Week Commencing 10th May 2021 - Westmeston

Welcome to the Westmeston blog.

This week our focus has been on Physical Development – health and self-care.

We have been thinking about how to keep ourselves healthy and have used our giant teeth and toothbrush set to role play being at the dentist.

We have also been discussing what we eat and how it provides us with the energy and nutrients we need for a full day of activity at the Acorns! The children stuck pictures of food onto paper plates, thinking about which foods we should have in our regular diets and which we should have more occasionally. It was also interesting to talk to the children about some of the foods they did not recognise, such as aubergine and sushi.

The Acorns Cafe was open at Westmeston this week with the children serving up all sorts of meals for their friends. This simple role play activity engages so many aspects of learning as the children talk about what foods they would like and listen to each other's orders. There was also lots of discussion about how much the food items cost - some were very expensive!

At Westmeston, there are endless opportunities for children to develop their physical skills such as dressing themselves in their wet weather clothing, climbing obstacles, using their ride on toys and generally running about in the garden. They also have lots of opportunities to practise smaller physical movements such as pencil control and using scissors.

On Friday we focused on a wild flower that we have an abundance of in our garden - dandelions. We looked at how the dandelions change from bight yellow flowers to fluffy white seeds that are fun to blow in the breeze. With the help of the book 'Chistopher Nibble', the children learnt all about wind seed dispersal and how each tiny seed is able to grow into a new dandelion if it finds the right conditions. We also noticed that, because it was a dull, rainy morning, the yellow flowers outside were quite closed up. However, the flowers that Mrs Tubb had picked, soon opened up to show off their yellow petals in the warmth of the hall.

The children used cotton buds and forks to create dandelion inspired pictures with yellow, green and white paint.

Our walk on Friday wasn't quite as dry and sunny as it has been in previous weeks, but that never stops us from having lots of fun! Of course we searched for dandelions and enjoyed blowing the seeds. We also had a wonderful time playing in the woods and did a lot of climbing, exploring and running.

There were plenty of sheep with lambs to look at in the fields around us. The children were able to do some very good sheep noises....baaaa!!!

We are delighted that Miss Matthews is joining us on Fridays at Westmeston, which means we can make the most of her musical talents. The children just love drumming and dancing in the woodland area.

Please could we make a request that children come to Westmeston with suitable waterproof clothing when the weather is as mixed as it is at the moment. A waterproof coat, trousers and wellies are essential for showery days as we do lots of sitting on the floor, climbing trees and playing in the mud whatever the weather. Please also make sure that these items (and water bottles) are named as children don't always recognise their own clothing. Thank you.