Gruffalo hunt!

The preschool children went for a fantastic walk around Imber court this week searching for big puddles to splash in! As they made their way over the bridge, they saw a big heap of mud and used their imagination to decide what it could be. Peter said "It's the foxes new home. The Gruffalo made him leave his home and get a new one!" Edgar said "Gruffalo look there!" Pointing to the hole in the mud. They spent a long period investigating the mud from afar then carried on their journey. There were many puddles to explore, big ones and small ones. The children were in fits of giggles, as their wellies were sticking to the mud at the bottom of the puddles. Max said "My wellies are stuck, I can't get out!" The children were very helpful, pulling each other out. They also went to feed the ducks, breaking up pieces of bread and throwing them into the stream. Ella said "There's a duck. Here duck, here's some bread!"

The children have also been practicing their letter writing in salt this week. Using their fingers and sticks, they drew the letter 'T', our sound of the week. Elodie said "It feels funny!" as she rubbed the salt between her fingers. They did very well drawing their letters and various shapes such as dinosaurs and snakes. 

This week toddlers have loved singing! During circle times we give the children the choice of what songs to sing, and Ada often requests ‘Baa baa black sheep’ and Tomas asked for ‘Crabs and starfish’. Sienna loves to sing along to ‘Twinkle twinkle’ and join in with the actions too! Toddlers also love our ‘good morning song that we sing at each morning circle time as we pat our knees, and this week Charlie, Scarlett, Sienna and Elena have began to join in with patting their knees. They have been listening to some songs on the iPad which the children love to dance along to. One of their favourites, that they often request throughout the day, is ‘Baby Shark’. We took the speaker to the garden and the children loved dancing along to ‘Baby Shark’ whilst laughing and doing some of the actions. Millie loved dancing along to the song and Elena joined in with the baby shark action, Vivienne also had lots of fun wiggling along to the music and laughing. This week we have had lots of sensory activities out that toddlers have loved exploring. Tomas and Harry loved getting stuck in with the beans and swirling their hands around the tray. Scarlett and Oscar had lots of fun squeezing the beans between their fingers and watching it fall. Jacob and Benjamin preferred to use wooden spoons to mix the peas from a distance Benjamin said “Mix” as he stirred the peas and Jacob said “Yucky” and he moved the spoon around the tray.

The babies have enjoyed playing with the playdough this week pinching it with their fingers enjoying making marks, Frankie and Ari tried some of the playdough spitting it out when the decided they didn't like the taste! Ari and Wren showed good control when using the rolling pin holding the handles and trying to make a rolling motion. Babies enjoyed making marks on paper using crayons they enjoyed being able to choose what colour they wanted by picking them out of the box. Connie and Harry loved getting messy with the foam, singing songs such as ‘Tiny Tim’ with the staff. They clapped their hands laughing at each other as the foam flew into the air, landing in their hair and all over the floor! Great fun!