From April to May we will be focussing on gardening and growing
with a little bit of care for the environment splashed in too.
It is spring and so once the daffodils retreat we
will be jumping into the spring gardening. The children have absolutely loved monitoring
the growth of the daffodils they planted as bulbs in winter and were really
excited by the proud daffodils once they bloomed. They also have loved
preparing our proposed flower bed and are ready and excited to get gardening!
The activities this month will be based around the Early Years
Foundation Stage (EYFS) areas of learning:
KUW-Care
for the environment, observing environmental change, learning that they can be
responsible to making change. PSED- Feeling
good about and responsible for living things . PSRN- Watching growth, increases in size, counting, sorting,
classifying. CLL learning new names
for plants and processes. Being able to articulate processes. PD Gross motor skills in lifting,
moving and seedlings. CD Designing the
garden layout.
Some of the activities we will be doing this month to support this
will be:
·
Jenny will be working with the children
in designing the new flower garden and planting.
·
Cristina will be growing hyacinths with
the children and other sprouts to look at plants and roots growing.
·
Laura W will be cultivating seedlings
for sunflowers with the children.
·
Rachel will be doing some collages with
the children using images of flower petals.
·
Christine H will be dissecting flowers
with the children and talking about all of the different parts of flowers.
·
Laura Z will be showing the children how
to make butterfly prints.
·
Laura J will be setting up the butterfly
tent and supporting the growth and development of the butterflies with the children.
What you could do to support your children at home:
·
If you are a gardener and have seedlings
that you have too many of, send them in with your child to add to our garden.
·
Take your child for a spring walk. A
great place to visit is the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park as it is full
of flowers and spring action on the pond.
·
Observe and talk about all of the
changes on the trees and in gardens.
·
For the older Dolphins, see if you can
get them to remember what happened last spring and if the can predict what will
happen next.
