Week Commencing 17th August

The Nest/The Den –

As we approach the end of the summer holidays, we have continued to share some lovely learning opportunities with our youngest children, as some of them prepare to transition to the Den and some new children are due to join us in September which is very exciting – we’re so pleased with how well the children have done across the rooms!

Physical Development:

To further extend our sensory exploration, this week we have introduced some herby playdough alongside some natural resources, which was greatly enjoyed by the children. The children explored a range of different motions as they manipulated their playdough and showed skill in poking, patting and squeezing their playdough. This exposed the children to language such as “pat” “roll” “poke” “squeeze” and “squash.” There was a great sense of accomplishment and pride as the children experimented with their strength in pulling objects out of the playdough, and delight in their faces as they observed the effects that their different movements had on their playdough – making holes, patterns and imprints!

Children in The Den made their own herby playdough! They followed simple instructions well and added the ingredients to the bowl. They waited patiently and took it in turns to stir the mixture. Once it was all ready, they manipulated the dough with their hands. We added in some play-dough utensils like rollers and cutters to help extend the children’s learning. We heard some lovely language like “roll, cut” and “squash!”

We mixed together cornflour, food colouring & water to make coloured gloop which provided an interesting texture for the children to investigate. The children demonstrated their curiosity and excitement through facial expressions and babble. The children needed no encouragement to explore this tray, as they began to feel the gloop between their fingers and used the paintbrush to move the gloop around, carefully watching how their movements had an effect on the colours and the gloop. The children were so fascinated as they watched the gloop fall from my fingers back into the tray, each reaching forward to have a feel.

Communication and Language:

To further our exploration of colours, at group time this week we have introduced the parachute as we moved it in a variety of ways using our gross motor skills – lifting it up and down, side to side and round and round, singing a range of new and familiar songs which the children showed high levels of enjoyment for. There were lots of smiles, laughs and squeals of delight especially when the children were invited to stand underneath the parachute!

Outdoor play:

As we continue enjoying the opportunities summer offers us outside, this week we explored some berries in ice which was a fantastic opportunity for the children to extend their investigating and problem solving skills as they experimented with which pots and pans fitted the ice into and which ones were too small. Some of our children repeated some language back to us such as “Ice” “Blueberries and “Raspberries” as well as”brrr” and imitating shivering when we discussed the ice was “cold!” This activity also provided opportunities to make some fantastic sounds by combining the metal utensils and bowls. The children were delighted to try the ice and spent a period of time biting the ice and sampling how the different berries tasted!

Staffing Update:

Anna is on Annual Leave Tuesday and Wednesday.

Parents as partners:

Just a reminder, nursery will be closed on Monday the 31st of August for Bank Holiday & Tuesday the 1st of September for a Staff Training Day. We reopen on Wednesday the 2nd of September.

Within the Nest you may have noticed we always have out a Treasure Basket of interesting items for our children to explore. Treasure baskets are vital for our youngest children as they allow them to:

• Explore natural objects, textures and colours, using all of their senses
• Develop attention and concentration
• Practise and refine their fine motor control and hand/eye coordination
• Make simple choices and develop preferences
• Explore and develop current schemas or ways of learning.