This week’s extra activities

Cooking

The children made ‘egg muffins’ during cooking this week. The simple ingredients were eggs, milk, red peppers and tomatoes. First a couple of children carefully helped to crack the eggs – this is quite tricky for younger children, so the adult was on hand to make sure no shell went into the bowl! They discussed where eggs come from. One child said “Sainsbury’s”. This led to discussion about how eggs get to Sainsbury’s and where they originally come from. They used our safety knives to cut the red peppers and tomatoes. This prompted talk about whether they liked the ingredients and whether they had tried them before. They talked about how we are all individuals and what one person really likes, another may really dislike but that this is ok and it’s good to try things to find out.  Once the peppers and tomatoes were chopped they all had a turn at mixing them in with the eggs. The mixture was poured into the muffin trays and popped into the oven by the grown-up. They chatted about how the mixture would change with heat and how ovens get very hot and that they must not touch them and only do cooking with a grown-up.  There was a smell of baking throughout the Pre-school and the children talked about what had happened to the liquid mixture when they were brought out of the oven and left to cool. Finally, the children tasted the muffins with their snack this morning. There are so many processes involved in cooking. It is great for learning about cause and effect, shape, space and measure, counting, hand-eye co-ordination and safe use of tools and equipment, using all of your senses, to name but a few. Most of all, it can be really good fun and the results can be delicious.

Woodland exploration

We are lucky to be able to access the woodland area at the top of the school grounds twice per week.  This gives the children a different experience and they are able to really immerse in the natural environment.  On this week’s visit, as well as exploring the natural environment, the children learnt about keeping safe by navigating their way around obstacles, including tree branches, twigs, and things on the floor.  As they looked around they noticed the shapes that appear in the natural world, such as ’round’ pebbles and ‘square’ wooden blocks. As the children develop their understanding of shape, we introduce 3D names; so sphere and cube will be introduced on future visits. Sadly, as with many areas of the environment, there was some litter in the woods. Our children became ‘litter pickers’, helping to collect anything that didn’t belong in the natural environment. They talked about what should happen to litter, how it can harm animals and how long it could take to rot down if not disposed of correctly.

The Pre-school Team