Rand Farm

Yesterday we had the best time at Rand Farm!
We started our day feeding the animals their breakfast which tickled our hands. The children loved seeing all the different animals and asked lots of questions based on what they observed. The children stroked the calfs and used lots of descriptive language about how they felt. We went to see the baby piglets sleeping in the barn and we thought the different types of chickens looked really funny!

The next activity was to meet the rabbits which we thought was very soft. The children knew that they needed to handle the rabbits gently so that the rabbits did not get hurt. From here, we went to feed the baby calfs their milk. This brought a lot of laughter amongst the children as the calfs were very thirsty sucking on the bottles. As this made us hungry we thought it would be a good time to have lunch! The children loved their party boxes filled with a yummy sandwich and treats followed by a cracker that they pulled with a friend.

After our lunch we were ready go again!

We went to see someone very special who wears red and we were so EXCITED to see him!
Yes it was Santa! Whilst we waited our turn we made some reindeer food to take home and looked at the reel reindeers in the barn. An elf then came to collect us and we all sat together to see Santa and told him what we would like for Christmas. Santa gave us all a big present!

The fun didn't stop there.....!

We went on a tractor ride which was a little bumpy, making it fun! We saw the sheep in the field who are due to have baby lambs in February and we got to see the shire horse with her foals. We then went to see all the other children and went to play in the soft play area. Here the children demonstrated different ways of moving and collaborated with their friends by helping them onto the equipment. After such a long day all the children were all exhausted, some had a little nap on the way home.

What a wonderful day we had!

Outdoor Learning

This week we have loved the outdoors!

There has been a tremendous amount of learning outside this week. The children have been interested in the weather, looking at the frost and exploring their shadows. We searched for items that glistened in the sun and found frost inside our play den. The children have also been exploring ice, watching it change properties and looked closely at the air bubbles. Some children decided to draw around their shadows and kept coming back to see where it moved too. This provided lots of questions to why their shadow has moved? What makes a shadow? Why does it get smaller throughout the day? They made predictions and tested their ideas which was amazing!...

Staying Safe

The children often talk about being safe in the classroom and in our outdoor area. We decided to use our Class Council session to have a discussion about how we stay safe in and around school. The children's ideas and understanding were AMAZING! We recorded their responses and have it proudly on display in our classroom. Have a look at some of the amazing things we said ...

Remembrance Day

This week we remembered the brave people who have and are currently fighting in battle. During assembly we participated in a whole school two minute silence. We talked about the significance of the poppy symbol on Remembrance day and made our own poppies and displayed them in our corridor ...

Food (Pizza)

This week we have been learning about food and where it comes from. The children have been making some yummy pizza's and chose what toppings they wanted. This activity enhanced communication skills and the children could tell us what foods they enjoy eating at home.

Making pizza's sparked and interest in wanting to make a giant one outside in the mud kitchen. The children worked together to collect mud and some water, stirred it in a tough spot and found some leaves for the pepperoni. The children then developed a narrative to their play (mums and dads) and started to serve the other children the pizza, hot chocolate and ice-cream for pudding! 

Pizza Orders

The children really enjoyed the pizza delivery and making their own pizzas. This really encouraged the children to write their own pizza orders. Have a look at some of our amazing pizza orders and spellings ...

Bonfire Night

Over the past couple of days we have loved learning about Bonfire Night. The children listened carefully to the story of Guy Fawkes and expressed lots of excitement watching the fireworks on the screen.

The children have been making lovely firework pictures, yummy chocolate apples and whizzing rockets. The children chose what they wanted to do and blew our socks off with their creations! 

Outside the children expressed their interest in Bonfire Night through play. As a group the children wanted to build a Bonfire like the one they had previously observed in the video. They came up with some fantastic ideas! The children collected wood, wanted yellow material for fire, boxes, and cones to "protect people".  From this they wanted a Guy Fawkes and they found a stick. We spoke about whether it looked like Guy Fawkes and this developed new ideas. The children demonstrated excellent team work trying to attach the clothes and problem-solved to find the right size bottle to fit into his arms. 

Pumpkins

We love our outdoor area in Autumn because there is so much to talk about! We observe the changing leaves, the changing weather and have chance to enjoy Autumn traditions. The children enjoyed carving pumpkins at home in the school holidays for our school pumpkin parade so we thought we would give the children another opportunity to carve up some pumpkins. The children had some wonderful adjectives to describe the different textures of the pumpkin. They used their safety knives to cut the hard shell of the pumpkins and special spoons to scoop out the fillings. 

The children were really excited to find seeds inside the pumpkins and some of the boys decided to plant some seeds so that they could grow their own and not have to buy them from the shop. They found a suitable container to put some soil in, got water from the waterfall, covered the top of the soil in leaves (so the birds don't steal them) and knew that they had to be kept in sunshine to grow. They wrote their names on paper to tell their friends that they were not allowed to touch the seeds...