All posts by Miss Welsh

Creativity, Froebel, Imaginative thinking, Literacy, nature

Clay Play

January 17, 2025 Miss Welsh Leave a comment

The children have been exploring the great benefits of clay since returning to nursery after the holidays.

Clay modelling helps to spark the brain’s creativity and problem solving skills. The children have been expressing their thoughts and emotions through the clay modelling, boosting their imagination and creativity.

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”The mermaids are stuck in the mud”

Some of the younger children begin by exploring the texture of the clay and quickly realised the imaginative aspects of clay play.

“Ice Cream”

The children squeeze and pinch the clay with their hands, helping to develop their fine motor skills.

“I’m making a snowman.”

The clay provides lots of play based learning, as the children count and sort materials when decorating their clay.

“1,2,3,4……..”

The children use a variety of tools when using clay such as rolling pins and wooden and metal clay tools, ensuring that they keep themselves and others safe when using the tools.

The tools allow the children to roll, cut and make patterns in the clay.

As the children develop their clay skills, they can roll clay into balls to make clay lollipops.

The clay provides a great opportunity for children to express detail in their artwork.

“This is my dog”.

We even created our own Cart Mill Forest!

The clay is a fantastic social activity as the children share ideas and learn from one another.

UNCRC Article 31 Every child has the right to relax and play.

Creativity, Imaginative thinking, Literacy, nature, Snack

Super Soup

November 13, 2024 Miss Welsh Leave a comment

As part of celebrating all things autumnal, the children have been experimenting in making soup using seasonal vegetables.

During this activity the children were developing their gross motor skills when peeling and chopping the vegetables.

Firstly, the children peeled the carrots and parsnips. The children are using their problem solving skills when using the peeler.

“This is white and this orange”

Then they chopped the vegetables into small chunks, so that we could cook them. The children are developing their confidence when using the knife.

“I did it!”

Once the vegetable mix was chopped and washed, we added it to the soup pot with stock cubes and boiling water to cook.

The children were able to sample the soup at snack time and we discussed the taste, temperature, and texture of the soup. Children learn with their senses and during this activity, they were able to enhance their communication, language and social skills.

“It’s good”. “It’s hot”. “Yummy”. “I don’t like it”

This cooking activity allowed the children to develop a healthy relationship with food and be more adventurous by sampling different tastes.

The children were able to feel competent and were proud of their ability to get involved in preparing the soup mix. This also benefits the children from a nutrition, growth and development perspective.

The soup making allowed the children to explore their curiosity about the vegetables they were preparing (carrots, parsnips, butternut squash) and ask questions.

UNCRC Article 27 children have the right to food.

Baking, Creativity, Snack

Snacktastic!

September 3, 2024 Miss Welsh Leave a comment

Over the last couple of weeks, the children have been settling into the new nursery term and we have welcomed back our term time children as well as welcoming our new children.

At the snack and baking table, we have been refreshing our baking skills when making muffins. The children have been experimenting with different ingredients including bananas, raisins, blueberries and dairy free cheese.

“one” “two scoops”

The children have been demonstrating their hygiene knowledge by remembering to wash their hands before and after baking and to wear an apron.

The children are developing many skills during this activity including fine motor skills and independence.

“It needs more milk”

The children have been learning to get the muffin mix right by adding more milk or flour, which is developing their science knowledge and how ingredients interact together.

The children are enjoying sampling the muffins during afternoon snack, along with some fruit.

Article 28 – You have the right to education.
Article 24 – you have the right to be healthy

Creativity, Imaginative thinking

Puppet Play

June 12, 2024 Miss Welsh Leave a comment

Over the last few weeks the children have been involved in activities relating to castles in the junk modelling area. As we come to the end of this activity, the children realised that the castle had no people living in it, so they wanted to make some characters for the castle.

First, we searched to see how to make puppets and what resources we had available in junk modelling. We found some lolly sticks and colourful paper to make our characters.

Some of the children chose to use glue to make their puppet and others used cello tape.

Then they dressed the puppets using colourful paper before giving the puppets a face, which gave the puppets their own personality.

“That’s the bones, otherwise he will fall apart”

The children came up with the idea of using a second lolly stick to give their puppet arms.

Children benefit from puppet making as it helps to develop their creative imagination. Some of the children played with the puppets in the nursery through role play and creating personalities for their puppets.

One puppet even got his very own castle.

This fun activity also increases communication and social skills.

Cart Mill Castle.

Article 28 – I have the right to an education.

Creativity, Expressive Arts, music

World Earth Day Painting

April 22, 2024 Miss Welsh Leave a comment

In Cart Mill, the children enjoy painting and exploring the use of different textures and materials.

As part of World Earth Day the children were creating their very own planet earth by painting on tin foil using cotton buds as a painting tool. This activity helps to promote the childrens’ creativity, whilst enhancing their fine motor skills.

First, we covered the paper plates with tin foil to create our earth.