The garden is open!
We are so happy the garden has reopened and it is exciting to see the children accessing some wonderful outdoor space. There are some new and challenging learning opportunities out there. Children need to learn to assess and take risks so they have an awareness of danger and can keep themselves safe: negotiating space and challenging climbing are essential developmental learning blocks which help with brain development. 
Please come outside when you drop your child off and see how the garden is used.   
There is a full risk benefit analysis on the website.
In the meantime, I think the photographs do all the talking. 
Thank you for your wonderful comments: this work was a massive undertaking and means Rachel Keeling has one of the most exciting outdoor school environments in Tower Hamlets. 

As part of our Black History Month celebrations we have been cooking with some dishes using ingredients from the Caribbean and some traditional Somali Kimis (Sabaayad.)
Judy and some children looked at the globe, They looked at where London is.
Judy explained her family are from St Vincent in the Caribbean. She shared some vegetables she bought from the market. Children investigated yams, plantain, cinnamon and sweet potatoes. 
They handled them and talked about where they came from.
Then children were supported to prepare them, peeling, chopping and washing them - the sweet potatoes proved to be hard work.
The plantains were fried and shared by the children.
The sweet potatoes were grated and the children worked together, following a recipe to make sweet potato cookies. These were baked and shared (and as you can see in the photographs, enjoyed!)
This morning, children worked with Shamso to make Somali Kimis.
Children worked in a small group to talk about the recipe (which was in Shamso's head.)
They explored the ingredients, mixed them and then used tools to roll the kimis out before frying them. 
Again, they were enjoyed by many children and staff alike.
This week Shamso also cooked some traditional Somali food for staff. She is raising money for a family who need help with flooding in Somalia. Staff donated money to the cause. 

Despite our delayed garden works, the team are ensuring exciting learning continues outdoors.
Children have been enjoying mark making, making and sharing hot chocolate with their friends, creating dens, making new friends by playing small group ring games, climbing and running, imaginative games and of course watching the final touches of the garden works.
We hope the whole garden will be open for children to enjoy from Monday 18 October.
We will have a week of exploration and new routines, so children can test themselves on the challenging climbing, learn the rules of playing safely in the sand and negotiate the new larger space.
Exciting times!

Children have been supported in exploring music and movement over the past few weeks. Listening to and creating rhythms and sounds using xylophones, djembe drums and the piano.
They have further developed this learning but creating a stage and responding to a range of music, with scarves and fabric.
Then we had a problem, it was so popular, we ran out of fabric!
Children were supported to think and find a solution: they made their own dancing rainbow sticks.
​How wonderful they can now continue the dancing at home with their families.