We began the week by making playdough which the children enjoyed mixing. The children requested red playdough scented with strawberries. The mixture was so convincing that one child thought that we were making strawberry jam! Tuesdays Jolly Jo session included jumping on mats, colour matching with balls and chasing the rugby ball which will always bounce in the direction you least expect it to.
We have observed that many of the younger children like to pour liquids from one pot to another so we decided that a potentially less messy way to develop this would be to put uncooked rice into a tray and to provide containers for pouring and scooping it up. Whilst this activity was dry, it was certainly not mess free, but the children had a wonderful time, particularly when we added some glitter. The younger children did enjoy this activity but it was equally enjoyed by the older ones who were able to practise their weighing, measuring and predicting skills.
Towards the end of the week when the weather became colder we turned our thoughts to ice and snow and enjoyed playing with our polar scene which has polar bears and Eskimos. The children decided that the bear needed a big cave so we created one from a cardboard box which we covered in paper mache, glue and white paint. On Friday the snow arrived and we had a lovely time in the garden trying to catch snowflakes on our tongues. We were able to roll some very small snow balls but sadly there was not enough to make a snow man.
We were visited this week by Marley. Marley is a Persona doll/puppet who we use to talk to the children about issues that are important such as being kind to each other and making friends. Marley has been taking about “kind hands” which means not using our hands to push or shove or hit other children when we want a toy or someone is in the way. Marley explained that we use words or gestures communicate and remain friends. Marley's friends Marvin and Mary will be visiting in the next few weeks to talk about other issues.
Words we learned this week
Polar
Kind hands!
Ideas to continue this weeks fun at home
Put a small amount of uncooked rice or pasta or little bits of torn up paper into a tray and allow your child to pour from one small container to another e.g yogurt pots.