We were all down on the farm this week, as the children enjoyed exploring fresh vegetables. Carrots, broccoli, potato….what's that? Aubergine! The smell of the spring onion proved irresistible to some, the carrots were fed to the farm animals and the swede was very tricky to handle. After matching the real vegetable to its picture and name, the red onion and spring onion caused confusion- they're both onions? are you sure? Radishes were planted in moss and sprouts lined up as if growing in a field. The broccoli transitioned from tree to forest as the children enjoyed breaking it into pieces, intrigued by the touch and feel of the florets, after being planted in the farm they became paint brushes. After being smelt, touched, carried, rolled, squeezed and squashed, some of the vegetables joined the children outside on an especially cold adventure.
Overnight snow had fallen, covering our garden in a deep carpet of fresh white snow. Children came in dressed for action and soon we were outside exploring, crunching our way through, marvelling at the footprint patterns we were all making. A snow man was soon constructed, adorned with vegetables, he was even given hair from the moss that had been gathered. Kettles were filled, saucepans used as scoops and tree stumps used as tables. We were all so busy, delighted at the change and new play opportunities the weather had brought.
Earlier in the week we had been exploring the desert- as one of our destinations as we continued to travel round the world. Camels walking between triangular blocks visited the pyramids, joined by other hot climate animals. The abrupt change in weather led to discussion about hot and cold, dry and wet, as the children applied what they had played with what they had experienced. There was wonder about how the daffodils were feeling, just their heads and the tops of the shoots visible through the snow; and some were hidden altogether- 'are they still there?', 'are they cold?', 'will they still grow?' all was well on Friday as the snow melted away- the daffodils were indeed still there, but where was the snow? 'in the ground', 'melted' and 'it's gone!' were the children's replies, just puddles remaining as the garden returned to normal.
The arrival of a wonderful new wooden dolls house donated by a kind parent enabled our new bear family to have a new home. Aided by the children, furniture was selected, positioned in rooms, re-positioned and moved until they were happy that the bears were settled in. All of the children enjoyed visiting the bears in their new home, delighted by the play opportunities it provided. More homes, a railway station and even a play park were swiftly constructed by the children, extending across the hall floor every which way. Animals from the farm and even a few camels joined in the fun, transported round in bags, boxes and toy cars as the children enjoyed their play. We're looking forward to continuing our exploration of travel and transport; and the magic of lifecycles as we wait for the tadpoles to hatch and daffodils to bloom in the coming weeks.
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