by Miss McCallum
This year’s theme for British Science Week was time.
We followed the instructions and made our own sand timers. We used a stopwatch to count how long our sand timer ran for. It was two minutes.
Using our sand timers we timed how long it took for our colour changing flower experiment to work. We made predictions on how many times we would need to turn the timer over.
by Mrs Clark
Learning about time is an important skill for children because it is something they will use throughout their whole life.
At Glenwood, we use routines, events and play activities to link with times and seasons to help build our children’s awareness.
Calendars are a fantastic resource to encourage talk about important events such as birthdays and annual celebrations, and we use these to help our children to learn about dates, days of the week and months of the year.
We play games such as ‘What’s The Time, Mr Wolf?’ to develop children’s understanding of o’clock and the numbers on a clock face ranging from 1-12.
Having the opportunity to use clocks and watches encourages our children to record and display their own ideas about time and build an understanding of both analogue and digital time.
We make connections to the changing seasons as we access daily outdoor play and look at resources that we wear or use. This helps our children to develop an awareness of the features of the four seasons.
On a daily basis we also make use of visual timetables, sand timers for turn taking, sing songs, look at books and use online resources to help our children have a greater understanding of time. We also talk about different times of the day e.g. morning, afternoon, evening, and use language associated with time e.g. now, then and next.
We hope that this gives you some inspiration for things you can try at home!
by Mrs Clark
Our woodland adventures are always full of exploration, and it is a great opportunity for our children to investigate patterns in both their local environment and in nature to develop their awareness.
Children’s ability to see patterns forms the basis of early mathematical thinking. Encouraging children to become aware of patterns helps them to build up the skill of spotting patterns for themselves.
Children also learn to identify and talk about the shapes in patterns.
Why not go on a pattern hunt and see what you can find?
The children in the Orchard bubble have been exploring magnets and how they work. They used horseshoe magnets to find out what was magnetic in the nursery garden.
A basket of items made from different materials was sorted into magnetic and non-magnetic items. The children were very interested to find out that not all metals are magnetic and a magnet will only attract certain metals such as iron or steel.
The children investigated if a magnet would still attract a metal paper clip if it was covered over by different materials.
The children used their senses to help understand that when two magnets are near each other they either repel or attract each other.
We looked at an information book about magnets to learn that a magnet is strongest at its two ends and found out that they are called the north pole and the south pole.
The children were also interested to learn from the information book that earth is a giant magnet and we can use a compass to find where the magnetic north is.
Over the past few weeks we have been carrying out a number of different experiments using water and food colouring. Using our observation skills we are beginning to recognise simple cause and effect. We have been developing our ability to ask relevant questions and making predictions about what will happen next.
We used different concentrations of food colouring to see what flower would change colour first.
“How fast will it go?”
“Is mine going to change colour?”
We also made our own lava lamps!
“Look at my bubbles, my bubbles are moving.”
We made a rainbow water walk.
“The colour is getting sucked up like a straw.”
“They have mixed together.”
Many of the children have been enjoying playing with the new dinosaurs. We had lots of questions so we watched some videos on Tig Tag Junior. We learned about how they became extinct.
“When a big space rock made some dust it made the place go dark. Then without sunlight the plants died. Then without plants the plant-eating dinosaurs died. Then all the meat-eaters died. Then they all started to die. Extinct.”
“What size was a T-Rex?”
We used books to research and discovered that a Tyrannosaurus rex was 12 metres long. Would it fit in our playroom? Let’s find out by measuring…
Our playroom is 10 metres long – “T-rex’s head would be next door!” 
Which dinosaur is smallest? We researched on the iPad. Compsognathus was 60cm long and 40cm tall.
Let’s put them in order…
We have had great fun learning how to use a variety of our digital toys.
We have been developing our use of directional language using our Code-a-pillars and Sphero.
“When you put the body bits on it goes left and right.”
“I made it go forwards then turn around.”
“The green one goes forward.”
We use an App on the iPad to make Sphero…
It took great teamwork and problem solving skills to build an obstacle course and pathways for the Wonder Bug. We had to work together to find the best way to help Wonder Bug travel from one end of the room to the other.
“We need a ramp for it to go up.”
“It will need to balance on top.”
“If we add a corner, it will need to turn the corner.”
We made some chocolate playdough in nursery today. It smelt delicious – but we knew we couldn’t eat it! Here is how we made it…
First we measured our ingredients and put them in the bowl: 2 cups plain flour, 1 cup salt, half a cup of cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons oil, 4 teaspoons cream of tartar and 2 cups water.
Then we stirred it until it was smooth – “It looks like chocolate icing!”
We cooked ours in the microwave – stir every minute until it is cooked.
Fairtrade Fortnight began on 22nd February and our cocoa powder had a Fairtrade logo on it. Fairtrade means the farmers get paid a ‘fair price’ for the crop. Can you find any logos on anything in your house?
Find out more about Fairtrade bananas with Pablo Super Banana in this video: https://vimeo.com/153120034
Why not try this quiz with your family on the Fairtrade website? How much do you know about Chocolate?
Healthy Henry likes to eat healthy food but he says it’s OK to have a treat sometimes.
As it’s Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, Miss Pearson would like to share her pancake recipe with you.
Miss Pearson’s Pancakes
First of all you will have to wash your hands with soap and water to make sure they are clean and dry them well. If you have an apron you can wear this as well to keep your clothes clean .
You will need:
Ingredients:
Method:
Now we can start making our pancakes.
First of all you will need to ask an adult to help you with this part as we are going to use the cooker and we have to be very careful so we don’t get burnt .
We need the frying pan to be hot.
So put a little drop of oil in the pan and wait until it is hot.
Put a spoonful of your mixture into the pan and wait for the bubbles and then turn and cook the other side.
I made 12 pancakes out of my mixture you could make big pancakes or small pancakes it is up to you.
Here are some ideas for toppings: 
Miss Pearson hopes you have as much fun making them as she did.
Cooking together provides us with lots of opportunities to practise our maths skills – measuring out our ingredients, talking about colours, shapes and sizes, using a timer – as well as helping develop fine motor skills – chopping, mixing, spreading – and literacy skills as we read a recipe.
Here are some other ideas for simple cooking activities:
Let us know what you like to cook together and show us your pancakes on Twitter @GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Patterns are everywhere. Looking for patterns helps us discover and learn new things about the world around us.
Mrs Wilson went on a pattern hunt in her house and garden. Here are some of the patterns she found.
Can you find any of these patterns?
Maybe you can find some different patterns in your house or when you are outside.
Activities to try at home
Pair socks by looking at their patterns to help develop matching skills.
Print a pattern using fruit and vegetables.
Look at the patterns on the soles of your shoes and wellington boots. How many different patterns can you find?
Design your own tartan pattern using paint and toy car wheels.
Support your child develop their understanding of repeated patterns by providing simple patterns for them to copy using loose parts. Saying the pattern out loud as it is made can really help children as they decide what item is next. Making their own patterns also helps children develop their decision making skills as well as learning how to make logical connections.
Collect some leaves to peg a leaf pattern on a washing line or piece of wool or string.
Explore the different patterns that animals might have by watching a clip from CBeebies about animals with spots and stripes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p011mxh0
Remember to tweet to let us see the patterns you find or make. Have fun! @Glenwood FC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Where children can allow their imagination to run wild and create an imaginary world out of any everyday objects lying inside the house – like buttons, corks, scarfs, lentils, pasta, cotton wool, boxes and plastic containers from the recycling. What about collecting things from outdoors too – from the garden or when out on a walk like twigs and stones to help you to create wonderful small worlds for your favourite toys to explore!
Small world play is when children use figures and resources in miniature to build stories and play imaginatively. Your small world play could represent a real-life place, like a farm, or it might be a completely imaginary world. The key is that they’re often an outlet for imaginative or pretend play, where children can do everything from acting out routines or recalling past events, to creating their own unique stories.
Mrs Cramb decided to create a small world by recycling a pizza box as a base: painting it and adding some small stones, branches, twigs, leaves and lentils. She then added some dinosaurs to create a Jurassic world!
Her small world was a great place for her wild animals too.
Creating small worlds helps development of imagination, language & curiosity – what do the animals eat? what environment do they live in? what do they look like?
What skills are being learned through small world play?
There are so many benefits to creating and exploring small worlds – so why not join in and allow your child to take the lead, while you support them in creating a wonderful world to explore.
Remember to share your creations with us on Twitter @GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Mrs Wilson has been busy finding loose parts at home to create some transient art. Transient art is a term used to describe art that is non-permanent and continually evolving, where a variety of materials are used to create pictures, patterns or models.
The non-permanent nature of this art means that children can move, change and experiment with the materials used until they are happy with what they have achieved. As well as developing their fine motor skills children also grow in confidence at making decisions as they design and redesign their ideas.
Working on transient art projects is a fun way to develop creativity and encourages children to explore materials and develop an understanding of their senses.
The loose parts used provide an ideal opportunity to talk about texture, colour and size. Using loose parts also develops skills in numeracy and mathematics such as sorting, matching, counting, pattern making, exploring shapes and learning about symmetry.
Ideas for loose parts to use at home (although the list is endless).
Beads Buttons Sequins Bottle lids Corks Lollipop sticks Coins Feathers Spoons Colouring pens Cotton reels Clothes pegs Paper clips Curtain rings
Natural materials are ideal to use if creating an outdoors transient art project.
Stones Sticks Twigs Pine cones Shells Leaves Flower petals
Transient art projects to try at home
Before you tidy away your loose parts you could take a picture of your transient art and send a tweet to @Glenwood FC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Mrs Silvester has set you a challenge! Can you create your own dice game at home?
Remember to share your ideas by tweeting @GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Here are a few ideas to get you started…
The lids from milk jugs have been used to make these little Plastic Lid Ladybirds for a number dice game. To make the ladybird draw or use some button type eyes and pen dots on your lids. To Play the game, roll the dice and match the spots or numbers on the ladybird number lids to the dice.
What are dice good for?
Dice are great for introducing turn taking and encouraging early maths skills such as: counting, matching, comparing and number recognition.
Find some more number games on the CBeebies website by clicking the link below.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/joinin/numberblocks-help-your-child-with-maths
When playing with blocks children are using a number of different skills. These include measuring, counting, teamwork, talking to each other, problem solving and many more.
In Glenwood we have recently started using the 7 stages of block play. We use the stages to determine what stage of development the children are at when using blocks. Our blocks are different shapes and sizes.
The Seven Stages of Block Play
Stage 1: The blocks are carried around but not used for building.
Stage 2: Blocks are placed on the floor horizontally or vertically (stacking).
Stage 3: Blocks are used to bridge the space between other blocks.
Stage 4: Blocks are used to enclose a space.
Stage 5: Complex structure: blocks are placed in patterns or symmetrically when building. Block accessories may be incorporated. Buildings are not generally named.
Stage 6: Block buildings are given names that relate to the function of the building.
Stage 7: Block buildings often reproduce actual structures known by the children. There is a strong impulse for dramatic play around the structure.
Blockplay is unique!
Blockplay is sustainable!
Blockplay is accessible!
Blockplay doesn’t require spoken language!
Do you have any blocks at home?
Remember you can share your building with us on Twitter @GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Using mazes and maps in play are fantastic ways for your child to learn and develop new numeracy and mathematics skills as they problem solve.
There are lots of inspiring and creative ways you and your child can make your maze from using tape, a straw and a pom pom to building one from lego.
Encouraging your child to lead you through a maze helps build their confidence in giving instructions using simple directions such as forward, backward, left and right.
Another way is for your child to describe which direction they are going to take as they navigate themselves or an object through a maze.
Using a blindfold adds an extra challenge as your child develops their listening skills and ability to follow your instructions.
You can also make your maze more competitive by timing who can navigate around it the quickest. This helps your child learn more about time and gives them an opportunity to explore ways of recording how long it took. 
Creating and following a map can support your child in understanding and using symbols for directions, as they process how to route their way from A to B in play. Why not take inspiration from a much loved children’s story or make your own map to go on a treasure hunt!!
Remember to share your child’s learning by tweeting @GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Children enjoy using chalk outside and can use it in a variety of different activities, developing many different skills.
For many children it may be one of their first experiences of mark making, allowing them to freely explore and encouraging their wonderful imagination. This will help to develop their fine motor skills which will strengthen their pincer grip essential movements for controlling and holding any writing implement.
Games such as hopscotch can help our physical well being, encouraging the development of our large motor skills, through hopping, jumping and balancing. Using numbers or letters can also help with numeracy & literacy skills.
Number Circles
Other great chalk ideas that would help to further develop numeracy skills could be, number circles having to count and place the correct amount of marbles or counters into the correct numbered circle.
Sequencing
Developing the ability to recognise the pattern and follow it on by drawing the correct missing shape or saying the shapes name. Encourages shape recognition and problem solving.
More games
To develop colour, shape and number recognition, could be drawing the different shapes with different coloured chalks, writing a number in the middle then asking for the correct number and colour of marbles or counters to be placed in the named shape.
The freedom to explore different activities when using chalk will encourage more creativity, confidence and curiosity. You can help develop this by offering different learning experiences and ways to use chalk. Writing up picture idea cards might help encourage someone who is struggling to think of just what to draw.
Also by grating chalk into a fine powder and mixing it with water turning it into a paint, using a paint brush to paint with or adding it into a spray bottle will allow for different effects. Also mixing the chalk dust with shaving foam and placing into a squeeze bottle will create different textures foam paints which children love!
Don’t worry if you don’t have any chalk – you can make your own paint using cornflour, water and food colouring. Watch this video to find out how… Make your own chalk paint
Remember to Tweet @GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Can you name any of these shapes?
Can you find these shapes in your house?
Can you find any other shapes in your house?
When doing a scavenger hunt like this you are learning to explore and notice shapes in your environment, to match 2D shapes and to talk about the properties of shapes (How many sides? How many corners? Are they straight, round, curved?). For further challenge you could try to find and name some 3D objects.
Please Tweet us your shape hunt photos
@GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome
As I build a structure, I select blocks which are the same size and I create a pattern. I have to place the blocks on carefully to balance them. My friends have made a slide and when I say ‘go’ they knock down my structure then I rebuild it exactly the same way!
