The children returned to a refurbished class and they've certainly enjoyed exploring the new resources and open-plan layout. During the course of the summer break, Robins underwent a contemporary refurbishment. A wall was removed, new flooring, fresh paint and of course, lots of new resources for the children to explore, investigate and share. A new kitchen was installed and the children have certainly made the most of the new facilities. 

This week’s topics were Marvellous Me and Settling In. The week started with lots of imaginary play using the new home corner. They thoroughly enjoyed using the stainless steel tea set and there was lots of great communication through the use of antique telephones. It was wonderful to listen and watch all the chatter and role-play as they used the many resources on offer to support their play.

Never missing a learning opportunity, we popped on our wellies and set about exploring the school grounds in the rain. We made our way to The Farm through the woods and soggy grass. Once there, we used our good looking eyes to observe the raindrops as they touched the surface of the pond. Afterwards, we looked at the tomatoes and noticed there were still many flowers on all the plants.

As part of this week’s topics, the children listened to starting school stories and we spoke about our interests and family members. Everyone’s families are different and are made of many family members. Our focus of the week, followed the story My Day, My Way. This followed the lives of four children (John, Keiko, Ashraf and Bibi) from around the world. The children learnt lots of interesting facts about different types of food and activities.

Cooking is a fond favourite of ours and it’s a great activity which links to many areas of the curriculum. This ranges from communication and language to mathematics and counting the cooking ingredients. This week’s culinary creations consisted of bread rolls, chocolate chip scones and apple crumble. I managed to knock the apples from the tree, whilst the children and Miss Ruby collected them and placed them inside the tub. On return to Robins, we peeled and chopped the cooking apples before cooking them on the hob. Once cooked, the children sprinkled their yummy topping over the apples.

Our existing Robins have been very kind to our new children and there has been lots of good listening and good sitting during carpet time activities. It is beneficial for children to understand the daily routine and structure as this supports their understanding of the daily structure. We regularly sit together at carpet time to discuss what’s happening now and what will happen next. 

Lots of fun was had exploring the peppermint playdough and there was lots of rolling, snipping and squeezing. The oat sensory tray was very popular and the Robins liked using their shiny spoons to transfer oats into different-sized tins.  

Next week’s topic is My Favourite Things. Your child is welcome to bring in something from home linked to our topic or one of their favourite things (just not too big!). Have a lovely weekend.