It’s been a busy Spring term at Leahurst Road Pre-School for both children and staff alike.
Continuing the nursery rhyme theme, from Incy Wincy Spider, an interesting variety of learning activities spun off to provide lots of fun and stimulation for the children. Exploring bugs through the use of sand, clay and water beads and even shaving foam, certainly satisfied those that love the sensory messy play.
Learning about insects also provided much scope for group discussion and craft activities. How many legs do insects have versus spiders? “Six!… Eight!” They shouted. The understanding that insects bodies have three parts consisting of the abdomen, thorax and head transferred nicely into loo roll spider prints, which were then dipped in paint to produce spider print pictures. Most impressive were the hexagon shaped spider web craft which involved using a hole punch to make holes for them to thread wool to create the web.
The life cycle of a butterfly brought about lessons about symmetry, especially when they made the classic folded paper butterflies. The look of intrigue prior to amazement, as the children folded then opened out their painted butterflies was fantastic to see.
Spring term fundraising took on a different twist this year as the children participated in a Sponsored Litter Pick. Blessed by the good weather, they set out on foot with their litterpicks and black bin liners to collect any stray rubbish lying around along the Gamston Canal path. It was great for the staff and parent helpers to see how enthusiastic they all were as they raced to pick up each piece of rubbish they spotted. More haste less speed was definitely the key, as they carefully used their fine motor skills to pick up the litter with the picker and put it in the bag.
Pancake Day and St. David’s Day brought about some special treats and surprises for the children. The rainbow pancakes brought in by new staff member Mrs Ali went down a storm!
Former staff member, the legend “Mrs T” made an appearance on St. David’s Day. From the offset, showing that she hadn’t lost her knack of keeping the children fully engaged, she talked to them about the festival. The children loved looking and touching all of the props and photographs she had brought in and even got taught how to count to ten in Welsh! Some enjoyed trying on the traditional costumes she had brought in too. When they were shown the Welsh flag at the end, some had the burning question of whether or not Wales is home to dragons!
The children never need much of an excuse to dress up, and World Book Day was no exception. With Spiderman and Elsa taking their usual centre stage the children were excited to show one another their costumes. On theme, they each brought in their favourite book which were read out at storytime.