Ladybird finger, ladybird finger how do you do…

Singing their bug finger song that they sang in the Jolly Post Kids play, the Gibbons made ladybird plates using paper plates, red paint and pipe cleaners for antennas. Using their gingers to dab in the black paint, they Gibbons spotted lots of black spots all over their ladybirds. Watch out it’s a water balloon fight! The Gibbons stamped and squeezed the water balloons which eventually ended up with bursts of water and popping sounds getting even the Gibbon staff wet! They filled the balloons with different coloured water and glitter to create special water balloons that they watched float in the water. Learning the different shapes, the Gibbons did their best to stay inside the lines of the triangles and circles with the paint, and the result was very impressive.  In their messy time, the Gibbons used cornflour, paint and water to create brown mud like glupe for their farm and safari animals to play in. Moving the animals in and out of the ‘mud’ and spooning the ‘mud’ over the tigers and monkeys and cows (and themselves) safe to say the room was gigantic mud puddle. Adding the creative chaos, the Gibbons also had a go at ball paint rolling along big sheets of papers producing funky patterns and lines.

What’s that drumming sound coming from the Baboon room…

Using pots and pans and various other kitchen utensils from the kitchen and the garden, the Baboons practised their drumming skills making their own beats and playing along to music. Some of the Baboons even used role play to pretend they were in an up and coming new band ready to play out to their audience. And it wasn’t just drums that were used to create cool sounds; natural shakers made from big bottles filled up with cotton wool balls, pinecones, krispies and pasta. Rattling and drumming quiet and then banging and shaking extremely loud made the Baboons laugh up in the music and movement room. There are new stripy starts, flowery circles and spotty squares for the Baboons to practise their matching skills not only with group the same patterns together but also matching the identical shapes together. Additionally, to this, the Baboons also made shapes from colourful lollipop sticks and counting the sides of the shapes. To end the lovely week we have this week, the Baboons finished off with an activity of building ramps and roads for their cars and trucks to drive along. Building tunnels from toilets rolls and bridges from old cereal boxes, the Baboons transformed the conservatries into a car ramp city.

Welcome to our berry garden…

Up at the Nature Kids Project this week, the children have discovered small green raspberries emerging, strawberries starting to ripen into big juicy red ones and small sights of blackberries have been spotted. Our new very garden is growing nicely and were hoping for a summer filled of various berries for our snack. Aswell as this, they picked some broad beans for their snack to crunch on whilst they went on a tour around Mo’s allotment the Gorillas saw many several types of fruit and vegetables growing. Whilst there, they spotted the ‘purple garden’ full of sprouts, cabbage and purple kale. Dill and kale were brought back to show their friends back at nursery, which we used to feed Bagheera as a treat. On return to our allotment area, the bug trap had had a visit from a huge burrowing spider with plenty of woodlice to accompany it. Onto to discover more, and the Gorillas went on a hunt for bees and talked about bees and wasps and making honey. Whilst some Gorillas were busy exploring, others played in the playhouse and made houses and dens and a campsite and pretended they were on holiday. After bringing back some of the delicious fresh vegetables from the allotment to nursery, the Gorillas acted out a role play of being chefs and chopping all the veg they needed to make ‘soup pasta’. Beans, cucumber, tomatoes and more! Using clay to show create their facial expressions, the Gorillas moulded the wet clay into angry and happy monsters and even their own faces to show how they were feeling. The pre-schoolers have been discussing their new schools they are starting in September and if they have older brothers and sisters or maybe cousins that go to their new schools. The pre-school Gorillas have also been focusing on the letters ‘B’ and ‘D’ and playing various phonic games to help them focus on this letter. Matching the letter with different objects throughout the nursery and the garden made the learning fun and especially when they received phonics supers awards at the end.