This week the children in the small world area have been expanding on their previous knowledge of habitats for different animals. Our discussions have focused on the different enclosures we see in the zoo. 

“Penguins live in the cold and snow” – A.M

“It looks like a snow waterfall” – E.B

“These can be under water steps, for the animals so if they want to step out of the water its easier for them to get out” – M.S

In the block area the children have been focusing on their gross motor skills and problem solving skills to design and create structures. They have created castles, a station for the paw patrollers and larger zoo enclosures. The children have been sorting the animals into “little, smaller and bigger” ones.

“We need to make this before the bad guys come” – L.S

“I’ve been to a castle in Glasgow with big sides and canons” – L.S 

“This is the smallest animal… a mouse… and this one is big, its an elephant” – M.McC

“The animals won’t escape, here’s their door to get in and out” -B.F

In the malleable area this week the children have been helping to make playdoh, measuring out the ingredients, choosing the colour and a fragrance to enhance their sensory experience. 

The main interest has been baking and decorating cupcakes so we added cake cases and a variety of decorations. To extend their learning we introduced a set of scales so they could experience weighing and measuring.

As we didn’t have any candles for birthday cakes, we found cocktail sticks which then sparked another thread of learning, children creating a ‘blue cheetah’ and hedgehogs. 

In the creative and water area we have been experimenting with bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to see a chemical reaction happen. The children were using excellent descriptive language to describe sight, sound and smell of the reaction. Through this experiment we explored environments of volcanoes and the sea. 

This week the children have been practising using scissors and have been exploring the best way to hold them to cut the paper. Some children cut the scrap paper into smaller pieces and others practised cutting out some shapes.

The children have also been choosing and discussing their favourite books. We read two different stories and talked about our favourite part of the stories, the characters and how they felt, and what parts of the story we didn’t like. We then voted for our favourite story out of the two and counted which one was the winner!

In the sewing area this week some of our children have been working on their fine motor skills. Loom bands have several benefits alongside building on fine motor skills including building on attention and concentration skills as well as confidence and perceptual skills. Some of our children have also been making designs on geo boards, to help with very early stages of sewing, and other children have been making colourful patterns with the loom bands whilst making bracelets. At other times in the sewing area the children have been making and creating their own designs. Some of these include; a love heart cushion, a teddy bear and a bunny rabbit!

We have been very busy in our outdoor area this week! We have been continuing to practise our ball skills, working on our gross motor skills and hand eye coordination. The children have also been experimenting with patterns using loose parts. Some of our children have thoroughly enjoyed creating their own water slide in the rain!

Towards the end of the week we have been using our large loose parts to create our very own ‘marble run’! This helps with fostering the children’s creativity, problem solving  and critical thinking as they invent and modify their designs! It also helps promote social skills such as communication and cooperation through collaborative building and negotiation.