Our Hopscotch classes (Seedlings and Saplings) have been enjoying the warmer weather and learning about the season of Summer.  They enjoyed sensory play using shaving foam as pretend ice cream, talking about their likes and dislikes.  The children also made ice cream pictures on the light box.  Communication and language is an important area for our children’s development, and this gave them many opportunities to explain, justify and ask questions. 

On our creative table the Saplings group showed how well they can use scissors to make holiday suitcases, where they cut out different pictures of things they would pack. 

Within our maths curriculum the children in Saplings class used seashells to practice counting, whilst developing their fine motor skills, using tweezers to help them count out pretend pearls using 1-2-1 correspondence.  They also made repeating patterns on an octopus legs. 

Throughout the term the children have had many different chances to practise writing their names, and this week they did this using a flour mixture to give a new sensory opportunity.   

During the week a butterfly flew in and joined us in the classroom.  We noticed the markings on the wings, which led to the children asking lots of questions.  After looking them up on the internet we identified that it was a Red Admiral.  The class were excited to make their own butterflies by learning about mirror images, using a printing technique. 

The children in our younger Seedlings Class have used many opportunities to explore mark-making, such as using their dinosaurs to create patterns in playdough and paint.  It is important for the children to strengthen their fingers, and they very much enjoy doing this by rolling out the playdough. 

Next week Saplings Class will take part in a whole school Take One Picture exhibition and performance.  They have been busy rehearsing and creating in order to be ready.  See what we have been up to so far!