We've used our junk to make some lovely models today. We also made some pencil pots for mummies and daddies which we then painted and decorated with stickers.

We've played with the trains and track, played outside (even in the rain), played with playdoh and done some colouring and drawing.

The older children went to the park this afternoon whilst the younger ones had a well-deserved rest.

Diggers, dumpers and trucks

One of the children visited 'Diggerland' on their holidays, so today we got out all the diggers and other construction vehicles.  The children had great fun loading, tipping and transporting the wooden blocks, building 'houses' with the blocks during their play.  Later in the afternoon they played with some of the junk, transporting it in the same way. 

We also made some biscuits which the children ate as their afternoon snack. 

Busy builders :-)

Thank you....

....to Adam and Joel's mummies for supplying us with lots of junk for modelling.  Either this week or next week we'll be making models and using some of the larger items for construction. 

If anyone has any more junk, then please bring it along - we're sure to make use of it! 

Foundation degree progress

I don't know whether you all remember, but we started studying for the Foundation Degree in Early Years last October.  Chris and I have now passed our first year and are now qualified to level 4, gaining a 'Certificate in Early Years Practice'. 

Menu - week beginning 16th August

Monday - Sausage, mash and veg
Tuesday - Chicken and pasta in a cheese/tomato sauce
Wednesday - Spaghetti bolognaise
Thursday - Fish cakes (mashed white fish mixed with potato and onion), wedges, peas
Friday - Chicken casserole and rice

Hello!!

Just to say 'hello' to you all after our holiday.  We had a really good time and the weather, believe it or not, wasn't too unkind to us! 

See you this week x

Certificate from Ofsted

This came in the post yesterday :-)

Fairy cakes

We made some fairy cakes today.  The children were desperate to eat them when they came out of the oven, so we had one without icing and then iced the others.  We used some food-colouring pens to make pictures, patterns and to write on the buns. 

Tram trip

We all had a ride on a tram up to the Pleasure Beach this morning. The children chose postcards and we sat on the steps to the beach to write them.

We played on the sand and found a really big jellyfish!

We then caught the tram home and posted our postcards in a letter box.

These are the trams we rode on this morning.

Junk please!!

After our holidays, we are planning for the children to make models out of 'junk'. We would be very grateful for all your old boxes, tubes, yogurt pots, tubs and anything else you can think of that would be good for the children to use.

We will also be constructing outdoors, so we would be very grateful for some larger boxes, any old pieces of wood (with no jagged edges), crates etc.

It would help us if you would bring all items during the first week we are back from holiday, just so that we can leave our house tidy (or as tidy as it can be ;-)) whilst we are away.

Thank you x

Just a little thank you...

...to those who finished work earlier than usual yesterday and came early for your children. We only had one child here after 4.15, so it was much appreciated. I was able to catch up on some paperwork (observations, planning, learning journeys etc), which I normally do in an evening, whilst Chris and our little friend had a good time playing and reading stories together. Its not often we get an unexpected early finish - thank you; we used it wisely! x

Menu week 26th July

Monday - Corned beef hash
Tuesday - Shepherds Pie
Wednesday - Cheesy turkey and ham pasta with vegetables
Thursday - Chicken curry and rice
Friday - Fish fingers, potato wedges and baked beans/peas

Trains and trams

This morning, the children asked to play with the trains and track.

At around 9.45, we all set off to the prom. When we got there, we had a little snack and a drink whilst watching the trams go by. Unfortunately the tide was in so we weren't able to go on to the beach - we'll do this during the holidays hopefully. We walked back home again just in time for lunch.

William and Thomas finished school early this afternoon and are looking forward, as are we, to their 6-week holiday.

Going for a walk in the morning......

.....weather permitting! We though we might have a wander up to the prom with the children to give them some sea air. We may go on to the beach, depending on the tides and condition of the sand (it's sometimes very muddy at Bispham). Fingers crossed for sun!

Songs and painting the sun!

We sang lots of songs this morning and the children played along with all the different musical instruments.

We also made our own suns by drawing round our hands, cutting out the shape on yellow and orange paper and then sticking them on to the back of a yellow-painted paper plate. The children had a great time and we're hoping that, by sticking the suns on the wall, we may encourage the real sun to stay out a bit longer!

Victoria is now on holiday for six weeks, so we wish her a very happy time! We'll miss you Victoria - see you in September. xx

What we did yesterday!

Sorry, I didn't get chance to write the blog last night.

The children played with the dolls for a short time this morning, before we all went to play outside. The sun was a very welcome change!!

We saw lots of butterflies on our buddleia bushes today. The children kept letting us know when they saw one which was lovely - they were really excited!

10 steps for healthy toddlers

I've put a link on the left of the page for some information about food, sleep etc which may be of interest to you.

Cutting and sticking

As part of our 'holiday' theme, the children practised their cutting skills, cutting out photos that they liked in some holiday brochures - kindly donated by Erin's mummy.

They then used their photos to make their own collage. We talked about our holidays during the activity and what we would take with us to a hot country. We also discussed where we were all going on our holidays this year and we've made a poster of all the different places we're going to be visiting.

Duck pond

We visited the duck pond today. Although we got a little wet, the children enjoyed themselves feeding the ducks and swans. We saw the ducklings, who have grown quite big now. Bradley fell asleep on the way there and only woke up on our way home, so unfortunately missed it all!

Certificate from Action Medical Research