Dear Parents / Carers
COVID Update:
Here is the link to the latest Government Guidance for OOSC Settings: Guidance for parents and carers of children attending out-of-school settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
This Week – It was a fantastic start to this half term with lots of activities taking place. We have spent lots of time in the garden playing football, building, and playing with the mud kitchen. Inside there has been lots of drawing and colouring in connection with the film Raya and the Last Dragon which we watched at our Cinema Circle. We’ve also been playing Twister and the pool table has, as always, been very popular.
Monday – Forest School – We made woodland stars from twigs found in the garden, these were held together with rubber bands, and we decorated them with ribbons and wool. Under close supervision, we used Mrs S’s secateurs to cut the twigs.
Tuesday – Science Society – This week we looked at propulsion and made paper rockets using a template and drinking straws to concentrate a puff of air to power them. We started by decorating the bodies of the rocket and after cutting out we wrapped them around pencils and taped them on to keep their shapes. We cut out and taped the fins to the base of the rocket. Some children used the template while others decided to design their own fin shapes – some were very elaborate! The straws were inserted, it was time for blast off. We attempted a rocket race in the garden but it was too windy .. we had mini races inside, all rockets successfully launched and travelled quite a distance. It was great to see our preschool children having a go making these with our older children who offered them support and encouragement. There was also an amazing idea to add coloured tissue paper to make it look like flames were coming out of the base just like a real rocket launch!
Tuesday – Gaming – Mario is still the most popular game. There’s been lots of teamwork and sharing!
Wednesday – Cinema Circle – This week we watched Raya and the Last Dragon. The children made their own dragon bookmark and coloured some amazing pictures! There was lots of chat about this week’s film and Reuben said, ‘this is the best film I have ever seen’.
Thursday – Den Building – We made hideouts this week and used ivy and sticks to make our den’s invisible. The dens looked very cosy. The children added ivy to wooden crates to make them look pretty or invisible and used them as tables for their snacks!
Thursday – Animating – Our films this week were all based around a pizza theme. Our animators used the Lego to create several short films about pizza thieves and even a person with a pizza on their head! We had a number of children having a go at animating for the first time with our more experienced animators having the skills and confidence to explain and show them what to do. We hope Hattie, Arielle and Anya enjoyed their first attempts at movie making. Great teamwork! Don’t forget to take a look on facebook for the video. This week it’s a video by Sam, Ethan and Rowan!
Friday – This afternoon in our baking session we will be making peppermint creams; there’s a lot of weighing and sieving. The children will make a dough, add peppermint essence, and will make circles using their hands. The creams will be dipped in chocolate.
Recycling – Do you have any empty squash, pop or clear plastic bottles? Do you have any empty jam jars with lids? If you do, please bring them in .. we will be needing them for our future activities. Thank you.
Next week – We continue with our themed activities. We will also be caring for our garden wildlife, making sure they have food and water and we’ll be looking for signs of spring.
Monday – Forest School – We will be making catapults from sticks and rubber bands. We will make a target and using mud in our catapults we will splat the target! Let’s see who ‘splats’ the most points! This activity will be carefully supervised!
Tuesday – Science – Next week we will be revisiting a couple of themes we looked at last term to create lava lamps. We will layer liquids of different densities in jars and add a special ingredient to create carbon dioxide. This should cause bubbles of coloured water to rise and once the gas escapes from the top the bubbles should fall. Let’s hope it works!
Tuesday – Gaming – The Nintendo switch and other games will be available for the children to play with. Encouraging teamwork and sharing!
Wednesday – Cinema Circle – We will be watching the wonderful ‘Matilda’; a gifted child who’s not appreciated by her family or Principal Trunchbull. When she realises, she has magical powers she uses them to defend her friends and seek revenge on Trunchbull and her parents. We will make chocolate cake, inspired by Bruce Bogtrotters cake in the film.
Thursday – Den Building – This week we will have freestyle den making. We will build a fire in the firepit, and we’ll make hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream. To be enjoyed fireside or in the cosiness of our dens!
Thursday – Animation – Next week the children have been tasked with coming up with new ideas for items and themes we can use in our animating. The Lego mini figures are very popular, but it will be great to see what new ideas they come up with. They can bring in their own toys if they like … just not too big! Please let them know.
Friday – We will be making mini cheesecakes. The children will be crushing up biscuits, they’ll add an angel delight filling and a topping of mixed fruit. They’ll be lots of weighing and mixing!
Outside activities all week: There will be connect 4, giant Duplo, the mud kitchen, construction vehicles, football and Meccano.
Have a lovely weekend!
Kind regards
The Playhouse Team