CATERPILLARS CYCLE OF LIFE

This week children showed a great interest in the life cycle of the butterfly with our live caterpillars. Each day they observed changes taking place as the caterpillars grow bigger and began to make their way to the top of the container ready for the next stage . The children talked about what they saw and also showed curiosity and interest in living things; explaining their own knowledge and understanding and asking appropriate questions of others. We managed to catch the caterpillars turning into chrysalis on time laps on the iPad, wow sure is amazing to see for both children and adults.

At Towerview Playschool the children enjoyed making a walking route out of the crates and planks of wood and enjoyed walking, balancing and passing each other whilst on their route, there was lots of laughter!!
The children loved playing with the trucks in the cornflour & water mixture. They enjoyed seeing the tracks they made, and thought it was ‘magic’ when the goo ran through their fingers.  

The children at Broadway Playschool enjoyed getting outside to run around and ride on the ride on toys too. They also enjoyed searching for snails with the magnifying glasses, took a lot of searching but we found some very tiny ones in the mud kitchen garden.

 It made a nice change to have the bikes out after all the wet weather, great to see the group organise themselves lining up to take turns to ride down the slope.

FOREST SCHOOL 
Great warm weather today in the forest. The children dressed confidently and enjoyed the dappled cool canopy.  There was lots of bug hunting with snails and worms found. Some of the children helped pack dried wood and twigs whilst examining noticed black seeds on the branches.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING -  Playing and exploring – engagement

Finding out and exploring /Playing with what they know/ Being willing to ‘have a go’= 

All the characteristics for life long learning are clearly seen here this week . Not only in the experiences offered but he children's building on their own knowledge. They explore their environments - relating to the sentient beings they encounter while they play and explore. Actively learning and putting that learning into place as they go.  

EXPERIMENTATION

There has been some amazing imaginative wooden block building going on with plenty of thought on balance for bridges, carrying vessels for cars and car washers,helping each other to make a boat from the tyre and using planks for seats.

The children listened well and followed the recipe to develop the sour dough starter we have been growing . They enjoyed weighing out the flours and measuring the milk.... looking at the numbers on the scales and jug"

Everyone took part in making ginger heart shape biscuits. Looking at ingredients using all their senses as appropriate to identify find out , describe and talk about what they observed. They showed an interest in weight by measuring the ingredients counting and recognising numbers on the scales. The children used rolling pins and cutters to achieve what they had set out to do and proud of their finished biscuit

The 'little ones' at Broadway Playschool really enjoyed their first mud kitchen session on Monday. They were all keen to put waterproof overalls and wellies on, lovely to see them helping one another. They are really getting to know each other better and starting to interact and help each other a lot, which is lovely to see.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING - Playing and exploring 
– engagement

 Finding out and exploring / Playing with what they know /Being willing to ‘have a go’

Here we see the children becoming confident in their environment and getting 'stuck in' to try new things. They are showing one of the key drivers for learning - enthusiasm and interest - something that our children are exhibiting in abundance ! 

FAIRER FUNDING FOR YOUR PLAYSCHOOL ! JOIN THE FIGHT NOW !

Fair Future Funding parent supporters

Parents can help us stop the childcare funding crisis this summer.

Have you found your 30 hours ‘free’ childcare isn’t actually free? Have you struggled to access funded hours when you want them? Do you find you are paying more for added extras such as meals or activities? 

When the government introduced the 30 hours funded childcare scheme - entitlement that you and your family deserve - they failed to ensure funding levels covered the true cost of delivering quality childcare. Childcare providers like the one you entrust to care for your children have been struggling financially - and in some cases closing - ever since.  

Our Fair Future Funding Action Week will start on 10 June - a locally-focussed campaign to put pressure on government to fund early years properly.

How to support the campaign if you haven’t already done so, sign-up to the campaign and receive regular updates: 

https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/fairfuturefunding    

write to your MP using our template letter. To send the letter electronically, you can find contact details for your MP here: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/  Simply input your postcode to get details of your MP, then click on the ‘Send a message’ button. You can then paste your letter into the box. 

let us know the name of the MP you’ve written to by emailing Rebecca and Deri at feedback@eyalliance.org.uk. 

 join in on social media by following the @EYAlliance on Twitter and Facebook and by using the hashtag #fairfuturefunding.

WELCOME BACK !

AT TOWERVIEW PLAYSCHOOL

It was wonderful to watch all the children coming into Playschool after half term- keen to get on with their day. This term we are looking at experiments and growing.

They listen well to how to make play dough and all joined in to make it.

We had an impromptu visit from the community police lady who allowed the children to explore the police-car and turn siren and lights on!  

The children have enjoyed the water play using different containers to water their lettuces radish and beans. There was also a castle built with the foam blocks for ‘Rapunzel’ role play. 

Outdoors the children were engrossed in mark making with chunky chalks on the playground. Using their imagination they drew ‘rainbows’ , ‘rivers’, ‘aeroplanes’ and ‘dinosaurs’. 

The children showed increasing skill and control in their gross and fine motor skills working creatively on a large and small scale and enjoying what they had set out to do.

AT BROADWAY PLAYSCHOOL

Great to see the children at Broadway Playschool really involved outside, responding to each other and working together building with crates and planks to balance.

They have all been introduced to the mud kitchen area and seem excited to get involve....looking forward to messy times ahead !

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING - Active learning – motivation - Being involved and concentrating

Here we see the children’s motivation to learn in their engagement with the environment , staff and each other.

They are able to focus on their choice of activity and on the different activities being introduced – such as making playdough or listening to the police lady.

The use of mark making that comes from their interest to repeat what they have seen and to communicate through the written word is all starting here- and it is so exciting to see, and be a part of!

HALF TERM NEXT WEEK

BACK ON MONDAY JUNE 3RD

JASPER'S BEAN & JACK & THE BEAN STALK

We went for a lovely spring walk on Monday . The children listened to the safety talk and held the ribbon well to the path with the gate - then they could run down the path exploring 'all things growing' and they did from butterflies, a tiny snail shell, to ants galore, to forest picnic and to  a 'man locked in a cage' ( -actually a man fixing a door behind a gate!).

The children explored music rhythm and dance through a variety of action songs and group activities. They especially enjoyed the action game " Baked Beans" responding to adult instruction and managing their bodies to create intended movements, they also were able to remember the words and actions to a song that became familiar to them throughout the week "We are going to plant a Bean". We also created sounds by tapping sticks together ,tapping out simple repeated rhythms , nursery rhymes, and this inspired some children to sing familiar songs as well as make up their own and confidently sing to the whole group.

We are all really enjoying the lovely warm sunny weather and love spending time outside enjoying water play and of course construction.  The children have also enjoyed eating snack outdoors and there has been a lot of association between the nice weather with holidays they have had. Lots of children loved playing in the water play, working together thinking of own ideas on how they could get the water to flow out the plastic tube, great communication and listening to each other’s ideas 

Impressive thinking and problem solving skills were observed this week when the Towerview children were constructing an obstacle course and play park uses plastic covered mats for slides, crates and planks to build seesaws and obstacle courses.

AT BROADWAY PLAYSCHOOL 

Here the children are really enjoying water play at the moment. They have also been involved in planting lettuces in the flowerbeds particularly enjoying watering them!

AT FOREST SCHOOL 
The children enjoyed the cover of the long cowslips at forest school for hiding in our game of “one two three where are you?”  There was also lots of cheerful participation in  the mud kitchen with milkshakes, soup and cakes on the menu. 

SO YOU MAY ASK - 'HOW DOES ALL THIS HELP MY CHILD LEARN ?'

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING that over arch the EYFS 
PLAY & EXPLORING (is  one characteristic) 
As you can see from the above activities, this week, your child has had the opportunity to play and explore - to engage with the environment and other people. These opportunities are vital to early learning and helps them to develop skills such as noticing, studying and developing that curiosity and interest in living things. Engaging in the open ended activities offered helps them to develop focus. It supports them to challenge themselves and others and initiate ideas and offer solutions - all through their play and exploration. All the children have engaged in new experiences, had a go, taken risks, assessed how safe things are and shown a 'can do' attitude fundamental to learning. 

THE LITTLE RED HEN & THE THREE LITTLE PIGS !

At Broadway Playschool it was lovely seeing how well the little ones are settling now and how well they recall the three pigs and big bad wolfs refrain ! 

Thanks to Bob who came in to help the children at Towerview Playschool on Tuesday, plant runner beans and peas. He will be bringing them back in soon so the children can see how much they have grown. I was so impressed how much all the children showed an interest.   

We have been making  grass heads - looking forward to cutting their 'hair' ! 

Some of the children enjoyed and got involved in welly and hand mud printing. Along with some interesting role play using sticks to make a stick house and a large branch which acted as the 'bad wolf'. There was also lots of cooking going on in the mud kitchen from 'chocolate' leaves 'soup' to 'tea and cake'.

The children have enjoyed playing with small world play (-playmobile), playing independently and alongside others who are engaged in the same theme, engaging in imaginative role play based on their own first hand experiences. It is so nice to see how the older children are really getting into role play with each other and lovely to see them all coming into the setting happy and settled.

SO YOU MAY ASK - 'HOW DOES ALL THIS HELP MY CHILD LEARN ?'

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING that over arch the EYFS 

ACTIVE LEARNING  ( one of the characteristics) 

They have been involved and concentrated - the children at whatever their age and stage have begun to develop focus through the activities offered . They have shown high levels of energy and interest and have paid attention to  how to look after their seeds and beans. They have been motivated to create 'worlds' with their friends and been proud of the results of their work. These characteristics of active learning will support their learning throughout their lives.