You know we had so much fun when not one single photograph was taken!!!
Thank you all for your support for our Annual Rachel Keeling Summer Fete: whether you baked a cake, bought a raffle ticket, had your face painted, bounced on the castle or bought a toy from the Little Treasures stall: THANK YOU! You helped to raise £693.30. Our wonderful community, past, present and future came out in force and the rain stayed away! We thank you all for your support every day by getting your children to school on time, by celebrating their learning and supporting our school values. We know the joy that books can bring to our lives and the important part they play in the learning and development of young children.
A group of parents visited our local Idea Store in Whitechapel. They looked at the books on offer, selected some, shared them and then joined up! Did you know that if you become a member of the Idea Store you can borrow books and so much more. There are classes and computers there to use. It is a quiet and calm space in our busy city. Best of all, it is FREE. If you would like to join up, click here. At Rachel Keeling children help to care for the garden and our plants and wildlife (flora and fauna).
Following on from last week's bulb digging, children have been supported to harvest the potatoes which they have been growing during the winter. Children worked collaboratively in the shade to select tools (although it was mainly a job for hands!) They harvested the potatoes: children showed delight and interest as they found potatoes! They used language to describe the potatoes as "tiny ones" "huge ones" and "ginormous ones". Children were supported to sort them and separate the potatoes from the leaves. They then transported the potato leaves to the compost area. Next came the job of counting the potatoes! Children problem solved and decided to line them up on tables in the shade. Some children were able to count as they pointed, one child was able to count to 39. Some of our older and more experienced children counted beyond 50! In total there were 80 potatoes harvested. Children were then encouraged to mark make their representations of what 80 potatoes looks like. Some drew circles, some tallied and others wrote numerals. Children sustained concentration and worked harmoniously together for a long time. Next step is they will be taken into Bluebell to wash and prepare. Maybe they will be boiled and shared in the garden with some olive oil and chives from the garden? We want our children to understand that they can grow food and share it. Do you have a space where you can grow any vegetables or herbs at home? Speak to Nazma, she is very green-fingered and can give you advice. Even a window sill is a great place to grow something tasty in a pot. We have been inspected by Ofsted this week and appreciated your support. We appreciate the team, children and families every day.
We will share the report once we receive it. It is week one of some special visitors at Rachel Keeling. We know the importance of inspiring children to be curious about their world and encouraging them to express their curiosity.
On Monday we had a special delivery of 10 eggs in an incubator. Children were given time to observe the eggs, talk about them, sharing what they thought and ask questions. Some children thought they would be chicks. One child thought it would be a crocodile and another a snake. The children waited patiently, observing and marked the days on the calendar. They noticed the eggs were moving and eventually one of the eggs started to 'pip' or 'hatch'. Out hatched a small yellow chick: children noticed they were wet and wobbly. As the chicks dried and more hatched they were moved across to the brooding box where they have more space and a warm light, food and water. Children began to understand what chicks needs to live and thrive. They were moved in pairs so they would not be lonely. Excitement grew as more hatched. By Friday, seven chicks hatched and were growing and flapping their wings. Children were quiet and respectful around the chicks: showing great care and fascination. The chicks are now, eating, drinking and sleeping and it is a privilege to be able to do so. Some vocabulary the children have been introduced to and supported using this week within context: incubator hatch pip crack shell egg yoke albumen chick flap female male After the weekend the children really noticed the changes in the chicks as they grew very quickly. They were confident and we were able to determine the gender of the chicks. The children helped care for the chicks and let them have some exercise before they returned to the farm. Well what a week of Coronation fun that has been. At Rachel Keeling we know children learn best in first hand and meaningful ways. We decided to wait until after the Coronation to have a celebration because we hoped children might have seen or heard more talk and coverage of an abstract concept and so understand it more. It happens that there is a Coronation in the film Frozen though, so I had underestimated the children!!!!
Children helped plan the parties: Some children helped to write invitations, some used their knowledge of phonics to write messages to friends who were not able to come. Some children wrote shopping lists, collected and counted money and went to the local shops to buy provisions. Many children across the week followed recipes, listened to instructions, read the visual recipe cards, developed skills using one handed tools and worked collaboratively to make some delicious party food. Cooking is part of our regular provision so children have a good awareness of the processes involved and hygiene. Children helped to create banana pancakes, a tray bake, which was decorated with butter cream and fresh fruit in the design of the Union Jack flag. Biscuits were iced and vegan cupcakes decorated. During small group time and at story, children shared lots of talk with adults and began to understand that the King is called King Charles. The King lives in London like us. He lives in a palace called Buckingham Palace. On Friday children came to school wearing red, white and blue clothes. There was some optional face paint and a choice of designs. Whilst children and staff enjoyed the beautiful food, the National Anthem was played and children enjoyed a bit of Kool & The Gang's Celebrate! Can you spot some special visitors who came to the school too? Do you celebrate different festivals and events in your family? Get your child to help plan and prepare with you! Also, children love flags, can you see whether you can find the flags for the countries of the world your family are from with your child? Try this link. Over the past two weeks children have been introduced to and supported to weave and sew.
They started with a large grid that children were introduced to weaving with: they selected strips of fabric and carefully sustained interest, weaving it in and out of the grid to create a pattern. Many children showed interest and were able to access this independently once shown. Next some children were introduced to sewing: they used large needles with huge eyes. This meant they were able to thread independently with more success. An adult helped to tie knots in the thread. They selected pieces of card with holes ready made and practiced their hand-eye coordination to thread and sew the cotton and wool through the card. Just look at the concentration on the children's faces!!! Children were introduced to vocabulary such as weave, sew, needle, thread, fabric, knot. We also notice that when we sit and concentrate while using our hands, lots of talk happens. A great opportunity for conversations. Remember to have conversations with your child: conversations are when people take it in turns to speak and talk back and forth. Leave lots of time for your child to process language and speak. Children have been showing an interest in planets after sharing some stories in Rose Class at story time.
The garden team gathered all our resources which link to planets - some lovely information books from the Research Library which had been donated by a family. Children shared what they knew: some children knew the names of some of the planets. Most children know we live on Planet Earth. Many children knew that there is water and land on Earth. Some knew the sun gives us heat and light. Did you know it is the pull of the Moon's gravity on the Earth that holds our planet in place? Children looked at the planets and how far they were from the sun: in order it is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Children mark made planets in chalk on the floor in the garden: they worked collaboratively to match labels to them. Some children helped to make physical representations of the planets with balloons and papier mache. They sustained concentration doing this as it took a long time! Children used the information books to refer to so they knew which colour to paint the planets. They even problem solved to make Saturn's rings. Have a look when you visit the garden next at the planet display. Look up into the sky at night with your child and see if you can see any stars or the moon. The Rachel Keeling Nursery School community came together as it always does to celebrate Eid.
Children had already been supported to share lots of talk about their Eid celebrations and other celebrations their families observe. Children knew that for some celebrations people have parties and share food. Some children also knew that special clothes might be worn. Some children said members of their family went to the mosque at Eid. During the week before our celebration, children helped to prepare food. They followed recipes, sustaining concentration, using one handed tools and collaborating with others to make: baklava, cupcakes and dipped dates in chocolate. We also invited each child to bring in a piece of fruit which we worked collaboratively to make a huge fruit platter and fruit kebabs. Children were invited to wear their party clothes: some children chose to have Mendhi. Children shared food, talk and joy! We hope those of you who celebrated Eid had a wonderful time. Remember you can email Becky a photograph to print out for your child's Special Book. During the run up to Easter, many of our families have been observing the holy month of Ramadan.
We have been looking for signs of new life in our garden and some children know the egg represents new life. Some children listened to the story of the Last Supper. We have also been talking about Ramadan and what that means for Muslims around the world. Many children were able to talk about their own experiences, some children knew that family members were fasting. We celebrated with a symbolic Last Supper and Iftar with the children. They helped to bake and prepare some drinks to share. Children sat together, shared the food and drink and talked with their friends. The Easter Bunny also visited our garden and the children went on an egg hunt! Happy Easter if you are celebrating and Ramadan Mubarak if you are observing. |