2-3: The Discovery Hub
This week we have been exploring our self-care skills which we use every day in our lives. Across the week, we have been thinking about how we look after our teeth, how we get ready and what happens in our own routines. The children have been very engaged with the activities across the week and have been making some lovely connections to their own experiences.
Health and Self Care
On Wednesday, we had a wonderful visit from Helen who talked to us about how we can look after our teeth. She brought along some resources for the children to explore with. She discussed with the children that we need to
- Brush our teeth twice a day (once when we get up in the morning and once when we are getting ready for bed)
- Brush for 2 minutes
- Brush our teeth in circles
The children then had a turn with using the large toothbrush and mirror to brush and check the teeth. During this exploration, the children were able to make their own connections to their experiences of which colour toothbrush they have, when they brush their teeth and how much toothpaste they use.
In the environment, we have added babies to the water area where the children explore washing them and drying the babies with a towel. Some of the children then moved on to explore getting the babies dressed. They made connections to their own experiences and requested nappies to put onto the babies and wipes to clean the baby. They persisted with trying to place the legs through the holes in the nappy and were very proud of their achievements.
During group times, we have been looking at a variety of resources and have been discussing the items purpose. The children added to discussions to explain the purpose of an item and how or where we use the item, such as
- “Toothbrush…clean my teeth”
- “Brush your hair”
- “Clean face”
- “Put on feet (socks)”
Outdoor Learning
In the garden, the children and staff found a snail and observed it closely across the day. We gathered some leaves for the snail and the children sat closely to observe its movements. Throughout the day, the children returned to the garden to see if it had moved
“It over here now”
“Look…it move”
The weather has changed each day and we have been exploring in all weathers. The children continue to show an interest with the balance beams and are growing in confidence as they become more independent with travelling across them.
We have collaborative experiences with the parachute, exploring various ways to move the parachute. We even used it as a cover as it began to rain.
On Thursday, the children listened to the thunder and were very excited with the “loud noise”. They were so curious as the clouds became dark and it began to rain and we saw hail stones. We collected some of the hail stones and brought them indoors to explore. The children used language such as “cold” and “small” to describe the hail stones. As we used our hands to explore, some of the children began to notice water appearing and we discussed how the hail stones were “melting” and turning into water.
Parents as Partners
This week the children have been every engaged with helping to look after the babies and our teeth through experiences. We have been encouraging the children to “have a go” in Nursery to put their coat on/take it off, put their shoes on, clean their hands/face.
Maybe at home the children can “have a go” at picking up their toys (even just a few), feeding themselves, brushing their teeth, putting on their clothes and shoes as they develop their self-care skills.
Many thanks
Nursery Team