We have been continuing with our theme of mini beasts this week.  The wide range of activities on offer have given the children the opportunity to problem solve, discuss nature, understand growth and decay, and to look at the environment in which we live.
 
This week we have been practising mixing our own paint.  The children enjoy adding powder paint to water to try and create the perfect texture and colour.  Whilst this may create rather a mess,  it gives the children a valuable learning experience in how materials can change and develop by adding different substances and textures.  We encourage the children's independence in working out for themselves how to create the pictures and models that they want.  Learning how to think for themselves is a valuable asset in their learning journey through school and beyond.
 
Spring and summer has provided us with many opportunities to look at growth and new life.  This week we have planted cress seeds and beans and observed our butterflies emerge from their chrysalides.
 
The continuing theme of mini beasts and growth has provided many other opportunities to develop skills.  For children to be able to write and use small motor movements as they grow, it is important to strengthen wrists and fingers by using materials such as playdough. This week we have made salt dough with bug prints in them.  Another excellent way to develop small motor skills is to use tools like tweezers.  We have a set of larger coloured tweezers and the children have been enjoying using them to pick up small plastic bugs hidden amongst pasta and other objects.  This developed into a race of who could pick up the most and is an excellent example of how we learn and develop through play activities.
 
It is interesting to see the games that children develop for themselves.  Everyone has a story of how a child was given a present and prefers the box!  This week the tyres in the garden were used to put cars in and roll them around, small coloured bricks were used as foods in the kitchen area, and some amazing creations were developed using boxes, sellotape and string.
 
On Friday we released our butterflies and sang as they flew off over the fence.
 
 
Words we have learned this week:
 
Release
 
Tweezers
 
Ideas to continue this weeks fun at home:
 
Plant cress on some cotton wool or put some seeds in a small pot with your child and then observe how it changes and grows.
 
Use paper plates to make ladybirds or beetles by colouring them in or painting.

​This week we have been enjoying the theme of Minibeasts which has been a wonderful opportunity to investigate the small creatures that inhabit our world, often unseen! 
 
There have been a wonderful and creative variety of activities on offer thanks to the innovation and imagination of the Squirrels staff.  Plastic bugs were found swimming around in swamp mud (green jelly) and set into ice from the last ice age (the freezer).
 
In the garden we discovered snakes and worms wriggling in the mud (cooked spaghetti in soil).  The snakes were then used to print slimy pictures that wriggled and squiggled across the page.
 
We went on a mini beast safari to look for small creatures using our binoculars and magnifying glasses.  Ladybirds, spiders and beetles were discovered and we are trying to encourage some to move into our bug hotel in the garden.
 
We have been looking at the lifecycle of butterflies, frogs and humans which is a lovely way to talk about how we grow and change from babies, through childhood and into adulthood.
 
We are continuing with our preparations for the move up into “big school” which is fast approaching for many of our children.  The children are practising recognising and writing their own names, putting on their own coat and doing up the fastenings and putting up their hands and waiting to be asked in group activities.
 
We have carried on with story writing this week and the children have been coming up with some very imaginative ideas.  These stories are read out to the rest of the children and it is lovely to see the pride on the authors face to have their story listened to.
 
Junk modelling this week has produced some amazing structures, many of them huge, which we are sure the parents are delighted to display at home!!!!!!!!!
 
On Thursday with the sun shining overhead the children decided to turn the playhouse into an icecream shop with icecreams made from cardboard rolls and tissue paper. 
 
Words we have learned this week:
 
·         Safari
 
·         Set (jelly)
 
Ideas to continue this weeks fun at home:
 
Try setting fruit in ice cubes.  It is a good opportunity to see how liquids become solid by freezing them and then become liquid as they defrost.  Using small pieces of fruits such as a raspberry turns this experiment into a tasty treat.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

​Well it seems that the summer is finally beginning to appear so our thoughts have turned to the garden and the growing season.  The children have already planted their sunflower seeds which we hope you are managing to nurture at home.  We would love to see photographs of them fully grown if you are successful.  We have been busy continuing the growing theme in the garden and have been working hard on our vegetable patch.  The children have planted tomatoes, flowers, and herbs and we are going to be very busy in the coming weeks keeping them watered and cared for.  Understanding the scientific process of the beginnings of life, growth, nurturing and ultimate decay provides a rich learning experience for the children.  This lesson is developed with our butterfly experiment where we have watched the eggs become firstly caterpillars which have now developed into the chrysalis stage.  We will have to watch very carefully over the coming week to observe any changes.
 
The garden has provided all kinds of fun this week as we have had a wide range of activities outside.  The water tray and sand pit are always popular as I am sure many of you have realised by the condition of your childs wet and sandy clothing!    The guttering provides not only an opportunity to create a water feature, but  last week was adapted to running the cars down at great speed.  Looking at the way cars can speed up, slow down, vary by weight is a great way to introduce early physics.
 
A range of cardboard boxes have been turned into aeroplanes and the children have been flying off on their holidays.  We always welcome donations of large boxes to paint or make into vehicles, space ships, animal homes etc.
 
Some of the children have been working on their own stories this week.  We encourage them to think about how stories are structured eg Who is in the story?  What are they doing?  What happens next?  An adult then writes the story out  and these are displayed on the wall.  The children become quite excited that they have created their own story and it is wonderful for their confidence and self belief when they are read back to them.  We aim to continue with this theme for the rest of the term.
 
Next week we will begin a theme of mini beasts where the children will be encouraged to take part in all kinds of small insect and animal related activities.
 
Words we have learned this week:
 
·         Chrysalis
 
·         Planting
 
Ideas to continue this weeks fun at home:
 
·         Try some planting at home.  If you have space, allocate a small area or pot for your child to have their own garden.  Alternatively a pot or small tray on a windowsill will do just as well.

​We began the week feeling wonderfully relaxed after a session of Baby yoga on Monday. We are delighted to be able to introduce some weekly sessions from Rugby pups who have branched into offering yoga sessions for young children.  The children were extremely engaged with the session as we tried all kinds of positions and stretches in a fun way.  The staff even managed some of them, although they weren't all quite as supple as the children!!
 
On Tuesday the children enjoyed their usual Jolly Jo session with a wonderful variety of games to support their communication, listening and physical skills. 
 
Our theme of “All about me” is continuing and the children have been engaged in a variety of activities planned to help them think about their strengths and to build their self awareness and confidence.  Our special tree is taking shape so please take a moment when collecting your child to read all of the lovely comments the children have made about why they are special.  The display of self portraits is almost complete so you might like to see if you can recognise your own child from their interpretation.
 
The cogs and wheels has been a popular game this week.  This gives the children the opportunity to fix pieces together and to work out how to turn the wheels to create different patterns.   It supports their creative skills and also develops their ability to problem solve by trying different fixtures to see which works the best.
 
Words we have learned this week:
·       Cogs
 
·       Relax
 
Ideas to continue this weeks fun at home:
 
·         Ask your child to draw a picture of you and talk about your features, eg how many eyes, what colour hair etc.  It is interesting and fun to see how a child perceives themselves and others.