What Dolphins will be doing in November and December 2014

With the children getting excited about Christmas and learning new Christmas songs, we have decided during November and December we will look at different celebrations from around the world. This includes Fireworks, Remembrance Day, Hanukkah, Thanks giving, St Andrew’s day, St Lucia and Christmas.

The activities this month will be based around

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) areas of learning:

Prime areas:

PSED: Adapt behaviour to different events, social situations and changes in routines. PD: Show increased control over an object in pushing, patting, throwing, catching or kicking it. C&L Show interest in play with sounds, songs and stories.

Specific areas:

L: Ascribe meaning to marks that they see in different places. M: Realise not only objects, but everything can be counted. UW: Recognise and describe special times or events for family and friends.  EA&D: Join in singing favourite songs,

Some of the activities we will be doing this month to support this will be:

·         Poppies. The children will be making poppies for Remembrance Day.

·         Advent calendar. Marie Claire will be supporting the preschool children to make an advent calendar using pictures and numbers and learn more about advent.

·         Thanks giving. Marie Claire will be making finger paint turkeys with the children in celebration of thanks giving

·         Salt Dough decorations.  Christine will be working with the children to create salt dough decorations to decorate and take home to hang on the Christmas tree.

·         Box decorating. Abongi will support the children as they decorate boxes using paper fabric, tape and other resources,

·         St Andrew’s day. Abongi will be making Scottish flags and tartan patterns with the children in celebration of St Andrew’s day.

·         Menorah. Victoria will be assisting the children to create a menorah and learn about Hanukkah.

·         Hand print Wreaths/Reindeer. Using their own handprints, Victoria will help the children to make wreaths and reindeers to hang up.

·         St Lucia. Emma will be helping the children celebrate and learn more about St Lucia, by making paper candles, head dresses, sing songs and making buns to share.

·         Christmas songs. In preparation for Carols by candle light we will all be practicing our favourite Christmas songs and learning a couple of new ones.

What you could do to support your children at home:

·         Practice for Carols by candle light. With your child practice some of the songs that we will be singing at carols by candle light. (song sheets available by email or in reception)

·         Get wrapping. Get your child to make their own wrapping paper or gift tags, and get them to help you wrap presents for people special to them, this can help them develop their hand eye coordination as well as their self-confidence through selecting and using resources.

What Sea Turtles will be doing in November and December 2014

To follow on from last month’s topic of changes around us, the big change of the year will be Christmas with decorations, carols, presents, a total change in the environment. We will also take a look at some of the other celebrations that go on around this time of the year such as thanks giving and Hanukkah

The activities this month will be based around the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) areas of learning:

Prime areas:

PSED: Explore new experiences & environments with security from a familiar person. PD: Develop and use fine motor skills to explore and manipulate textures and objects new to them. C&L: Enjoy rhymes and songs, listening and trying to join in with actions and vocalisations.

Specific areas:

L: Handles books and printed materials with interest. M: Gaining an interest, know that some things exist, even when out of sight.  EA&D: Use a range of media to create festive works of art and decorations. UW: Observe changes as the festive world starts to emerge around them.

Some of the activities we will be doing this month will involve:

·         Christmas stories. Manjit will being telling Christmas stories using story sacks, puppets and props.

·         Music and movement. Afia will encourage the children to move their bodies in a variety of ways such as trotting like a reindeer, stretching as tall as a Christmas tree and making themselves round like a Christmas pudding.

·         Flash cards. Using different medias, Christina will be assisting the children to make their own festive flash cards and then use them in circle time to help extend their vocabulary.

·         Christmas Grotto. Alice will be making a Christmas grotto for the children to explore and play in.

·         Hanukkah. Amina will be looking at Hanukkah with the children and making paper Kippahs/ yarmulkes and Menorahs and decorating them

·         All things Christmassy. Hannah will help the children to make Christmas stockings, bake Christmas cookies and make a Santa’s sleigh using large boxes.

·         Nativity. Alice will work with small groups to create a nativity for the children to look at and play with.

·         Salt dough Reindeers. Afia will assist the children to make and paint Salt dough reindeers.

·         Christmas Carols. We will all be practicing Christmas carols for Carols by candle light.

Some ideas to support your children at home:

·         Christmas treasure basket. Create a Christmas treasure basket for your child to explore, using tinsel, baubles and bits of ribbon.

·         Sing some Christmas songs. (Carols by candle light Christmas song sheet available by email or in reception)

What Dolphins did in October 2014

Dolphins topic for October was Autumn.

The children used lots of natural materials such as conkers, acorns, leaves and pine cones to make pictures and models, including conker animals, Autumn leaf hats, a tree display in Dolphins and sensory bags.

 Also this month we celebrated Pumpkin Day with pumpkin carving, pumpkin rolling and pumpkin soup!

What Sea Turtles did in October 2014

With the weather and season changing, new children starting, and the sun setting earlier, we decided to explore changes around us. We explored colours, shapes, textures and sound through both indoors and outdoor activities.

Children explored colour and texture by dipping string into paint and looking at the effect and pattern it made on card.

They used a variety of different tools to make prints on card, such as different shaped paint brushes and painting mittens.









We went out and collected leaves from the local park and Kew Gardens to use to make collages and explore the feel and sound of the crunch on the leaves in between our fingers .

We also had a "Pink Day" to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness".  We had lots of pink activities going on children and staff dressed in all things pink!

What Dolphins did in September

Our topic for September was Outer Space. Previous to this, a lot of the children had been using a variety of construction materials to build rockets, and talking about going to the moon, so we decided to extend the children’s interest in Space.

The children made planets out of paper plates and decorated black paper with them to make a large space display.

Large boxes were used to make helmets and space suits for the children to become astronauts!

In preschool we used cotton wool and paint to make moon crater pictures, as well as attempting to make water bottle rockets using plastic bottles and bicycle pump!

This month the children particularly enjoyed making paper maché planets.

What Sea Turtles have been up to in September

In September we had a colour month, looking at a different colour every week and exploring colours in different ways!

Children enjoyed exploring and learning about colours using a range of different materials, textures and tools.  They made colour footprints and handprints, tracks through cling film. 

Our new outdoor colour board has been a particular favourite with the children.

What Dolphins are doing in October 2014

With Autumn finally here and the environment changing, this has started a lot of interest and questions from the children, so our topic for October will be Autumn, the children will be looking at the change in the weather, the change in our surrounding environment and how the days are getting shorter and the night longer.

The activities this month will be based around the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) areas of learning:

Prime areas:

PSED: Adapt behaviour to different events, social situations and changes in routines. PD: Handle tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with control. C&L Develop an understanding of simple concepts, lean new words and is able to use them in communication.

Specific areas:

L: Show an interest in illustrations and print in books and print in the environment. M: Notice simple shapes and patterns. UW: Develop an understanding of growth decay and changes over time. EA&D: Explore colour and how colour can be changed, Begin to be interested in and describe the texture of things.

Some of the activities we will be doing this month to support this will be:

·         Conker Streamers. Marie Claire will be supporting the preschool children to make conker streamers and then see how far they can make them fly.

·         Autumn tree.  Matthew will be assisting the children to make a large autumn tree that will change as the trees outside change.

·         Salt Dough Leaves.  Emma will be helping the children to create salt dough leaves using leaves collected on walks and looking at patterns as they use them to make prints on the salt dough.

·         Autumn walk and collage. Abongi will organise trips to the park to collect autumn items to take back to the centre and create autumn collages with them.

·         Autumn sensory feely bags.  Christine will create some sensory bags using a variety of materials for the children to explore.

·         Conker and acorn people. Victoria will be assisting the children to create little people using Conkers, Acorns and other autumn item that the children collect.

·         Hand print tree. Marie Claire and the children will be using their hand prints to make a large autumn tree display.

What you could do to support your children at home:

·         Autumn treasure hunt. Take to the woods with your child on an autumn treasure hunt ask your child to find items by colour, shape and size, Encourage them to really explore and look under logs and stones, around the bottom of a tree and look up into the tree.

·         Leaf mobiles. Collect leaves of different colour and sizes and hang them in arrangements using string and tape, try and see how many different types of leaves you can find.

·          Here is a link to a website that has a lot of different activities for children to do. http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/