“It looks so yellow here” AC

“That’s because it’s Autumn…” GMc

This week we have been out exploring and spending time in our local woodland. The children spent some time talking through some of the safety elements of their trips to woodland and used big ticks and crosses to mark things they thought were safe/unsafe in their surroundings, which led to lots of rich discussion. The children spend time categorising sticks into sizes as well as using sticks to see who could reach the highest height! There was also a game of hide and seek!

This week the children have been exploring different ways to use the large plastic pipes. We have used them when making models such as houses and machines, and explored different ways to balance them. The children have enjoyed rolling different resources down them to see which ones roll the fastest. We discussed size and speed as we explored how to change the gradient of the pipe using the blocks. We also compared this to rolling things down the ramp and discussed why one was faster. The children demonstrated great problem solving and creativity!

In the discovery area at the end of the week the children were curious to explore Sid, our skeleton.   They expressed an interest in the height of the skeleton.   They selected a pole as a guide to measure their height against it.   There was a lot of mathematical language used such as; ‘biggest’, ‘smallest’ and ‘shorter’. The children also used the skill of estimating. Measurements were taken and Sid’s bones were counted!

BS  “206 bones in the body is a lot.”

OH “I am the smallest.”

JG “I am the tallest.”

As we celebrated the festival of Diwali this week in nursery the children created their own Diwali lights using clay and using various resources to decorate them. The children were able to talk about the importance of the candle.

“It’s the light festival and people have them on the path” OH

The children also spoke of seeing the fireworks displays for the festival.

The children have also been exploring different textures and the insides of pumpkins!

This week in the art area we have been creating stone glass windows using cellophane. We have been exploring 2D shapes by choosing and identifying a 2D frame to make our window. Some children have been discussing autumn seasonal colours and we have talked about the changing colours of leaves as the children have been creating  “autumn windows.”

In the water tray the children have been exploring if objects float or sink. They have been collecting and organising information on a table. They have also been using their prediction skills to predict if the object will float or sink.

In the sewing area this week we have been focusing on autumn fun and festivals! 🍂🎃✨

The children have expressed interest in Autumn Leaves, Halloween, and have learned about the festival Diwali. For Diwali, children used wool to weave and thread vibrant, circular Rangoli patterns. This helps in developing fine motor skills for  control and understanding pattern and colour. To connect with autumn and Halloween, the children safely used scissors to cut out foam leaf shapes and constructed spooky spiderwebs. They used risk assessment skills throughout this process and worked on how to hold and use the scissors safely. This developed their hand-eye coordination and their ability to design their own creations, this also  helped them build confidence in their own creativity and ability to solve simple design challenges.