Cedar House Nursery

Pre-school have enjoyed doing lots of singing this week during their topic of nursery rhymes! 🎵

Throughout the week, pre-school have enjoyed a variety of different nursery rhyme themed tuff trays. From a pond tray to represent 5 speckled frogs 🐸 to a farm themed tray for Old MacDonald. The pre-school children have loved singing the different nursery rhymes, all singing along and joining in with the actions. Outside, the children got the instruments out and had a go at singing the songs whilst playing along with the different instruments. They enjoyed using the wooden sticks to bang the drums 🪘 and experimenting with other instruments to create a variety of sounds.

Pre-school have also enjoyed engaging with the water wall outside too, especially now that we have had some rain! 🌧️ They used pots and pans to scoop and pour the water down the pipes adding some boats to the pipes so they could see them race down! 🚤

The topic in baby room this week has been gardening! 🧑‍🌾

The babies have enjoyed role playing with the different gardening themed cuddly toys! They have loved playing with the ladybird 🐞 spider 🕷️ butterfly 🦋 and caterpillar 🐛 toys, feeling the softness of their texture and seeing what noise they make when they squeeze them! We have also been singing lots of songs this week, especially incy wincy spider as that is something we see lots of in the garden.

The babies also had a great time engaging in a sensory tuff tray. Inside were some chia seeds that had been soaked in water which turned them into a slimy sensory experience! We pretended the chia seeds were soil that the babies then had the opportunity to dig in using a variety of tools from buckets to mini garden forks. They loved feeling the slimy texture of the chia seeds and using their hands and the tools to scoop the seeds into the different containers. 🌱

This week, the toddlers have enjoyed learning about all things under the sea! 🐠

They have created their very own rainbow fish, using different coloured pieces of paper to do so. They enjoyed applying the glue to their paper and feeling the sticky texture of the glue before creating their own colourful collages of rainbow coloured fish! They have also had fun doing some fishing too! Using the green nets, they fished for different sea animals in the water tray. They used their motor skills to carefully place the nets into the water to see what creatures they could catch! 🦀 🐠 🐙

Outside, the toddlers have enjoyed role playing with the different sea animals in an under the sea themed tuff tray. As they engaged in the tray, they talked about the different sea animals they could see, from sharks 🦈 to jellyfish 🪼 to whales! 🐳 They once again used the nets during this activity to see if they could catch the different sea animals too!

Last week, the toddlers enjoyed a Gruffalo themed week!

They went for a walk through the deep, dark woods and went for a hunt for all the animals the mouse meets on his journey. They were able to find the snake 🐍 the fox 🦊 and the owl 🦉 The toddlers have loved reading the Gruffalo story throughout the week, joining in with the story too!

In the playground, the toddlers had fun playing in a Gruffalo themed tuff tray filled with natural materials from pinecones to twigs! The Gruffalo characters were also in the tray and the children had fun pretending to be the different characters and also being the Gruffalo!

This week, the babies have been learning about farmyard animals! 🐖 🐑 🐄

For creative this week, they have made their own wooly sheep! They first used a paintbrush to apply some glue to their sheep and many of them were fascinated by the feel of the glue, experimenting with its sticky texture and being surprised as the cotton wool stuck to their fingers! Once the glue was on, they stuck some cotton wool onto the sheep to create its wool. They enjoyed feeling the softness of the cotton wool and some pulled it apart to find it was even fluffier on the inside!

Throughout the week, the babies have been singing Old MacDonald and becoming more familiar with the different noises they might hear on a farm, from baaing sheep 🐑 to mooing cows 🐄 They have also enjoyed spending some time outside, riding around in cars, climbing on the climbing frame and going for a nice walk too!

The theme of the week for the toddler room has been outdoor play! They have loved spending lots of time outside this week, having a go with a range of toys and tools. In the wigwam, the toddlers have enjoyed pushing a variety of wheelbarrows around, placing different objects inside and racing them around. They have also done a spot of gardening, digging around in the mud and also seeing if they can spot any bugs! 🐜

The toddlers have had fun going into the different wooden teepees ⛺️ pretending they’re houses or nursery. And they have also tested their climbing skills and shown amazing bravery tackling the wooden climbing frame. They needed some support at first to climb the steps and reach the ropes but after lots of perseverance, some of them were able to have a go independently! 💪

Pre-school have channelled their inner builders this week during their theme of construction! 🚧 🦺 🏗️

They have been getting stuck in with helping to create a brand new sensory shed in our outdoor area! Inside there are lots of different sensory tiles that the children have had fun interacting with, using their fingers to feel the different materials. Pre-school have enjoyed reading stories in there, finding a space to sit and quietly read a story of their choice. They are looking forward to getting involved as we continue to add to this lovely sensory space.

The children have also had fun getting messy and doing some painting. They used a range of tools to create marks on a large sheet, using paintbrushes to create big strokes and also car/truck wheels to create different tyre marks along the sheet too. They have used many materials to build and construct things this week, from foam building blocks to playdough, creating their own houses🏠

Last week, preschool’s theme was Earth week! 🌍

They spent lots of time outside during the week. They enjoyed using their observational skills to do some drawing on the whiteboards. They looked around carefully to see what they could see outside and then had a go at drawing plants, trees and animals 🌲 🐿️ 🌺 They also had fun using the magnifying glasses to take a closer look. They peered into the soil to see if they could spot any bugs and then, using the things they saw as well as some bug hunting guides, they drew them on the paper.

Pre-school got their hands dirty in the soil planting some seeds. They spoke about the things they need to grow a plant as they did so. They first added the soil to their pot before sprinkling some seeds on top. They covered the seeds with the soil and then added some water. They also know that their plants will need sunshine to grow too! ☀️ 🌱

Last week, the babies enjoyed doing all about the jungle! 🐅 🐍 🐵

They created their own tiger face masks using orange and black paint. They loved feeling the paint with their fingers and had a go at using the brush to apply the paint to their masks. They then had fun putting the masks on their faces, pretending to be tigers and roaring super loud!

Throughout the week, we have been talking about the different animals we might see in the jungle and practicing our animal sounds and actions. We have roared like tigers, stomped our feet like elephants 🐘 and hissed like snakes! 🐍 Outside, the babies enjoyed playing together, climbing up the climbing frame and playing in the sand.

Last week was World Tiger Day so the toddlers spent the week learning all about tigers! 🐅

They painted some lovely pictures of tigers using orange and yellow paint. As they painted, they spoke about the colours they were using and also the noise that a tiger makes, showing off their impressive roaring skills.

They also enjoyed reading the story of the tiger who came to tea before engaging in a tuff tray based on the story. They had fun using the paintbrushes to make marks in the sand as well as using the different cookie cutters to make shapes in the sand too. As they engaged in the tray, they tried to see how much of the story they could remember! 🐯