What are we doing in Dolphins for May?The interest in emergency services has spread into all sorts of vehicles and talking about what different vehicles are for and why we use them. Planes are a big part of this because we take them for holidays and for many of us, to visit family. Buses lots of the children look at and wish they took them more and boats seem to be a fascination lots of children wich they could go on!
Some of the activities we will be doing this month to support this will be:
• Discussing the types of transport we use and what we use it for.
• Creating more vehicles and extending on the junk modelling vehicles we have been doing.
• Games involving vehicles- counting them, matching them.
• Learning a new song about a Big Red Bus.
• Visiting the train station and maybe even taking a trip on a train.
• Aeroplane spotting and counting.
• Reading books about vehicles.
• Taking a safe trip near a road to count and classify the vehicles we see.
What you could do to support your children at home:
• Set yourself up a little spot safely by a road and spot the different types of vehicles. Name the colours, type and numbers of them.
• Go for some little trips on buses and the trains. Make it an event like going to Richmond on the train or bus to have a treat in a cafe.
• Find a spot in a park or in your garden if you have one and lie back and count the planes that go overhead. Classify them into big, small, noisy, quiet, up high, down lower.
• Recall and talk about times you have travelled on different vehicles and why you went on them.
• Go to the library and get some books out on vehicles.
• Spend some quality time playing with your toy vehicles at home.
What are we doing in Starfish for May?
Our Starfish children have loved talking about vehicles over the last month and their enthusiasm in them has not slowed, in fact it has grown, so we are continuing to investigate cars, bikes, buses, planes, scooters and trains as well as all the other activities going on.
Some of the activities we will be doing this month will involve:
• Focussing on matching noises with the vehicles and naming pictures.
• Making bikes and aeroplanes.
• Reading stories involving vehicles.
• Introducing new books with vehicles in them.
• Talking about bikes or scooters they have at home.
• Using boxes to make trains to play in.
• Lining up the chairs to make bus journeys.
• Taking another picnic to spot some interesting vehicles on the road.
Some ideas to support your children at home:
• Children love ride on toys and if you don’t want to buy one, you could borrow one from friends or the toy library. The advantage also is that it is not yet another big toy to clutter your place- you have to give it back.
• Point out and talk about the vehicles on the way to nursery either from your car or their buggy.
• Take some time out and sit down with a car between you and your child and push it back and forth between you- toddlers can keep this game going for ages.
• Go for a ride on a train or bus.
• If you are in the county side, point out some big vehicles on farms.
• Line up your furniture and go for a train ride with them.
• And don’t forget to keep the wheels on the bus going!
• Share with the starfish a photo of your child on a scooter, bike or vehicle of some sort for us to make a little display of them.
What are we doing in Seahorses for May?
• Focussing on matching noises with the vehicles and naming pictures.
• Making bikes and aeroplanes.
• Reading stories involving vehicles.
• Introducing new books with vehicles in them.
• Talking about bikes or scooters they have at home.
• Using boxes to make trains to play in.
• Lining up the chairs to make bus journeys.
• Taking another picnic to spot some interesting vehicles on the road.
Some ideas to support your children at home:
• Children love ride on toys and if you don’t want to buy one, you could borrow one from friends or the toy library. The advantage also is that it is not yet another big toy to clutter your place- you have to give it back.
• Point out and talk about the vehicles on the way to nursery either from your car or their buggy.
• Take some time out and sit down with a car between you and your child and push it back and forth between you- toddlers can keep this game going for ages.
• Go for a ride on a train or bus.
• If you are in the county side, point out some big vehicles on farms.
• Line up your furniture and go for a train ride with them.
• And don’t forget to keep the wheels on the bus going!
• Share with the starfish a photo of your child on a scooter, bike or vehicle of some sort for us to make a little display of them.
What are we doing in Seahorses for May?
The seahorses are a pretty content little group at the moment and have really started to show a great sense of belonging in their space. They know where thing are, what their place in the room is and which staff they have really taken a shine to. Some of them have started to show an interest in animals, so we are planning on providing lots of opportunity to learn a little more about animals.
What are we doing at the nursery to support this:
• Provide plenty of books with animals in them.
• Name animals and make the noises that go with them.
• Old MacDonald had a farm will join the room with a variety of animals.
• Make some artwork on the shapes of familiar pets such and dogs and cats.
• Provide lots of opportunity with the small world animals.
• Put the animals in the sand, water, slime for some extended exploration.
What could you do to support the children and reinforce what they have experienced at the nursery?
• Go to the library and get some books out on animals, including some with real life pictures.
• If you have pets at home, bring photos of them into the nursery so the children can relate to their pet and have a nice sense of home in the nursery.
• Sing Old MacDonald had a Farm. While the babies won’t sing along with you, you should get a wriggle and smiles of enjoyment because they love hearing you sing. Some of them may hum or make noises with you.
• Make sure you name animals when you see them. Children often pick up dog and cat (or variations of them) when they are learning to talk. Dog spotting on walks is also often a favourite activity for older babies.
• Buy or borrow some little small world animals for them to play with and investigate. Play with them; naming, making noises or moving them.
• If you work part time and have a child friendly dog, you could bring it into the nursery for the children to look at on one of your days off.
• Provide plenty of books with animals in them.
• Name animals and make the noises that go with them.
• Old MacDonald had a farm will join the room with a variety of animals.
• Make some artwork on the shapes of familiar pets such and dogs and cats.
• Provide lots of opportunity with the small world animals.
• Put the animals in the sand, water, slime for some extended exploration.
What could you do to support the children and reinforce what they have experienced at the nursery?
• Go to the library and get some books out on animals, including some with real life pictures.
• If you have pets at home, bring photos of them into the nursery so the children can relate to their pet and have a nice sense of home in the nursery.
• Sing Old MacDonald had a Farm. While the babies won’t sing along with you, you should get a wriggle and smiles of enjoyment because they love hearing you sing. Some of them may hum or make noises with you.
• Make sure you name animals when you see them. Children often pick up dog and cat (or variations of them) when they are learning to talk. Dog spotting on walks is also often a favourite activity for older babies.
• Buy or borrow some little small world animals for them to play with and investigate. Play with them; naming, making noises or moving them.
• If you work part time and have a child friendly dog, you could bring it into the nursery for the children to look at on one of your days off.
