Fun with Lights & Rainy Play!

Over the last couple of weeks, the toddlers have been exploring light play with light up toys, torches and fairy lights. As the afternoons have darkened, the children have started taking notice, asking if the moon was coming out and if it was ‘night time’ as they pointed towards the darker skies through the patio doors. When a cosy den was set up with stories, light up toys and torches - a couple of children crawled their way in and settled on the cushions, flicking through some of their favourite stories, using the torchlight to look at the pages. Another group were over in the home corner, situated at the table and using some of the light up toys to build a tower, balancing them on top of one another and giggling as it toppled over, their faces lit up by the colourful glow. 

With the change in weather recently, the toddlers have been loving playing in the rain, excitedly grabbing their waterproofs and helping to put their own wellies on before setting off. A couple of children ran out to the open space in the garden and paused, with their arms out by their sides catching the droplets in their hands, one with their face tilted up and mouth open, deciding to catch the rain with their mouth. Meanwhile, another group of children made their way over to where a small puddle had formed and began splashing. As they stomped and splashed it turned into a dance party as some began nodding their heads and wagging their fingers while others wiggled their hips and span in circles. 

Over the last couple of weeks, the under twos have loved exploring creative activities with a range of textures and materials. One activity the children particularly enjoyed getting their hands dirty in was mud painting! They all quickly made their way over to explore the pots and brushes which had been laid out on the table, and a few of the children let their excitement be known through a chorus of “Wow!” and “Ooh!”, and clapping. One by one they reached for the variety of brushes which had been placed out, and dunked them straight into the pots of mud. They began to brush strokes across the paper, creating lines and beautiful pictures, before delving their hands into the mud and squeezing their fists together, giggling as the mud squished out through their fingers! 

The under twos have also really enjoyed discovering the different texture of wet and dry sand in the garden, and seeing the difference it makes when trying to build a sandcastle. When one of the children filled up a bucket of dry sand and tipped it upside down, they gasped as all the sand fell back into a pile and clasped their hands to their cheeks in shock. A few other children watched with curiosity, as the sand at the other end of the sand pit was wet, and clapped excitedly when the sandcastle stayed in place when the bucket was turned upside down. This led to the children all copying using the wet sand, and lots of happy giggles as the castles and moulds all stayed in place when the children tipped them out! The children also loved seeing what nature they could find in the garden, using their eyes alone as well as magnifying glasses to get a closer look at the plants and nature. When one of the children let out an excited shout, a couple others made their way over to investigate, and clapped happily when they discovered it was a ladybird! After a member of staff picked it up, the children all peered over to get a better look and making sure not to scare their new friend!.