This week in Nursery we have been celebrating Lunar New Year! In the Chinese Zodiac it will be the Year of the Dragon, so we got stuck into lots of themed activities!
First we explored a tuff tray filled with red noodles, we used spoons and our hands to pick up the noodles. We said words like "red" and "sticky" when we touched it, some of us held the spoons firmly in our hands and were able to concentrate well and scoop up the noodles and place them into the saucepan. We were fascinated with the colour and glitter we could see.
We also discovered a big dragon picture to do mark-making on! We took turns with the pencils and crayons and made lots of lines and circles all over the dragon's face and body/ We stood back and
said 'wow' to what we had made! Some of us could also name some of the colours we could see like red, blue, and green.
We have been wrapping up warm and going out to spend time in the big garden and cabin. One of our interests when outside is filling up the bottles with warm water from the tap, we can get the bottles into the right place so the water flows in! Once full up we like to walk around with our bottles pouring the water out, with encouragement from the adults we poured the water onto the flowerbeds and trees. The adults explain water helps the plant grow!
Back in the room, we explored more sensory activities in the tuff tray based around the Lunar New Year! This time red rice was placed over a paper lantern. The adults encouraged us to get stuck in using our hands to feel and move the rice around. In Time Together we have been singing new songs about Lunar New Year, we joined in by clapping our hands and saying words like "dragon" and "red."
At the end of the week, we went down to the dining room to do a cutting activity! We all sat around the table, listening well to Jenny and Katie when they gave us instructions! We took turns holding the child-friendly knife and cut up the banana to eat we were able to say words like 'yellow' and 'banana', and we couldn't wait to eat it all up after! We also had a go at cutting up a cucumber
which was a little bit harder, so Jenny helped us push the knife through to cut a piece to eat. Yummy! Well done Nursery you have had a lovely week exploring!
This week in Kindergarten we been on a trip around the world with activities based all around Lunar New Year! Fireworks, painting, sticking, outdoor play, small world play and even some food tasting – wow!
We started the week with a ‘bang’ with some firework painting in the art studio! The tuff tray was filled with bright traditional paints such as yellow red and white, and we were encouraged to use cardboard inners which had been cut into a star shape to create some splatters! We got very creative and had lots of fun lifting the stampers up and down, creating a firework pattern.
We’ve also been showing off our musical talents exploring instruments! We tried out the maracas, drums and tambourines, exploring the different types of sounds we could create. We started to shake and dance along, what a celebration!
We also explored a lantern themed tuff tray, which we were invited to paint with pompoms. This was a great new sensory experience, and we created some brilliant new effects! We even got creative with sticking and gluing on some pretty feathers.
Later the children got to experience water play indoors with a little tray filled with beautiful sea shells , hidden treasures , and sea animals . With a splash here and ripple there - Kindergarten where encouraged to discuss what they could see and feel . And even got to find the hidden treasure - yay !
In the courtyard we stepped back in time, where baby dinosaurs were hiding in the sand and the big dinosaurs were roaming the ground.
At the end of the week we were given the chance to explore some new tastes and textures! We tried prawn crackers, fortune cookies and vegetable pancake rolls. We were all brave and tried the different tastes and textures, and we learned all about each food and where it comes from!
What a week of celebrations we have had in Kindergarten!
This week in Pre-School we have been learning all about Lunar New Year, and the many ways different countries celebrate this event! We talked about how countries like China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines celebrate, with fireworks, lanterns, and food. We made our paper lanterns, and had the opportunity to taste some prawn crackers and yummy herbal teas! We also explored noodles, trying to pick them up and move them with chopsticks, what a great challenge for our fine motor skills!
We've all been interested in dinosaurs at the moment, and we have been lucky enough to have been given some new dinosaur toys which have been a big hit! We have learned about what fossils are, and some of the children have used the dinosaurs to make some footprints and fossils out of salt dough. This was so
much fun!
Outside has also been very exciting with lots of new equipment being added to the garden as well as some brilliant basketball hoops. We have been practicing our throwing skills and have been rather good!
