By Suzanne Beaney
Fourteen children left us in July to go on to their big school; we hope they have all settled and are enjoying new experiences.
A new Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum started in September. We held a parents’ evening to explain how we are going to implement it and asked for their help with photos and observations of their children.
I think I would be right in saying they were very surprised to know just how much more work is involved for us to do. Basically we have to observe each child doing many things, we then have to write it up with evidence such as photos and put it in the child’s own folder, then think of a way to extend the activity. Gone are the days when all that was required was to play and socialise with the children and just have fun.
Our topic for this half term is food. The children are learning how drying
and canning food makes it last longer, how fruit and vegetables are good
for you and how dairy products are made.The crafts have included fruit and vegetable sewing cards, dyed pasta necklaces, cake, salt dough masterpieces of their favourite food which they painted and junk modelling to create 3D structures.
The potato and apple prints got a bit messy but not as much as the ‘gloop’ (cornflour mixed with water). We dyed spaghetti and hid plastic insects in it for the children to find and count. We also had a ‘Float-or-Sink’ contest with vegetables: which vegetables out of parsnip, carrot, onion, courgette and potato do you think float and which sink? It may surprise you!
We have made and baked fairy cakes, fruit scones, pizzas, bread rolls and biscuits. The children like the bread dough as they can stretch, pinch, roll and punch it!