Key Topics/Themes, what has gone well? (Child led focus)
Our themes this month have included the following, healthy eating, recognising different fruits and vegetables and learning what they do for our bodies. The Hindu festival Holi, a festival of colour where we explored colour, colour mixing to create new colours and naming them. Nature and learning about a frog’s life cycle. Mother’s Day, talking about families and people we love.
In the garden ‘aiming’ games have continued to be popular. Large three digit numbers were written on a pyramid layout of tyres on the ground. Children aimed into the tyres showing an interest in the digits and numbers which created a scoring system. All aiming for the top score of 100! This was adapted for Holi week where the tyres were colour coded and children aimed balls into named colours.
Children explored colour by colour coding the links. Brightly coloured plates were placed at the links tray and children spent time looking and matching colours either placing the links on the matching coloured plate or fixing the links together in the same colours, naming colours as they played.
Sticking and gluing with natural materials saw children exploring colour and texture creating collages. Many recognised and named the natural materials noticing colour, patterns, similarities and differences. Bending and cutting materials to achieve different effects.
Books/songs/group work/Forest School (Adult led activities)
Learning French! Singing songs we already know in French and new songs; Heads, shoulders knees and toes-tete, epaules, genou et pieds and Alouette, a song with annotations of a birds body-le bec, la tet, le cou, le nez, le dos. French nursery rhymes were played on the cd player and children recognised the tune, following actions and trying to sing along with the adults.
Songs that link with colours were sung to link with the festival Holi. Sing A Rainbow, Lavenders Blue, Bah, Bah, Pink Sheep! (Children chose the colour of sheep.) Driving In My Little Yellow Car.
Bug songs were sung linking with the changes in the weather and the increase in insects in the garden. We sang The Ants Go Marching, (a number song.) Incy Wincy Spider, There’s A Worm At The Bottom Of The Garden and I Think I’m Gonna Eat Worms! Our children have shown great enjoyment when singing these songs so we have continued to sing them each week since and added more to include wildlife. These include Two Little Dickie Birds, Five Little Speckled Frogs and Old McDonald whose farm was inhabited by wildlife and bugs, singing new words to a familiar song.
Our stories this week were, ‘The Enormous Turnip’ a story which explores sequencing, ‘Wow, Said Owl’ a story about colour, ‘Growing Frogs’ a story about the life cycle of frogs, ‘My Mum Is Fantastic’ a story about what mums do and ‘Super Worm’ a rhyming story with repeated refrains. (Attachment of book images)
Group works this month have been ‘buoyancy’ where children were invited to place fruits and vegetables into water and see what happens. (Blog) ‘Gloop’, children used pipettes to add food colouring to cornflour and make gloop. (Blog) ‘Textures’, children used crayons and paper to create rubbings on natural materials, rocks, leaves, feathers, wood and bark. Strengthening hands to hold the crayon on its side and talking about the texture and patterns made and seen. ‘Foam Alphabet Messy Play’ where children’s initial letters were sprayed onto the tough spot table with added glitter. Children were encouraged to recognise and name their letters and create the phonic sounds. Patting the mixture and smoothing it over the table children then made marks with their fingers some creating lines and circles, and some forming recognisable letters.