The Den:

We have had a busy week in The Den as we focus if vehicles and farm animals! 

Characteristics of effective learning:

The children have really enjoyed exploring vehicles in the sand as our main activity this week. The children used a range of vehicles to make marks in the sand, they also used their fingers to explore the texture further. This was a good way to incorporate new vocabulary such as “car, sand, sprinkle and “pour”. We also added some metal materials so the children could experiment with filling and emptying. The children really enjoyed filling them with sand then pouring it from a height. 

Farm animals have been a continuation this week for the children. We have heard some amazing language, children copying signing and joining in with singing. The puppets have been a hit as they give the children an opportunity to link the animal name with a real life animal. 

They have also explored a sensory farm using cornflakes! By placing it on the table, it gave our babies who are still developing walking skills a chance to pull themselves up and develop muscle strength as they stand. 

Physical development:

The large cardboard boxes have been a hit this week for the children and they experiment with large scale building. The children showed good fine and gross motor skills as they grip the boxes them carefully place them on top of each other creating large towers. The children also enjoyed pushing them down after, this was a good way to incorporate new langue such as “crash, uh-oh” and “try again”. 

We were also very kindly visited by Faye on Monday who conducted another Kalma yoga session. The children had lots fun playing peek-a-boo with voil, shaking Pom-poms and popping lots of bubbles!

Parents as partners: 

If you haven’t already and would like to, please send photographs of close family to make family books. These are a great tool to support children during transitions and aid in communication and language development. 

Staffing updates: 

Holly and Laney are settling into The Den and are gradually taking on key worker responsibilities. 

Holly is on positive relationships training on Monday morning.