As the Old Hall was in use Monday morning, we collected our shopping from the Music Room. The children all worked together and they used their super strong muscles to pack all the groceries into our reusable shopping bags. 

It was lovely welcoming our new Robin this week and he is already settling in very well. Children settle extremely well in Russell Robins due to our nurturing and home-from-home environment. 

We’ve certainly had a very spook-tacular and fang-tastic week. FunnyBones was greeted by another spooky friend, belonging to one of the Robins. It was Mr Boo! Having these little characters acts as a bridge between a child’s imagination and real-world learning. FunnyBones has certainly captured the children’s imagination and he has modelled good behaviour and good manners. The Robins have enjoyed taking turns to carry him around the school grounds and he even had a ride on one of the children’s show and tell toys… Sheila the Scottie Dog. In fact, these resources have captured the children’s imaginations so much that the children decided to put a nappy on Scottie Dog to minimise any unwanted accidents in class. 

During carpet time we spoke about hibernation and we looked at the different types. There were some tricky words, such as brumation, torpor and diapause. The children learnt that squirrels do not hibernate but they do spend more time in their homes (dreys). 

It was our turn to host the Pre-Prep assembly on Wednesday and, in true Robins-style, we made sure everyone had lots of fun by doing the Monster Mash. There was lots of bopping and twisting whilst everyone danced away to some spoooooky music. 

Our talk for learning consisted of identifying a variety of spooky pictures on the poster. We used some of these for our assembly as we did a quiz and each class answered a question. Well done, Pre-Prep. 

Exploring the great outdoors is always a favourite of ours in Robins. We visited the sheep, chased bubbles and even spotted a red kite flying above us. On our way back, we took an opportunity to lay on the grass and look above us. It was lovely listening to the sounds of the autumnal leaves rustling in the wind. Its activities like this which support the children’s wellbeing, being surrounded by the natural world. 

This week’s cooking activities consisted of banana and sultana low sugar muffins, wholemeal bread rolls, vegetable soup and sandwiches. The children’s strength has improved and they are now able to chop through thinly sliced butternut squash. 

It was our Pre-Prep Coffee Morning on Friday and we hope you all enjoyed the performances. It hopefully gave you a little insight into how much the children enjoy learning, but in a fun play-based way. 

Lastly, I hope you are all enjoying our weekly videos. Photos are a good way of capturing special moments but videos provide a more dynamic way of capturing the process, voice and progression of children’s learning. 

When we return, our topics will be fireworks, exploring colour and Diwali. We have lots of fun activities planned to support the children’s learning. The children are encouraged to bring in something from home (just not too big please) related to our weekly topic or anything else they would like to share or celebrate with us. Miss Ruby and I would like to thank you all for your support with our weekly topics. The Robins enjoy sharing their objects from home during carpet time and it is a fantastic way to build effective communication and listening skills.  

Have a lovely half-term break!