August Newsletter 2022

August has been a busy month and what lovely weather we have had to enjoy all the great activities.

We have been enjoying time in our Nature gardens for Forest School sessions while reading the Story Walters Wonderful Web.  The children loved the story and enjoyed being able to go around the nature garden looking for shapes in the environment. They used the woven shapes to match items around the garden and go on shape hunts to see what they could find. With the warmer weather, they have been making their own sun catchers using the petals from the old roses and freezing them. Once frozen the children put them around the garden and watched them glisten in the sun.

All our settings have been taking part in our Out and About trips. The children have been to Ferry Meadows and Rings End Nature Reserve. While out and about the children went on bug hunts, looking at the animals in the water, exploring the open spaces and even had a picnic eating their lunches while out.

After the children had finished with their picnics, as a group the children discussed the importance of protecting our planet. As an activity, we all went litter picking whereby we cleared a total of 23 plastic bottles, 6 plastic packets and so much more. Later in the afternoon, we experienced some rain showers, and the children were excited to discuss the rain cycle and how we use rainwater to help our plants and crops grow; we were even lucky enough to see a combine harvester cutting the fields and a tractor taking hay bales away.

The Babies have been developing their fine motor skills through sensory activities where they have squeezed and moulded different textures using their hands and their senses. The children loved splashing in the water and extended the activity by using containers to fill and pour.

The children have also been learning all about Summer and exploring with buckets and spades, metallic shapes looking at their reflections and making ice creams using sprinkles, ice cream cones and different coloured rice to support the different coloured ice creams.

The children have also been very active in learning about balance and coordination, grasping control of our whole-body movements. They practised using alternate feet when climbing, assessing the high slide independently and enjoying zooming down the slide as they complete it.

Our Toddlers have been busy baking throughout August. The children have been building their own sandwich this week as part of our new High Tea option, supporting children with their independence. Furthermore, all children had the opportunity to experience new toppings, and fillings where some children tried Marmite! They either loved it or hated it. Bread rolls were also baked and enjoyed at lunchtime and the children particularly enjoyed making cookies.

NB: our allergen policy was followed while children try new foods.

Toddlers have also enjoyed the book ‘Dear Zoo’ and they have made a range of different artwork whilst looking at the pictures in the book and using the zoo animals through their play activities.

The children took part in music and movement activities stomping like elephants and roaring like lions. They also had a fantastic time during their forest school sessions where they explored the forest looking for birds with binoculars and built a den using sticks and tarpaulin and discussed what they could see and hear.

Another book the Toddlers have enjoyed is ‘What the ladybird heard on holiday’. The children made different characters from the book for their display boards and loved reading the story at different points of the day. The children have been exploring different messy play, linking into summer and going to the zoo, discussing what their favourite animals are.

Preschool have continued their under the sea theme, making their own versions of the sea creatures for display boards, having lots of water play with different sea creatures and learning about their habitats in the sea. In the sand, they have been using the different scoops and moulds of the animals that we have. The children loved playing under the sea bingo and being able to draw their own favourite sea creatures.

The Preschool children have also been reading the story Hullabaloo at the Zoo and talking about their own experiences visiting the zoo with family and friends. They have described the animals and talked about where they live in the wild and what they eat. The children have used a range of different mark-making resources to paint and draw their own zoo animals and were proud to see them displayed on the wall.

The children have also been experimenting in the garden, creating obstacle courses, engaging in challenging loose parts play promoting risk-taking behaviour. Ideas and thoughts were exchanged about working together as a team to ensure the successful completion of a task. The children’s learning was taken inside whereby they enjoyed working as a team to create a train track, extending their interests and working closely with a small focus group to ensure that all the children were included and involved in the never-ending learning opportunities on offer.