What a fantastic month the children have had with a range of different learning opportunities coupled with the excitement of Christmas. The children enjoyed performing their nativity and singing Christmas songs, with their parents watching them. Blackberries also hosted their very first Winter Wonderland, where the children had a special visit from Father Christmas and Mrs Claus.
As the weather has been changing the children have been fascinated exploring the ice and frost in our gardens. In the nature garden the children ran their fingers across the ice and frost hearing the grass crunch under their feet. They have also been making recipes in the mud kitchen with the items they have found in the garden.
Our Baby units have had lots of fun learning about the magic of Christmas and enjoying the stories “The Snowman” and “Dear Santa”. The children have made lots of Christmas artwork, exploring a variety of textures and smells within their winter themed sensory trays using rice and gloop. The children have also made pretend Christmas cakes with cloud dough and raisins and explored making their own wreaths using potatoes. They have especially enjoyed hearing all the Christmas songs, taking part in our music and movement sessions.
Personal, Social and Emotional
thrive as they develop self-assurance
Communication and Language
copy gestures or words
Physical Development
gradually gain control of their whole body through continual practice of large movements, such as waving, kicking, rolling, crawling and walking.
Understanding the World
explore materials with different properties.
Literacy
enjoy sharing books with an adult.
Our Toddler units have had a fantastic month preparing for Christmas with plenty of Winter themed activities. They have made their own decorations for the tree using paint, sequins and reindeer food practicing and developing their fine and gross motor skills using a potato masher to paint pictures and drawing large circles to create snowmen. The Children have also been making lovely Christmas cards and calendars using natural resources found in our Forest School for their parents/carers.
Physical Development
walk, run jump and climb and start to use the stairs independently.
Communication and Language
Start to develop conversation, often jumping from topic to topic.
Personal, Social and Emotional
grow in independence, rejecting help. Sometimes this leads to feelings of frustration and tantrums.
Understanding the World
talk about what they see, using a wide vocabulary.
Our Pre-School units have been busy learning about the different ways their friends celebrate Christmas with their families. They have been excited to share their experiences with their peers and had lots of fun decorating our large Christmas tree which was chosen by some of our pre-schoolers that went a trip to the local Nursery. The children have also been extremely busy creating some amazing Christmas artwork and display boards in the settings. They have used the outdoor environment to explore a range of activities including making Christmas decorations with natural resources and making reindeer food. All of the children did very well with their nativity play, singing the songs and dressing up.
Communication and Language
enjoys listening to longer stories and can remember much of what happens.
Physical
start to take part on some group activites which they make up for themselves or in teams.
Understanding the World
talk about the differences between materials and the changes they notice.
Expresive Arts and Design
draw with increasing complexity and detail, such as representing a face with a circle and including details.
