Today we tried a little knitting, we found it a little tricky but we are all going to persevere and practice.
Knitting helps to develop our fine motor muscles which in turn will aid our early mark making skills. It helps our hand to eye co ordination and focus’ our concentration and develops our problem solving skills.
We made a friendship bracelet this week……who knows what we’ll achieve next week!!!
Article 28 You have the right to education
Today in the Discovery Room, we were exploring the loose parts. We set up the loose part area with some natural materials and some familiar objects that might spark some interest in our children’s creativity.
We had objects such as shells, wooden disks, bottle lids, wooden pegs and wooden rings.
Our older children decided to have a loose parts tea party.
They used the loose parts and pretended they were foods such as burgers, pizza and cups of tea. The older children were able to use their imaginative skills to add the loose parts into their role play, making connection with objects, relating them to real life scenarios.
Some of our older children used the loose parts to turn into different objects and shapes.
We recreated shapes such as love hearts and faces.
Our younger children were using the loose parts to stack, line up and using containers to fill and empty with them.
The children were making long bridges with all the different types of loose parts adding each one to make the bridge longer.
The 2-3 year old children were enjoying exploring each of the loose parts seeing what can be done with them. We could balance the wooden disk on the large screw.
We could stack them on top of each other.
We enjoyed looking at the different shape, size and texture of each of the loose part materials.
Our children are all at different stages in their play with loose parts and it is wonderful to see how the creative minds of each of our children works. Each child has their on unique way of using the loose parts.
Article 31 – every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
In the home room we have been talking about people who help us . “A nurse and a doctor work in a hospital”. We chatted about making our own hospital and what we would need. “It’s a emergency number it’s 999”
We then had a look at some instruments that the doctors and nurses might use. We learnt some new words “stethoscope “ that’s for listening to my heart. This instrument has a light on it then the doctor can see in my ears . We also have bandages in case I hurt my leg.
”You need a x ray to check if you have a broken bone “ . We will get a screen because you get privacy at the hospital”
On arriving at our hospital we would like you to check in and let the nurse know how you are feeling and tell her what is sore. Our doctors and nurses will decide the best treatment for you.
Some of our patients who came to the hospital had bad accidents. “ I went to the zoo and a tiger scratched my leg”. We worked well together, turn taking,co-operating and responding to each other. We discussed how you can only take medicine if the doctor has given it to you. “Mummy gives me the medicine at home”
We have had a busy hospital today and the doctors and nurses have decided that some of our patients will need to stay overnight. Let’s see who comes to our hospital tomorrow “we might need more medicine and bandages”.
What a wonderful surprise we got today walking into nursery to see our butterflies had emerged from their chrysalises.
The children were super excited “we can now feed the butterflies”. We had a discussion about what the butterflies can eat.
“We need to feed the butterflies so they grow.”
“Then we can let them out to fly away.”
“The butterflies need sugar water.”
“Can we give them fruit.”
We read the guidance instructions and it was suggested that we feed the butterflies slices of citrus fruit and sugar water. So the children cut up pieces of oranges and filled cup lids with sugar water. Next we gently placed the fruit and water into the butterflies net and watched to see what happened.
“We need to be so careful so we don’t scare them.”
“They are going to eat all the oranges.
“That one is going over to the water.”
We will continue to look after our butterflies until they are ready to be released into our garden. The children have enjoyed watching every step as they grow. 🦋
In the block area today, the children used their problem solving skills throughout imaginative play to build a model pirate ship. The children showed that they were able to think creatively whilst working together to build their ship.
The children discussed possible design criteria and shared ideas about where they think the different parts should go and what they could be.
”These big bits can be the floaty bit to stop the boat from sinking in the water”
”Everyone climb aboard! The ship is setting sail”
The children were able to work together as a team and cooperate within a small group to complete the pirate ship.
And we couldn’t forget the most important thing… our treasure map!
Article 31 – I have the right to play
Article 15- I have the right to meet with friends
The children have been exploring edible sand made from ground cheerios. We have made edible sand to allow some of our children to explore the feeling of the sand in a safe way.
Sand play is a rich sensory experience, it can be very calming. It also give our children a way to explore and express their feelings.
Playing in the sand is terrific for developing fine motor skills, building hand eye coordination and strengthen muscles. As the children make movements such as digging, scooping, pouring, pushing and lifting they are developing all these key pre writing skills.
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Sand play can give the children the opportunity to develop useful social skills while playing alongside their peers and help to spark creativity.
“A little strawberry on the top”
“I’m popping a lid on it”
And most of all sand allows the children to play and have fun with their friends.
We have had lots of fun in our garden this week exploring body movement in creative and imaginative ways.
Using various loose parts, we created our own Muddy Movers obstacle course. This gave us the opportunity to demonstrate we could use apparatus safely, take turns, and share space and equipment safely. Through lots of discussion and problem solving, we decided to use the crates and a plank of wood to create a beam to walk along. To challenge ourselves further, we chose to add in some steps and a second longer beam. It was a wee bit tricky to hold our balance, but with practice and perseverance we did it!
“I can go really fast now”
”It’s a bit wobbly”
Some of us have been chatting about gymnastics classes we go to when we are not at Cart Mill. It was lots of fun to share our knowledge and expertise of different gymnastic movements and balances we have learned with our friends. We are able to create different shapes with our bodies, control our movements by holding our balances and teach new techniques to our friends!
“Look at me, I can put my leg up”
”I can balance on one hand “
Our very own Cart Mill gymnastics class was so much fun!
“This is called a table”
”Look I can do one arm and one leg”
”I can touch my head with my feet!”
”You put your hands on the ground and your leg in the air, like this”
At Cart Mill we love to take part in lots of different kind of energetic activities and challenge our friends to a competition! The egg and spoon race is a firm favourite. We found our spoons, but after much discussion, decided it might be best not to use real eggs as it might be a bit messy! Putting our thinking caps on, we decided to use some of our smaller balls instead. It was time to begin our race. Ready, steady, go!
It was a bit tricky to walk and balance our “eggs” at the same time! With encouragement from our friends, some of us were able to walk really fast, while some of us took it slow and steady.
Balancing has been so much fun. We’re sure you’ll agree we really are brilliant balancers!
Article 13 sharing thoughts freely
Article 31 right to play
Today at the woodwork bench we have been creating new furniture for our dolls house. In a small group we talked about the different rooms we have in our homes. We discussed different kinds of houses, what makes them different and introduced The UN convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) article 27 ‘I have the right to a home’.
We used the computer and magazines to look at different rooms and furniture and decided we would start to create some bedroom furniture. We talked about what we have in our bedrooms at home.
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“I have a bed in my room with pillows”
“I have a cupboard that mummy keeps my clothes in”
“I have a little table next to my bed”
Once we had decided what we were going to make we set about selecting our wood and tools for the job.
First one of the children decided they would like to make a bed. He looked in the wood bag and decided to use 3 pieces to make his bed. He used “one big bit and 2 little bits”. Next he decided he was going to use “nails to stick it together”. He put on his safety glasses “to keep safe” and set about using the hammer to make his creation. He then selected 4 screws to use as the feet. “I need 4” pointing to all for corners. Using the screwdriver with support he attached the screws. Then using sandpaper he made sure it was nice and smooth ready to finish his design by decorating it with pens.
The second visitor at the workbench today decided to make “the cupboard for my clothes” He selected 3 pieces of wood. One for the cupboard and 2 more to use “for the bottom. He placed on his safety goggles to “stop the dust getting in my eyes”. Next he used the hammer and “2 nails” to attach the feet and added “a screw for the handle” The final step was to use sandpaper to sand it down so it was smooth ready to use pens to draw on the door.
What a fantastic start to creating some bedroom furniture to use during small word play.
Article 27 – The right to a safe home
Article 28 – The right to education
Article 31 – The right to play
What a wonderful day it is☀️.The children have been out enjoying the sunshine, but learning how to stay safe when the temperature is high. I asked the children if they knew what we can do to stay safe in the sun. They gave some great answers.
”Sun cream, my mum put some on me before I came to nursery”
“Wear my sun hat”
We discussed staying hydrated by drinking lots of water and taking regular breaks from the sun in the shade.
This is some of their favourite shaded areas to play in.
“We like to have pretend picnics on the bench”
”and read stories in the den”
We have been developing our fine motor skills through this mark making experience in the shade. The children are exploring letters and writing/ drawing in the sand.
We added 4 golf balls and powder paint with a splash of water to the tuff tray. The children used their strong muscles to lift the tray up and worked as a team to move the golf balls around in the tray to mix the colours and create patterns.
As some of the children went to play somewhere else, they noticed that the tray got heavier and tipped to one side.
“uh oh it fell, how do we get it back up?”
The children used their problem solving skills to figure out how to balance the tray and keep the golf balls from rolling off.
Who said you can’t have fun in the shade, the kids have had great fun outside while staying safe.
While this hot weather is due to continue, please make sure the children stay safe in the sun by putting sun cream on before they come to nursery, wearing a sun hat or cap and ensuring we have sun cream for them in the centre. We want to enjoy it while is lasts!
This month we have been super busy in the garden. We have been watching our seeds grow and decided we would need to replant them to help them grow bigger. We discovered some of our plants have lots of roots “it’s like spaghetti “. Our plants and vegetables need to have lots of water to help them grow big.
When we have been digging in the garden we have found lots of insects and bugs. We became explorers using books to identify them and having a closer look with our magnifying pots.
This month was also World Bee day on the 20th of May. We watched a short film about how bees 🐝 grow and why we need them. We made our own bee hive and added it into our bug hotel. We planted bee friendly flowers for the garden. Then made our own bees to hang on the tree using pine cones.
Bees make honey I like honey . After all our hard work we had a taste of the honey. We worked well together slicing the bread and sharing the “sticky honey”.
There have been so many jobs to do in the garden and the girls and boys have thoroughly embraced each task. They have worked well together, sharing tools taking turns, spotting insects ,looking after the plants in the green house we look forward to June as they begin to flower and we can harvest some of our vegetables 🥕.
Article 31 – I have the right to have fun in the ways I want to.
