Learning focus at the moment
Preschool
With lots of our preschool children leaving us to start school it has been a quieter period, but our group is growing fast as we welcome children from Toddlers to join us and start their journey for school readiness and a love of lifelong learning.
This term the preschool children have enjoyed focusing on STEM and have taken part in some very interesting science experiments. The children were assisted to build a volcano and they each added the secret ingredient that made the volcano erupt. It was great fun even though there was a distinct smell of vinegar in the air for days. They also explored the room with the magnets and collected items that were magnetic and non – magnetic materials, they then talked about these and discussed their findings.
The weather suddenly turned very cold, but the children were eager to get outside and explore the snow. We used lots of vocabulary such as melting, frozen, icy. We then brought some snow inside and watched as it melted discussing why this happened.
Another big focus for preschool this term has been emotions. We used the Colour Monster story book to talk about our feelings and ways we can manage them. The children enjoyed linking a colour to each emotion and choosing the colour that represented the way they felt. They were then encouraged to gather objects in that colour and place them in the correct jar. We also looked at our differences and what makes us unique reading the story of Elmer who is a true Ambassador for promoting individuality.
We have also had our weekly science kitchen sessions where the children have baked some wonderful treats. Each child had their own utensils and were able to use some early math’s weighing and measuring the ingredients from the recipes. They then mixed and baked and finally enjoyed a tasty treat.
We have also been getting out and about in the community by visiting the local care home. This is such a valuable experience for the children linking to their cultural capital, and giving the elderly residents a moment of joy brought by seeing the smiling preschool faces.
Toddlers
During the Autumn term we have welcomed some new children to the group and said goodbye to others as they moved rooms. We were especially proud of the toddlers who moved up to preschool with such ease and confidence ready to start their new journey at Holly Bank.
The toddlers have really embraced the outdoor space and have been focusing on the wildlife that visit the garden. The children helped to refill the bird feeders to encourage the birds to keep coming to the garden during the change of season. The children have also enjoyed watching the birds from the window, we spotted some Magpies, Robins, Pigeons, Blue Tits and Blackbirds and watched to check who visited the bird feeder.
Once the leaves and conkers began to fall from the trees we took the opportunity to go on a treasure hunt and gather as many as we could, we then used these beautiful natural resources to support our maths skills by counting the conkers and comparing their sizes.
Next came the snow and the children jumped for joy! We found some tiny foot prints in the garden made by a bird and we followed then round the garden to see where they led. We then looked at our own footprints in the snow comparing the sizes and the patterns made by our welly boots. Then we all had great fun as we worked together as a team to build a snowman, we searched the garden for items we could use for his eyes and hands, and I think you will agree he was very handsome once we finished building him. Well done everyone.
Babies
Over the Autumn term the babies at Holly bank have been learning about Autumn and Science. Outdoors in the garden we looked closely at the changes that we could see happening around us, the babies enjoyed helping to collect Autumn leaves to create their own Autumn collages. We talked about the different textures and colours of the leaves and introduced new vocabulary such as "orange" "brown" "yellow" "crunchy" and "crispy". We learnt a new Autumn song which was repetitive to help develop their communication and language skills and explained about the falling Autumn leaves.
The babies also enjoyed taking part in a pumpkin rolling activity in the garden, this helped develop their hand-eye coordination as they picked up the mini pumpkins and placed them in the drain pipe letting them roll. The children became excited as they watched the pumpkins roll quickly down the pipe and across the grass.
It is never too early to introduce science, and the children joined in some activities both indoors and out. Our favourites were exploring the magnets and some ice. We placed some magnetic dishes in our sensory tray and the children picked up the metal rings and placed them in the dishes, they were very intrigued by the force pulling the metal rings out of their hands!
The babies explored ice both indoors and out, they enjoyed feeling the texture with their hands as we introduced key words such as "wet" "cold" "slippy" and "drip".
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