The children watched some informative clips showing combine harvesters working away in the field and we discussed the sorts of fruits and vegetables that are ripe at this time of year. This linked well to our theme of autumn and the changes we have noticed taking place in the natural world.

The children had a closer look at some vegetables and we discussed where they grow - over or under the ground. The children passed the vegetables around the circle and explored the smell, texture and shape of each of them. We then read the story Oliver's Vegetables which is a story all about a little boy who says he only eats chips. During a stay with his Grandad (who has a garden full of vegetables), Oliver discovers he actually loves eating a lot more than just chips! This story explores if vegetables grow over or under the ground and this led to lots of conversation about what part of the plant we actually eat.

The children loved the role play this week as it transformed into a farm shop with lots of real vegetables. The children enjoyed stocking the shelves, shopping for vegetables and pretending to pay for them at the till. Using scales, children weighed vegetables and played with real money. The children were keen to make labels for the vegetables in the shop and write shopping lists. They have also had fun exploring pea pods and just how many peas are in each of the pods. Using tweezers and scissors, the children had great fun exploring this.

Thinking about seasonal fruits, the children made their own apple crumble on Tuesday. We discussed the different parts of the apple, the seeds and their purpose. We read a recipe and the children learned how important instructional language is, looking at the words; first, next, then and finally. We discussed the ingredients and then got to work preparing the apples. The children had a little go at peeling the skin off and then used knives to cut the apple into small pieces ready for the crumble. Later, we made the crumble topping and the children got stuck in rubbing the butter and flour together using their fingers.

We enjoyed our crumble before we went home and it was a big hit! Form 1 said they would like to do lots more cooking in the future.

We continued to explore where vegetables grow later in the week when oil pastels and water colours were introduced to the children. We talked about how the oil pastels will repel the water colour paint and that this can work to create an effect when used together. Firstly, the children drew vegetables using oil pastels, deciding if they were over or under the ground. They then used watercolour paint over the oil pastels to represent the sky and soil.

On Wednesday, the children in Pre-Prep were visited by a local dental team who came to explain to the children how important it is to take care of their teeth. The children listened beautifully to the explanation about how to brush all of their teeth and that we must do this twice a day for two minutes. We used our class timer to help the children make the link to how long this actually is. They then completed an activity to sort foods that are kind to our teeth and some that are not to be eaten too often as they can be harmful. Everyone was given their own little tube of toothpaste to take home and a special sticker for listening so well!

In the classroom, the children had a go at using toothbrushes to clean some of the silver-plated goblets that we have in our roleplay. They squeezed the toothpaste out of the tube and enjoyed ensuring they got every little bit covered!

On Thursday, we had a great day celebrating Modern Foreign Languages Day. The children dressed up as a country of their choice and they all looked fantastic. Each child told the class what they had come dressed as and we had a little discussion about each of the places. We learned how to say hello in different languages and watched a little clip about various places around the world. 

Form 1 enjoyed trying some fun activities linked to various places around the world all throughout the day. The children loved imagining they were in Italy and made their own mini pizzas with mozzarella, tomatoes, sweetcorn, black olives and basil. These were also a big hit when it came to eating them and they were enjoyed at snack time. We made paper Russian Dolls and Spanish fans using lollipop sticks. We also looked at lots of different flags and had a go at making some of our own. The children also really loved making African necklaces using paper plates and pasta to represent beads.