We were very excited to invite Kimmy’s Zoo into the setting this week, made possible through YOUR brilliant fundraising efforts! They brought a pygmy hedgehog, a screaming hairy armadillo, a bearded dragon, a snake, and a giant millipede called Rupunzle! As each animal was introduced, children were given information about where in the world each animal came from, what they eat, and other interesting facts. The children then got to stroke and hold the different animals, with many of our children brave enough to have the snake across their shoulders. Kimmy’s Zoo helped inspire lots of animal themed ideas; we made animal masks, animal pictures, and enjoyed small world zoo and farm animals. We also decorated animal biscuits for snack as a special treat!
School readiness is still very much a focus. On Monday the children were inspired to talk about how they would travel to their new school, making a collage of footprints and tyre tracks to represent this. This picture then provided a focus for a carpet time discussion about big school; with children asking questions and telling their friends about their recent visits.
Stories have been popular this week. We often reread our stories to help children become familiar with them and encourage them to join in. This week we went one stage further and acted our story out! Whilst reading the story of ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt’, children joined us on a sensory adventure as we swished through real grass, squelched through real mud, splashed across our ‘river’, stumbled through the forest and finally found the bear as he hid in his cave! Acting out stories can really help capture children’s imaginations and inspire a love of stories.
Finally, our children leaving for big school joined us for a graduation picnic on Friday. This gave us an opportunity to present each child with their finished learning journey showing what an amazing journey each child has been on. We feel truly privileged to have been part of this journey and wish them well as they progress to big school.
Ideas to continue this week’s fun at home: Why not act out a favourite story from home? Simple props can be used to help explore a story and retell it in a hands-on way.