The Investigation Hub at Sidney Grove
Week beginning 8th June 2026
Characteristics of Effective Learning
On Monday I observed a group of children using a rope to climb and then sliding down a grassy slope. They repeated this several times over and it was clear to notice their engagement levels were high. They were using gross motor skills to pull on a rope and co-ordinating their feet to move up a slope simultaneously! They were negotiating space between themselves and communicating with each other to take turns to slide down. Sometimes the children waited for a friend at the top and they slid down together…lots of lovely personal, social and emotional development at play! A beautiful snapshot of physical development at its finest!
Parents as Partners
This week we worked on activities based on our core text The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The children were intrigued to observe real caterpillars, looking carefully and using language such as ‘spiky’ ‘wriggling’ ‘climbing’ ‘shedding skin’ to describe what they saw.
‘‘They’re eating everything to grow strong!’
‘They are SO spiky!
‘They go strong and go into a butterfly!’
”They are wriggling and crawling to the top!’
The book lends itself to lots of 1:1 counting activities, learning the sequence of the days of the week and of course learning the life cycle of caterpillars. We used felt props to retell the story and the children are starting to retell some of the refrains independently, such as: ‘But, he was STILL hungry!’
In the model-making area the children practised their cutting skills using scissors to make butterfly wings. They decorated the wings and flew the butterflies all around Nursery and outside. Some children used playdough to roll small balls and create caterpillars. They then squashed the playdough to make butterfly wings.
On Tuesday the children tried a Yoga session. They learned the sun salutation sequence, talked about poses such as ‘mountain’ ‘downward dog’ and ‘cobra’ They listened to the bell chimes sounding three times to signal the start of the session and finished by relaxing on the mat and catching bubbles. They will continue with another session next week.
Outdoors Learning
We have been spending lots of time in the garden, and the children have been noticing more and more flowers coming into bloom. Some of the children have enjoyed carefully picking flowers and creating small bouquets for someone special.
A group of children also visited our allotment, where our volunteer, Elaine, has kindly been helping us plant flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The children have been excited to observe the progress of the beans they planted a few months ago. During their visit, they spotted some strawberries and correctly identified that they were not yet ready to eat because they were still green. The children are enjoying watching the plants grow and monitoring the changes each week.
Phew- a busy week! We hope you all have a lovely weekend!
Next week we will be sharing more learning about our Caterpillars, alongside exploring activities based on Belonging!
Our summer stay and play will take place on Thursday 2nd July, at either 9.15-10.30 or 1.15-2.30. There will be sign up sheets to let us know if you can make it!