Weekly Experiences
In the baby room at Gants Hill the children have been exploring the outdoor environment. The weather this time of year is cold, but the children have been well wrapped up and have made the most of all available resources. The benefits of outdoor play span across the entire Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. It ranges from physical development to personal, social and emotional development. At Fareacres we believe that children of all ages should have access to the learning opportunities in the outdoors and that they should experience this daily.
Garden Play GH
Garden Play GH
Garden Play GH
The children in Rainbowfish room, South Woodford have been celebrating Diwali, the festival of light. They have been using flour and powder paint to create patterns which replicate the beautiful Rangoli patterns synonymous with Diwali. The use of flour and powder paint create a perfect sensory experience for the children to explore and begin to see that their movements create marks. This is the very first step to emerging literacy skills, and will enable the development of the writing and drawing required of them as they enter their future education.
Flour and Powder paint SW
Flour and powder paint SW
All children have been participating in making Rangoli patterns. Rangoli, meaning colour, is a pattern created for the floor from rice and coloured powder. This has been used to celebrate Diwali, celebrating different festivals help the children to understand the importance of bonding together, sharing joys and celebrating happiness with togetherness. This activity has promoted the children’s fine motor skills and offered communication opportunities extending the children’s vocabulary.
Rangoli GH
Rangoli GH
Rangoli GH
The children in Stingrays room South Woodford have been dressing and undressing the dolls. This is a great way to develop the children’s physical skills. Through dressing the dolls, children are using their hand eye co-ordination, and their fine motor skills, to tackle the fastenings and maneuver the clothing in a way that the dolls become clothed. The children all enjoyed this activity and were keen to offer their comments:
"Oh baby" - Francis
"Nappy" - Rodrigo
"Baby nappy" – Ibrahim
"Wipe with this" - Francis
Dressing Babies SW
Dressing Babies SW
Dressing Babies SW
Dressing Babies SW
At Gants Hill both rooms have been making divas for Diwali, the younger children have decorated their diva’s using a range of materials and resources. There are many benefits to this activity; it helps develop fine motor skills plus it’s a great for hand-eye coordination. It’s open-ended so even the youngest children can express their creativity.
Decorating Divas GH
The children in Sharks room South Woodford have been reading the fantastic story of ‘Brown bear’. The author of this story is Bill Martin, Jr, and the story uses rhyme and repetition to promote engagement from its audience. The children love to tell the story along with the adult, and also add their own comments:
"I’m the bear" - Xavi
“I have baa baa black sheep" – Ariya
“Purple cat, meow” - Isobel
The use of rhyme also develops a child’s ability to read later on. Recent research supports the use of rhyme in the early years, and if this is something you are interested to read further, please follow the link below:
https://theimaginationtree.com/the-importance-of-rhyme-in-early-literacy-development
Brown Bear SW
Brown Bear SW
Brown Bear SW
The older children in Gants Hill have created salt dough divas. Through creating these the children have manipulated the dough. This activity has helped the children develop eye-hand coordination and the ability to match hand movement with eye movement. The children also gain strength and improve dexterity in their hands and fingers, critical areas of physical development for writing, drawing, and other purposes.
Here is the recipe for salt dough:
Ingredients:
1 cup salt
2 cups of flour
¾ cup of water
Instructions:
- In a large bowl mix salt and flour together.
- Gradually stir in water. Mix well until it forms a doughy consistency.
- Turn the dough onto the bench and knead with your hands until smooth and combined.
- Make your creations using the salt dough.
- Place the salt dough creations into the oven at 180C. The amount of time needed to bake depends on the size and thickness of the salt dough creations.
Making Divas GH
Making Diva's GH
Making Divas GH
The children in Starfish room South Woodford have been budding scientists and have been taking part in an experiment to see what happens when they create ‘Orange volcanoes’. They started with an orange and scooped out the middle. They then added 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda to the orange. Separate to this, food colouring was added to a cup of vinegar. This was then slowly poured into the orange by the children, and they got to witness their own ‘Orange volcano’ erupting! This experiment offers learning opportunities across the curriculum, and provides the children with a new experience with which develops the breadth of their knowledge.
Orange Volcanoes SW
Orange Volcanoes SW
Orange Volcanoes SW
Orange Volcanoes SW
Orange Volcanoes SW
Top 5 Children’s Quotes of the week:
“My daddy goes to work every day. I don’t know what he does” - Isla
" I am going to tell my daddy that I want a baby brother" - Vanishka
"I haven’t lived in Sweden, but I have gone to Italy and Portugal" – August
“I like apples” – Reilly
"I have built a tower with lots of rows of red and green" – Armaan
Quote of the Week:
‘The goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child’s own natural desire to learn’
- Maria Montessori
Thank you for taking a glimpse into our Fareacres Learning Community
Until next time...
