The children have had a great time outdoors so far this term. With plenty cold and wet weather days at the start of term we have been very appreciative of the additional warm and waterproof outdoors suits purchased recently. We continue to encourage independence when putting on outdoor coats and suits. There was lots of puddle jumping, pouring, filling and creating water ways with pipes and buckets. Our helpful janitors have been creating a new storage area for our outdoors loose parts. This gives children access to a variety of materials to use in their play, often working together with their friends to build dens and obstacle courses. Using teamwork, their imaginations and problem solving skills they create a variety of challenging play opportunities using ladders, crates, tyres and planks of wood.
“I can go really fast”. “You can only go when the sign is green”. “This says stop”
We have a range of balance bikes, pedal bikes, scooters and trikes for the children to use outdoors. Children know the importance of wearing helmets to keep them safe on the wheeled vehicles and are learning to be aware of their surroundings to ensure they keep themselves and their friends safe.
Using real resources such as vegetables and fruits in the mud kitchen gives children opportunities to explore real life experiences and to find ways to use cutting tools safely. Through the children’s conversations they have been exploring early measure language as part of their role play scenarios.
“I’ve got a small carrot”. “No, a medium one”. “It’s a big one, we need to cut it”.
Children have been helping to plant seeds recently. They have planted strawberry plants in the school polycrub and carrot seeds outdoors. They will continue to plant more seeds this week and help care for these as they grow. We also have a variety of storybooks about growth, seeds and life cycle in the story corner at the moment.
Enjoying snack outdoors in the sunshine!
The children were very keen to help staff and use their own initiative in constructing a play table for the Duplo using real tools.
The children enjoyed having a ‘bug hunt’ and exploring the playpark on a walk around the local community.
Story of the week so far this term:
Week 1: I Did See a Mammoth! By Alex Willmore
Week 2: Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel
Week 3: Pete the Cat and his Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly & James Dean
Week 4: The Enormous Turnip Ladybird Story