Investigation Hub and Discovery Hub at Deckham

As the children expressed so much interest in fruit when we were thinking about harvest and making soup last week, we decided to make some fruit salad together. This gave the children the opportunity to further develop their chopping and cutting skills, as well as peeling fruit such as oranges and bananas.

The fruit salad proved very popular when it was eaten!

Some of the children have been creating shopping lists, using supermarket magazines for inspiration. Some children cut out and glued pictures of what they would like to buy, while others recorded their ideas through mark making: 

“I want eggs. That says eggs.”

“I want a yoghurt. A yoghurt would fit in Mammy’s pocket.”

“A pumpkin for Halloween.”

Characteristics of effective learning – Playing and exploring

We have also enjoyed exploring pumpkins this week, following on from our story ‘Pumpkin Soup’ last week. 

The children explored the outside and inside of the pumpkin, using their hands and spoons to scoop out the inside of the pumpkin and noticing what it felt like and all the seeds that had been contained inside. 

They made observations such as:

“It’s just like slime.”

“It’s heavy.”

“Scoop the pumpkin.”

”1, 2, 3, 4, 5 seeds.”

Later in the week we added coloured water and containers to the tray. The children scooped and poured the water and enjoyed mixing it with the pumpkin seeds. This was used in many imaginative ways, for example, pretending it was “watermelon juice” and to make a little pond for a frog! What creative ideas! 

At the water tray, the children have used mini sponges and paint brushes to clean small pumpkins, supporting the development of their fine motor skills. 

This week our Investigation Hub children had their second session of ‘Little Movers’ with Donna. The theme for this session was helping around the home. The children enjoyed pretending to wash scarves with bubbles, as the room became a giant ‘washing machine’! The children then had to listen for their colour scarf being called out before they could use a peg to hang their scarf out ‘to dry’ on the washing line. 

Great listening and moving from the children.

Perhaps your child might like to help you with real jobs at home! They could sort clean clothes into different colour piles or sort clothes by type, for example, finding all the socks. It is a great opportunity for counting, sorting, comparing and matching. 

Investigation Hub

Story of the week: Cook it!

Song of the week: 5 Currant Buns

Makaton signs of the week: Please and thank you

Discovery Hub

Story of the week: Noisy Farm

Song of the week: Old MacDonald had a Farm 

Parents as Partners:

We are having to wear coats more frequently outdoors now as the weather is getting colder. We are encouraging the children to independently put their coat on, using the ‘coat flip’ method! If you search on the internet for this, there are lots of examples of how to do it. The children are managing brilliantly with this and you may wish to practise further with them at home to support them in developing independence with it.

Thank you so much for your generous food  donations for the harvest festival. On Thursday next week we will be packing the food up with a family support worker from the Elgin Centre, ready to donate. If you have any last minute donations you would like to make, these would be gratefully received before Thursday. Once again, thank you for your kind generosity.  

A reminder that we will be closed for the half term holiday from Monday 27th – Friday 31st October. Nursery will reopen on Monday 3rd November. 

Enjoy your weekend and we look forward to seeing you all next week for the final week of the half term.