We kicked off the week by becoming archaeologists in our fossil hunting tray. The children loved using the paintbrushes to gently uncover the marks of different dinosaurs and their bones. This was great for their small motor skills and introduced a new way of mark making. Some of the children even looked through our toy dinosaurs to see if they could match the footprints and marks, to discover who had left them behind!

There have also been a lot of opportunities for the children to use their imaginations and get creative this week. The first instance was in a junk modelling activity. The children used everyday, recyclable items, with glue and tape to create their own dinosaurs. Using the model dinosaurs as reference, they enjoyed looking at the different horns, claws, tails and armour, and creating them out of various materials. 

Nursery have also enjoyed creating more dinosaurs out of clay, again looking at all of the different parts and using their hands to mold the clay into different shapes. Next week, we will bring them to life by painting them! 

To work on some mathematical skills, we used blocks to measure different dinosaurs, learning words like bigger, smaller, longer, shorter and many more. The children took this activity to another level by then using the blocks to create planes and helicopters to take the dinosaurs away from the exploding volcano. What superb imaginations the Nursery class have been showing!

On Monday, we also had our Perform Drama Workshop with our friends from Transition Class and Form 1. The leader of the session led us into the imaginary world of a toy shop and everybody had an exciting time pretending to be lots of different toys, helping to save the day! 

Throughout the week we have been reading not only The Worrysaurus but also The Colour Monster, How Do You Feel Today?, and using the Feeling Better video series on Bitesize to teach us about a huge range of emotions. These have led to many group discussions about how these emotions feel physically, what may make us feel them and what we can do to help ourselves feel better. These ideas all support their social and emotional skills, leading to greater self-confidence and self-regulation. 

Next week is Children's Mental Health Week, so we will be continuing with our story to learn more about how to look after ourselves and manage our feelings. Have a lovely weekend!