2-3: The Discovery Hub and 3-4: The Investigation Hub 

We cannot believe how quick this half term has gone by. It has been lovely to see how the new children have settled this term and reflect back on all of the events and experiences we have explored. After the holidays, we look forward to meeting the new children joining us in the nursery. As well as welcoming back the children after Easter with some children moving from the Discoverers (with Claire, Amy, Jodie and Ethan) to the Investigators (with Miss Goodrick and Terri).

Communication and Language

While observing the ducklings this week, we have introduced new vocabulary such as “webbed feet”, “beak” and “nostrils”. The children have then begun to use these terms when discussing with peers and staff about the duck’s appearance. We had the chance to watch the ducklings swim in water which was a great opportunity to see the webbed feet in action. The ducks had such a great time making a big SPLASH! As we reflected with the children on the experience of the ducklings, the children were able to remember lots of information about the ducks and the life cycle of our ducklings. We talked about what happened each day, linking to our knowledge of the days of the week, to discuss the main events such as “on Monday the eggs arrived” and “on Wednesday 2 more ducklings hatched”. Across the week, the children have shown great curiosity with the ducklings and developed the confidence to stroke and hold the ducklings.

Outdoor Learning/ Play and Exploring

We have enjoyed the lovely weather as the children are keen to explore in the garden. The children have been engaging in collaborative play as they take on roles of being patients and doctors. While acting out experiences, the children making connections to own experiences asking questions which were familiar to them. 

We have enjoyed engaging with games in the garden such as hide and seek and Easter Egg Hunts. Staff explained how to play the games and the children listened carefully and followed the rules. The children were very excited to find the eggs around the garden to place into their bags. Some children asking for clues “am I close?” and commenting “where eggs?”.

This week we have begun to plant some sunflower seeds. The children made own connections to previous experiences explaining to Miss Goodrick “we need to add water” and “we need small pots first”. The children carefully placed and covered the seeds and are excited to observe the progress over the coming weeks. During review time, the Investigators discussed which colour flowers they would like to have in the garden and even told Miss Goodrick “I know you need to go to Tesco’s…they have purple flowers”. We hope to continue planting seeds and flowers next term to add to our garden.

On Thursday, some of the Investigators explored shadows in the garden. We places down some paper with the animals and compared the size of the shadows created. The children noticed the “big dinosaur” had a ‘bigger’ shadow than the “little dog”. The children tried to draw around the animals shadows and then showed an interest with drawing around their own shadows with chalk.

Parents as Partners

This week our song of the week has been 5 little ducks with the visit from the ducklings and we even had the chance to sing the song while watching the ducklings swim.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Stay and Play this week. We hope you had a lovely time with your children in the nursery. The children were so excited to show you around the nursery and engage in all of the Easter themed experiences. we hope you enjoyed being able to see and hold the ducklings in nursery.

“Lovely visit today, lots of activities to do with my son”

“Great experiences, enjoyed every minute, it felt as I was stepping into his shoes. This day will now forever be a core memory.”

“It was lovely seeing him so happy and confident and playing in all the different areas.”

It was lovely to meet with you to discuss the children’s progress in nursery during our Parent Consultations. As a team we can see the progress the children continue to make each week.