After Bonfire night, many children were fascinated with talking about their experiences and looking at pictures and videos. Developing activities from children’s own experiences and ideas is one of the most valuable things we do at nursery; it makes it so much more meaningful for the children, because they have lived it! We used lots of different materials and techniques to create firework explosions. In the pictures, you can see some of our favourites! Throwing wet, painty bags at the wall and watching them explode was especially fun and great for building up body strength and precision! While painting with lolly sticks, children were developing their focus and attention and also their fine motor muscles in their hands, which will help them to develop more control and independence with tasks like doing up their coats, feeding themselves and, of course, later on, writing!
We have been talking about Advent to the children now, in the lead-up to Christmas and having moments of quiet contemplation with an advent candle, which counts down the days to Christmas Day. We also have an advent calendar in each group, which we share daily with the children. We are keen to include and celebrate all of our families’ cultures and celebrations within the nursery, so we will be exploring different Christmas stories and traditions in the lead-up to Christmas. Do share pictures of your own preparations for the holiday season with us on Tapestry; we would love to see what you are all up to!