Following the children’s interest in snails last week, we decided to explore this at the craft table. Inspired by the artist ‘Matisse’ – the children had a go at making their own version of his famous painting ‘The Snail’. We used a snail template and cut out coloured shapes to create our own masterpieces.
We’ve also been focusing on painting self-portraits this week. Using a mirror to look at ourselves, many of the children then painted their portrait, selecting the colours that they felt represented their hair, eyes and skin. Whilst painting, the children were encouraged to talk about themselves; things they’re good at, things that make them happy, or things that make them sad. The children enjoyed using the mirror, so taking inspiration from this; our Friday craft project was to make our own framed mirror using silver foil, gems and buttons.
Our Tuff tray has been incredibly popular all week. Having recently bought a new stand, this has become a much more accessible resource. We started the week by filling it with spaghetti (requested by a group of children the previous week!) and enjoyed using tongs to serve this up into bowls! We then introduced a new idea; potion making! We filled the tray with a selection of flowers and herbs alongside our potion bottles – the children were then able to chop, mix and add ingredients to create their own potions / perfumes! This led to discussions about smell, which is so often an overlooked sense!
With warmer weather, and thoughts of spring, we took children out in small groups to look for and photograph signs of spring. We found blossom on trees, green leaves growing, bluebells, bees and nesting birds. This is a lovely way to encourage children to talk about the world around them and to notice how the seasons change.
Finally, we were very excited to welcome ‘Sounds Right’ phonics into squirrels on Friday; this class introduces children to phonics through songs and games, and helps prepare them for formal phonics teaching within reception. This week we focused on sounds ‘A’ and ‘S’.
Ideas to continue this week’s fun at home: Following on from our ‘all about me’ theme - why not encourage your children to talk about themselves at home; discuss what they’re good at and what makes them happy or sad. Talk about yourselves too, model ideas and language.
We’ve also been focusing on painting self-portraits this week. Using a mirror to look at ourselves, many of the children then painted their portrait, selecting the colours that they felt represented their hair, eyes and skin. Whilst painting, the children were encouraged to talk about themselves; things they’re good at, things that make them happy, or things that make them sad. The children enjoyed using the mirror, so taking inspiration from this; our Friday craft project was to make our own framed mirror using silver foil, gems and buttons.
Our Tuff tray has been incredibly popular all week. Having recently bought a new stand, this has become a much more accessible resource. We started the week by filling it with spaghetti (requested by a group of children the previous week!) and enjoyed using tongs to serve this up into bowls! We then introduced a new idea; potion making! We filled the tray with a selection of flowers and herbs alongside our potion bottles – the children were then able to chop, mix and add ingredients to create their own potions / perfumes! This led to discussions about smell, which is so often an overlooked sense!
With warmer weather, and thoughts of spring, we took children out in small groups to look for and photograph signs of spring. We found blossom on trees, green leaves growing, bluebells, bees and nesting birds. This is a lovely way to encourage children to talk about the world around them and to notice how the seasons change.
Finally, we were very excited to welcome ‘Sounds Right’ phonics into squirrels on Friday; this class introduces children to phonics through songs and games, and helps prepare them for formal phonics teaching within reception. This week we focused on sounds ‘A’ and ‘S’.
Ideas to continue this week’s fun at home: Following on from our ‘all about me’ theme - why not encourage your children to talk about themselves at home; discuss what they’re good at and what makes them happy or sad. Talk about yourselves too, model ideas and language.
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