Fun in the sun

After the winter that never ended this week’s glorious weather was well needed to kick start the Summer term.  The children were excited to spend lots of time playing in the garden in which they discovered many new things to play with.  Over the Easter break we had been busy building a new wooden wall for them to balance on around the bark pit as well as a climbing feature around the tree.  In addition, we extended the garden to make way for a new swing set which the children saw being built during the week and was finished on Friday.  The children were delighted to discover that the frogspawn that they had left over the Easter holidays had hatched into lively tadpoles.  The tadpoles have now been moved to a local pond to enjoy the rest of their lives as they had begun to outgrow their enclosure.

This week our preschool parents have found out which Primary School their child will be attending in September and many of the children were excited to share the news with their friends.  We will be doing a number of activities this term to help prepare the children for their transition including small group activities with children that are all going to the same school. Parents are asked to write down which school their child will be attending on the form in the hallway.

This term we are piloting a change in our morning routine to allow children more time for creativity and extended learning.  For 30 minutes in the middle of the session the children are given ‘carousel learning time’ during which time they can choose where they want to play.  This is by no means a free for all and there are clear expectations in terms of the behaviour of the children in the different learning areas.  Staff actively promote child initiated play and are on hand to ensure that they are focussed and busy.  This system helps children to think for themselves and pursue their own interests.  In the first week of trialling this we have been delighted in what we have seen in terms of the children’s creativity and their productivity during this half hour.  We would love to hear your feedback if any of your children have told you about the new routine and what they think about it.

Next week’s sound is g as in goat.