In Reception we have been submerging ourselves in the natural world. Our ducklings have been getting bigger quickly and the children have loved observing their development. They learnt how to take care of them by making sure their enclosure is nice and clean and giving them LOTS of water and food. As the weather has been so good, we were able to take them outside so they could have a little swim. We discovered that their feathers are not waterproof yet as they are not old enough to produce the special oils ducks put on their feathers, so we ensured they only had a shallow amount of water and did not stay in the water for too long. We took them onto the field and watched them explore the grass for the first time. It was wonderful to see the children observing that they were eating the plants and flowers, and thought they might have been looking for worms in the grass! The ducks went home on Thursday and many of the children made cards to send to the ducklings to let them know how much we are missing them and enjoyed their time with us.
We have started our topic ‘Beastly Beasts’ and have been learning about the different classifications of minibeasts. The children looked at information books and how to navigate them. They enjoyed exploring them to find our facts of their own. In Forest School we made ‘mouse houses’ using natural items we could find. The children showed real resilience and perseverance as it was not easy, but as you can see some amazing homes were made.
On Thursday we continued the series of activities we started as a result of ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’. We asked parents and family members to come in for the first 20 minutes of the school day to play a board game with the children. We were overwhelmed by the turnout and appreciate everybody giving up their time. The children were so happy to have people they loved in their classroom and show them their space, as well as playing all of the fun games!
On Friday we went for a walk in Riddlesdown Common to hunt for minibeasts. With the help of the adult volunteers who kindly gave their time, the children were able to find a wide variety of different creatures, and a large selection of butterflies!
What a busy but exciting week we have had!
