Another fantastic month here at Blackberries where the children took part in a range of educational learning opportunities both inside and outside the setting. We have incorporated special days celebrated throughout April which have included Easter, World Earth Day, and Ramadan.
One of our focus stories this month has been ‘Busy Growing’. The children have been looking at the environment around them and what they can see growing and what we can grow. The children have planted their own French green beans and watched them grow over the month, measuring how tall they are and discussing the life cycles of plants.
We have also held a Forest School Day for the Pre-School children where the staff and the children enjoyed a fun filled day learning new skills and developing their teamwork. The children were not fazed by the heavy rain and helped to build a den to keep themselves dry. They showed good listening and understanding as the fire pit was lit and they cooked hot cross buns and drank hot chocolate to warm themselves up. The children made potions after collecting natural items to add to their pots and they also made magic wands using sticks that they found, wrapping wool around them. They also enjoyed making natural bracelets with flowers and leaves that they had collected from the floor of the forest.
Understanding the World
Talk about what they see, using a wide vocabulary
Physical Development
Show a preference for a dominant hand
Literacy
Enjoys sharing books with an adult
Baby Unit
Our babies have shown lots of interest in exploring paints, learning how to hold the brushes, and exploring the feel of the paint, which has developed the children’s sensory skills. The children explored the water tray outside enjoying the use of pouring and splashing skills. Themed yellow tuft trays have also been accessed to represent chicks and colour recognition promoted.
While sensory skills have been a core outcome the children have also had many activities to develop fine and gross motor skills, which has supported them to grasp objects and become more confident moving around both indoors and outdoors.
Our babies also focused on the topic, a day on the farm where they created their own versions of farms, explored sensory trays with different animals and made their own animals using a variety of mark making opportunities. The babies especially loved having tractor play, using the tractors to move in all different directions and on different surfaces, whether it be in the garden, in paint or in the sand pit.
Communication and Language
Copy what adults do taking turns in conversations and activities. Try to copy adult speech and lip movements.
Physical Development
Reach out for objects as co-ordination develops
Personal, Social and Emotional
Develop friendships with other children
Toddler Unit
Our Toddlers have shown an interest in numbers inside and out, so number lines were created and lots of counting activities have taken place. A big interest was in water play and this was developed in forest school, with the creation of fishing with sticks and catching the rain in tuft trays. Also, while in Forest school the children explored the different textures, sights and sounds within the forest.
Yoga sessions have been taking place and the children have learnt different animal poses which they used by going on imaginary journeys. This enhances their physical skills, expressive arts and design and uses their imaginations. As the weather begins to warm up the children have spent longer periods of times outdoors. They had great fun making daisy chains and explored our natural environment to boost their understanding of the world.
Toddlers also learnt about different days out exploring activities related to the zoo, farm, circus, and castles. Toddlers have also engaged in the topic, a day on the farm. They created their own farm scenes, pretended to be different animals around the room, whether they were joining in with music and movement or with the farm book. They looked at the different features of animals and insects they might find on the farm and talked about the differences we have between them and ourselves.
Physical Development
Explore different materials and tools
Communication and Language
Copy your gestures and words
Literacy
Enjoys sharing books with an adult
Pre-School Unit
Preschool have been busy with their topic ‘A Day at the….’ Where they learnt about castles, the zoo, circus, and farms. Their learning outcomes have been extended through taking part in activities and developing their knowledge. Lots of new descriptive words have been learnt, which has extended the children vocabulary. One of the favourite weeks has been learning about the circus with different colours and the circus activities they took part in during music and movement sessions.
With better weather throughout April the children have been outdoors making lots of mud pies and potions in the mud kitchen and we have developed their interest in the water by sliding vehicles down slides and developing their interests. An Easter egg hunt took place around the garden and egg races were held during PE sessions which developed the children’s physical skills.
Gardening club sessions have taken place where they planted bulbs and seeds and have been growing cress. Children have also shown an interest in mark making and painting flowers.
Preschool have been exploring the story ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ and participated in several activities about the animals in the book. They had a core table set up which had been all about the farm, so the children could re-enact the story. They also looked at how things grow, looking at flowers and trees in the garden and created their own spring flowers.
Personal, Social and Emotional
Play with one or more other children, extending and elaborating play ideas
Communication and Language
Use a wider range of vocabulary
Mathematics
Link numerals and amounts: for example, showing the right number of objects to match the numeral, up to 5
Understanding the World
Talk about what they see, using a wide vocabulary
Physical Development
Collaborate with others to manage large items, such as moving a long plank safely, carrying large hollow blocks
