Kits News - 25th October 2024

This week, the Kits have had another great week leading up to half term. Our Topic Story was Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. This story is about identifying wild animals from the zoo and the different noises they make. The colourful pictures were engaging for all the children.   

The Kits have explored various activities related to our topic book in Free Play such as exploring the gloop, coloured penguins, pots and tongs. The children practised naming the different colours and practised their fine motor skills by using the tongs to take the penguins out of the gloop and then transferring them into the small pots. They even practised counting how many penguins they had placed inside the pot.

In the Small World area, the children explored a variety of materials, such as flour and cotton wool, with various sea animals. The children practised naming all the different animals and discussed where they lived.

The Kits also loved exploring the Space Station and coloured sand, where the children used their imagination to go on an adventure using the space station. The children were very excited when they placed the tiny astronauts into the spaceships whilst singing 'Zoom Zoom Zoom We're Going to the Moon’.

The Kits were keen to explore the Safari and animals with their friends and they continued to use their imagination when they took the animals on an adventure with the small people. They used bridges and ladders for the animals to cross. The Kits practised naming all the animals, and we discussed the different sizes, as some animals were small, medium and big.

On the Fine Motor table, the children explored pegs and board. They practised naming the different colours and 2D shapes whilst making their patterns. The Kits explored playdough, animal cutters and rolling pins. They also used their hands to squash and squeeze the dough together to manipulate it in different ways. The children explored Kinetic sand with pots and scoops. The Kits used their fingers to feel the sand's texture and transfer it into the pots.

During our Art this week, the children continued to strengthen their hand muscles by using a pom pom, which was attached to a peg. The children then dipped that into the paint to create marks on their polar bears.  

On the Mark-Making table, the Kits have been busy sounding out letter sounds and matching objects to the letter. The children also followed the AnimaPhonics actions while saying the sound and traced the letters and made marks on the table using a variety of felt pens.  

On the Maths table, the children practised counting using the Unifix cubes. They made big, medium, and small towers and practised naming the different colours. We have also been learning to recognise some numbers. The Kits also explored magnetic animal puzzles and boards, where the children named the different animals, and we talked about where they lived.

During our Maths focus lesson, the Green Kits focussed on practising colours, whilst the Blue Kits practised making a repeating pattern by using various items and then completing their activity sheet. For our Communication and Literacy Focus lesson, the children listened to our Topic Story, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? and then identified all the animals. The children then made their picture of their favourite animal from the book, discussing what they made and where they lived.

We learnt about Personal Space for our Drama lesson by playing a game called 'Aeroplane Arms'. The children pretended to fly like an aeroplane without touching anyone so that we all would remain safe, and no one would get hurt.

This week's Role-Play Area was set up as a Construction Site. The Kits loved using their imagination and dressing up as builders, wearing high-visibility jackets, helmets, and gloves. They also used a variety of one-handed tools. The Kits have been practising naming their tools and using them accordingly with their friends.

In the Outdoor Learning Environment, the children made soup using leaves, herbs, sand, pots, and utensils in the tuff tray. The Kits used their imagination whilst cooking and loved transferring sand into other pots and adding leaves. They played with the Guttering and cars, where they commented on speed. We noticed that some cars were fast, and some were slow when the Guttering was placed on a different level. The children shared and took turns amongst each other, whilst in the Mud Kitchen, and enjoyed making potatoes and cupcakes. The children strengthened their arms using large brushes and water to clean away the raindrops drawn on the board. The Kits were excited to use a variety of musical instruments and ribbons to sing and dance to various rhymes and songs. The children were also excited to explore frozen sea animals in the tuff tray where the Kits used various one-handed tools to rescue the animals from the ice.

The children explored colourful softballs, throwing balls into the basketball hoop and rolling them down the slide. The Kits practised their gross motor skills by safely jumping on spots and off the small steps. They then practised throwing a bean bag into the hoop. The children continued practising climbing up the wall and using the slide safely. They also used the ladder, and once up, they were eager to look through the telescope and share their findings. They saw some stars and a shark.

We cannot believe how quickly we have reached the end of the first half term. It has certainly gone fast. We look forward to more fun-filled activities after the half-term!