Being a vet, a doctor, a builder and a policeman!

It has been lovely to welcome families into the setting this term. Our ‘meet and greet’ coffee morning was a wonderful opportunity for all of our new and existing families to get together and catch up. Our Mother’s Day assembly saw the children singing some very special and catchy songs as part of our celebrations. The comments from the children made it especially special! Parent consultations were also face-to-face and it has been wonderful to open up the doors at the end of the day so the children can show you their pegs, reminding us all that sometimes simple changes make a huge difference. Earlier in the term, the children were thrilled to welcome a serving police officer into the department who kindly talked to the children about their job. The children showed wonderful listening skills and they loved trying on the uniform and passing around the handcuffs. Mr Campbell was not so keen on the handcuffs but he willingly demonstrated to the children how they worked. Luckily for everyone, he was quickly released! As part of the ‘Helping Hands’ topic, the children also took the time to think about who helps us around the school. Some very special pictures and messages of thanks were handed out to the catering team, the cleaning team, teachers and friends. The children were grateful for the food cooked and for the fun they have at school. The messages were greeted with great appreciation from their recipients, and many are still on display in offices and places of work around the school. The children also learnt about other important roles in the community, with role play areas being changed into a vet’s and a doctor's surgery. The children became builders, dressing up and using the construction area equipment and even looking at and sitting on some farm and building machinery on the school site! Lots of building took place in the quad with some rather unique constructions being made! Our ‘Animal Crackers’ theme was also very popular with the children, with the Forest School safari being one of the most talked about activities of the term. The children loved heading out around the school grounds in the Copthill minibus in search of the hidden safari animals.They spotted tigers, snakes and lions and stopped by a family of giraffes for a snack. The excitement bubbled over into the classrooms where the children were keen to record the animals they had spotted by drawing and painting some wonderful pictures. ‘Owl Babies’ and learning about nocturnal animals saw the children creating shadows and casting colours onto the walls and floors using torches and colour paddles. The light boxes were also well enjoyed in the darkened classrooms. Some lovely owl artwork was made using sponges and some little pine cone owls were created and taken home. A selection of artwork is now displayed on the fence in the pick-up area, as well as inside on the display boards. Outside the children have been busy in the Early Years garden, weeding and planting. They were all delighted when the spring bulbs began to flower and the children have been helping to look after them by regularly watering them. Next term the children will be planting some runner beans in special bags allowing them to watch the roots and shoots develop. As the summer term approaches, we have much to look forward to. We will be starting to prepare our Pre-School children for their transition to Reception and we will be inviting parents to join us for our teddy bears’ picnic and sports morning. We will also be exploring lots of stories as we start our new topic ‘Once Upon a Time’. I hope you all have a lovely Easter break and I look forward to hearing all about it, and welcoming some new families to the setting, at the start of the new term.