'Tanabata' at Molesey
This week the children have been focusing on the festival of ‘Tanabata’. They have been making Japanese drums using paper bowls with string and beads which they enjoyed using whilst singing nursery rhymes. Lily said, "It is very loud making big bangs!". The children have also been making dream catchers using paper circles with holes cut out to thread cotton through. The children showed great hand eye co-ordination whilst taking part in this.
They have all had great fun whilst playing outside in the sunshine racing the diggers up and down the decking listening to the sound it makes Henry said "It's a big noise" whilst pushing the digger up and down, they have also enjoyed going for a walk around Imber Court where they took part in making a camp fire placing the twigs and leaves on top of each other. Thomas said "let’s make dinner".
The sound of the week is D and the children have been sounding out the letter during carpet time and writing the letter in the air using their fingers to show great control. They have also been singing '5 little ducks' where the children have been singing the song lining up together to be a duck. They found different textured letter D’s in cornflakes and had fun crunching them together while they searched.
Babies have had great fun exploring in the baby room self selecting the different resources available to them whilst also having lots of fun using the rolling pins with different sounds and Oscar enjoyed rolling backwards and forwards. Archie showed great control and confidence whilst he played with the shape tower placing the correct objects on top. They have been exploring within the sandpit and mud area whilst playing outside in the baby area as you can see!
Buzz buzz............
This week the children have been exploring a bee / wasp nest that was found at the back of the nursery. When asked what it may be, Jonah shouted "A hive!" While Avy said "They live in the garden!" They were amazed at what they could see, discussing what happens at the hive. Elara said, "They make honey for us to enjoy!" Douglas got very excited and said, "They get the honey from cauliflowers and put it in the tiny holes to make honey!" They drew their own bees, some collecting nectar from the flowers while others were flying around above their hive. The children looked at bee pictures on the ipads, talking about the features of the bee and the colours they have on their bodies. They then got to try some real honey, each having a tasty spoonful and deciding whether they liked it or not. Some of the children wanted to make their own bees using card, tissue paper and finished with a lolly stick, so their bees could fly around the garden. They even had a race with their bees, going from one end of the garden to the other!
This week the babies have taken advantage of the warm weather playing in the water. They explored how the water felt, as well as adding some foam to feel the differences between the two textures. James kept pushing the foam into the water and then swirled it around. Ines however decided she preferred to splash and mix the foam colours together. They also explored what the balls did in the water, and as they floated Thomas kept pushing them under, Matilda came over to help and offered the babies new objects and they observed what floated and sank with Elara offering the right answers. They also explored the sand pit; Rowan ran her fingers through the sand and tried to pick it up in her fists. Emily and Xanthe used two blocks and a long plank to make a small bridge in the sand and they climbed over laughing at one another with Emily saying “Oooowww”. The older children also sat with the babies and read the babies a story as a lovely way to cool down.
Molesey Dinosaurs Adventures
This week the toddler and pre-school children have been learning about dinosaurs. Albie knew the names of the dinosaurs Triceratops and Diplodocus and Lily knew T-Rex. Amelie found an Elephant and when asked whether an elephant could be a dinosaur she replied “No- its an animal!”
The dinosaurs hid from the children, who had great fun exploring the undergrowth trying to find them, and the shreiking with delight when they discovered one. They then decided to have a dinosaur race down the grassy slope ‘The T Rex wins!’ announced Ezra. At one point teh dinosaurs were racing along in vehicles! They looked at dinosaur books, and listened to stories, made dinosaur pictures out of shapes and played with dinosaurs in the mud. Millie stomped the dinosaur and said “Here comes the dinosaur! Raaaar”.
This week the sound of the week is ‘S’ , and the children used the dinosaurs to follow a big letter ‘S’ trail on the ground.
The babies have enjoyed playing ‘peep-po’ in their house crawling round it and hiding!. They have also enjoyed the stacking towers and puzzles. They have been using the home corner to stand up and have had great fun putting the fruit in the basket and cupboard and pushing the buttons on the noisy car keys.
