This week’s activities – week of 22 March 2021 

Robin Bubble 

With Easter fast approaching, an ‘Easter tree’ has appeared in the arts and crafts area.  This is to inspire the children to get creative with things relating to the Easter season. They have made saltdough Easter eggs, cardboard cut out eggs and string and balloon eggs.  Whilst the children have gained inspiration from the tree, they are never told what to make and how to make it.  Creativity comes from within and having their own ideas.  The process is far more important than the product and that is why you will not see production-line cards, eggs or anything else that has not genuinely come from the child’s own creativity. 

In their literature they have been enjoying some of the Pre-school’s story sacks with stories such as ‘Winny the Witch’ and the ‘Three Little Pigs’, as well as nursery rhyme puppets.  Children love props to support their story telling and re-enacting stories is a great way to develop their literary skills and love of reading.  The resources are available throughout the day, not just at circle times, and the children are often seen acting out their own stories, sometimes sticking to the original but often going off on their own magical journeys. 

The children have been growing sunflowers from seeds, using egg boxes as plant pots – which links in to our philosophy of re-using and recycling resources that would otherwise be thrown away.  After carefully nurturing them over the last couple of weeks, the sunflowers have been planted in our front allotment garden.  We are hopeful that they will survive (fingers crossed!) to become the tall beautiful plants beloved by bees and butterflies and eventually we will be able to use the seeds to plant new sunflowers next year, as well as using them to feed the local wildlife – watch this space. 

There have been lots of ring and team games this week; great for social interaction, turn-taking, music and movement and great fun.  These have included some very familiar ones, such as “What’s the time Mr Wolf”, “The Farmer’s in his Den”, “hide and seek”, as well as some less familiar ones, “Sandy Girl” and a “traffic light game”. 

The sun has finally come out at some points this week and the children have explored the images that are made by the sun reflecting off materials and making shadows, including their own – how amazing that your shadow can be taller than you.  

Outside they have also made dens using various materials. Great for planning, team building, creativity, having ideas, trial and error and resilience when things don’t quite go to plan.  

They have role played going to the circus or being a part of the circus.  All great fun! 

We have musical instruments available outside at all times. However, lots of things can make music, even the pots and pans in the mud kitchen.  The children independently formed a circle and began to sing familiar songs, whilst using their ‘instruments’ to play along.  Music is lovely for development on many levels, the rhyme and rhythm of music is fantastic for developing language skills, is important in early reading, is fantastic for wellbeing and brings children together in a shared response to something which is in us from birth; the need to move and be connected with each other. 

The children have been finding all sorts of resources to use to make prints, including potatoes and bubble wrap.  This has helped them to identify colours, to feel and then describe different textures, to share and take turns using tools and to develop their fine motor skills. 

They have been really lucky this week to be able to make ‘potions’ using lots of lovely roses that one of the team brought in from home.  This has helped them to learn the names of different parts of the plant and explore the different and beautiful colours in nature.  They then worked together to make their potions by mixing the roses with flour and soapy water. 

Wren 

Wren Bubble have also been talking about Easter and making Easter related crafts.  They have drawn Easter eggs, decorated them and then laminated them.  They are then using their lovely creations in an Easter egg hunt in the garden.  The inspiration is the season but the creativity and linking of festivals and traditions is their own.  It is sad that we aren’t able to do our annual Easter Egg Hunt but we can only hope that next year will bring better news and will allow us to take part in the activities that we are used to doing at special times of the year.  In the meantime, the children are still having fun and participating in traditions. 

Wren Bubble have also been making dens, using blankets, poles, pipes – anything they can think of that will help hold up the blanket so they can crawl inside.  Lots of lovely ideas, teamwork, co-operation, forward planning and resilience on display. Having dens and cosy places is also really important for children.  Sometimes they just need time and space to be quiet, to calm down or to have a chat with their friends. 

Also in the garden they have been looking for worms, talking about what the salt on our hands feels like to a worm (very painful!) and how we shouldn’t touch them.  This led to thinking about where worms like to live and how the children could build ‘houses’ for them to live in; discovering that they prefer cool shady places as opposed to hot sunny ones. Helping the children to understand the natural world, how we should all be doing our part to protect the natural habitat and developing those all important empathy skills. 

Along with looking for worms, they have been helping to re-position the bug hotel. They talked about the ‘golden rules’ for the bugs and how much it would cost for a night at the five star bug hotel, remarking that it would cost “one lady bug dollar to stay the night”. 

To run off some of that energy, they have created a ‘football obstacle course‘; weaving in and out with the ball and scoring at the end. Fantastic use of spacial awareness, control, teamwork, turn-taking and just great fun! 

Also outside, they used playdough in their imaginative and role play. The playdough became marshmallows on a stick around the camp fire, cupcakes from the bakers, and even dinosaurs who roared and stomped through the prehistoric swamp.  Playdough is fantastic on so many levels. Whilst it is great for imaginative and creative play, it has other benefits, such as helping develop strength in tiny hands and fingers which will help develop fine motor skills needed for writing, along with being lovely for sensory play, just squeezing, rolling and manipulating the dough gives children a calming, destressing experience. 

The children have focused on creating shapes to hang around the garden, decorating them with their own ideas, which makes them more interested and engaged. 

They have used the Lego which has many benefits, from maths to science, but is such a wonderful resource as the children create their own imaginary worlds using the tiny bricks.