Children in Hedgehogs Class have a new friend! He is small, with white and grey fur, four legs, a tail, and a little twitchy nose - please meet "Fluffy" the hamster! the children are very excited to have a class pet.
The classrooms have been very busy places this week, with lots of interesting work being done, right across the curriculum.
In Maths, Otters Class have been finding out about 2D shapes, and looking at the different shapes in the environment. They discovered that most pieces of playgroup furniture are made up of many different shapes. Once back in the classroom they created pictures of their findings by drawing around 2D shapes.
Rabbits Class made sandwiches in their DT lessons this week. They were shown how to spread the butter and add the filling (cheese and ham or jam), then they had the enjoyable task of eating their delicious masterpieces!
In their Science lessons, Squirrels Class investigated the properties of different materials. They made miniature tents from various fabrics and textiles, thinking about what would be needed to provide warm and comfortable shelter. The children cleverly chose to use bubble wrap to provide a layer of insulation inside their tents, with a waterproof fabric around the outside, and something soft and comfortable to form the floor.
The finished tents were then tested, by having water poured on them, and strong gusts of wind provided by a fan.
Badgers Class thoroughly enjoyed their Science lessons this week. They have been learning about the digestive system, creating their own investigation to illustrate this process, and demonstrate how the goodness in our food goes back into our bodies. The children's hands represented teeth as they crumbled a cracker into a plastic wallet. They then added water to represent saliva, and orange juice, to replicate the acid in our stomachs. Finally, the waste was squeezed through kitchen paper into a bowl.
It was a rather messy experiment, which is why it's one that the children are sure to remember!
Hedgehogs have been practising letter and number formation using trays full of salt. Meanwhile, they have been enjoying their "Helicopter" stories sessions, where the child dictates a story from their imagination which is written down by an adult. The stories are then acted out by the class.
As part of their colour topic, Hedgehogs children have also been painting autumn leaves, to make a colourful art display.
Rabbits and Badgers Classes have been continuing their topic work on Egypt. This week they found out about how to communicate in the style of the Ancient Egyptians, by making their own papyrus to write on - they were able to do this thanks to helpful parents, who responded to our request for donations of old newspapers or brown packaging paper. Making the papyrus was a lengthy process which required lots of skill and patience, but once it was dry, it was ready to use.
Naturally, the only way to write on it was to use hieroglyphics, and the children created their own messages and shared them with friends.
Hamsters children have been enjoying the sunshine and having fun gardening this week. They spent a morning weeding and tidying the raised beds outside the Nursery building, and have created "Hamsters Pumpkin Garden", complete with scarecrow!
Just one more week left of this half term before we all, staff, children and parents, enjoy a well earned break!