Summer 1
Friday 22nd May
The sunshine finally arrived and with it came a busy, busy week in EYFS! As part of their learning about how to take care of themselves, the children had a visit from Tara the dentist. The children listened so weel and we noticed how they asked relevant and thoughtful questions. After talking to EYFS, Tara spent somes time showing the children how to use the instuments she had brought. They loved pretending to be dentists!
Transition activities continued this week as the children got to explore the Year 1 classrooms, outisde area and toilets. They felt very grown up as they explored! The children also went to have lunch in the main hall. This was a new experience and they got their own trays and cutlery. This hall will be where they eat lunch from Year One onwards.
On Thursday EYFS joined year 2 in our annual sponsored walk, organised by our wonderful P.T.A. The children were so excited and many wanted to keep running and did more than our target of 10 laps of the school field! Well done EYFS - what an achievement!
Friday 15th May
This term we have been learning about lifecycles by watching our caterpillars develop. In History the children were fascinated to learn about Maria Merian, who lived 400 years ago in Germany and discovered that butterflies come from caterpillars through metamorphosis. This week, some of the butterflies had emerged from their chrysallses. We took them to the fire circle in the forest area and sang them a song as we gently released them.
There has been lots of butterfly creativity this week as well as lots of wonderful writing. It has been lovely to see how our children are devleoping the confidence to have a go at writing independently!
Friday 8th May
This week we have seen lots of children developing and strengthening their gross motor skills while playing together. Climbing, pulling, jumping and running all help the children develop the core strength and proprieception they need in order to be able to move at speed and with control. These skills are also vital for them to become skilled writers and manipulators of tools such as paintbrushes and scissors. All this has been going on while the children enjoy the climbing frame, playing with the wagon and taking part in fun games during P.E. The children's continued interest in ducklings has seen them working with concentration to make their own peg ducklings!
Friday 1st May
This week the ducklings have grown and have been much more lively. They have been happy to have longer cuddles with the children and loved going for some swims in the paddling pool! On Thursday we said goodbye to the ducklings, as they set off for a new life at nearby Yarra Farm. We hope to visit them next term. I wonder if we will recognise them?
The children have enjoyed making a giant paper mache egg and painting it to look like a dinosaur egg. Then they wrote to Mr Squirrell to tell him all about it! The childrne even made a giant nest for our 'egg'.
In maths, the children have been practising their counting skills by making collections of 20 things and remembering to put them in a line to make their counting accurate.
Friday 24th April
This week we had a very special delivery; a clutch of eggs in their own incubator! There was a lot of excited chatter about what they might hatch into. The children showed their prior learning about mammals and made informed guesses as to what might be inside. Suggestions ranged from chickens, to snakes to dinosaurs! Throughout the week, adults and children alike were thrilled to watch as the hatchlings emerged and revealed themselves to be ducklings! The children have loved having them here and have been so gentle and calm when holding them.
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Friday 17th April
The children have all returned from their Easter holidays full of smiles and enthusiasm for school and to see their friends again! The school year seems to be whizzing by, epecially as this term in EYFS we begin our slow, gentle transition towards Year One.
This week the EYFS children felt very grown up as they enjoyed their first break time play on the large playground, just like the other year groups. They wore hi-vis jackets so that all adults would be able to identify them as our youngest children. At the beginning of the week, we helped them to play some traditional games such as, 'Duck. Duck. Goose', 'What's the time Mr. Wolf?' and 'Stuck in the Mud'. By the middle of the week, the children were happily organising these games themselves and making up more of their own.
In maths, we have been exploring 3D shapes and investigating their properties. The children did this through play activities such as building and making prints in play dough. This has helped them to develop their mathematical language and reasoning and to see the link between 2D and 3D shapes.
We celebrated Earth Day early by using the litter-pickers to pick up all the rubbish that gets blown into our forest area. We are very proud of how our children look after and appreciate this special feature of our school. They know lots about ways we can look after our planet and made some wonderful posters and art to remind us all.
IN P.E. EYFS had their first outside lesson on the astroturfed area. They proved they could listen well in this new environment and were able to follow instructions for four different games.
Today EYFS joined the older children for their first celebration assembly. We found that they all were able to walk into the hall calmly and quietly and sat very well to listen. What a week of firsts!
