Easter!

This week the children have been joining in with some fantastic Easter activities. They started the week off by making their own Easter cards, decorating a big Easter egg with a lovely chick hiding inside. They the went outside, to take part in an Easter egg hunt all around the garden. They were so very excited to try and find them all. Jasmin said "I'm going to search everywhere- even in the bushes!" Damon replied "Well I'm going to eat them all up in my tummy!" They looked up high and low, working together to find the hidden eggs, and found them all ! The children were fascinated by an Easter sensory tray, exploring and searching through the hay and coloured oats. They pulled the hay apart, feeling the texture and investigating the smell. Joshua said "It smells like the farm!" Theo held one of the chicken eggs up and said "They live in nests with their mummies and when the egg cracks the chick comes out!"

This week the babies have explored natural material and the outdoors. We started the week being Easter bunnies looking for carrots in the mud, as we looked for the carrots we explored the mud around them feeling the textures and the way it squashes as well as listening to the sound it made when we threw it around the floor with James saying ‘Uh-uh!’ We explored some hay, this time we played with farm animals. Emily found the sheep and said ‘Wow!’, before hiding it away again and put her hands up as if to say ‘Where has it gone?’. Joshua did some of the sounds of the animals as he jumped them around in the hay. Then the little ones explored the outdoors feeling the way the grass felt as they played around. Freddie even had a go at using a stick to make marks in the mud and grass by the path. Xanthe and Millie had a turn climbing around some of the beams, and hiding behind them, Xanthe gave a big giggle when we played Boo! and Millie repeated this, trying to scare the staff members!

Happy Easter everyone!

St Marys Church visit

The children visited the church this week for a lovely Easter activity service. They were very excited to join in, chatting away on the walk there. As they arrived, they were lead into the chapel where they were told the story of Easter. The children joined in with songs, dancing away and showing their amazing moves! They participated in a cross hunt, searching high and low to be the first to find one. Sienna spotted one in the mini chapel and said "There's one!" Showing the vicar, who was very impressed. "There's a golden one. It's very beautiful!" Amelia said proudly. Once the game had finished, they sat down for a tasty hot cross bun and a refreshing glass of orange juice. "Found another one!" Shouted Matilda, pointing to the cross on her bun. The children also decorated their own stain glass window, using bright colours to make them stand out.

This week the babies have explored and manipulated playdough. They began by making the playdough in the sensory tray combining a variety of materials both wet and dry for a sensory experience. James poured the flour into the tray and spilled a little on the floor, "Uh-oh" Emily says and laughs. Freddie then began squeezing the flour and oil mixture together between his fingers and watched it ooze out, "Yuck" Ines says. The activity continued in the garden as you can see although the Millie preferred to throw the flour up in the air "Wheeeeee" she giggled. Rowan and Jack also had a go feeling and poking at the playdough with Jack trying to eat some thinking it was snack time. Joshua decided to get some leaves from the tree and combine  them with his playdough to which Ines joined in and tried to use a stick as her rolling pin.

We have also begun some festive Easter activities with the babies trying to find our toy bunnies around the room. Xanthe cleverly ducked down and giggled as she found the bunny hiding under the slide! Emily found lots of bunnies and collected them all in her hands with James helpfully picking them up as she dropped them.

Mother's Day Tea Party

Our Mother's Day tea party was very successful, with a brilliant turn out. The children were very helpful, helping set up the tables. The children were very excited when their Mummies arrived, taking their hands and leading them inside. It was lovely to see everyone chatting away and enjoying the lovely sandwiches and cakes that were provided. The children could hardly wait to give their special cards and gifts they had made. They had painted a ceramic cup and saucer, and planted a flower inside, and we re so proud to present these to all the mummies and all you could see were bright big smiles all around the room. Matilda asked "Will the mummies be wearing special hats? " Maybe a good idea for next year ?!

This week the babies have been exploring water. They played with some water toys and other objects to see what floats and what will sink. They discovered that sometimes the boats would squeeze out water if squeezed, and enjoyed squirting the water, around giggling, as well as making the other children laugh while getting a lot of uh-oh's and shocked faces when it went on the staff or floor. Ines and Emily pushed the boats along the water alongside each other and every now and then would push them under the water to see them pop back up, learning that they float and with some giggles learning it was funny to watch the boats pop back up. The smaller babies also got involved in the fun. They had some smaller bowls and tried to make the animals float in the water, however this didn't last to long before the water spilt onto their trays to make some lovely splashes! We later added some lovely herbs to water gradually by sprinkling, the room smelt lovely with the aroma of thyme and the children liked to add the ingredients and give the water a swish around, James also enjoyed pouring the whole bowl of Weetabix into the water and then squashing it in his hands to explore the texture.

Let's hide!

The children have been involved in many Forest school activities this week. They visited Carlisle park and had a race from one end of the park to the other! They were instructed to race from tree to tree, cheering loudly as they went. Matilda said "I can't run anymore I might need the toilet !" As they reached the loggery, they chose sticks of various sizes and decided to poke around the open spaces in the logs. Joshua held his stick and said "I found a small bug, he’s grey. You can't see him very well" They continued to explore through the trees, moving branches to find out what was inside. They have also been building their own Tipi in the outdoor nature garden. They held pieces of bamboo together, while it was tied together with string. Once finished, the children took sticks under with them and started rubbing to make a campfire. Some of the children turned over a bit of tree bark and found woodlice crawling around. Alexander said "Look they are very fast!" Robyn replied "Yes they are running away!" Together they observed where the woodlice went at high speed heading for cover.

The babies and toddlers have been exploring the world of animals . This began with a puppet show using different animals and the children making the sounds to match. Joshua had a great time roaring with the lion and barking with the dog, and others were squealing in delight, waiting for the next animal to appear! This was followed by a walk in the park, and the little ones sang and acted out our Walking through the Jungle song.Emily barked when she saw a dog, and the others joined in. Back at nursery they made lions using glue and various coloured tissue papers. Thomas preferred to simply spread the glue, whilst Ines tore the paper into strips ready for collage. James decided to throw the paper up in the air which started a big game and all the children followed suit, laughing away. Great fun!

Tree Trolls!

The subject of Trolls came up this week , and they decided to make a house for the Trolls in the trees. Elara said ‘They hide in the secret holes and dance and sing!’ They added sticks and leaves’ ‘The Trolls will eat the leaves and flowers!’ said Alexander. They extended their play by using the mud kitchen, utilizing pots to mix amazing and very special concoctions for the Trolls to taste. Jasmin had the brilliant idea to make beds for the Trolls , and they went to the woodwork bench to make some! They sang songs from the film Trolls, and using their imaginations made up stories about them, and even made a map with sticks to helps their friends find the special house.

MOTHER’S DAY TEA PARTY REMINDER:

We will be having our fabulous annual Tea Party for all you lovely Mums 5pm -6pm on THURDAY 28th March to celebrate Mother’s Day 31st March. The children will join you and serve up tasty treats, and will present you with your card and gift they have made. Please do join us should your child not attend on a Thursday. Should you be unable to attend, please let the ladies know and they will make sure your child brings home your card and gift before Thursday.

The babies have been exploring the new kitchen units this week. They played with the cornflakes , enjoying the texture, sound and taste. They listened carefully to the sound they made as others crunched them, whilst Harry felt them and spread them across the floor. They have also used the toy food, serving it up to one another, whilst James and Ines washed their hands in the kitchen sink. James would have preferred the tap to be real with running water, as he kept tapping it with his hand waiting patiently for the water to appear! Freddie tried to feed the staff a banana, and was only satisfied when the staff member pretended to eat it, with big giggles.