Since coming back to nursery we have been very busy preparing for spring by working together to tidy up the garden area, sharing space while planting bulbs outdoors and indoors and learning about flowers, plants and insects. Preparing for spring helps us to become aware of different seasons and the passing of time.
We emptied some old compost onto the mud area and flattened it down. James helped to spread it out using the shovel. Digging like this is great for developing shoulder, arm and core strength which is needed for writing activities. James counted how many shovelfuls he moved and said it was “100”!
During digging we found lots of little insects! We had a discussion about what this creature could be. It looked soft and squashy. Freddie though it might be a caterpillar, Max asked “will it bite?” and Henry wondered if it would move if he touched it. We put it back in the ground so it was safe and found out more about caterpillars and moths later by finding some books.
Becoming aware of nature is important as it helps us to understand our environment. Sharing our ideas and discussing our thoughts with each other is a vital literacy skill that we will continue to develop throughout our school years.
Maisie, Micah and William spent a lot of time discussing insects that they found, the textures of the soil and grass and wondering where the insects were going. William thought the worms would “like to stay in the soil because they have no eyes and it’s dark.”
Freya explored different seeds that she found in the tuff spot and looked at a planting book to help her decide which seeds she had found and how to plant them. “I think I have a bean like this! I need to put it into the pot and cover them over, maybe I can use some little stones and some compost.”
After planting the bulbs outdoors we are now noticing that they are growing! We have learned that plants need sunshine and water to help them grow and that we need to be gentle to them when exploring. Maisie, Maggie and Freya discussed the plants. “You can’t see the roots, they are under the soil and now the flower is pretty!” said Freya. “Oh look dis one is stripey!” Said Maisie. “And is has nectar!” said Freya.
We have heard some great describing words this week when discussing our flowers, words such as “spiky, jaggy, stripey, round, squashy!”
Helping to grow plants both outdoors and indoors, knowing what they need to grow and learning the names for their basic parts is an important science skill.
Our indoor planting has been popular too. Ertie chose a purple shovel and counted 10 scoops into the cylinder to cover his seed. He thinks it “will grow right big.”
Lottie helped Miss Simpson cut and tie the string for everyone’s names. She thought the plants were maybe sleeping.
Our planting activities and the books about spring have been great inspiration for some beautiful mark making this week.
Ertie and Ali used flower pictures as inspiration.
Sophie, Sophia and Freya chose to create lots of different flower pictures.
And Bobby, Harry and Alfie chose really big bits of paper to create their gardening and growing pictures.
There will be more beautiful spring inspired mark making in next week’s blog!
And finally we said happy 4th birthday to Ali 🙂
