St Andrew’s Day was celebrated this week with a special snack of warm mini haggis pies and Scots stories and songs. We have been making the most of the lovely weather this week and have had lots of fun in our outdoor space. Children have been developing their gross motor skills by playing on our ride on toys, climbing, sliding, rolling, pushing and pulling our giant rocker and by digging in our mud kitchen area. Some children made a helicopter together, using cardboard boxes. They even made sure it had a winch. It has been very well used all week and has been a great stimulus for imaginative play. The children have also been using their imaginations and problem-solving skills to use toys in different ways. Outside, the pincer sticks have been used as fishing rods to collect lots of different sized and shaped objects. This has been a great way to develop the children’s fine motor skills. The children have also been giving outdoor musical performances and creating their own games and outdoor stories, using the play equipment to hide from trolls, climb mountains and catch sharks. After all that fresh air the children have also been enjoying sharing stories together in our cosy indoor spaces.

This week we have been enjoying listening to and learning Scottish songs, like Three Craws. We have also been exploring the Scots language through Scottish  poetry. Next week we will be having a  celebration  of Scotland, with Scottish music, songs, poetry and traditional foods.

In our outside space the children found some ice which they enjoyed exploring. They pushed on it and it broke into pieces which they could see through and ” see little round circles in”. They thought the ice pieces were ” really, really cold” and “very slippery”.

The children are really enjoying playing turn-taking games, such as the Shopping List game and Dominoes as well as creating their own games with cars. They have also developed their imagination and team work skills by creating an outdoor obstacle course together.

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