Squirrels News - 28th February 2025
It has been absolutely wonderful to welcome the Squirrels back to nursery this week. We have been having a great time over in the Role Play area which was turned into a construction site for the week. The children constructed tiaras, crowns, lazers and weights to exercise with! The children even had to build a maze to catch Loki, (the gerbil) who had 'escaped.' We discussed how construction doesn't always have to mean big projects such as houses and we incorporated maths by counting each construction ring in our individual chains.
In other areas of the class the children created stories using stick puppets. We spoke about using our imagination and adapting stories as whilst many of the children recreated 'Little Red Riding Hood' with the puppets the child was a boy not a girl which put a small twist on the story. The children had a tea party with the fairies, developed their fine motor and maths skills, stretching elastic bands over various shapes and we did some still life drawing of tulips.
In the Outdoor Learning Environment the children became pirates, playing in one big group and using the scarfs as bandannas and freezing machines.
In our Focus Times we have been looking at the parts of a plant. We discussed the roots, stem, leaves and petals as well as the pollen. Everyone took it in turns to put some pollen on their finger as spoke about how this substance powers the bees to collect nectar and make honey. We also looked at shapes and created a plant entirely out of 2D shapes. In Dance with Miss Jade the children went on a wonderful adventure under the sea to become The Little Mermaid. They met a crab, witch and a prince before deciding that they wanted to return home, back to the sea and their family.
At the end of the week the Squirrels went on a real adventure. We started our morning by catching the London Underground from Balham to South Wimbledon. The children were all great at taking the steps up and down to the tube station in their pairs. We made sure to get on the very first carriage and wave to the driver as the tube pulled in. On the way to the theatre and back to Balham the driver waved back at us! The London Underground staff were very nice when we approached the barriers and we even taught some of the staff how to say thank you in Makaton.
After the tube it was time to take a short walk to the Polka Theatre where we met up with 345 Wandsworth to enjoy the show ‘The Pea and the Princess.’ The children were transfixed. The story was about a princess who wanted to read a book about a modern princess who was brave and strong. She didn’t wear a ball gown and wasn’t afraid to get dirty but she couldn’t find any stories about princesses like her in the library. The end message was that the classics will still remain but we can change and adapt the narrative for our generation and the future. Change may be a bit scary but it can be a very good thing.