The children have been practising using the sewing machine, helping to create a number line. We have also been working on our basic sewing skills, learning to thread a needle and make a basic stitch.

We have had a little spring in our step this week at the creative table. The children have enjoyed painting some still life art and talking about the parts of a flower. 

“The bees will go to hundreds and hundreds of flowers” – LH

“The bees will get nectar from the flowers and take it to their hive to make yummy honey” -EG

“This is the stem and the petals” – LB

Following on from our interest in atlases we have been busy exploring the globe, with lots of discussion around wildlife and climate! We have also been using the ipad to explore the local environment and nursery on Google Maps. Some of us have even used our recall and observation skills to create maps of our houses and bedrooms!

The children have been interested in the role of a vet this week. This was sparked by some children making vet surgeries in the block area and led to lots of questions and discussion around what a vet does. The children explored this in more depth through their role play as they acted out caring for the animals. We put on plasters and bandages, and explored the use of various medical equipment.

We went on to discuss x-rays and shared our knowledge of these. The children took a particular interest in the x-ray pictures and could identify which animals most of them were. They then had a go at making their own x-ray pictures using cotton buds and straws.

IY – “we need to clean them first”

AY – “it’s red, he’s too hot” (thermometer)

EC – “my Daddy is an animal doctor, we need to give him an x-ray, it takes a picture of the bones to see if there’s something wrong with them”

AS – “it’s the spine, we have a spine to hold our body up”

MM – “it’s the bones”

The children have been busy exploring using their senses this week in the malleable area using books as a stimulus for their play. The tiger came to us for tea which evoked some great discussion and developed new vocabulary. The Disgusting sandwich was a hit in the story corner and the boys and girls expressed an interest in making their own stinky sandwiches. They took great delight adding in unusual ingredients and making sandwiches for the team.

We welcomed Active Schools in for a first taster session of football this week and this will continue over the next three weeks to ensure all children have the opportunity to participate.

This week the children have been exploring the initial sounds of words. They went on a letter hunt around the nursery finding objects that began with the sound of the letter on their bag.

“I’ve got a: brick, a ball,a bag, and a baked potato”-MM

“We found paper, a pen, and a pencil”- meave

“I’ve got a rose and a red pen”- elina

 

They also played sound bingo where  they had to see if their image began with that sound

“I’ve got them all, Bingo!”- emmeline

“I’ve only got two left to get”-Elina

“I’ve got a “t” for tap”- niamh

The children also were keen to select a letter and come up with as many words as they could beginning with that letter. We were all very impressed with what they came up with.

It’s been another busy week here in the family centre with lots of opportunities to learn through play. Here is a wee snapshot of this learning in action…

Have a lovely weekend!

See you all next week.