This week we have been learning about our sense of sight. We have been learning all about our eyes and we have been thinking about what it would be like to not see. Outside we tried walking around obstacles with a blindfold on. It was very tricky even with a friend helping and guiding us!

We have been looking closely at our eyes. We tried hard to draw our pupils, our iris, our eye lids and our eye lashes. We also made eyes out of play dough. Can you see all the different parts of our eyes?

The children had great fun making and decorating their own glasses. They wore them proudly all around the classroom! Some glasses were made from stickle bricks.

Some glasses were beautifully decorated with sequins, feathers, straw and buttons. Which glasses are your favourite?

We have also set up an Opticians role play. The children loved testing each other’s eyes. They really enjoyed being the optician and the customer. Not surprisingly they all wanted glasses at the end of their visit! The children were super and the quality of language that was being used in the role play area was lovely.

This week the children have been learning the importance of keeping clean. They have been learning all about ‘Germs and Nasties’ through the story ‘I don’t want to wash my hands!’ The children have been examining magnified pictures of germs and nasties and replicating them on the IWB and in our pretend germ inspired sand.

The children have also been very creative on the workshop table. They have been collaging germ infested hands!

Outside the children have been washing babies and discussing the importance of hygiene. Even at the snack table they have been reminding each other to wash their hands so that the germs and nasties do not give them tummy ache!

The children have also been drawing portraits of themselves. They have been examining their clean faces and studying their facial features in mirrors.

The children have also made faces out of playdough. Some of their play dough faces are very detailed!

The children have been scientists as well this week. We have set up an experiment to see how quickly germs and nasties spread over our food. We put one piece of bread in a bag using clean hands washed with soap and water. We put one piece of bread in a bag that had been dropped on the floor and trodden on and we put one piece of bread in a bag that had been touched by 30 pairs of dirty hands! We are looking forward to seeing which piece of bread has the most germs and nasties growing on it.

The children have also investigated the best method of washing their hands. The children covered their hands in margarine and hundreds and thousands. (The hundreds and thousands represented the germs and nasties.) They then explored how to get rid of all the germs and nasties.
A towel on its own did not get the germs and nasties off our hands.

Water on its own did not get the germs and nasties off our hands.

Only by using soap and water did all the germs and nasties vanish! We are all now going to be washing our hands properly with soap and water to make sure we are super clean and germ free!

As we are the Swans we have focused our learning this week on the story ‘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 yellow fluffy ducklings made fun of the ugly duckling.

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.

All the children have now started Reception. They have settled in very well and they are beginning to become more familiar with our rules and routines. They are making new friends daily and they are already becoming quite independent with their learning across the environment. Here are our first day photographs. Don’t we all look smart?