Most of us know, sandwich making is an artform. 
Do you take triangles, squares, rectangles?
Crusts on or crusts off?
As part of the children mathematical development they have been focusing on preparing food for the snack area to share. Sandwich-making lends itself perfectly to this learning. 
Children were supported in the process. Firstly the planned their fillings, then checked the garden for any ingredients we could harvest.
Next some children went shopping for ingredients: writing their lists and collecting money to pay Mark at the market stall.
Children estimated and then counted out slices of bread, used knives to butter their bread and sliced other ingredients. They were exposed to and used mathematical language such a numbers, 'more', 'less', 'length', 'triangle', 'square' and 'rectangle'. They also used positional language and ordinal language such as 'first', 'second' etc.
Over the two weeks they have enjoyed cucumber, cheese and tomato, BLT (BUTTER, lettuce and tomato) and home grown cress sandwiches. 
Sometimes they shared them out in the garden when it was warm enough and enjoyed stories and talk while they ate. 
It has also fed into learning across the nursery about seeds and growth - some children picked out the tomato seeds and planted them along with other seeds and vegetables we are growing.
Enjoy the bank holiday and maybe you could make some sandwiches for an outing!

At Rachel Keeling we are lucky that our garden is home to so much flora and fauna. 
Over the course of the year, the seasons bring a sense of awe and wonder to our school. 
So much learning is possible, you just need to observe, listen and notice. 
We were delighted recently to find some frogspawn in the pond.
Children had opportunities to observe it up close and talk about it. 
They knew we had to be respectful: limiting numbers and not touching it.
The children shared talk and pondered what it might be. 
They noticed movement and other pond life in the container and this provided much excitement. 
With the support of information books and a skilled adult, they found the information and began to look at what might happen to the frogspawn.
Children explored the books together and read some simple captions. 
Children were supported in learning about the lifecycle of the frog.
They talked about the lifecycle and then many drew pictures to represent the phases:
Frogspawn
 Tadpole
Froglet
Frog
We just need to hope the birds don't eat the frogspawn (children made plenty of birdseed cookies and put them on the other side of the garden!)

There are certain times when the clouds part and the sun shines through.
When I opened my email this weekend I had a lovely surprise. 
At Rachel Keeling Nursery School we have a developed our cycling (balance bikes and 2 wheeler pedal bicycles) in school and try to share this with families to encourage them to get out and about.
Cycling can be liberating and is a wonderful and sustainable way to explore the city, countryside and parks. Cycling is a great way of getting from A to B as well and a fun way to get exercise.
Here is the email I received from one parent with the attached photographs. 

" X really rode her bike today for the first time.
We have been trying to build up her confidence over the last few months. She wasn’t interested in her balance bike at all. She just wanted to run when she was younger. So we decided to get her a bike with stabilisers.  But it was so heavy and she kept tipping over. So my mum and dad (my dad who loves his bike) bought her this new bike for Xmas. We have been taking her out on it for months. She has done a few little independent pedals but would then tip over. 
The last week she has been coming home and telling me all about riding bikes at nursery.
I decided to bring her bike outside today to see how she got on.
She took off with such confidence and there was no stopping her.
So thank you all for helping her progress. "

Just look at the joy and freedom on our friend's face in these photographs.
Thank you to all our families who support Rachel Keeling learning at home. 
Learning is best done with us all working together.
Encourage your child to use the bikes at nursery and remember you can borrow them at the weekend and school holidays if you don't have your own bikes at home.

At Rachel Keeling we recognise the importance of children having sustained and free access to a range of creative experiences in order to develop independence, autonomy, skills and a love of creativity.
We are lucky to have a wonderful workshop style studio in Sunflower base. 
Children have recently been supported to use a range of one handed tools, explore clay and to create models using a range of materials.
After having time to knock down, handle and explore the clay, children created small sculptures. Next they gathered natural materials such as twigs and stones to creates habitats, they added these freely. Finally, they told narratives and stories around their sculptures.
Other children used information books, story books and their interests to inspire their model making. They used a range of recyclable materials and methods to join them. Children shared their ideas, stories and narratives. 
There are so many photographs which captured the process and also children's ideas.