This month the children have been busy exploring our Autumn topic of Marvellous Me. This has been an exciting opportunity to get to know our children and their families as they have settled further into the term with us.
To try and explore the changes within our natural environment the children have been spending a lot of their time in the gardens, where they have organised a couple of walks around the environment. October has certainly dropped in temperature and provided us with a large amount of downpour which the children have been thrilled about, as this has led to a variety of exciting outdoor activities, such as puddle jumping and exploration.
The children have continued with their forest school sessions this month; they have been based around our book ‘A Forest’. Due to the book being based around trees, this book has tied in nicely to our current theme of Autumn, as we have been able to look at the trees, notice the differences, and talk about the colours and patterns that we can see.
Understanding the World
Explore collections of materials with similar and/or different properties. (3-4 years)
Expressive Arts and Design
Join different materials and explore different textures. (3-4 years)
Communication and Language
Be able to express a point of view and to debate when they disagree with an adult or a friend, using words as well as actions. (3-4 years)
Personal, Social and Emotional
Develop their sense of responsibility and membership of a community. (3-4 years)
Baby Unit
The Babies have been looking at pictures of their families and have made them their own family books to look at and begin to recognise those people who are familiar to them. The babies have also been exploring their senses through a variety of sensory activities which have been linked to Autumn and Halloween. Their favourite activities have been the coloured porridge oats where they have used their hands to explore the shaving foam with natural objects to evoke their curiosity.
The children have enjoyed taking parting part in foot painting, where they have been looking at their footprints, and turning them into butterflies. The group have all been displaying an interest in books, especially the look-and-feel books where they have been able to explore a variety of materials, as well as listening to the words read by the adult. Throughout the month Maths games have been of high interest to the children, they have been taking part in stacking and balancing games using the resources as well as their bodies.
Communication and Language
Constantly babble and use single words during play. (Birth to 3)
Understanding the World
Make connections between the features of their family and other families. (Birth to 3)
Personal, Social and Emotional
Establish their sense of self. (Birth to 3)
Toddler Unit
The Toddlers have been busy using mirrors to recognise themselves in and they have painted themselves using a range of different mark-making resources and colours. The children have learnt new vocabulary to describe themselves and their families and have enjoyed looking at the photographs of their family. The toddlers have also enjoyed outdoor play using their gross motor skills to climb on the climbing frame and the slide.
The children have been looking at different types of emotions using emojis, they have been able to identify the main emotions, including, happy, sad, and angry. Throughout the month the children have been looking at Autumn and talking about the different colours that we see during this time of year. The children have enjoyed using the paints to make their own Autumn leaves, and they have also spent a lot of time in the gardens exploring their natural surroundings.
This month the toddlers have been able to spend a lot of time in the media room, where they have been able to take part in PE games, and music and movement sessions. The children have massively benefited from their time in this area, and their concentration levels have also improved.
Communication and Language
Understand simple instructions like “give to nanny” or “stop”. (Birth to 3)
Personal, Social and Emotional
Notice and ask questions about differences, such as skin colour, types of hair, gender, special needs and disabilities, religion and so on. (Birth to 3)
Physical Development
Walk, run, jump and climb – and start to use the stairs independently. (Birth to 3)
Pre-School Unit
Our Preschoolers have been having fun learning about themselves and their friends. They have described themselves and learnt about their unique self through using the mirrors to look at their reflections and then using a range of different mark-making resources to draw their self-portrait. The children have also used playdough to create their ow faces and this has extended the topic to talk about their appearance and similarities and differences of their peers. The preschool children have also been listening to the story of The Colour Monster and exploring their feelings.
The Colour Monster activities proved to be very beneficial for the children, as there have been some challenges along the way with behaviours. The Colour Monster has allowed the children to express their feelings, and to understand why they could be feeling a certain way.
This month the children have been engaging well with the themes of Autumn, they have had the opportunity to explore different sensory trays involving leaves, rice, and conkers, and they have also been able to make their own Autumn tree using the playdough and leaves, this activity was carried out as a group, so they all had the opportunity to add their own ideas, and debate with their peers. As we moved onto our theme of Halloween, the children were very excited about the dressing up, they have been dressing as witches and pirates, this has sparked a lot of conversation and discussions between the children, and it has also enhanced some of the imaginative play we have been seeing within the room.
Communication and Language
Start to say how they are feeling, using words as well as actions. (Birth to 3)
Be able to express a point of view and to debate when they disagree with an adult or a friend, using words as well as actions. (3-4 years).
Start a conversation with an adult or a friend and continue it for many turns. (3-4 years)
Personal, Social and Emotional
Talk about their feelings using words like ‘happy’, ‘sad’, ‘angry’ or ‘worried’. (3-4 years)
Expressive Arts and Design
Explore different materials freely, in order to develop their ideas about how to use them and what to make. (3-4 years)
Show different emotions in their drawings and paintings, like happiness, sadness, fear etc. (3-4 years)
Understanding the World
Talk about what they see, using a wide vocabulary. (3-4 years)
Understand the key features of the life cycle of a plant. (3-4 years)