And lots of 'I am so proud of you!', words that have continued to be used throughout this half term as we've all had the pleasure of experiencing the journey the children have been on. The enthusiasm and tenacity all the children have shown to get involved and have a go has been a joy to experience; and we close this half term feeling very proud of how far the children have progressed.
We've celebrated Valentine’s day with craft, the children very keen to share their love for family and friends with their efforts. Hearts were drawn and cut, stamped and stuck. Made as cards and wreaths, created in dough and with paint. The claves were back out again this week too with Tracey, as we all enjoyed matching her rhythm, tone and speed as we tapped the sticks together.
Our names have been a great source of interest and exploration, the pre-schoolers enjoying lots of activities to find their hidden name, make silly soup with their letters and even have a go at stamping it out with our letter stamps. Lines and circles have been drawn, written and painted, building muscles and co-ordination for future letter formation. Recognising our name sounds has been popular too, everyone quickly identifying the sound their name begins with, 'your name too!' 'that's your sound!' as the children also recognised their friend's starting sound. Lots of letters and sound activities have continued too, phonics activities continuing to build recognition and listening skills. We're looking forward to continuing these activities after half term.
The sun has been out throughout this week, and we've made the most of the garden. The mud kitchen has been in action and woodland area explored, tyres have been rolled, daffodils counted, and stones found. We also had many visits from pirates hiding their treasure, dragons chasing us and a few fly-bys from two real chinook helicopters which caused great excitement as they flew just above the rooftops.
Building and construction has been in full action too, with boxes drilled and bolts attached, nails hammered, and blocks balanced. Inside and out, the children have been very creative with their work and lots of wonderful collaboration too as they have worked together to move larger resources.
We end this half term, excited knowing the fun activities we have planned for after the break and the introduction of some exciting new topics to explore. For more information on our topics next term, look at our ‘what we are discovering page’: https://www.claverdonsteppingstones.org.uk/what-we-are-discovering.
