Welcome all our new Nest families

We are already a month into the New Year and hasn’t it flown by!  I would like to officially welcome all our new Nest families to our first blog post of the term. I am pleased to say that all our new children are settling in brilliantly, bonding with the staff and enjoying the excellent range of resources that we have to offer. Over the past month we have got to know our new babies, their routines, likes, dislikes and cheeky personalities. We have offered a wide variety of activities to all our children to get stuck into: water play, mark-making in tea grains, exploring flour, shaking musical instruments, looking through coloured viewers, singing, blowing bubbles and much more!

Of course it wouldn’t be Free Rangers without each child being formally introduced to ‘Gary the Goose’, ‘Stanley the Cockerel’, ‘Scooby the Horse’ and all the mud that comes with them! We have been for many walks around the farm, with non-walkers enjoying the view from the comfort of the buggies and walkers being encouraged to splash in puddles, walk on different terrains and meet and greet the animals.

Our older Rangers have taken the newbies under their wing, role modelling excellent behaviour and sharing their toys as well as their rice cakes!  From these children we have noticed a particular climbing interest this month and have provided toddle boxes to crawl, walk and climb over steering this fascination away from the tables! We are planning on turning ‘The Nest’ into a soft play extravaganza over the next couple of weeks to further this interest but with a soft landing.

May I please remind our Nest parents that we are creating a ‘family tree’ board and would appreciate any pictures of yourself, child, family or even pets and anyone who is special to your child. (Cat and I have already threatened a few of you that we will start snapping as you come up the stairs… be warned!)

Any questions you might have, please never hesitate to ask,

Lisa

Paint Good Enough To Eat

The beginning of September has brought lots of fresh faces to the Nest all of whom I am pleased to say are settling well. After chatting to each child’s parents, a common theme amongst them was their child puts everything in their mouth; food, sand, food, paint, food, toys! As a result I have experimented with different activity ideas to extend my messy play repertoire... Edible Finger paint seemed the excellent mix (no pun intended) of messy play and mark making with the added bonus that it is safe to eat and included all natural ingredients. My idea was to use a variety of fruit or vegetables that would add their colour to the mixture giving us an array of coloured paints. Blackberries were an obvious choice for the vast quantity that have appeared around nursery in recent ‘blackberry picking expedition’ weeks. When mixed with flour and water (wheat free due to allergies) this made a delicious purple colour, however not as tasty as it looked! My next choice was beetroot, however after careful consideration, I decided sending pink stained babies home wasn't the best idea, so opted for the juice from an orange.

The process of making the paint turned out to be just as fascinating for the children as the finished product. Sitting on the floor ladened with bowls, whisks, water, flour (extra flour for when the previous flour was tipped over the floor) and fruit, we got to work. The children laughed with delight as flour was sprinkled from a height in to the bowl, I added the fruit and water encouraging the children to use their whisks or hands to mix, stir and squeeze. Making this for the first time I was pleasantly surprised at how well the colour took and will definitely be repeating this activity with other ingredients.

It was now time for the messy part! I poured each mixture in turn onto the table and placed a variety of brushes alongside letting the children choose how, and if they would like to take part. Each child adopted a different approach, some got stuck in with both hands moving them in random motions across the table, one child picked up a brush making circular motions and another used one finger then looked slightly disgusted! Mark making is important for many reasons; as children develop it may be used to tell stories or express feelings, write or draw a picture and sometimes it is just an outlet for pure physical enjoyment. Babies’ random movements, whether in paint or with a crayon, will develop as they gradually realise they can take control of the marks they make. By providing children with a variety of mark making opportunities can help them develop imaginatively, creatively and physically.

Please try this at home!

Lisa

"Little Drops of Water, Little Grains of Sand"

In recent sunny (and the occasional not so sunny) weeks, our cubs from the Nest and Warren have shown particular interest in sand and water. Filling, emptying, mixing, pouring, SPLASHING! Inside and outside, if there is a chance to get wet our little water magnets will scout it out! The idea that water or milk must stay in a tommee tippee is a common misconception amongst adults. What we see as a simple tool to keep our children hydrated, they see as a tool for exploration (and not just at our patience). How much water can I shake out the tippee? The more I shake the more I can splash. If I hold it upside down I can watch the water trickle out. I wonder how far I can spread my milk? These are just a few choice games our children like to play. Although we do encourage drinking from the cups, equally letting them experiment helps to connect thoughts and ideas.

Sensory experience is an integral part to children's learning and we have encouraged their interest in water and sand by using both their hands and feet to explore the environment: splashing in puddles, building sand castles, and mark-making with sticks, to name a few. This helps to make connections and create concepts about the world.

To pursue their love of all things sandy, we had a trip to Somer Valley Park. Watching our youngsters delight as they ran/crawled/shuffled towards the water fountain made me wonder how something so simple can bring so much enjoyment? The answer, I assume, is MESS. The children loved dipping their hands in the water and bending down to watch it wash over the edge, trying to catch the movement. Some added sand, feeling the different textures between their fingers. Interestingly, one child went straight to the source of the water, intrigued and fascinated to see how it worked and where it came from. As sand and water play is open-ended, the child determines the direction and path of his or her own play. Whether this is digging to Australia or simply pouring from one jug to another, this freedom clears the way for the child to build developmental concepts.

With water at our fingertips (and quite often dripping on our heads) I am excited to see what our little wonders decide to do next.

Lisa