Our learning activities continued.

We're going on an Egg hunt - week 2

There was a lot of excitement (or should I say 'eggcitment'!) this week as we approached the Easter holidays! Our book focus continued with "We're Going on a Egg Hunt," which inspired our weekly activities. We placed plastic eggs around the garden, allowing the children to enjoy their very own egg hunt. On the tuff tray outside, we drew a large egg with a patterned design for the children to replicate and colour in. They used mini roller brushes and bottles filled with paint to bring the pattern to life. They had a wonderful time creating their Easter picture and decorating their pot with stickers for their chocolate treat to take home. We supported the children in engaging with egg-shaped cards by organising them according to their size, from the smallest to the largest, including medium-sized ones. We also explored positional language by positioning a toy rabbit or chick in various places to help the children understand its location. For example, is the rabbit "in," "on," "beside," or "under" the table? We had lots of fun discovering where the rabbit would be! 

Look at Theo! He's concentrating so well as he colours his Easter egg with lots of bright shades to take home. What a beautiful picture you've made, Theo! 

We're going on an Egg hunt- week 1

This week, we've had lots of fun reading the lovely story called "We're Going on an Egg Hunt". We've also had some interesting chats about what happens to both chocolate and ice when they get warm. Plus, we've been helping little bugs escape from the ice. The children have also been enjoying a thrilling obstacle course. During this activity, they've been showing off their skills by moving under, over, around, and through the equipment. Additionally, with the help of their key worker, the children have been exploring a fun and interactive book called "Press Here". 

Finley counted up to five while tapping on the yellow dot, then continued to count the dots up to ten. Finley observed that the yellow and red dots had overlapped and became "orange." 

Nursery Rhyme and chicken clicking -week2

The children have found great joy in going over the nursery rhymes from the previous week once more during this week. Our main focus has been introducing them to the idea of online safety by reading a wonderful story from our book of the week, "Chicken Clicking." Through this book, they have been discovering important rules for staying safe online. As an outcome of these activities, the children have thoughtfully come up with a list detailing what they feel should be the rules in our classroom. This list is specially designed to make sure that we all stay safe and content as we continue to learn and explore new things together. In collaboration with their key workers, the children have been actively showing how to properly and safely work on completing a puzzle or game using our preschool iPad. They do this by carefully using their fingers to drag and drop the pieces into the right spaces on the screen. 

After  listening to the story, Jacob shared his thoughts by saying, "The fox pretended to be a chick!" When he was asked if the fox was a friend in the story, he responded correctly by saying, "No the fox was a stranger!" His answer showed that he understood the characters and their roles in the story. 

Nursery Rhymes -week 1.

This week, our primary focus has been centred around the delightful theme of Nursery Rhymes. The children have been enthusiastically participating in a variety of engaging activities, each based on specific and well-loved rhymes. For instance, when exploring 'The Grand Old Duke of York', the children enjoyed playing various musical instruments and marched like little soldiers, moving in sync with the rhythm and beat of the rhyme, creating a lively and joyful atmosphere. During 'Twinkle Twinkle', the children tenderly rocked their teddy bears back and forth, lulling them gently to sleep as they sweetly sang the calming lullaby, creating a serene and comforting scene. With their key worker, we placed particular emphasis on 'This is the Way We Brush Our Teeth', which became the central focus of our activities, leading to engaging discussions about their personal bedtime routines and the importance of good oral hygiene. 

Ollie cheerfully said, "you gotta squeeze it" while placing toothpaste on his brush. He shared that his toothpaste is strawberry-flavoured. 

A Dog called Dreckly- Week 2

What a wonderful week we've had celebrating Cornwall! We've been having such a lovely time with our Cornish story, "A Dog Called Dreckly," and enjoying delicious scones during snack time. The children have been busy learning about Cornish mines and have had great fun pretending to be miners. They've donned their hard hats and torches, searching for gold and tin while cheerfully chanting "Oggy Oggy Oggy!" We've also been talking about where they live and discovering who brings letters to their doorsteps. They've had such fun pretending to be postmen and are eagerly waiting to see what might arrive through their letterbox for their parents! 

Aashwin, Hope, Jacob and Younis found a secret post-box tucked away in a hedge while we were on our walk, and they can use it to send letters to their friends! 

A Dog Called Dreckly - Week 1

This week, the children have enjoyed practising saying good morning in Cornish, "Myttin Da," to get ready for St Piran's Day, which is next Thursday, 5th March. Also, since the author of our focus story lives near Penzance, we've had fun looking at a map of Cornwall to find out where she lives and where our preschool is. Tying in with our topic on people who help us, we've been learning about the important role of people who care for animals, like vets. The children have adored pretending to be vets, taking care of our stuffed toys. They've also been learning about road safety and how to cross the road safely. 

Here is Jacob cautiously guiding our toy dog across the zebra crossing. He explained, "I look both ways, wait for the cars to stop." Jacob also noted that "red means stop!" when it appears on a traffic light. 

Zog - week 2

This week, we have been discussing "People Who Help Us" and exploring the wonderful things these individuals do for us. Our story "Zog" has been a great inspiration, where a kind-hearted girl always helps "Zog" on his adventures. 

Additionally, this week, dressing up as "People Who Help Us" and acting out their roles has brought us lots of joy. We have also been trying our hand at Chinese-style writing, locating China on the world map and globe, and tasting some delicious Chinese food like egg fried rice, prawn crackers, sweet and sour sauce, and spring rolls... So tasty!

Here, Senara is busy matching the 'people who help us' figures with pictures of their vehicles. While doing this activity, she confidently said, "A police officer, they catch bad guys!" "A doctor and a nurse, they help people! They work in an ambulance!" "A fireman, He blows out fires! He uses a hose and water!" 

Zog - week 1

This week, the children have had great fun learning to say "hello" in Chinese by responding to the register with "ni-hao," as we prepared for Chinese New Year on the 17th of February.

Our main story is about a dragon called "Zog," and we have explored how the New Year is celebrated with dragon dances. Consequently, we have learnt to dance like dragons using beautiful ribbons.

We have also been creating our very own dragon pictures, giving them names, and sharing what special powers or abilities their dragon would possess.

Here, Ava is carefully adding eyes to her dragon. 

"It's Pascale, I like that name," she shared, informing us that his superpowers are "fire" and "bubbles."

The Gruffalo- week 2 

Throughout this week, the children enjoyed a truly delightful experience as they took part in joyful movement activities set to music. They had the chance to use hoops, ribbons, and a variety of musical instruments, which added to the fun and excitement. Additionally, they were very excited to pretend they were walking through the woods. They eagerly discussed amongst themselves which animals they might encounter along the way. To add to the imaginative adventure, they made use of obstacle equipment to practice stepping over, jumping, and balancing. Working closely with their 'key workers', the children explored the enchanting story of "The Gruffalo". Together, they shared various conversations about the parts of the story that they find most thrilling and exciting. 

Here Rosie is observing and pointing out the "Gruffalo's" purple prickles all over his back! 

The Gruffalo- week 1 

"The Gruffalo" has become a much-loved story among the children, and they have really enjoyed the experience of listening to it. Not only have they enjoyed listening to the tale, but they have also had a lot of fun moving along to the Gruffalo song, adding an element of physical engagement.

The picture shows Jacob, Mia, and Younis collaborating wonderfully as they work together to finish the "Gruffalo" puzzle. They are demonstrating excellent teamwork skills while piecing together the colourful parts of the puzzle. 

During the week we have taken the opportunity to spark their imagination by constructing dens using a variety of boxes and designing tunnels in a manner similar to those that woodland animals might create. During these activities, we have also been discussing the mouse's feelings in the story and exploring the reasons behind those emotions.

The children have had a wonderful time as they used their creativity to make their own woodland homes in the tuff tray, utilising natural items and toy animals to enhance their imaginative play. Additionally, they have been honing their scissor skills by carefully cutting out shapes and placing the animals onto a woodland habitat sheet, helping them to develop fine motor skills in a fun and engaging way. 

Stompysaurus-week 2 

Throughout this week, the children have found great enjoyment in listening to a soothing story about ladybirds. They have also taken part in an activity where they assisted the toy dinosaurs in escaping from blocks of ice. This activity has prompted discussions among the children about the process of how water turns into ice when it freezes, and has inspired them to share their ideas on different methods we could use to melt the ice. Furthermore, we have ventured into the world of music by exploring various musical instruments. The children have had fun moving and dancing like dinosaurs to the sounds produced by these instruments. In addition to this, the children have been engaged in measuring the toy dinosaurs using building blocks. They have been counting the number of blocks required to match the height and length of the dinosaurs, and have been using their fingers to demonstrate the number of blocks they used or needed for this task. 

Jacob has carefully placed one block on top of another until he has a total of 5 blocks stacked up. This tower of blocks matches the height of the dinosaur that he selected for his measuring activity.

Stompysaurus-​ week 1. 

The children have had such a delightful and enjoyable first week as they make their way back into the routine of preschool life. Throughout these past few days, they have had so much fun by engaging in activities like blowing bubbles and feathers. These activities have served as a wonderful way for them to unwind and relax, all while practising their breathing exercises. For instance, in this particular activity, Theo is showing everyone how to take deep breaths in and exhale slowly, which allows his feather to float gently up into the air.

Since our current focus story is centred on exploring emotions, particularly those of anger and calmness, we revisited the themes of the "Colour Monster," specifically looking at the emotions represented by the colours red and green. We also got creative by making art using dinosaurs and paint, and we thoroughly enjoyed getting active by moving and singing along to our song of the week, "If You're Happy and You Know It."