Paper Music

In EY Thinking Games (P4C) club today, we thought about all the different ways we could make music from sheets of newspaper. We got into small groups and discussed our composition, working together to ensure the effects we chose worked in harmony with one another. 

We tore, crumpled, shredded, blew and flapped our paper to make different musical effects. Before performing, we announced the title of our composition, including "Rustling Leaves on a Windy Day" and "Icy Ice Skating" among others.

Children really enjoyed taking part in the club and were able to work on their skills of co-operation and develop their musical intelligence, a (perhaps) uniquely human gift.

But what do you think...

Do you agree that musical intelligence is uniquely human? 

Cassatt caterpillar update #2

Our Caterpillars are all heading towards the top of the pot!

Could this mean our Caterpillars are going to start building their cocoon?

The changing Early Years outside area!

Some of you may have noticed that the Early Years Outside area has undergone a few changes over the last few weeks!

We are in the process of relocating and filling the mud kitchen to allow children to use it more independently. The kitchen is now in pride of place in the main area and the children have been treating us to stone soup and pine cone coffee (just until the mud arrives)!

The sensory garden is also coming along nicely and the children are enjoying laying the stones and woodchipping during their CIP.

We also have a brand new track so we can ride our bikes, trikes and scooters round the roundabout, and give way to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. The children have been brilliant at independently managing risks on this new track.

Degas caterpillar update 3!

We love our caterpillars and we cannot wait to see their cocoons. They haven't started to make their cocoons yet but we hope they do soon! They are much bigger and are starting to make some webs. The jar looks very silky now! And their food is a bit messy!

From,

Degas Class

Ukulele fun

During child initiated play yesterday Miss Clarke was teaching the children how to play a chord on the ukulele. They were all really excited to have a chance to play and it ended in lots of children finding different instruments and creating a big band!

Degas caterpillar update 2!

The caterpillars are going towards the top now, we predict they are going to start making their cocoons very soon! We are really excited because we cannot wait to see the butterflies!

The caterpillars are very long and hairy already.

From Degas Class.

Cassatt caterpillar update!

"The caterpillars are so hairy!"

"They are much bigger now."

"They are wiggling a lot more now they're big."

"They are growing!"

Degas caterpillar update!

Our caterpillars have grown so much since we got them on Thursday. They are a lot bigger and hairier than they were before! 

We have named the caterpillars: 

Lu-Lu, Dave, Cheeky, Spikey and Spotty.

We are watching them everyday to see how they are changing!

From,

Degas 

Caterpillars

In Early Years last week, we had a very special delivery... The children were very excited to find out we would be looking after some little caterpillars!

We quickly got thinking about how we will look after our caterpillars so they will be able to develop into butterflies. The children decided they would need food and that we would need to be really careful with them "because we are so so big and we might hurt them"!

Here are some of the children's observational drawings from the first day they arrived.

Healthy Eating

This week, Reception have been reading the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It got us thinking about what it means to be healthy.

Here's what some of the children thought...

"Strawberries are so juicy and good for you"

"Apples give you lots of energy so you can run around for a long time"

"Meat is good for you, it makes you strong"

"I eat apples. They make my teeth cleaner"

"You should eat vegetables and exercise so that your body gets healthy and your brain get strong"

We had a great discussion and the children were very knowledgeable about healthy foods. But here's a question...

What if shops only sold lettuce? Would you still be healthy?

Happy thinking philosophers!