We began the week by painting and decorating pebbles with faces, butterflies, cars and generous amounts of glitter, paint and glue. The children were able to decide how they wanted their pebble to look and then they selected whatever materials they required to achieve this. This resulted in some interestingly decorated pebbles, which, although it was not always immediately obvious what the illustration was, provided a wonderful opportunity to discuss the effect they had achieved. The children were very proud of their efforts and we are sure that many of them have been used as paperweights, or decorations at home.
At Squirrels we encourage the children to select their own materials to make whatever they like. We have wide range of craft materials, fixings, paint, paper, glue, scissors and sellotape. We also have a large tub of cardboard boxes and recycled containers. By offering a choice, the children are able to come up with their own ideas and to find ways to achieve the effect they desire. This week a group of children spent some considerable time wrapping up boxes to make presents. They cut out their own paper, wrapped it around the box and looked at different ways to secure it. This simple activity provided an opportunity to develop physical skills required to use scissors, hand eye co-ordination and the skill of working out ideas and implementing them.
On Wednesday we had a surprise visit from Marvin and Mary our Persona dolls. They come and see us every now and then and through them we are able to talk to the children about many issues such as being kind, being polite, concern for others. They also provide the opportunity to talk about the things that worry us. It seems that Marvin and Mary have a wealth of experience around many issues. The children always become very engaged around these dolls, and whilst they obviously realise that they aren't real, they somehow seem to relate to them and want to talk to them. I'm sure they will be visiting again soon.
This week we have been looking at rhythm and rhyme. We have read stories where the last word rhymes and the children have been trying to come up with there own rhyming words. We have also been dancing around to music and have been beating out the rhythm as we go. To help us understand rhythm we have been taking it in turns to clap out names and counting out the number of beats. For example Fiona is Fi...o...na (3 beats), Anita is A..ni...ta (3 beats), Julie Ju....lie (2 beats), Gill (one beat) etc.
Words we have learned this week:
Rhyme
Rhythm
Ideas to continue this weeks fun at home
Clap out rhythms of items around the house or peoples names.
Decorate stones, small pieces of wood with paint, felt tips, small craft pieces.
At Squirrels we encourage the children to select their own materials to make whatever they like. We have wide range of craft materials, fixings, paint, paper, glue, scissors and sellotape. We also have a large tub of cardboard boxes and recycled containers. By offering a choice, the children are able to come up with their own ideas and to find ways to achieve the effect they desire. This week a group of children spent some considerable time wrapping up boxes to make presents. They cut out their own paper, wrapped it around the box and looked at different ways to secure it. This simple activity provided an opportunity to develop physical skills required to use scissors, hand eye co-ordination and the skill of working out ideas and implementing them.
On Wednesday we had a surprise visit from Marvin and Mary our Persona dolls. They come and see us every now and then and through them we are able to talk to the children about many issues such as being kind, being polite, concern for others. They also provide the opportunity to talk about the things that worry us. It seems that Marvin and Mary have a wealth of experience around many issues. The children always become very engaged around these dolls, and whilst they obviously realise that they aren't real, they somehow seem to relate to them and want to talk to them. I'm sure they will be visiting again soon.
This week we have been looking at rhythm and rhyme. We have read stories where the last word rhymes and the children have been trying to come up with there own rhyming words. We have also been dancing around to music and have been beating out the rhythm as we go. To help us understand rhythm we have been taking it in turns to clap out names and counting out the number of beats. For example Fiona is Fi...o...na (3 beats), Anita is A..ni...ta (3 beats), Julie Ju....lie (2 beats), Gill (one beat) etc.
Words we have learned this week:
Rhyme
Rhythm
Ideas to continue this weeks fun at home
Clap out rhythms of items around the house or peoples names.
Decorate stones, small pieces of wood with paint, felt tips, small craft pieces.
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