The children were very excited to put their wellies on and get wrapped up warm. On our walk, we noticed that the trees did not have any leaves on their branches and discussed why this might be. Each child took photos of these trees on the class iPad to inspire us to do some observational paintings of winter landscapes later on in the week. The children noticed that some trees were still green and we learnt about the difference between deciduous and evergreen trees.

We had an interesting discussion about if it was winter in all parts of the world at the moment. It was fascinating to think about how it is currently summer in Australia and New Zealand and we discussed what this might be like. We also discussed how some countries don’t have seasonal weather changes and it is hot all year long.

Wednesday was a very exciting day for Transition as it was our turn to lead the Pre-Prep Assembly. All of the children stood up confidently in front of the audience. We shared our New Year's wishes, sang the happy song and shared our posters about what makes us happy. Well done Transition for all of your hard work and bravery to stand up in front of everyone!

Our letter sound focus for this week has been m. We thought of lots of words for the m sound including mouse, music, microwave, mountain and marshmallow! The children enjoyed creating pieces of art out of macaroni. Connecting our theme for the week and our letter sound, we had a very exciting time on Thursday decorating biscuits. Using marshmallows, icing sugar and some sweets, we made our biscuits look like melting snowmen. The children thoroughly enjoyed creating their decorations. I hope there were lots of mmmm sounds when they were enjoyed at home!

A very popular activity during our free play this week was to explore the ice set up outside in Elsa’s ice palace. The children enjoyed role playing Anna, Elsa and Olaf from Disney’s Frozen and there was lots of brilliant talk about what was happening to the ice cubes as the day went on and the sunshine warmed them up.

We have also been playing a maths game this week, where the children are challenged to recognise a number between 1 and 5 without counting the dots. I have been so impressed with how well the children are getting on with this game. They are getting quicker and quicker each day!