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.

Welcome to our new blog, for our weekly roundup of what we've been doing at Mucky Pups.

We will aim to update this blog every Friday, so that we can get all the weeks worth of information ready for you to read over the weekend.  However, due to this being the first, and it's Monday, we'll make a start with what we did last week.

So here we go!

Last week we all spent a lot of time in the garden doing lots of things ready for growing.  Jean had the children out with spades and trowels, digging over the planter which contains our apple and pear tree.  In here, the weeds had gotten a little out of control, so it was time to dig them up.
We also dug over the ground at the bottom of the garden to sow some wild flower seed. 

Keeping in theme with digging, Hannah helped the children to plant some Funky Veg!  Soon, we hope to have some purple carrots, stripy tomatoes, and lemon seed cucumber!

We've also had some special visitors in our garden just recently, when four ducks landed on our field.  They seem to be quite at home there.  
We also have been bird watching a lot, and having to keep the bird feeders full.  We often enjoy some quiet time on the benches watching the birds come and feed.  The children get especially excited when the two robins come down, but we also get lots of blackbirds and bluetits.  Joe has been helpng the children identify the difference between a male and female blackbird by the male being black and the female brown, and we've been making use of our bird pictures outside to identify differnt birds that visit our garden.  
The children have also noticed lots of ladybirds recently, and this has sparked discussions of how to be careful when handling any of the creepy crawlies out there and where they like to live.  We often explore the bug house to look at the creatures that like the dark and damp.  Mainly woodlouse, which have been a favourite to watch, especially when we find them in some of the wood we use in our construction area.  

Inside, you may have noticed we've done a lot of baking.  We've made cakes and biscuits that they can take home.  We like to do lots of baking with the children because its a great activity to help with turn taking, measuring, and following instructions.  It help as well when they can see something they made, turn into something they can eat! 
We like to do the same with playdough, getting the children involved in making it themselves following instructions and allowing them to add different textures, smells and colours.

During our circle times this week we have been looking at Numbers, matching quantity and numerals, and also mark making, identifying shape and singing our finger song.
We have two groups for circle time, the Dalmations for the children who are going to school in September, and the younger children, the Chihuahuas.  The Chihuahuas have been singing the Tommy Thumb song before going to do some big mark making on a large roll of paper together.  We've been looking at drawing shapes, faces and zigzags to get used to making different marks. Doing it together helps encourage those who aren't usually interested in mark making (mainly boys).

We have also been really enjoying our music and movement with Sticky Kids, listening to instructions and following along with the different dances.  Lots of fun. 

All this, as well as lots of small world play, reading lots of stories, role play both inside and out, glueing, sticking, drawing, painting, just having lots of fun!

Hope you enjoyed reading through our week, and look forward to next week!