Recycling Week 2020
Recycling week started 21st – 25th. Here at Blackberries, we are all about “Going Green”. All three of our settings have got the children to design their own recycling bins ready for recycling week. We had a competition based on which family brought in the most plastic water bottles. We had targets above the bins for the children to aim for and extra point were awarded if you hit bullseye.
We ran educational sessions throughout the week, teaching the children why we recycle but also the importance behind protecting our planet. We partnered with WRAP, and they provided us with interactive videos about recycling and upcycling. The children had plenty of fun upcycling the plastic water bottles into; musical instruments, model cars, plant pots, bird feeders and so much more.
The Pre-school bubble made traffic lights using upcycled cardboard tubes from our #recyclingweek2020. These were used in our “construction area”, and educational sessions were running so the children understood the traffic light system understanding, STOP, Amber, GO 🚦.
The Unders’ bubble have been upcycling paper plates and cardboard tubes, turning them into music shakers. The children enjoyed using these in our music time, and plenty of noise was made. Meanwhile the Pre-school bubble upcycled cardboard tubes to make train tunnels. There were different tracks around the room, and we ran educational lesson where we spoke about the shapes of the tunnels and what they’re used for.
Towards the end of recycling week, the children upcycled the plastic water bottles collected from #recyclingweek2020 and turned them into plant pots. At Blackberries, our children love being outdoors, so we ran educational lessons outside learning about the different aspects of gardening but also the science behind plant growth.
Total Plastic Bottles Recycled by Peterborough Nursery:
120
Total Plastic Bottles Recycled by March
Nursery:
98
Total Plastic Bottles Recycled by Wisbech Nursery:
150
Links to EYFS areas of learning:
- Personal, Social and Emotional – Self-confidence and Self-awareness (30-50months)
- Communication and Language – Speaking (22-36months)
- Physical development – Moving and handling (22-36months)
- Literacy – Writing (22-36months)
- Mathematics – Shape, space and measure – (16-26months)
- Understanding the World – People and Communities (30 – 50months) & The World (22-36months)
- Expressive Arts and Design – Exploring and Using Media and Materials (30-50months) & Being Imaginative (16-26months)
Fun Fact: Plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to decompose!
Here at Blackberries Forest School is a big part of our daily and weekly routine. It allows for children to lead their learning, with practitioners answering and supporting their questions and interests.
Recently the children have taken part in numerous activities which consisted of clay modelling, leaf threading, exploring mud and other natural materials but most importantly it consisted of having fun. Forest School allows children to become curious about the world and to ask lots of questions, creating children who are keen to go to school to learn more.
This month saw Peterborough’s first full day at Forest school. The children had loads of fun in the “mud kitchen”, creating plenty of mud pies. The children also lead a gardening activity on our vegetable patch and even found some potatoes. The children explored the different smells and textures of the herb garden and were amazed how plants smelt so good. After walking around our Forest School, we noticed a few bugs without homes, so the children got great pleasure in becoming creative and building our new bug friends’ homes.
The Under’s bubble at Wisbech enjoyed exploring the Forest area, making leaf prints, and using the binoculars to explore and understand the different species that live in our Forest. We ran and educational session on each specie we had found, learning the different animal kingdom it came from. The Pre-school bubble went on a very wet and muddy leaf hunt in our mini forest school session this morning (Rain won’t stop our children 😃). We went on a hunt for all different coloured leaves and we tried to find the biggest we could. We then warmed up with a nice cup of hot chocolate and some warm toast for snack.
Links to EYFS areas of learning:
- Personal, Social and Emotional – Self-confidence and Self-awareness (30-50months) & Managing Feelings and Behaviour (22-36months)
- Communication and Language – Listening and Attention (30-50momths) & Speaking (22-36months)
- Physical Development – Moving and Handling (22-36months) & Health and Self-Care (22-36months)
- Mathematics – Shape, space, and measure (16-26months)
- Understanding the World – The World (30-50months)
- Expressive Arts and Design – Exploring and Using Media and Materials (30-50months)
Fun Fact: A Caterpillar has 12 eyes!
Educational Activities
At Blackberries this month we have ran an array of educational lessons incorporating the fun activities each day. Our children explored farm animals in our “small world area”, talking about what each animal was called but also what noises they make. The children turned our sensory tray into an arctic theme using upcycled shredded blue paper, including our arctic animals set. We educated the children on the ways of reusing paper and also the importance of recycling to protect our planet. The younger children have been exploring a Zoo themed sensory tray and practising their animal noises. Others experimenting with sounds using musical instruments in the sensory room, learning how to make the different noises each instrument makes.
Links to EYFS areas of learning:
- Communication – Speaking (8-20months)
- Understanding the World – The World (22-36months)
- Expressive Arts and Design – Exploring and Using Media and Materials (22-36months)
