This week’s activities

Visit from a Mixologist – making mocktails

We were really lucky to have another parent come into the setting to talk about their job as a mixologist. First of all she set out the equipment she needed to create the mocktails. She explained to the children how she had to prepare before she could start to make anything by tying back her hair so there was no chance of hair getting into the drink, washing her hands and putting on an apron to make sure everything was kept clean and tidy. She had a menu of drinks that are available and asked the children to choose the one they liked the look of. The children carefully looked at the pictures and pointed to the ones that they thought looked yummy. She then went on to explain what the utensils are used for, including a shaker, strainer, peeler, stirer and lemon squeezer. She showed the children how she measured out the correct amounts using her special measuring cups. There were a variety of ingredients, including coffee, chocolate, peach and melon. The children smelt each one, deciding if they liked it and what they would put in their ideal drink. The children were very excited when she showed them how she smoked some woodchips and how by placing a glass over the smoke the smell is trapped in the glass, which adds a distinctive flavour to the drink. She talked about using tweezers to pick up the dried fruit to decorate, such as lemon and orange peel and rose petals. She used Lego bricks in a shaker to replicate the sound of the ice moving around as the children had a good shake and showed them how to pour the Lego into a strainer so that the liquid goes into the glass and the ice (Lego) stays out of the drink. The children were presented with some drawings of empty glasses so that they can design their own mocktails. How lucky are we to have such great parents who are willing to share their skills with the children. A BIG THANK YOU to Steph.

If you would like to share the job you do or a skill you have with the children, please let us know. We would love to hear from you. Please email Sam and Donna at office@anthonyropernursery.co.uk.

Preparing our herb garden

We are continuing to develop our herb garden. Preparation is key. Over the winter months the soil was turned over and a covering placed on it to try and prevent weed growth. However, as nature does, they found a way to grow back. This meant that the children needed to help to dig out the weeds and turn over the soil. The next stage was to add some top soil ready for our delivery of hardy herbs that we will plant over the coming days. We have chosen hardy herbs as the children will be learning what they need to grow and survive in our ever-changing climate. We have initially chosen lavendar, rosemary and chives. Lavender and rosemary survive well without too much water, something that will be important when the Pre-school is closed in the summer holidays. All of the plants encourage pollinators to visit them and lavender and rosemary are well known for their scent. We will be able to use all of the plants in cooking/sensory activities and the children will be able to see how they attract wildlife to our garden.

There are photos on our website of the children engaged in the activities.

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

The Pre-school Team