In the discovery area this week the children have been exploring with our intelino trains. These are our programmable robotic trains. The children can start by learning to code the trains with action snaps on the tracks as well as using digital technology to control their speed, direction, stops and custom commands. These trains build a strong foundation in STEM, introducing the children to basic programming concepts and helping them progressively learn to code.

As you can see the children were incredibly engaged and eager to learn!

In our creative area this week some of the children have been exploring and finding patterns within our environment. The children took the iPads and went around the playrooms taking pictures of any patterns they could find. There were lots of discussions around the type of patterns they found, for example, if they were spotty or stripey!

The children have also been exploring measurement. They have been using non-standard units of measure to measure their heads to then make crowns!

This week in the literacy area we have been learning and sharing lots of interesting facts about different animals. We used non-fiction books and the iPads to do our research, and then made our own fact files about what we had learned. The children enjoyed drawing a picture of their chosen animal and assigned meaning to their writing. It was so interesting finding out lots of new information about our favourite animals, some things were surprising!

RF – “A crab has 10 legs, crabs live on the rocks”

JM – “ I want to see an enormous whale, like the humpback whale”

B – “That’s an octopus”

JM – “The water comes out the blowhole, I think they can breathe out of it”

SBW – “Males are boys, monkeys live in trees”

RF – “These look like our teeth but they’re so big and long”

IH – “I think they eat little fish, I’m going to draw them”

This week in the malleable area we have been exploring a different kind of playdoh called cloud dough. This is made from one cup of cornflour mixed with half a cup of hair conditioner. We used 3 different scents of conditioner, raspberry, apple and coconut. This dough is a softer texture and smells amazing. 

“It’s squishy squashy”

“I like the pink raspberry”

“I’ve mixed the smells together it smells like dinosaur poo”

“Green apple smells best”

“It’s so soft”

“It’s soft like clouds”

This sensory experience is easy to do at home but we would definitely recommend it’s in a tray or basin!