Another fantastic month at Blackberries, where the children have been exploring outdoor learning projects, but also learning through our educational play. The sun has been shining and the children have been excited to see that Spring is finally on its way. As a Childcare Group we have celebrated lots of memorable days in March with World Book Day, Global Recycling Day, Red Nose Day, St Patricks Day and National Frog Day.
As a Childcare Group all children have enjoyed celebrating St Patrick’s day and learning all about it. Our Toddler group enjoyed exploring a green sensory rice tray using different green objects within the tray encouraging words to describe what was in the tray promoting language skills. Our Pre-School group enjoyed making their own leprechaun pictures, drawing around their own hands, using scissors to cut out different shapes from different collage materials to make their pictures. Promoting young children to use scissors encourages independent movements of each finger.
EYFS link:
PD – Uses one-handed tools and equipment, e.g., makes snips in paper with child scissors. (30-50Months)
Communication and Language – Speaking – Learns new words very rapidly and is able to use them in communicating. (22-36 months)
Fun Fact – St Patrick’s Day has been observed by the Irish as a religious holiday for more than 1,000 years
Our Under 2’s unit have been enjoying Forest School sessions where they have been looking at the spring flowers that are beginning to push through our forest floor. The children were excited to collect some different coloured leaves and some different shaped twigs, which will be used in their sensory tray, bringing the outside in. Following on from this this children have shown an interest in transport, utilising a variety of educational activities to develop their language and mathematical skills. As a class the children made a car wash, discussing the different colours and the numbers of vehicles, categorising them into groups e.g., blue cars, red bikes, green trains. As an extended activity the children designed their own roads using the planks of wood to push their cars down and measuring how far they have travelled, seeing whose car travels the furthest.
EYFS link:
Communication & language- Speaking- Uses language as a powerful means of widening contacts, sharing feelings, experiences and thoughts- 22-36 months.
EYFS – Literacy – Interested in books and rhymes and may have favourites. (16-26 months)
Personal Social and Emotional Development – Making relationships – Interacts with others and explores new situations when supported by familiar person. (8-20 months)
As a Childcare Group we decided to participate in Global Recycling Day supporting our Going Green Ethos. Daily the children are encouraged to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and to support this we back it up with a variety of educational recycling games. Our Under Two’s unit enjoyed making marks on different up-cycled materials, using paintbrushes and their hands to mix the paints together and begin to make their own designs. Our Pre-School class used various up-cycled materials in their woodwork session discussing how to be safe when using woodwork tools, understanding the importance to wear eye protection.
EYFS link:
UTW – Shows care and concern for living things and the environment. (30-50Months)
FUN FACT: Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 tree’s, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water.
Our Toddler unit have had lots of fun learning through their play, extending their project of zoo animals. The children have used loose parts and playdough creating homes for the animals understanding new words to describe zoo animals and the habitat where they live. Following on from this, our Toddler class have enjoyed plenty of Forest School Sessions supporting outdoor learning experiences. We designed an activity where the Toddlers could use clay to mould into animals expressing what nose those animals might make. As an extended activity our Toddlers have been reading the book “Dear Zoo” linking this in with World Book Day.
EYFS link:
Understanding the World – The World – Enjoys playing with small world resources (22-36 months)
Communication and Language – Speaking – Learns new words very rapidly and is able to use them in communicating. (22-36 months)
In our Pre-School class the children have shown an interest in dinosaurs. They took part in educational activities cutting up-cycled egg cartons to use as dinosaur’s eyes, adding pipe cleaners as legs, finishing their designs by painting the dinosaurs. Following on from this, the children have extended their project ‘people who help us’ and ‘all about me’. As a group the children investigated the role of Firemen and how they keep us safe understanding the importance of their job. The children made a fire using orange shaving foam, taking turns to put out the fire using water in spray bottles.
Focusing on their project ‘all about me’ the children looked at themselves in mirrors and they drew their self-portraits. They have also discussed their families and where they lived, using a range of construction resources to build their own houses. Supporting our outdoor learning ethos, the children participated in an array of Forrest School sessions from planting seeds to searching for insects with the magnifying glasses.
EYFS link:
Understanding the World – People and Communities- Shows interest in different occupations and ways of life (30-50 months)
Communication and Language – Speaking – Uses vocabulary focused on objects and people that are of particular importance to them. (30-50 Months)
PSED – Keeps play going by responding to what others are saying or doing. (30-50Months)
Fun Fact – A butterfly has about 12,000 eyes
As a Childcare Group we also participated in Red Nose Day. The children took part in a variety of educational activities, making their own red noses, dressing up in colourful clothing to support the carnival theme, and exploring red themed sensory activities. We all enjoyed taking part in our music and movement activity dancing to Carnival Music, the children teaching our practitioners new dance moves.
EYFS link:
Expressive arts and design – imitate movement in response to music (30-50 months)
Understanding the world – recognises and describes special times or events for family and friends (30-50 months)
