April @ Oak Valley

April saw the start of some lovely sunny weather for us, so here at Oak Valley we decided to make the most of our outdoor learning opportunities. Rising 3’s and Pre-School took a trip to the park where they played on the swings, climbed on the high frames and took part in a treasure hunt. Back at nursery the Baby and Toddler rooms enjoyed splashing in the paddling pool and playing with the bubble machines.

The children have done a lot of exploring this month; the babies have enjoyed joining in with Rhythm Time waving the coloured scarves and playing the musical instruments, while Pre-School and Rising 3’s had lots of fun dancing using different ribbons and fabrics, moving in different ways and expressing themselves.

Also this month we have been learning about life cycles and have been lucky enough to have experienced hatching our own chicks in nursery. We watched the eggs turn into chicks and named them ‘Scoop’ and ‘Digger’, as voted by the children. The children took great pleasure in caring for the chicks, taking it in turns to feed, clean and hold them for several weeks before it was time for them to start their next chapter on the farm.

Following on from this, we also learnt about the life cycle of a butterfly, starting with caterpillars. The children drew pictures of them and enjoyed digging in the messy trays searching for minibeasts! Once the caterpillars had transitioned into butterflies, the children took them out into the garden to feed them oranges before releasing them.

To finish off the month, we have taken part in lots of sensory activities! We particularly enjoyed the ‘dinosaur escape’ where the children had to free the dinosaurs from blocks of ice! We have practiced our mark-making skills with flour and paintbrushes, and have explored the dinosaur world with erupting volcanoes! What a busy month we’ve had, what will May and beyond bring?!