All posts by Miss Mitchell

Expressive Arts

An introduction to rhythm sticks đŸŽŒ

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Today the children enjoyed expressing themselves musically using rhythm sticks and their bodies.

They were able to tap their sticks to the beat softly, quietly, loudly, up high and down low.

We decided which of our favourite songs and rhymes we would like to sing together and tapped our sticks to the beat of the rhyme.

“ I want to sing 1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish alive”

“Let’s sing the wheels on the bus with our sticks”

The children asked if they could tap their sticks to music on the promethean board.  We listened to some different music and chose Beethoven’s 5th symphony. We listened really carefully to see what  instruments we could hear.

“I can hear the violin ”

“I can tap my sticks to the drum”

We then tapped our sticks in time to the music.

We decided to play a game  called guess who tapped. The children were able to listen to where the sound was coming from.

“I think I know who it was!”

“That was fun”

Well done boys and girls.

 

Digital Technology

Imaginative Block play in the Discovery Room 😀

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The children were discussing dens and how to build them. They had lots of ideas about what they could do inside their own den. The children had a look around the room at what they could use to make a den and how they could make it cosy. They decided that blocks would make the best den, but they thought they should research it a little first, before planning it out.

Using digital technology, the children started looking at different types of dens. After their initial research, the children decided they should draw a plan of what they wanted their den to be like.

“ I want it big enough to have a tea party in”


“ I want my den to have a roof, so we don’t get wet”

The children then put their problem solving skills to work and worked collaboratively to build their den.

They shared resources and made suggestions to each other to make sure the den they built was the best den ever!


“ How will we make the roof stay up”
The children searched the room for resources and showed their skills as future engineers and architects.  
“ I think that wall is tall enough now”
“We need the cardboard tube to keep the roof up high”


“ We need to be careful not to knock the walls down when we are inside”

When their den was finished the children made it a home from home by adding comfy cushions and a table, they then invited some special guests to join them for afternoon tea complete with cakes and sandwiches, cheese of course!

Uncategorized

Science Citrus explosions

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Today some of the children in the discovery room wanted to make an explosion. We decided to try and make one using lemons and tangerines. We placed the orange and tangerine onto a plate and then took the tops off and squished the insides of the fruit to bring out some of the juice. We then squeezed some washing up liquid into the juice and added some food colouring and a teaspoonful of baking soda. After we did this, we watched as the fruits exploded with colourful bubbles! It was so exciting!!
We talked about the science and how the experiment worked. Citrus fruit contains citric acid which has a chemical reaction when it mixes with the baking soda due to form carbon dioxide, which is a gas. Once the citric acid and the baking soda have neutralised each other the reaction stops and no more gas is made. The children had so many things to say about the experiment including:
“ I think the lemon has more citrus acid in it than the tangerine because the lemon has bigger bubbles”

“I want my explosion to be rainbow colours”” Look the blue and red has turned black”
“I need more baking powder I want a big explosion “ “ It feels slimy if you touch it” “The lemon smells nice”


We really enjoyed participating in this fun science activity.

Expressive Arts

Creative Toddlers

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Today some of the toddlers got creative mark making, selecting their own paint colours and using large brushes and rollers, developing fine motor skills and muscle dexterity they even made their own natural brushes from recycled flowers.  They painted over different textures  eg Anaglypta , tinfoil, cling film, lining paper and  canvas promoting language development  about how the different materials felt. “That paper is rough” “the shiny is cold and smooth”The toddlers talked about the colours they were using and mixing. “ It’s yellow”  “ I like the blue paint best” “I’m making purple” They enjoyed using the roller and big brushes. “I want the biggest brush” “the roller is fun” The toddlers did great turn taking whilst sharing the resources.  The end result was a beautiful piece of colourful art. Well done toddlers!

Expressive Arts

Halloween Sensory Play

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Today the children used pipettes to draw up coloured ink and then dropped it onto the paper. They then used a straw to blow patterns. The children noticed the colours changing as the inks merged. They also noticed that the ink behaved differently on different materials eg “ It’s more watery on the tin foil” “ It doesn’t make patterns on the bubble wrap”

The children talked about the colours they were using and which was their favourite they were able to work together and showed great turn taking skills waiting for their turn of the pipettes.

In preparation for Halloween the children asked for something slimy and gooey to explore. The children decided that jelly would be best. The toddlers helped to make the jelly on Thursday  evening, they measured and stirred following my instructions closely. The children then  hid some natural autumnal items and some not so natural inspired by Halloween in the jelly.

The children used all five senses to explore the jelly. Some used tweezers to take the objects out of the jelly developing their fine motor skills, others dived straight in with their hands.  The children used lots of descriptive language. “”So sticky and cold””Jelly is delicious “ I’ve got an orange jelly” “I see a pumpkin “”This one has a pine cone in it” “This jelly feels good it’s wobbly and wet” “A bug it’s hard and black” “let’s see how many flowers we can get out”” I see three spiders they are tiny”.

 

 

 

 

 

Expressive Arts

Cars and ramps

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Today the children have  been super busy making ramps for their cars using the blocks. They decided to make their own ramps. The toddlers self selected their own paint colours and then dipped their cars into the paint and set them off down the ramp. The children noticed that some of the cars went further than others, some went down fast, some slow and that the tyres all made different marks.  They added some textured balls to see what different marks they left. “ That’s left a bumpy mark”  They learned some new concepts including stop, go, up, down, fast, slow developing their language skills and learning about cause and effect.

When asked what they would like to do next with the cars L said “ make a garage “ So they set about creating one. H said “we should use these boxes”. L said “ I’m painting it green, it needs to have a tunnel and space for the fire engine”. The children demonstrated great team work when planning together to create their garage. They were proud of their finished result and had great fun playing together.

Expressive Arts

Some of Marvellous Monday’s toddler learning experiences đŸ„°

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Today some of the toddlers decided to explore mark making and colour. They used their fingers to push the paint around and make patterns. “I made orange with red and yellow” “This is squashy and squishy” “I can make purple with blue and red”

We also engaged our five senses playing in our very own orange sensory water scooping, pouring, mixing stirring filling and emptying.  The toddlers were able to answer my open ended questions exposing them to new vocabulary.  “The flesh feels soft, but the skin is bumpy” ”Orange juice, I like it” They were all able to take turns and play cooperatively.

Special Event

Merry Christmas from the toddlers🎄💕

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This week we are feeling very festive in the toddler room, we have  been busy creating lots of lovely Christmas crafts as well as Icing Christmas biscuits and adding some Christmas sprinkles. 

We made Christmas cards for our loved ones, and also added lots of tinsel and sparkle to our very own Christmas baubles which I’m sure will be admired for many Christmas’s to come.Â