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Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to T-riffic Tuesday! It was a very warm morning, so during our outdoor morning playtime, we incorporated a few different water play activities. One of the most popular amongst our friends this morning was painting rocks, wood and leaves. This was accomplished by filling buckets with water at our bubbler, and using large paintbrushes – particularly enjoyed by Ivy, Ellie, Harvey, Chi, Harley, Oli, Asher and Zander. It was a very calming activity as well.

We came inside earlier this morning as it was soon too uncomfortably hot to stay outdoors. Once inside, we had a fun story about a dog’s nose, and the amazing things it can smell. Miss Donna extended the children’s interest in this story and body parts by talking about our own nostrils and other lesser known body parts such as wrists, ankles, calves, foreheads and elbows. Some of the children were familiar with these and could point out each part on their own body, but for some it was a new learning experience. At the suggestion of Ellie and Zahra, we then played some circle games, including “Doggy, doggy who’s got the bone” and “Jump, jump Josie”. This was a great way to get rid of some of our “wiggles”.

Other play-based activities enjoyed by the children today included:

  • Our own hairdressing salon. This was very popular with so many of our friends today! Some were happier to be clients (Ellie, Chi, Indi), whilst others were keen to be stylists (Arlo, Jaxon, Ella). Role play opportunities such as this help build strong oral communication skills, negotiation skills, confidence, the ability to make friends, to be persistent, and to be creative in completing tasks and solving problems. This type of play also promotes excitement and awareness about learning, and helps expand children’s understanding that others have beliefs, desires, and intentions different from their own. This style of play also contributes to early literacy.
  • Cutting coloured strips of paper with regular and crinkle-cut scissors, before gluing our cuttings onto a large sheet of paper. There are many benefits to cutting with scissors, including independent movements of each finger, strengthening hand muscles, bilateral coordination skills (two-handed coordination), visual motor skills (eye-hand coordination), visual perceptual tasks (directionality) and fine motor skills (separation of hand, finger dexterity). Today, this activity was especially enjoyed by Harley, Ivy and Lily.
  • Placing river stones and coloured glass shapes on drawn black designs – great persistence and concentration Maia, Indi, Marlie and Harvey!

Please enjoy today’s blog and have a good evening. Love from Miss Donna and Miss Dominique XX