Squirrels Preschool, Highwoods, Colchester
  Squirrels Preschool
  • Home
  • Covid-19 Updates
  • Parent Pages
    • Report absence
    • Blog
    • Letters Home
    • Dates for the Diary
    • What To Expect, When?
    • Supporting children with English as an additional language
    • Keeping children safe
    • Prospective Parents
    • School Readiness
    • Songs
    • Fun Activities
  • Staff & Policies
    • Staff
    • Policies
    • Promoting British Values
    • SEND
  • Contact Us
    • How to Register
    • Funding options
  • Gallery
  • Vacancies

Week Commencing 8th December 2014

12/12/2014

0 Comments

 
We began the week with a mystery. Shortly after the children arrived the curtains were closed and we heard noises from outside such as banging and tapping.  Through the chinks in the curtain we caught an occasional glimpse of green and red and heard the gentle tinkling sound of a bell.

At about eleven-o-clock the curtains were opened to reveal a wonderful surprise.  The Christmas elves had been busy working in the garden and had transformed the little playhouse into a wonderful grotto.  There was snow on the roof, elves guarding the door, a Christmas tree and lots of sparkle.  Inside the house there was a little fireplace with stockings hanging up and large chair for Santa to sit on.  Beside the grotto the bench had been turned into a sleigh with chairs placed in front. Reindeer hats were positioned ready to take the children on a magical ride.   

We had such fun taking it in turns to be Father and Mother Christmas or elves making toys and reindeers pulling the sleigh through the sky.   

It was a cold but bright day and the children did not want to leave their magical grotto so for snack we had hot chocolate in the garden and sang songs to keep us warm.  

The children have continued to play in the grotto all week and it has provided many opportunities to develop skills such as counting (taking money to see Father Christmas), writing (making tickets), taking turns, communication skills and supporting their developing imaginations.  

In the garden we have played many other games this week such as Duck, Duck, Goose and Hide and Seek and a variety of circle games.

The children produced their own talent show at the beginning of the week and we saw some interesting talents such as standing on one leg, singing, dancing, funny faces and jumping with a puppet on the hand.  This developed into a puppet show and for the rest of the week we have had the puppet theatre out so that the children could make up their own shows.

We continue to practise our nativity and on Thursday many of the children were able to go over to Highwoods Primary school to see a dress rehearsal of their nativity.  It was lovely to see some of the children from last year looking so grown up.  We were very proud of our Squirrels' children who were impeccably behaved and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  

We played a lovely game this week called “What's in the Box?”  A small box is filled with objects (in this case Christmas ones) and the children have to guess from the clues what might be pulled out.  This is a very simple but easy idea to do at home using anything from colours and shapes, to kitchen objects to small toys.  

The train track is as popular as ever and we had trains driving all around the room, under tables and through tunnels made of cardboard tubes.  

We ended the week making some gingerbread.  The children enjoy cooking and gain so much from this activity.  On this occasion we can say no more about it because it will be a part  of all the surprises that will come home next week in your childs' Christmas folder.  

And so we are coming to our last week of a very busy term.   We look forward to seeing you at the Nativity, Fayre, Christingle and Party.  

Words we have learned this week:

Bauble

Fir Cone  

Ideas to continue this week's fun at home:

Why not make your own “What’s in the Box?” 

Have some Hot chocolate or soup or any other warm drink/food in the garden or park.  It somehow always tastes so much better outside!

 

 

0 Comments

Week Commencing 1st December 2014

5/12/2014

0 Comments

 
This week has been a flurry of Christmas activity! On Monday we put the Christmas tree together which is a scientific feat in itself!  Each layer of branches is a different size and colour code and the children very enthusiastically helped us to sort them out which resulted in a fun but chaotic half an hour.  After untangling the lights we were very happy and, indeed relieved, to see that they work for another year.  The children then decorated the tree and it has brought much cheer to these rather dull winter afternoons. We began rehearsing our Nativity songs which you have hopefully continued to practise at home from the sheet that was in the trays this week.  

On the door of the Squirrels room you may have noticed our large letter to Father Christmas with our hopes for Christmas gifts.  Some of the more challenging requests are for 2 large REAL reindeers (good luck with that one), a flipping dog (no comment), and EVERYTHING Spiderman!  

We have some spectacular Christmas displays in our room this year so please do come in and get your child to show you.  We have been busy painting props for our Nativity on the 17th and working on our Christmas crafts.  At the moment these are a secret to be kept under wraps until the end of term, but we are sure you will be impressed.  

Also on a Christmassy theme we have been experimenting with playdough.  On Monday we tried snowdough which is a rather powdery mixture of cornflour and shaving gel.  The children had a wonderful time trying to form snowmen and snowballs for a day.  Unfortunately it does not last very long and we had to look at ways to find a more lasting solution that would make a better snowman.  Some of the children suggested it needed to be thicker and we were able make white playdough to our usual recipe but using cornflour and some sprinkles of glitter or what we like to think of as fairy dust.  Some lovely little snowmen were formed with this and contributed to our winter scene.

Of course the usual pre-school activities have continued and we have enjoyed lots of games in the garden such as “Sticky toffee”, “What's the time Mr Wolf”, “Hide and Seek” and trying to “Wake up Grandma”.   

The large Lego blocks were built into some very tall towers in the garden and we had great fun knocking them down to then build up again.  

Some large boxes were brought in by a parent and they provided lots of fun for the first part of the week as the children turned them into cars, rockets, beds and boats.  We never waste anything at Squirrels so you can look forward to seeing them recycled as a Nativity Camel, Sheep and Donkey.

We had a lovely afternoon on Wednesday going to the moon in our space bus and singing.  

As you can see we have a great time at Squirrels and you never know what is going to happen next.  

Words we have learned this week:  

Nativity  

Frost (Because of a story about Jack Frost)  

Ideas to continue this week's fun at home:

Have a go at Snowy playdough and don't forget to practice those songs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

0 Comments

    Squirrels Preschool

    Our blog to keep you up to date with what we're up to....

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.