Caterpillars!

The pre school children have been very excited about the arrival of our caterpillars and have been waiting very patiently for the caterpillars to form a cocoon. Connie told her friends, “I think it’s just like the very hungry caterpillar, maybe we need to feed them some chocolate cake too so they can grow”. Vivienne laughed and said, “Noooo! Caterpillars can’t really eat chocolate cake, it will make them feel poorly”. Seeing that some of the caterpillars have started to hang from their lid, just before the process of the cocoon happening, Ethan called Salvador over and very excitedly told him, “Quick, it’s going to be a butterfly very soon”.

The children have been learning about life cycles of frogs as well as butterflies. During tea time, Joshua told Rowan, “You know what I remember about the frog? First it’s an egg and then it’s a tadpole and then it’s a frog”. Rowan said, “Well done, I know that too, and the back legs come before the front legs”. Ezmie added, “But who remembers what happens to the tail? That’s a very tricky question?” Henry and Jasper both called out, “I know” and Henry told the children, “The tail disappears back inside it’s own body, it’s very clever”.

The children have observed that some of the the flowers on the trees in our garden have started to blossom. Emma and Jessica called Isabelle and Eloise over to the trees at the back of the garden and announced, “The trees look so pretty, they have started to grow some flowers”. The children then found some magnifying glasses and were going around the garden, looking at the buds they thought were going to grow next. Vivienne said, “I think this one is going to have some lovely pink flowers”. The children went on to draw their very own flower pictures and were comparing the colours that they thought were going to grow into.

World book day!

This week in the under twos room the children have been playing with lots of textures.  Sophie and Otto enjoyed exploring the mash potato using the kitchen utensils, Esmé was a little unsure of it at first, but soon became absorbed in scooping up the mash with her hands and squeezing it in her fingers, and soon giggled and smiled. Otto placed some in a metal colander and mixed it with a spoon, occasionally having a little taste, he looked very proud at the meal he had created when he put it on a plate!

The children have had lots fun in the garden exploring bubbles. Youcef and Sebastian were captivated as big bubbles were blown on the wand, clapping and watching closely as they grew and sometimes popped. Amélie pointed and laughed as they blew into the wind and she tried to keep up with them. Sophie was on the bridge watching and when one landed in front of her, she looked confused as it popped and disappeared.

During a walk around the grounds, the children got very excited to see a tractor at the side of the field, Sophie and Margot were pointing towards it and Amelie said “Tractor tractor!” 

As they continued to walk across the bridge they saw some ducks on the river, and Freddie, Amelie, Sebastian and Kitty did a great job of feeding them, tearing up small pieces of bread and throwing them through the railings to the water below. 

Back on the field, the children loved running around, and watching the tractor. Youcef and Freddie waved to the driver who waved back to them which made them very happy. 

Last week the toddlers enjoyed celebrating world book day by dressing up as different characters from their favourite books. Ada, Rafferty and James all came as the hungry caterpillar, Isaac came as a giraffe and Sophie came as Snow White. The toddlers loved listening to lots of different stories while using story spoons, musical instruments and finger puppets. As part of celebrating world book day the toddlers have started a new theme exploring a different fairytale every week. This week the chosen book was Jack in the beanstalk. At the beginning of the week, Sadie, Sophie and Tommy gathered materials from inside and outside to help make a giant beanstalk to be put up around the toddler room. Each day the toddlers went outside on a treasure hunt to try and find golden coins and golden eggs to help Jack get away from the giant. 

While being busy with making giants, treasure hunts and writing their own books the toddlers also celebrated pancake day! Rowan and Florence showed off their impressive natural talent of being able to flip mini pancakes in the home corner using a frying pan. Reegan found it frustrating that his pancake wasn’t flipping in the pan so he used a different method, using his hands to flip it instead! During the afternoon the toddlers had the opportunity to decorate their own pancakes. Reegan choose honey and fresh strawberries for his pancake while Blake enjoyed strawberry sauce.... Tasty! 

Outside, the toddlers have been wrapped up in wetsuits and wellies ready to jump in every single puddle, both big and small on walks round Imber court and in the garden. Finley bent his knees and leaped into the air only to come back down again and soak himself up to his armpits and splash all his friends around him. The toddlers ventured out on Friday in the buggies to the duck pond in Thames Ditton. Olivia and Rowan loved throwing the bread as far as they could in the water, with Caiden making duck noises! 

New Seasons & Making Cars!

The pre-school children have been learning all about the changes of seasons and have started to welcome spring. They enjoyed taking part in an observational drawing of daffodils. The children first observed the flower buds when they first came to nursery and over the following days, they watched as the daffodils blossomed. Connie came in to nursery the next morning and said, “Wow, they look so beautiful today, they are fully grown!”. Whilst doing the observational drawings, Vivienne told Louis, “This long bit here I know is called the stem, and that bit is the flower”. Louis replied, “It’s just like a red rose”. Realising that the daffodils were placed in a cup of water, Shyla told her friends, “The water is for the flowers to drink so that they can grow bigger and bigger”. Riley said, “Thats right Shyla, well done, there is no rain inside nursery so the water will help them grow”.

The children have also enjoyed making their very own 3D vehicles using the junk modelling boxes. Joshua added an extra part on to the top of the car and said to his friends, “This bit is for the roof rack so we can put all of our clothes in there and go on holiday”. Ezmie laughed and said, “But our clothes go in a suitcase, silly billy!”. Once the children had glued together their boxes and painted them in bright colours, William suggested, “Now we need our wheels otherwise the car won’t be able to drive”. They all worked together to figure out what they could use the make the wheels and very quickly discovered that the paper plates were the perfect option.