice krispie cakes which can involve just 2 ingredients: rice krispies and melted chocolate. Add mini marshmallows or even raisins to make them fancy. Our you can try  a mug cake, so easy that my daughter has made one nearly every night for her pudding!!

Ingredients

  1. 4 tablespoon of plain flour
  2. 4 tablespoon of sugar
  3. 3 tablespoon of milk
  4. 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
  5. 2 tablespoon of cocoa powder
  6. 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

All these ingredients are added into a microwaveable mug and mixed well together. After mixing you pop in the microwave for 2 minutes. Boom you have a delicious chocolate mug cake. Enjoy.😊

Cooking together encourages language, communication, turn taking. As we follow the recipe we are developing our numeracy skills and building on our vocabulary. The best bit is we are having fun. Hope to see some pictures of your mug cakes or any other cooking activities you all do together as a family.

Den Building

Hello everyone. I hope you are all staying safe but having fun. I know it’s hard to be stuck at home but one thing that always made my boy and girl smile if they were stuck indoors was building a den. Dens can be built using covers, pegs, chairs, cushions, pillows, anything!!! Building a den encourages imaginative play, creativity. Ask your child questions about their den to encourage and develop language. Their den may be a castle, a reading nook or just a place to feel safe. We would love to see your dens so if you can post a picture and let us know what your den is and who has visited you in your den. Have fun everyone and stay safe 😊