Maths and messy play have been the main themes of the last few weeks. Foam, paint, bubble wrap and cotton wool have encouraged the children to talk about texture and consistency. Funnels, syringes and pots have been available outside with warm water, stimulating conversation about size and capacity. The new waterproof all-in-one suits have proved very handy for this activity! We’ve also added more scooters outside, as these seem to be very popular at the moment, and they’re an enjoyable way for the children to exercise.
As always, we’ve continued to follow the children’s interests and turn play into learning opportunities. Indoors, small world play with a Noah’s Ark set sparked interest in rainbows, ships and animals. We built on these interests by discussing what a rainbow really is, learning the ‘animals went in two by two’ song, and adding pirate ships and figurines to encourage imaginative play. This tied in with an earlier activity in which the children had to dig to find treasure—buried ‘gemstones’ in the sand. To expand on the treasure-hunting activity, we introduced scales so that the children could weigh their finds and practise number recognition. We also had another treasure hunt for magnetic letters; let them make ‘aged’ treasure maps by staining paper with tea bags; and read the exciting interactive book, We’re Going on A Treasure Hunt’ by Martha Mumford.
We have already had our initial talk with Buckden Primary School regarding the new starters we will be sending to them in September. We’re steadily encouraging our July leavers towards greater independence, so that they feel more confident when the time comes to go to big school!
Committee Members Still Needed
Our current committee is still very small and include some members with very busy jobs, and not as much time to spare as they would like. This means we would still love some new members! We’re a friendly group, you won’t be asked to take on any tasks or responsibilities that you don’t want. Please contact Helen, our chairperson, or Debby, our treasurer, at buckdenpreschoolcommittee@gmail.com for more details.