Kits News - 14th February 2025

This week's Topic Book was 'Please Mr Panda' and 'Thank you Mr Panda' by Steve Antony. The first book is about Mr Panda asking several animals if they would like a doughnut, but as he does not hear a please or thank you, he continues to the next animal until he comes across a lemur who offers his please and thank you. Mr Panda decides to give him the whole box! The second book is about Mr Panda giving away presents to all his animal friends, but they are not grateful for the gifts they receive.

The Kits have been excited to create their own doughnuts from clay this week. The children rolled the clay out using a rolling pin, then used a circle cutter to create a circle shape, before making a hole in the middle by using the end of the rolling pin. That was then left to dry before the children painted it in their chosen colour, and they added some gems to create a sprinkle effect. The doughnuts looked amazing! 

During the week, the Kits explored many activities during their Free Play. They used stickers in the Fine Motor area whilst peeling and sticking them by following the lines on paper. The children strengthened their hand muscles whilst working on this activity and hand-eye coordination.

Kinetic sand was popular with the Kits as they looked for treasure hidden inside the sand. The children also loved to place the shiny gems back into the kinetic sand to bury them. The Kits were keen to explore the colourful beads on the faces with pipe cleaners attached to make funky hairstyles.

For our Maths activities, the children practised number recognition and matching numbers to quantity by completing Number Peg Boards. The Kits loved exploring the Magnatiles, working on shape knowledge and playing with the stacking people, where the children practised colour recognition, too. The Kits were keen to match 2D shapes drawn on the table and name them.

In the Messy tray, the Kits explored Gloop, which had hidden small animals inside. The children explored the texture of a solid and how it becomes a liquid. They also named all the animals that they rescued. The Kits practised number recognition by looking for numbers inside the foam. They also explored the texture of foam in their hands.

Coloured water, pipettes, scoops and pots were popular, too, as the children transferred water from one container to another and discussed weight: heavy, light, empty and full. The Kits practised naming 2D shapes whilst exploring the Gloop. They called the different shapes and looked at the other colours and properties.

The Kits loved playing with the Pirate Ships and pirates, going on adventures and looking for treasure! The children also explored the train track and trains and discussed where they were going. The Kits counted how many carriages were on the train and practised colour recognition, too. Cars in the tuff tray were also popular with the Kits as they practised positional language and worked on number recognition as the children used the numbered parking spaces. The Kits used stencils to draw around them using various felt pens. They practised upward and downward movements using pencils on the paper attached to the floor.

During our Maths Focus lesson, the Kits have been practising naming 2D shapes and matching them. In the Communication and Language/Literacy Focus lesson, the Blue and Green Kits practised sounding out the letter sound 'p'. They looked at many objects that sounded like that initial letter. The Pink Kits practised exploring the letter sound 'a'.

During our fine motor activity, the children worked on wrapping presents by using masking tape and ripping them into pieces to wrap presents. For our Cookery lesson, the children made a Fruit Kebab; they explored and named a variety of fruits and discussed healthy eating. The children chopped the fruits safely and then used skewers to carefully thread them through before enjoying them with their friends.

In our Outdoor Learning Environment, the Kits practised scoring goals with their friends using the net. They also practised throwing balls into the basketball net. The children used whiteboards and felt pens to make marks. We discussed Oral Health by brushing pretend teeth, Mega Blocks, foam and toothbrushes. The Kits have been busy pretending to be Bob the Builder and fixing around the Outdoor area using several tools. The children practised letter recognition using fishing magnetic rods to fish for letters in the sand. The Kits sounded the letters out using the associated Animaphonics actions.

During Write Dance, the Kits continued to practise whole arm movements using felt pens on paper laid on the floor. The children practised using their whole arm movements, upwards and downwards, to the music 'Beat the Drum'.

It's been another fun-filled week at 345 Nursery School Balham. We look forward to more exciting adventures after the half-term!