This week our topic book was Sera the Shell and the Storm by Dannika Patterson. The book was inspired by the real-life stories of children in Fiji, after living through Cyclone Winston. In the story we learn about the experiences of children in Fiji and how they rebuild their lives after a devastating storm. It encouraged the children to think of others and build on our British Value of Mutual Respect. This was threaded through to our Outdoor Learning Day where we completed a scavenger hunt in aid of Ella’s Home, raising money to send families to the seaside for the day.
On our Outdoor Learning Day, the Squirrels had a fantastic time on the common and as always we began with some Free Play within the Safe Zone. There were some large logs which the children took turns to lift, demonstrating their strength while remembering to assess any risks.
We also enjoyed playing ‘duck, duck, goose’; running and chasing each other round the circle before starting our Scavenger Hunt. The Squirrels were all very excited but before starting we discussed the importance of staying together and looking out for muddy puddles as we didn’t have wellies! To begin the hunt, the children were given a photographic clue. After solving the clue which involved naming where we needed to go and which direction we should go in, we headed off in search of the first item! Our first clue led us to the pathway onto the common where our challenge was to stand on one leg for ten seconds. We all succeeded in this and were able to collect our first item before heading to our next picture clue. At the bench we had to throw the ball around the group without dropping it! This took a little while but eventually we all managed a throw and catch the ball successfully.
Next we headed to the big log where we found some rhyming cards. Everyone had a card and they grouped themselves into rhyming strings. Our next picture card led us to the den with the challenge of ordering numbers 1-15. The children worked together quickly; saying the number sequence aloud and placing their cards together to make a number line.
They confidently recognised our next photo of the train station and sent us in the right direction. Our challenge here was to do ten star jumps. Finally we headed to our last clue, the ‘climbing’ tree where we spotted our last challenge high up in the branches. For this challenge we had to match letters and objects. Once again the children worked together, saying the initial sounds and placing them accordingly. With each activity we collected some items and at the end of the hunt the children we recognised that these were pieces of a house which they pieced together, representing ‘Ella’s Home’. As a treat for completing the Scavenger Hunt successfully the Squirrels enjoyed Gingerbread men with their snack. What a lovely day!
This week The Squirrels invited their parents into Nursery for the first time this year for our Squirrels’ 2021 Art Exhibition. This was an exciting and memorable event not just for the parents but for the children, who loved showing their parents around the classroom. On display was all of the children’s artwork which they have been working on over the past four weeks. They exhibited self-portraits, costumes, sculptures, a collaborative recreation of the ‘Mona Lisa’ and a video of their ‘Triadic’ ballet performance was also shown. The Squirrels were immensely proud of their work and confidently explained to their parents how they had created each masterpiece. The children were pleased to give their parents a tour of our classroom, focusing on their favourite places and sharing all the work they have completed through the year.
It has been a fantastic end to this half term for the Squirrels and we look forward to seeing everyone again after Half Term.
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