This week in the literacy area we have been explored weight through parcels. We have been measuring, estimating and ordering parcels in relation to the weight and size of them. We have also been using appropriate descriptive language such as heavy, heaviest, heaviest, light, lighter and lightest. We have created a post office which the children are exploring as a role play experience.
In our malleable area there have been lots of conversations about the sun, moon, stars and planets this week. We have used a range of materials and books to support and extend this learning interest.
“Last night I saw a banana moon.” Harris
“I want to be an astronaut.” Luke
“Ice is colder than snow.” Eilidh
“Mars is cold.” George
“I’ve drawn the biggest planet.” George
This week we had some more of our East Ren football taster sessions within Crookfur Family Centre, these can be followed by a one-off taster session at a Mini Kickers session within their community programme. The children enjoyed working on their football skills. Here are some pictures below!
This week in the art area the children have been experimenting with large scale mark making. They explored different ways of applying their marks by doing it at a distance with pencils being attached to sticks and by using multiple pens at the same time, helping to develop their fine motor control and hand eye coordination.
In response to the change in weather the children have shown interest in all things icy. To support this curiosity the children explored cause and effect through ice painting and were able to use their big gross motor movements to create their large scale marks. This experience encouraged children to cross the mid line supporting emergent literacy skills.
We explored ice further within the water tray as the children explored their transformation schema as they added materials to change the appearance of their materials. The children considered time within this experience and were able to make predictions based on their observations as to how long it would take for the ice to melt.
MK ” It will take to five ‘o’ clock”
MM ” You get salt water in the sea”
BH ” Its 30-thats half an hour”
EB “The salt made it stick”
In the block/small world area we have been developing our engineering skills further by working together to build an even bigger ball run than last week. We used our problem solving skills to work out how high the platform needed to be and how many pipes were required to allow the cars and balls to travel further. We then had to find suitable materials to build a steady platform to reach the height needed. Once we did that we used strong tape, blocks and chairs to join and support the pipes.
Once it was built it was time to try it out!! The children soon worked out that the best things to use were small balls and cars as they travelled the fastest and furthest distances. Trying out items such as bricks, people and trains resulted in blocked pipes which resulted in more problem solving in how we would get them out. Banging pipes, using metre sticks and heavier cars all did the trick.
This ball run has been popular with everyone this week so we look forward to seeing where our little engineers take us next.
