Month: April 2024

Construction

This week in the construction area we have been looking at castles and bridges 🌉 🏰. I have been encouraging the children to plan what they are going to build first, by drawing their ideas and planning what blocks they are going to need to make their ideas real. The children started with castles using a box cardboard box and the blocks to make it bigger we spoke about the different things castles have like turrets and a moat and a child said some have a draw bridge as the door. We began looking on the iPad at different types of bridges such as pedestrian, car and rail bridges. The children created their own bridge that even had an underground tunnel! The children then used a number pallet to measure their Bridge to see how tall it was and if it was big enough to have a river underneath.

Art Area

This week in the art area we have been focusing on the very hungry caterpillar 🐛. We used different coloured paper and pens to create and cut out all of the food that he eats and then added them in order into green paper plates.

Woodwork

In woodwork this week the children have been making a box.  We have been working together following the steps on what we need to do to build our box. First we started off by making sure we had the right amount of pieces then went onto cutting them to correct sizes. After this we were able to stick the pieces together and put on our door hinge. The children showed good use of fine motor skills during this.

 

Baking Area

We have been very busy in the baking area this week with Mairi.  The children have made soup, flapjacks and cornflake cakes. This has allowed the children to build lots of different skills such as food hygiene, safety when using knives, measurements and following a recipe. ❤️

This week Sarah has and the children have been baking freshly made rolls and bread to enjoy with our lunch. Cooking covers all areas of the curriculum, the children read the recipe, counted, measured and estimated the ingredients.  They used tools and utensils to mix, pour and cook the bread in the bread machine.  Cooking gives the children a chance to explore texture, shape and form of the cooking process and provides endless opportunities for conversation and development of language.

Outdoors

This week in the garden we have built a den! Using old pallets, the children used their amazing risk assessing skills to secure the pallets to the trees using cable ties which displays their strong fine motor skills! They then tested each pallet by giving it a wee jiggle to ensure it was steady and safe. Then to make it more “home-like” the children asked for a door and a window which we then cut out! This den now creates limitless opportunities for imaginative play and supports each child’s social skills. What an excellent job you have all done! This area is becoming more and more impressive with all your fantastic ideas! 🤩💡

Gross motor Area

This week in the gross motor area we have developed the gross motor area. We have added goals for football and created more space for the children to do obstacle courses and gross motor activities. This week the children participated in an obstacle course practising their hand eye coordination and balance skills. We also done the limbo lowering the rope to make it more challenging.

Small world

In the small world area we have been looking at the book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. The created caterpillars with our names on them, developing our writing skills and pencil grip. We also made transient art butterflies  using different coloured wooden shapes , the children were able to make the wings symmetrical.  We then used the story cards to be able to retell the story in our own words developing our language .

 

 

Outdoors

Spring is here and the garden is getting prepared! 🌺 The children have helped create a nice wee quiet space to relax and watch the world go by from the top of the garden. Using key skills such as gross motor skills, design, and communication, everyone worked very hard and contributed loads! With only a few finishing touches needed, the children have impressively created their own area in the garden to grow and develop. Always impressed by these wonderful minds 🌱🌈

Fine motor area

This week in the fine motor area the children have been exploring families and self portraits. The children drew their own self portraits, they used mirrors to identify their features on their face. The children then explained who was in their family and drew a picture of them.

Malleable Area

In the malleable area we have been using the book “there’s a monster in your book” we created our own monster using playdough and added pom, poms, pipe cleaners and googley eyes. We used our fine motor skills manipulating the dough into different shapes.

Woodwork

In woodwork  the children’s choice was to follow what they were drawing on their pictures and then designing them onto the wood. We then cut out the pieces of Wood sanded them down and then covered them with colourful buttons and sparkly gems.

 

Art Area

This week in the art area we have been creating our own Elmer elephants using tissue paper. We have been using the elephant to trace or draw round and then added lots of different coloured tissue paper. We have spoke about what we like about the story and what shapes and colours we can see too 🐘

Acorn Room

Pool party in the acorn room the children had fun splashing and exploring the props. The children laughed and sang songs.

STEM

This week in the stem area we have been exploring space. The children helped to make and melt ice and explore the colours that looked like the galaxy. We also used balloons and paint to create planets in our solar system that we found in a space book. As the week came to an end we made spaceships to fly around all of the planets 🚀 🌍 🪐