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Mixing the paint with a scrubbing brush

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Squeezing paint independently - I can add more paint if I choose to do so to support my learning of using different materials, mixing colours and different textures.

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We painted while listening to relaxing music.

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Completing an inset puzzle.

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I love numbers and circles. I like to have them in order and can place them from 1-5.

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Children access mark making opportunities in all areas of Oak and Willow class. We use a wide range of resources to make marks with which are fun and inviting.

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We make marks together as a group while listening to different music. Taking part in these activities supports our early writing skills.

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It's lovely to see friendships blossom throughout the school year. Here we have some friends who are engaged in the same interest. They love the Disney film 'Frozen' and dress up into character. We play the songs from the film when requested and they move imaginatively and creatively.

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I have had a busy session in the rain. I decided that the jungle animals needed a mud bath. I got stuck in and used my hands to smother the animals in mud. I am taking my play in the way that I choose to.

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We explored the powder paint in the way that we wanted to. We added water to the red and yellow paint. We soon noticed that we could see another colour. We learnt that red and yellow mixed together make orange.

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Our busy bears have enjoyed a relaxing morning being massaged. We use cream and rub it into our bears bodies. This supports us to remember to be gentle with each other. This soft touch is powerful when teaching children to be kind and caring with one another.

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I know that when I take deep breaths in and out that it helps me to calm.

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Here we are having a mindful moment. We chose an eye mask to wear. This prop helps us to remain focussed and relax for longer periods. We listen to calming music while relaxing.

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We know how to look after our bodies and mind in Oak and Willow class. We learn different techniques to support us to self regulate and calm in the moment. We make this part of our everyday routine so that it is embedded and familiar. This helps us to remember to use it in the moment if and when needed in this busy world.

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We make full use of our nature kitchen outside. It is a popular spot where children like to mix different natural resources together.

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We looked closely at how she moves. We discussed that she is strong as she held onto the strawberry with all of her strength and wouldn't let go.

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Our African Land Snail enjoyed some time in the sun today. Zola loved eating the strawberries that we gave her.

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I love anything sensory. This helps to calm me. I like the feeling of the paint on my skin. I laughed when it felt cold and tickly.

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We are always busy filling watering cans and containers with water to give the plants a drink. We love to do this independently and it strengthens our muscles and coordination.

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Some of us touched her shell.

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Today we met Shelley our resident tortoise. We looked closely at her features and how she moves. We learnt that her favourite foods are lettuce and carrots.

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I said 'Wow' when I saw the butterfly.

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I was very brave as I like to look at bugs but I usually get frightened if they land on me or I touch them. I held the butterfly in my hand and I said that it felt 'tickly'.

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The butterflies likes landing on our clothing. We were careful not to frighten them.

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We took a closer look at them in detail. We saw that their body was furry and noticed lots of shapes and patterns on the butterfly.

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We used our gentle hands when holding them as they are very delicate.

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After watching the caterpillars grow and rest in their cocoons they hatched out. We took great pleasure in welcoming the beautiful butterflies into our garden. They were very friendly and liked to rest on our hands and clothing. When they were ready, they flew away and explored all of the wonderful plants that we have grown in the garden to attract them.

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We watched the snails as they moved and entwined around each other. We discussed what they were doing.....

"Cuddling" said one child

"They friends" said another child

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Beautiful butterflies

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We share stories in all areas of our environment class - inside and outside.

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We used different tools when exploring the clay. We used them to cut, smooth, embed pattern and soften the clay.

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I love vehicles! I am spending time with a familiar adult sharing a magnetic book linked to my interests to support my language and learning of new words.

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We have been exploring the new grass in Willow and Oak garden. We have been rolling around and lying on it.

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May 2024 - Although we explore outside in all weathers throughout the year, it has been lovely to have some sun shine on our faces this week.

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When building towers today we talked about length. We learnt new words such as tall, long and high.

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We are listening to different instructions from the adult when passing the ball to each other.

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We have been working together to build some fabulous constructions. This is a 'castl'e built by two of our children. They spent a long time balancing the blocks on top and beside each other. They showed patience and resilience when the blocks fell over.

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Using cotton buds to make marks with.

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I can see you! The children love to hide and wait for the adults to find them.

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Children enjoyed drinking tea and eating special treats with their significant females in their lives for Mothers Day celebrations.

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When we hear a song that we recognise we join in with the actions. Well done!

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We are not afraid to brave the elements outside - We access our garden every day and during every season. There is so much learning and fun to be had. We dress accordingly to explore. Being outdoors is great for our mental health and wellbeing.

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Following all of the Spring rain that we have had we decided to make mud castles. The mud was very wet and sloppy due to the rainfall. We talked about how it felt and why it was so wet.

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We have learnt about African life during this focus story.

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Snow - 'Hooooo Woooo'

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River - 'Splash Splosh'

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We acted out the story by going on our own 'Bear Hunt'. We used our bodies to explore different elements of the story - Mud 'Squelch Squerch'

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We love to explore different patterns. We can identify spots, stripes and zig zags and are able to notice them in our environment - animals, clothing, objects etc.

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Today we were spreading the love with lots of pink and red loose parts in the nature kitchen.

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Using every day familiar objects in play

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Using every day familiar objects in play

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Our home corner is a popular area of our class. Children are familiar with the 'home' set up and often act out experiences from their home life in this area. The room is homely and inviting and offers settling children some comfort when they separate from their parent/ carer.

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3D painting - We use recycled materials to be creative with.

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We crawled through the tunnel when navigating the obstacles spread around the garden. Balancing and moving in a variety of different ways strengthens our core muscles, coordination and our ability to navigate obstacles.

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We used the hammer to tap golf tees into cardboard. This activity supports our hand/eye coordination, fine motor skills and perseverance.

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We have been busy experimenting with different ways of applying paint. Here we used pipettes to release paint onto the top of the canvas. We watched as the paint dripped downwards creating vertical lines.

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Free exploration of different resources allows for self expression and a sense of calm and comfort.

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It's so lovely to watch our children starting to form friendships. They can be seen playing with each other, being kind and caring and tuning into their own emotions and others around them supporting each other and their needs.

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Using scissors to cut dough

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Creating dinosaur footprints by pressing the stampers into the dough. This activity builds core strength and coordination.

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We have been celebrating Chinese New Year and taking part in different activities - Chinese writing, dressing up, tasting Chinese food, playing with small world dragons and sharing factual celebration books together.

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We have been exploring the book 'Trees'. We have learnt that trees change during the different seasons throughout the year. We focussed on winter and created our own bare trees using tools and paint. Our trees proudly stand tall in our reception area. We will be exploring what trees look like in spring next. Watch this space.....

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Oak and Willow staff have been busy creating key work cards in different languages to support settling and communication with our children who have English as an additional language. All staff wear the keychain so that they can communicate simply in children's home language in the moment.

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We invited parents in to share stories in their home languages. It was lovely to see our children who have English as an additional language ask questions and respond to the adult during the story sessions. We had stories in Polish, Lithuanian, Romanian and Urdu. A huge thank you to the parents who took the time to share these special moments with our children.

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This half term we have been learning about different feelings, family life and every day situations that create and stimulate different feelings. We have been learning 'Signs for Feelings' to support our understanding and labelling of these different emotions. Owl Babies is a great addition to support this.

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We have been looking after the babies in the home corner. We gave the babies a bath in the water tray. We dressed the babies by choosing different items of clothing. We imitate everyday actions and experiences through pretend play.

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Every child is allocated a key person within class. They have an important role which promotes a positive relationship and triangle of trust with the child and family. They build positive attachments with the child which supports the child's first experiences away from the home environment and their family. They support the child's learning alongside the team, meet and liaise with parents to discuss progress and tailor learning to individual needs.

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Wow, we had to use perseverance and patience with this activity. It took us a few days to cover the filters with different colours. We watched as the colours we added through squeezing and releasing pipettes absorbed into each other and created new colours.

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We all received a Christmas present! We enjoyed a cosy movie session with hot chocolate and special treats.

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Merry Christmas to all of our families.

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Say cheese! We documented our beautiful array of Christmas Jumpers by taking a photo to keep on our classroom wall.

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We wore our Christmas Jumpers during the month of December. Merry Christmas!

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Decorating the Christmas Tree ready for Christmas celebrations and traditions

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Decorating the Christmas Tree ready for Christmas celebrations and traditions

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We have been busy sorting bears (categorising). We sorted them into colours initially and then took a closer look at the different sizes and sorted them into small, middle sized and big piles.

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Zola is our class pet. We look after it by feeding it vegetables and fruit and clean out it's home. Zola's favourite foods are cucumber and lettuce.

Looking after a class pet allows us to be responsible, use kind hands, be patient and show how caring we are to others.

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We make marks in lots of different ways. It makes pre writing more exciting and allows us to experiment with different tools and media. Here we are making marks in flour using sticks.

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We have been busy matching colours in nature to our colour hunt boards. There are lots of different colours to see when outside in Autumn. Have a look and see what colours that you might find.

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We have been busy joining in with Christmas crafts. Look out for our goodie bags at the end of term for you to keep and decorate your home with.

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We have been busy decorating our class for Christmas. We all took turns to add decorations to the tree.