This week at Mucky Pups we have been developing our physical skills both inside and out. Inside with Jean, we have been practicing our jumping skills and seeing how far from a marker we could jump. Everyone had lots of fun with this, once we had done our big jump we marked it with tape and wrote on our names. Outside, we have been using wood and crates to make bridges to walk over, we put out our arms to help us balance as we walked over, some of us didn't need to do this and were super brave going across. 

We have made some delicious fruit kebabs for snack this week, we decided to use bananas, apples and pears. We helped Steph cut up the fruit using knives and chopping boards. We spoke about being safe with the knives, keeping our fingers away from them and making sure we are sat down when cutting. Once all the fruit had been cut we then melted some chocolate and got to drizzle it all over the fruit, we all enjoyed these at snack time.

Our big dalmatians have been very helpful this week setting up for dinner and snack time, helping wipe the tables, brush the floor and putting out the plates and cutlery for lunch time. Our kindness jar is nearly full with everyone being so kind and helpful, keep up the good work Mucky Pups!!

In circle time dalmatians have been looking at sizes, building towers and seeing if it is "Bigger" or "Smaller" than themselves. We made some amazing towers and castles. The chihuahuas have been reading lots of fabulous stories and looking at the characters in them, the similarities and differences  and whats happening in the pictures. 

Our story of the month is "Smiley shark" this story is all about friends and how to be a good friend to others. The children have enjoyed exploring the sea life creatures in the tuff tray and looking at videos of different sea life on the kindle.

This week at Mucky Pups we have been taking risks and have been using hammers to create our own art, using the flowers, berries and leaves we found in the garden. We chose a couple of these, which we then put in between material, we folded this and then (with supervision) hammered the flowers and berries bringing out the natural colour onto the material. We enjoyed guessing what colour it would turn the material and also encouraging our peers to use the hammer safely and remembering to keep our fingers away from it. The weather has been lovely outside but very hot! We have enjoyed some yoghurt ice-lollies to keep us cool, which we made using yoghurt pots and wooden lolly sticks these went down a treat.
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 Inside nursery, we have been looking at shapes and arrangements we have had lots of fun with our loose parts making our own patterns and using our imagination to create pictures with the shapes.  We have enjoyed making lots of different things with the play-dough too this week, using our fine motor skills to roll, pinch and squeeze the dough into pizza, lots of delicious cakes and peas.
In circle time this week, Dalmatians have been talking about school as a lot of them have had a play session at their new school, it’s a very exciting time and a little scary and we talked about all of our feelings about our new adventure. Some of the Dalmatians will also be attending Dallas road kids club after school, so we went to have a nosey around to see what exciting things there are to do.
Chihuahua’s have been focusing on making marks and counting this week in circle time we have all done some very good counting aloud this week. Well done!!! 

​This week we have been making pizzas, using lots of different toppings all chosen by the children.  They got to use the knives and (under close supervision) were able to cut the topping themselves.  We then cooked them in the oven and brought them down for snack in the afternoon.
In the mud kitchen we were making lots of flower and grass soups using the daisies and the long grass from around the trees.  We’ve also been using large sponges and bubbles in the water tray to wash the babies which was a big hit.
We’ve been making Father’s Day cards with the children ready for Sunday, (sorry if you’ve not collected yours) during this, we’ve been talking about what the children’s daddies look like and what we like about them, and also for those people who are special to us.
We have still been talking about being Kind and how to fill our kindness jar.  We’ve had lots of pebbles added to it this week which is great to see.
The pre school children during circle time have been looking at prepositions, such as under, on top, behind etc.  This is using some important language and will help the children in their social interactions.  Try giving them challenges around the house to find a hidden object you’ve place somewhere and give them clues as to how to find it.
The other children have been building towers in circle time, working together, taking turns and trying to build the tallest tower.  We were able to get to 14 bricks I think which was our best.
In the playdough area, we’ve been using the gingerbread cutters to make gingerbread men different sizes then putting them in order.  We also coupled up with reading the Gingerbread man story in the snug.
We have also been out in the rain a lot! It doesn’t stop the children having fun especially in the huge puddles we had today.  Some of the children were pretty much swimming!  This has also been a good opportunity to look for worms to fill out wormery! The children have been helping search the mud for worms and then collecting them.  We’ve had lots of discussions about what worms are useful for and have added some leaves to the womery to see that they eat them.

This week in Mucky Pups we have been amazingly busy!
There have been so many little activities going on and just general fun that I’m bound to miss something.  Here we go!
Circle times – We have been looking at grouping in the younger children’s group, using different objects such as coloured counters, animals and dinosaurs and even the children themselves!  This is something that some children do without even thinking about, usually something like putting the same colour pieces together. We have been looking at something more difficult, such as farm and zoo animals, or items of clothing that the children are wearing.
The preschool children have been looking at Kindness and what it means to be kind.  We have been reading a story about being kind, which is the one we linked in the newsletter. If you want your own copy, follow the link here!
This story has led to many different discussions about how to be kind to each other and has given us the idea of a kindness jar. 
We are looking out for special acts of kindness and making a big deal about how good this is.  That child then gets to add a pebble into the Kindness Jar.  Once full, we will give the children a special surprise. 
Why not reward your children with your own kindness jar at home, or, tell a member of staff about what they have done and we’ll add it to ours!
We started this week with talking about our holidays and if we had done anything, and also have been discussing things that they like to do at home.  This helps us plan activities around your children’s interests which then boosts their learning when they are super interested.  Please use the Capture Online system to share things with us, especially photos; children love to look at photos of themselves and it helps open up a conversation. We have been doing this a lot over lunch times, really discussing home life around the lunch table and talking about the type of things they have in their lunch box.  This type of conversation is really important in helping them develop more words in their vocabulary and better social skills.
This week we have been trialling having cereal for snack.  We give the children a choice of three cereals and a bowl of fruit.  So far, this is a big hit!
As you will see from the photos, the children have been really interested in shapes this week, using them to make pictures and patterns. This has also been outside as well, with children looking for chalk marks to wash off with a wet paintbrush.  Joe and Jean added ‘X’ in many different places for the children to find.
Outside, the children have enjoyed some great role play with Steph playing Three Little Pigs, and we have also had small world set up on a new platform at the bottom of the garden. 
We also made some bird feeders using cheerios on string.  Until a Duck came in through the gate and started eating everything!
The mud kitchen has had lots of use as usual, with the children using grass and some daisy heads to make flower soup.
Inside, some of the children have been making wands by decorating star shapes with lots of colourful bits and pieces then putting them on a stick. We have also done some baking, and sprinkled some edible glitter on the top to make them really special!
And, lastly, we finished the week by all wearing our Pajamas, and reading lots of stories in our giant bed full of duvets.
Have a lovely weekend everyone! Please comment!
 

​This week has been one of growing up! The lady came to take the graduation photos on the field for the school leavers. She brought along the cap and gown, and they all had a single photo taken, then had another photo all together. These photos will be in the paper soon, we’ll let you know when we know.
We have been making lots of food this week as well, some of the children got to make a pizza using breakfast muffins, and some made ginger cake! Both looked amazing, none for Joe this time though, unfortunately.
The children have been interested in different textures this week, so we’ve made sure that we’ve had lots of different materials and other interesting things out that they can explore using their fingers.  We’ve had pasta and spaghetti, rice and lentils, shaving foam, a large tray of bubble mixture, flour (that got messy) all different ways to get the children talking about, and experiencing texture.
Lots of the children have enjoyed the Hungry Caterpillar story again this week, along with the Bear Hunt story, too.  The younger children have been using our hand painted story stones to retell the Bear Hunt story.  Each stone has a key point or character from the book.  By the end of the week, the children could tell the story without much involvement from the adults. It’s a firm favourite.
The preschool children have been looking at More and Less in their circle time, using many different objects to demonstrate the difference.  Maybe at home, you could use this language during your time together, such at tea time, looking who has more on their plate, for example.
Shapes have been something of interest this week, too.  We’ve been using shape counters that can be used to make pictures with, and also noticing shapes in the environment.  The children will notice that their sandwich is cut in a certain shape, or the shape of their plate.  It is a fun game to play when out and about, playing eye spy for shapes. 
Hannah played a game outside using numbered jigsaw pieces that were hidden throughout the garden and field. The children then came back to put the whole thing together, great for number recognition and special awareness.

This week in Mucky Pups, we have been loving being outside and making the most of the sunshine.  This has really brought out most of the children, some of whom would normally want to stay inside have ventured out!  We have been enjoying stories out there, especially in conjunction with what we’ve been finding in the garden.  Some of the children have been spotting ladybirds all over the place, so we read the story ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ outside.  We also found a caterpillar in the leaf bin, so we gave it some fresh leaves, and have been reading ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’.  We also sang our song of the month, as it’s the life cycle of a caterpillar, if you don’t know the words, please refer back to our May newsletter.
As it has been nice and warm, we have had lots of different water activities outside.  We first had lots of paint brushes and buckets of water around the playground for the children to experiment with different mark making.  Not only that, but some of the children used the paint rollers to clean down the house and benches.
 
This week we have been making food again.  Some children have made their own pizza! They used a breakfast muffin cut in half, spread with tomato puree, then topped with cheese, peppers, and pepperoni.  They were brilliant.  Some children went a little overboard with cheese, if that is even possible.
We have also been baking some coconut cupcakes with yellow icing.  There was even one left over for Joe, which keeps him very happy.
Diddi Dance again was a hit this week with lots of the children joining in more and getting to know the steps. 
The ducks have been back yet again, and the children have been feeding them birdseed and making sure they have water in the water tray for a bath.
 
During circle time this week, the preschool children have been looking at the letter T.  Jean has been using the Jolly Phonics video with them to get them used to the kind of thing they will be doing in phonics over at school and we have been looking at the alphablocks video for the first letter sounds the children will be learning for phonics. The children have been looking at different alliteration using the letter T.  Sentences such as The Terrible T-Rex Tiptoed Tonight.  Give it a go with your children at home, see what they come up with, and see if they can find things around the house, or out on a walk that begin with the letter sound ‘t’.
 
The younger group have been doing lots of music and movement in the hall using Sticky Kids.  Before we start, Joe asks the children to feel their heartbeat, listen to their breathing, and feel if they are cold or warm.  Then, after a run around the hall with jumps, touching the ground and spins, we test our heartbeats again.  This is getting the children to realise that exercise has an effect on our bodies.  We’ve been listening to the songs – Let’s Go Walking, Stand Up Sit Down, Funky Monkey, and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. 

Lots of fun this week with loads of activity outside. The children and Joe have been using all of the wood we have in the construction area to make a really long and winding balance area. We had it going up and down over long bridges and through tyres. 
We've had a repeat visit from our resident ducks.  In fact, we've noticed we have two sets of Ducks that take it in turns to visit.  Hannah has been taming them with a mix of peas and rice crispies, and now they eat from the children’s' hands.
In circle times this week, we have been looking at shapes!  Both groups have been doing different shape activities, with the older children using mark making to draw the shapes they have talked about, and the younger children have been spotting different shapes in the environments. This is the video that we've been using.
We have taken the shape activities outside as well for the children to draw shapes on the ground and play games around them.  
Inside, the children have been heavily into playing with the dinosaurs and zoo animals with lots of dinosaur stories in the snug as well. 
The children have been really enjoying mark making everywhere as well this week, with lot of pictures going in their trays, so make sure you check those out for the fridge at home!
In the glue and stick area, we have used lots of different containers, boxes and interesting shaped packaging to create new works of art. 
In the tough tray this week, we have had different combinations of rice and lentils for pouring and filling and mark making in, or shaving foam, which has been an absolute favourite, getting really messy, and smelling quite nice.
We've also been really interested in playing with jigsaws, both peg style for the younger ones, and some more difficult ones for our pre-schoolers. 

Can I also remind everyone about graduation photos on the 21st!
Any child who is leaving us for big school is invited to have their photo taken in cap and gown, even if you don't come on that day.  Just make sure you are here for 9 o'clock. Any questions, please speak to Jean or Steph. 

And a quick note to say, that one of our grandparents has a travel cot going spare, so if you need one, let us know, and we'll sort that out for you. 

Hope you all have a great weekend, don't forget to leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you. 

​Joe

This week has seen some of our new starters after the Easter break starting to settle in now.  Our children have, as usual, been fantastic at helping the new children, whether its showing them the routine and what to do during snack times, being a friend, or somthing as simple as remembering their names to include them.  

We have also done more baking! This week, Steph has made heart shaped shortbread biscuits with added chocolate chips.  The children get to do everything other than put them in the oven, so it's really all down to them.  

It is important to have activites that are for all children at all different stages of development, but one of those activites that works for all children is threading.  We used pasta and cheerio hoops, so there was a difference in hole size.  This is great for fine motor skills.

Diddi Dance was back again, and we have been salsa dancing, ribbon twirling and learning some big stretches. It's great to have Alison back again teaching dance!

Outside, we have been really busy.  We have been making potions in the mud kitchen using different herbs and flowers, bird watching as usual as well.  In fact, we saw the return of the ducks.  3 Boys and 1 Girl.  The children are getting very good at learning which is male and felmale in ducks and blackbirds.  

We also had loads of seagulls today come to get the bread we put out that the ducks left.  

In circle times, we have been looking at the letter A with the pre school children.  We first watch a little video which they will use in school, then look for examples of the letter in the room on lables etc.  We then practiced writing the letter. Link to the video.

The younger children have been looking at living things in the garden and how to look after and protect them.  We've been talking about all the fruit that we can grow in the garden (apple tree, pear tree and cherry trees).

The children have really been enjoying the swing Hannah made and getting better at climing up themselves.  We've also been talking a lot about turn taking from this activity. 

We have been practicing our name writing on the tough tray in chalk using their name cards too.

Some of the children may have mentioned Ryan this week, he's been helping out over lunch time.  The children know him anyway from Kids Club, and he'll be back next week, too!

Last thing, a reminder for the pre school leavers, that we will be having the graduation photos taken on the 14th of May.  If you don't come on this day usually, you are more than welcome to come and have your childs photo taken.  For more information, speak to Jean, and consult your newsletter. 

Enjoy your long weekend!
​Joe 
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Busy first week back in Mucky Pups.  We have been making the most of the weather and having fun outside.  We've been keeping on top of the bird feeders with lots of attention from the blackbirds, and even some ducks on the field!

We've been baking, making gingerbread men which we then decorated as well! We have also watched a gingerbread man video on the tablet and have been reading the book, too.

The children have been really interested in using the hairdressing box, and Clare has had lots of makeovers.  

The playdough on the tough tray has been made smelly with basil, thyme, and cinnamon, which has made making pizzas out of the dough lovely.

We have also had lots of sticking craft, using wooden eggs, cut out egg shapes and chicks coupled with lots of different craft things like feathers, curls of wood shaving, googly eyes etc. 

Hannah has also made a new tyre swing in the garden for the children to use, and they have had loads of fun!

We also saw the return of Diddi Dance!! On Thursdays, Alison (who also works in kids club) comes in to teach Diddi Dance, which this time is Salsa dance!  The children love this, as do the staff! So please make sure you get your child in early if you come on this day as we are in the hall at 9:50!!!

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Lots of fun this week making the most of the lovely weather we've been having.  This has brought out even more ladybirds, so the children have been fascinated by them.  Hannah found a bug box with magnifying glasses on the top to put them in, along with some grass to make them feel at home.  We were then able to observe them close up and talk about some of their features.  We released them at the end of the day. 

We have also been den building outside, which also doubled up a good shade from the sun if it got too hot.  Hannah strung up a large tarpaulin across the trees, which the children enjoyed sitting under, and hiding behind.  

Steph took the children onto the field to make some nature bracelets, using things we could find like twigs, daisies and grass. 

Inside, the children have been decorating Easter eggs in the glue and stick area, using lots of different and colourful bits and pieces. 

This week, some of the children have shown an interest in planets and space.  This has led to planning some activities next week to make a space rocket!!!  We have been watching a video about the planets in our solar system which the children have really enjoyed.  Follow the link to see for yourself.