Following on from our interest in making cupcakes last week the children are now exploring different textures to make ice creams and waffles! We have used playdough and shaving foam, and used sequins as sprinkles. The children have discussed different flavours, ingredients and added some “cream”, “flakes” and “sauce” to make them extra yummy. We have used mathematical language such as “1 scoop” or “2 scoops” and have enjoyed pretending to taste each other’s creations!

AV – “I made an ice cream and I put chocolate sauce and sprinkles on”

OM – “I’m making strawberry hearts with cream cheese on it”

EB – “It’s squishy”

RU – “It’s ice cream 

SBW – “It smells like cream”

This week, through play, the children have been learning about measurement, talking about longer and shorter straws and discussing what makes a building strong and tall. They have built different structures, talking about their work:-

“See when you’re building a house, you have to be more sensible,” SS

“You have to measure it first,” MMc

“We’re not giving up!” DB

Some children even invented their own game with the straws and balls that had rules and a million dollar prize!

This week in the creative area we have been exploring different artists and the various methods they employ in their paintings. We have looked at pointillism and the artist Georges Seurat. We are aware that this occurs when a large number of dots are used to form an image or picture. We created our dots using a variety of materials, including carton lids, cotton buds, and pompoms. We made boats, flowers, and trees. While the children were creating their masterpieces we listened to and admired various classical music and explored the  rhythms and instruments used in this time period. 

The children have also been experimenting with primary colours and mixing the colours to create other colours.

“Red and yellow make orange” – H.W

“Blue and red make purple” – A.M “

“If we mix all the colors together it can make brown” – F.W

This week the children have shown an interest in signing children into the nursery. They were able to represent this in a variety of ways within their mark making and were able to represent this through dots,ticks,marks,and tallymarks. For extra challenge some children were able to represent their tally in groups of five and are beginning to explore symbols and signs. The children developed their early numeracy skills as they used touch counting to see which colour group had the most/least number of children and who had the most boys or girls. Within this experience the children are exercising their right to be protected (UNCRC).

AK “ We need to know how many boys and girls need lunch to tell Claire”

SC “ It keeps  us safe in a fire”

JF “ You don’t go home with strangers”

In the creative area the children have been experimenting with different painting techniques, using the sprays (“splatter paint bombs”) and making magic paint potions with vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to create bubble paint. We have been colour mixing to create new colours too and the children have named their new colours, Ruby Pink, Yande Green, Robot Green, Na,Na,Na paint and Theo’s colour too.  Our interior design experts continue to work collaboratively on improving the house.

In the garden the children were using chalk to draw around each others body. The children added in different features such as fingers, eyes, nose and mouth. They compared each other to see who was smallest and biggest.  

The children have been using their problem solving and critical thinking to decide if objects will sink or float in the water. They experimented with objects  and shared their predictions about they thought might happen. There were surprised at some of their findings….

In the water the tray we were exploring sinking and floating.  The children found different items in the garden and guessed if it would sink or float. They found that heavy items sink more than the light ones. 

We have recently had a switch around in our home corner and have lots of new resources to play with. The children have been really engaged in their role play and have acted out lots of different scenarios. We have taken good care of the babies and made dinner for each other. The children have also started to consider their own daily routines and have discussed these within their play.

IM – “You’re the baby and you’re the sister, I’m going out tonight sister”

CB – “Time for bed”

JM – “We’re having a tea party”

LG – “Let’s put the baby to bed”

WS – “I’ve got some food”

BC – “I can make the soup for you

As part of our Eco project, we decided to tidy up the weeds in the garden and outside area. The children worked collaboratively to get rid of the weeds and make our entrance area nice and tidy 🙂

This week in the creative area children have been exploring printing using different tools such as potatoes and loose parts. There have been discussions about identifying and creating patterns in their work.

The children have also explored using pastels to blend colour and create different shades. We are also beginning to introduce silhouettes and discussing the meaning of silhouettes.

A new dolls house needed a makeover so the children took responsibility to choose and cut wallpaper for the house. This developed their measuring and mathematical language skills.

MM:” A silhouette is like a shadow.”

AK:” You use your hand or your finger to mix the colours.”

GM: “iIt’s a rainbow media”

MM: “We can fold it in half. We can leave a little bit at the edge.”

LS: “I can scissor this on my own.”

PG: “My nana and papa have a secret bit in their house.”

EB: “ I don’t have any chimneys.”

In the sewing area, the children  have continued to develop their hand sewing skills. Some of the children have previously made items using the sewing machine, however they have shown an interest in sewing by hand. They have showed creativity and imagination when planning and sharing their designs. They have also been developing their fine motor skills and hand to eye co-ordination in the process.

In the literacy area we have been exploring different purposes for writing. Some of the children have written postcards for their friends who have been on holiday. We have also had children making their own invitations for our Beach Party and some children have been making cards for their friends and family. We have made a display with all of our wonderful mark making!

AK- ” I’m making a care for my new house.”

MM- “We’re making invites for our surprise party. Once we have decorated them we will cut them out.”

NF-“I’m making a card for my Mummy and Daddy for the holidays.”

CB-” I’m doing a postcard just now, but when I go to Spain I’ll send you one.”

In the block area the children have been exploring enclosures and one of the children had a spark of scary stories.  They were able to invent their own stories and characters during imaginative role play whilst using the torches.”

JM

“ A ghost came into my castle and ate all my food in the castle. He ate my marshmallows and got a sore stomach.”

OM

“A football turned in to a dinosaur.”

AC

“Once upon a time there was a scary pumpkin and it was a ghost.   Then it was a human, he was so scared he runned away.”

This week in the malleable area the children have been exploring loose parts within their playdough play. The children made a variety of creations from cats to birds and have shown a particular interest in creating different foods. Within this play we have focused on division and fractions as the children manipulated their makes and explored time as they used a sand timer whilst “cooking” their creations.

YK “I’ve made mummy the feather is her dress”

JM: “is this cake…….?” “Sorry Miss Queenan we’re out of time and we’re out of cake!”

SBW “ I’m making cheese cake”

AP “It’s a pepperoni pizza for you!, that’s the toppings”

JM “I need to write a menu, here’s your toast and jam”

.

This week in the discovery area we have been looking at the mathematical language of ‘before’ and ‘after’. The children have been creating their own number grids by adding in the missing numbers and using prior knowledge of numbers to work out what numbers come before and after. 

“What comes before one?” – A.S

“They are mixed up” – M.L

“I can count up to 100” – J. F

“The six and turns it upside down makes nine” – R.N

“The missing numbers are; 3, 5 and 10” – R.N

“Let’s count them all” – A.S“I have 1 tower but 7 blocks” – J.Mc      

Within the sewing area the children have been designing and creating  their own stuffed animals.  They Began the process by drawing out their idea and then transferring it to their chosen material before cutting it out to sew it by hand. The children then completed it  by stuffing it and sewing it closed. The children have various levels of sewing experience and were keen to showcase this :)!! 

This week in the garden we have continued our learning from last week and have the final results of our vote! The children helped to count them and the winning activity was the Easter egg hunt with 32 votes. Snakes and ladders got 12 votes and the spring walk got 3 votes. We then explored how we could record this information and had a go at making our own graph using the measuring stick. We then were able to clearly see which activity had the most and least votes.

We then headed out on our Easter egg hunt in the woods! We looked up high and down low for coloured eggs as we followed the trail through the trees. There were 30 eggs to find and we managed to find them all as a team! At the end of the trail there was a special golden egg and once we found it we used great problem solving skills to figure out how to get it down from the tree. It was so much fun! We hope that everyone has a lovely Easter this weekend. 

This week in the malleable area we have been looking at Easter and Springtime.We have been exploring numerous textures such as clay, play dough and shaving foam.

We have been creating Easter eggs and Easter bunnies out of clay, making our Easter dinner in the home corner and creating lemon play dough! We have enjoyed creating science experiments with bicarbonate of soda and mixing it with vinegar and lemon juice to see which one fizzes up the most! 

“Its sticky, clays sticky” – O.McL

“It’s the Bunny ears on a Easter egg” – A.M

“I’m making a small bunny” – R.N

“Ready steady go! Three little eggs sitting in a pan one went crack and we put it in the bin, Two little eggs sitting on a pan one went crack and we put it in the bin, One little egg sitting in a pan, one went crack and we put it in the bin. All done.” – A.

“It feels so gooey, look i’ve made a circle ball” – R. McL

“It looks like hair” – F.F

“It looks like hay that the horse eats” – S.C 

In the block and small world area this week we have been using charts for recording data. The children have been using non-standard units of measure to check animals height and length. They have been using comparative language to describe different sizes and mark making with purpose for displaying information on the charts. Some children also created a zoo and used the chart to record how many animals were in the zoo. 

In the block area the children are continuing to construct vehicle models which are progressing with more detail. The children are using the models for role play purposes, which has developed their communication and language skills, alongside creativity and imagination. This week the children have constructed a speed boat, fire engine and tractor.

In the art area the children have been using different materials to create Easter baskets. They have been developing their fine motor skills by cutting and and sticking the materials together and sharing their ideas.

This week in the garden we’ve been continuing to enjoy the sunshine and finding out what the children would like to do for their spring experiences next week. We set up a voting system with some ideas and the choices included a spring walk, giant snakes and ladders and an Easter egg hunt. The children then explored how to record their choices and organise information through mark making. We discussed which jars had the most and least number of cubes and had a go at estimating how many were in each jar. The children have been busy counting the votes so look out next week for the results!

MW – “There’s only 1 in there and 3 in there and loads in there.”

LG – “I think I’m going to win because look how many are in it, i think it’s 12.”

AS – That one’s winning, that’s got too much in it.”

DC – “That one has the most.”

GM – “That one has a lot, 5 in that and 11 in that.”

LB – “That one wins because it has the most.”

In the malleable area we have been exploring the book “Supertato” by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet. The children have been listening to stories of Supertato and we have been exploring different fruits and vegetables, we have been using our senses: sight, touch and smell to do this. We especially enjoyed smelling the lemons and oranges! 

However, Evil Pea has been up to mischief and Supertato needed our help! The children used their gross motor skills to help the vegetables escape after they were tied up by Evil Pea! The children were able to use their gross motor skills and hand eye coordination to free them when he froze them in water!  Great job!

In the literacy area we have had a keen interest in making up our own stories. We have been chatting about the plot, characters and story sequencing.

Once upon a time there was a Princess and she was a little bit muddle up and she fined a golden tiara” M.M

“Can I make up a story?” “Once there was a cottage and the queen was in the cottage and she saw a nice castle”. P.G.

“The unicorn giddy up and the princess gets on” A.R.

“Mines is called the princess and the castle” J.G

“Can I use these to make up my story? It’s about a princes” S.W

In the discovery area the children have been working on the whiteboard to direct us to places of interest to them  in the local area. The children’ s starting off point is the Family Centre from where they exit through the car park and using various forms of directional language have directed us around to the surrounding area such as, “ go left,” “turn this way.” The children have also spoken about landmarks they see travelling to nursery and when visiting their relatives.

 In the small world area and blocks the children have been exploring transport and how different vehicles move. We have created an airport to support children’s interest surrounding this area. It has allowed children to explore movement of objects alongside various other areas of learning. This includes exploring different countries including their flags,  different iconic structures within different countries, environmental print of different airlines, times of departure and engaging in role play showing creativity, imagination and communication. 

Some children have also been constructing other types of transport like tractors, rockets, cars and trains. They have been using different sizes and shapes of blocks and using various other materials such as tyres and cans and boxes to their models. 

It has been lovely hearing lots of stories from the children’s experience and adventures using  different types of transport. 

FF: “This is Scotland, where we live.”

JB: “The wheels go at the bottom of the plane, for when it lands.”

AK: “The plane goes really fast to come off the ground.”

BS: “The plane leaves at 6 o’clock.” 

BS: “I seen a Ryanair plane coming into Edinburgh.”

FW: “Look at the train, it has lots of wheels on the track.”

AK: “3 , 2, 1 blast off!!!.”