This week’s activities

Please find below a summary of some of the activities the children have engaged in this week. The list is not exhaustive but gives you a snapshot of how the children spend their time here.

Personal, social and emotional development

Some children have returned to the setting after the six week summer holidays, others are just starting out on their first sessions at the setting. Neither of these events should be down-played for the huge emotional impact they have on young children. Leaving your family after six weeks, or for some, for the first time, learning new routines, being in new environments, meeting new people, are all enormous steps in young children’s lives. It is our responsibility to make this transition as smooth as it can be. The keyperson system ensures that children have a caring and responsive adult available to help them with this transition. As they begin to explore more independently, the children’s social skills also begin to develop.  We are always aware that this is a huge thing for children and in the first few weeks of term, this is vitally important and something that we focus on.

Mathematical development

Mathematical concepts are all around us. We do not need specialist equipment for children to experience hands-on maths in their environment.  However, there are some adult-led activities that support this development in specific areas.  Some of the children have been engaging in a dice game. In a small group, they throw the large dice to each other, taking it in turns to count the dots on the dice and then clapping out how many dots are shown when the dice comes to a stop. Other adult-led maths activities include counting songs. These really come to life when they include actions, such as ‘5 little speckled frogs’, with each child pretending to be a frog until it is their turn to hop into the pond – this song is excellent for counting forwards and backwards.  Props are also a fun way for engaging young children in stories and rhymes, whether counting or otherwise.

Language development

Songs and rhymes are a lovely way to share language with young children. They hear the rhythm and rhyme as they learn the song, listening to the sounds in words and how some of them rhyme with each other.  It is good to make up silly endings to familiar rhymes – you’d be surprised how quickly children learn that it is not the right word in the familiar song.

Outside play – large motor skills and role play

We have some large wooden blocks available in the garden that the children are able to access all of the time.  It is amazing what they build and then use in their role play. Manipulating the large bricks requires co-ordination and core strength. Putting them in the right place and adding to them needs planning and problem solving. Working with others on the same project requires teamwork and co-operation. This week, some of the children used the blocks to create a ‘bus’. Once they were happy with the bus, they went off on their travels.

The world around us

As the children were outside they noticed the clouds and this led to discussion around the weather. They thought about what happens when it rains and linked it back to their bus journey, thinking about what the driver would need to do to be able to drive the bus safely and they came up with the solution – wipers. Such clever children.

That’s it for this week.  We hope you have a lovely weekend.

The Pre-school Team