This week the children have been learning how to keep clean. We did a ‘hand wash’ experiment. We covered our hands with margarine and hundreds and thousands. (These were the germs and nasties.)

We tried to wash the germs and nasties off with just a towel but the germs and nasties were still there!

We then tried to wash the germs and nasties off with water but the germs and nasties were still there!

We then tried to wash the germs and nasties off with soap and water. The germs and nasties disappeared! We have learnt that we must wash our hands with soap and water if we want them to be really clean.

We have also set up another experiment. We want to see how quickly bread can go mouldy if we touch the bread with one pair of clean hands, with one pair of dirty hands or with 30 pairs of hands. Which do you think will go mouldy first? Why?

In activity time we had lots of fun putting different germs and nasties onto hand prints. Some germs and nasties were made with tea leaves, some with coffee beans, some with leaves and some with sand. Can you guess which one is which?

This week, as we are Swans, our learning has been based around ‘The Ugly Duckling.’ We have had great fun using props to help us retell the story.

One day there was a mother duck who sat on her lovely eggs to keep them warm and safe.

One by one the eggs hatched into beautiful, yellow, fluffy ducklings.

All except one. He was big, grey and ugly.

Mummy duck told the ugly duckling he was different from her other babies.

The ugly duckling was very sad and he felt very lonely.

An old woman found the ugly duckling. She put him in a hutch. A hen came by and told the ugly duckling that the old woman was planning to eat him.

The ugly duckling escaped and he hid in some tall reeds. He stayed there throughout the winter months.

It was very cold. The ugly duckling was very relieved when a farmer found him and kept him warm and safe until Spring.

In the Spring the farmer released the ugly duckling. The ugly duckling was very surprised to find out that he had changed into the most beautiful swan he had ever seen.

The children have settled in really well and we are really pleased with the induction process. The children are becoming familiar with rules and routines and they are already becoming quite independent with their learning across the environment. Take a look at our ‘First Day’ photos! Don’t we look smart?!