Falling Leaves & Recycling!
Over the last couple of weeks, the preschool children have been observing the change of seasons and have been tracking the development of the leaf colour changing process that is taking place. Each day, the children have been going to check on the trees in the garden with a couple of the children noticing that, after a weekend, one of the trees in the garden had suddenly started to turn orange and red. A small group of children collected the leaves that had fallen from the trees on to the floor and gathered them in to small piles to make homes for the insect toys. Whilst out exploring the nursery grounds and making note of as many different colour leaves they could find, the children came across a tree which had lots of leaves fallen. They could not wait to run through the leaves, giggling away and throwing huge handfuls up in to the air and feeling them fall down on their heads and faces.
The children have also been learning about the importance of disposing of rubbish correctly and the affects it has on the environment and they engaged in activity to identify which items can be disposed of in a rubbish bin and which items can be recycled. A group of the children instigated their own conversation over a lunch time, and were quizzing each other on which item they think was for the recycling and which item was for the rubbish bin. Whilst engaging in a literacy activity, some of the children were able to identify letters within their names that they could find on the letter stamps with a couple of the children collecting all of the letters they could remember from their names and then sequencing them correctly to be able to spell out their whole name.
Autumn Social Event!
The pre school children have been very excited on the build up to the autumn social with many of them discussing the event throughout the week. Some of the children were eager to invite their mums and dads and some grandparents in to nursery, whilst others could not wait for their older siblings to come and play at nursery. Whilst getting ready for families to arrive, some of the pre school children got ahead of the autumn bingo activity and were on the search for pictures of foxes, hedgehogs, pine cones and leaves which were hidden all around the garden. Whilst on a hunt around the garden to find all things autumn - themed, a group of children sat down together in the sand pit, discussing how excited they were for the party and what areas of the garden they would like to show their families.
Once families started to arrive, the children were keen to set off to the garden, some children joined in with autumn bingo whilst others enjoyed a football game together including inviting parents to also play. The children also enjoyed showing their families some of the pumpkins that the children had selected at Garsons farm for the autumn social event.
The toddlers were so excited for their mummies and daddies to come and see where they play, with quite a few brining up the afternoons “party” throughout the morning. Once parents started arriving the smiles were beaming and constant with lots of laughter and happy sounds being heard across the rooms and garden. A couple of children played a few games of football with their parents on the grass while others followed the colourful lights around the back trail of the garden searching for hidden autumnal animals and items in a game of autumn bingo. A group of dads built sandcastles with an audience of their children over in the sandpit while a smaller group of children and siblings challenged themselves with the balance beams and tunnels, being encouraged by mum and grandma who watched on with a plate of tasty party food. After finishing their sandwiches and fruit a small group of toddlers gathered for a story around the ‘campfire’ scene in toddler room with lots of smiles and full tummies!
The under 2s loved having their mummy’s and daddy’s come and visit them at nursery! The children were all really keen to show them around the room and the garden, with lots of the children showing off the toys they were playing with as their parents arrived. They also loved exploring the garden with their parents, and showing them their skills with footballs as they aimed kicks towards the goal. As each of the children received their plate of party food, they were so excited to show off what different things they had picked up, with a few of the children even sharing their food with each other and members of staff! After tucking into their sandwiches and snacks, the children all played with their friends and then cheerfully waved goodbye as the party came to an end!
Garson's Pumpkin Parade!
The pre school children have been getting ready for their brilliant Garsons Farm trip this week and have been taking part in many activities over the last couple of weeks discussing the harvest and including planting some seeds. They explored how crops are harvested with tractors as well as investigating what different types of vegetables look like once they are harvested. A group of children particularly enjoyed some imaginative play, making vegetable soup in the mud kitchen for their friends. Once the soup was handed out, the children reminded their friends, “Remember to blow, it’s hot!”.
On the journey to Garsons the children were so excited to be on the coach, singing along to the wheels on the bus and pointing out some of their houses and roads as they drove past. The children thoroughly enjoyed the pumpkin trail, looking around at all of the pumpkin set ups and playing some games together, noughts and crosses being a clear favourite. The children looked closely at all of the different styles and colours of pumpkins and chose their own to place in to the wheelbarrow to later take home with them which they were eager to do so. Most of the children even remembered which one they had picked to take home.
When the children returned to the nursery, they were so excited to show which pumpkins they had chosen at the farm. Some children chose to do an observational drawing of their pumpkin whilst some others discussed making some pumpkin soup at tea time. Whilst playing outside in the garden, the children were using the footballs as pretend pumpkins, loading up the new wheelbarrows and transporting them around the garden.
We can’t wait for our next visit!
