Playdough is always a favourite in our house whether it’s homemade or shop bought. There is lots that children can do with playdough and it is an amazing resource that covers all areas of learning, which the article below explains in more depth.
For Erin I found loose parts around the house for her to use in her creations along with the playdough.Loose parts play is a type of play that supports invention, divergent thinking, problem solving and offers a sense of wonder to children. They are materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, and taken apart and put back together in multiple ways. From pasta and spaghetti to cupcake cases, curtain hooks and lids for cutters, stones, shells, kitchen utensils, flowers…the list is endless when you start looking.
I have included a photo with a recipe for how to make playdough and the article attached also has recipes within it. Why not give it a go and let’s see your imagination go wild?
I hope that everybody had a great holiday weekend staying safe at home. Erin and I were enjoying the weather last week and thought it would be great to do some painting outside, which we decided to turn into a science experiment. Instead of paper we filled balloons with water and put them in the freezer overnight. After observing what happened to the water once it had been in the freezer, we peeled off the balloon and it gave us ice which is a great surface to paint on. Erin particularly liked it when the ice balloons started to melt and the colours all mixed together, giving us another science experiment to observe. To join in with the science fun we were having we tried to dig out the toys we had frozen inside a couple of the balloons by using salt water to help us melt the ice. Ice melts faster in salt water because salt water has a lower freezing point than fresh water, so the ice cube will have to absorb less heat in order to melt in salt water than in fresh water. Let’s see your science experiments; why don’t you try painting on a different surface from paper? Do the colours mix like they did on the ice? Also how quickly can you melt ice with the salt and rescue your toy inside?
Hello everyone,
We hope you are all well and finding some fun things to do. The good weather has meant we are able enjoy the outdoors even more than usual and there has been so much to see at this time of year with all the new life that is growing.
Mrs MacLeod saw this Peacock butterfly in her garden, and Mrs Small has a blue tit that sits right outside her bedroom window.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is inviting everyone to join in 30 Days Wild, doing one different Wild Thing each day, and this is something the children have enjoyed doing in nursery in the past. You can sign up to join in 30 Days Wild for free, and receive a digital set of cards with simple and easy Wild things to do each day. The children have the fun of choosing a different card each day. Some examples are below:
You can find great ideas for other wild things to do and make at home at this link:
By using kitchen resources I created a filling and pouring station for Erin. There is no need to have a tuff tray to do this as this can be done on a smaller scale on an oven tray, inside a cardboard box, a plastic box from under the bed…anything really that will contain the mess. I collected various items from the kitchen rice, cous cous, tea leaves out of teabags, cornflakes, cheerios, spices, herbs, oats, a crushed up biscuit, spaghetti…the list is endless. You only need a small quantity of each to enable pouring and scooping between containers so don’t worry about using up lots of food. Then add to the tray any utensils and bowls to aid scooping and pouring; different sized spoons, measuring cups and spoons, sieves, pots and pans…make sure nothing sharp is placed in the tray that could pose a hazard. Filling, scooping and pouring activities help develop fine motor skills in under 5s as well as using concepts such as less and more. Adding scales to your pouring and filling tub can also introduce the concept of weight. These tasks help children coordinate their hand movements with what they are seeing and feeling.
Today we have been dipping in and out of threading. It’s amazing what resources you will already have in your house. We used spaghetti held up by blue tac with cheerios and cut up straws, different sized curtain hoops and chiffon scarves, a colander to thread spaghetti through, pasta and string, a bridge from a train set and ribbons, a chain strap on a handbag and the rubber anti slip mat from under a rug with shoe laces. Do you have anything different in your house you can thread with? How about spare buttons and thread for an extra challenge of threading? I have attached a link that explains in more depth all the benefits of threading (specifically beads but any threading counts ) for all ages, so everybody in the house can get involved.
Are there any fairies living in woods near you?
Mrs MacLeod has noticed a few fairy doors in the woods near her house.
You could paint your own designs on stones or an old roof slate if you have any.
Mrs Hampton has been painting different insects and birds on stones at home too.
Who do you think lives behind these doors?
Here are Mrs Hampton’s lovely painted stones. What birds and insects can you see and paint?
If you go down to the woods today… look out for bluebells as well as fairies. They are starting to grow…
Today Erin and I have been busy using our problem solving skills to make our own jigsaws. I thought with the recycling bins not being able to be emptied at the moment it would be a good way to do our bit to help recycle. We used photos we had lying about, birthday cards people have sent us, leaflets that have come through the door, brochures and magazines. With adult supervision children could try cutting out shapes by themselves to practise their cutting. Why not even try making a collage or transient art from pieces you cut out?
Hi everybody, Mrs Reynolds here, I hope you are all keeping well and staying safe. I was reading Mrs MacLeod’s post about going on a rainbow nature hunt and I knew my little girl Erin would love to do that, so I thought I would share what we did. I made Erin a grid from string and cardboard and placed different colours onto it for her to find on our walk. For older children you could add different numbers to each colour of how many items to collect for a numeracy experience and write the colour names on it to promote literacy. Erin really enjoyed collecting the items and placing them under the string to take them home with her. Maybe some of you could try this on your next walk and send us a photo of what you managed to collect. Keep an eye on the blog to see more of what Erin and I are up to and please keep sharing your ideas with us as well.
Hello everyone,
We hope you have all been keeping well and enjoying some new experiences. If you have started to go out for a Daily Walk in the good weather, perhaps you might like a few new mini-challenges to take on your way. Or you could take part in a Design challenge with your family… Here are a few ideas:
Keep up to date with what we're getting up to in nursery!
