Numbers Week

This week has been Numbers week. We have been particularly focussing on counting and recognising and ordering numerals. We hope you enjoy seeing some of our number focussed activities.

Bubbles

Today was a windy day - perfect for chasing bubbles, exploring reflections and observing changes.

We had a lovely time. 

Fairy Houses

A popular activity this week has been using a mix of different materials to build fairy houses. We have had to think hard about what materials to use for the different parts of the house and how to balance and put the materials together. Every house was different. We talked about the different textures and materials and how to use them.

Making Fairy Potions and Perfume

Last week we started our forest and fairy theme by making fairy potions and recipes. We used  our senses to match the colours and smell the different herbs and flowers.

We tried to write our perfume recipes too.

Forest School today inspired by Andy Goldsworthy

Today in our Forest School session we took inspiration from the artist Andy Goldsworthy.

We used the natural materials we found in our garden to make super patterns.

We found it tricky to put the stones in a neat circle so we used a hoop as a guide.

We hope you like our wonderful work.

Acting out a story together

We had a breezy sunny afternoon outside today. The picture shows a group of children who were playing together, completely absorbed in their role play game. They had dressed up independently; given each other parts in the story; and found some crates and a wheel barrow as props. They took them to the farthest corner of the garden where we have a large willow igloo and set up home.

They hardly noticed the adult taking pictures at all, and chattered away to each other, suggesting what would happen next and rearranging the props for each stage in the story, taking turns and listening and building on each others ideas.

We love to observe this sort of play in Early Years. When the children work together like this they are negotiating roles and agreeing ways to work together. They learn the skills to socialise and cooperate with their friends, how to respect the decisions of others and not always have their own way. These are all real foundations for them in the future.

Butterfly Release

We have been watching our caterpillars carefully as they have changed over the last two weeks. We've talked about the stages of their lifecycle, and we were fascinated when they started to emerge from the chrysalis this week.

Today it was time to release our butterflies into our garden so they can fly about and live on our plants we hope.

We were amazed and thrilled to see them go.