Fun in the snow!

This morning we have been having fun exploring the snow outside! We did all sorts of things including writing our names in the snow, exploring the footprints we left behind and rolling snow to make big snowballs that we could make into snowmen!

We also felt how cold the snow was and explored its texture. We looked at the snow in the trees and talked about what it looks like.

After being outside in the cold we wanted to warm up when we got inside, so we had some hot chocolate with our snack!

Food from around the world!

This afternoon we were exploring and tasting food from around the world!

We looked at the globe and talked and named some countries we knew. Then we looked at some photos from different countries as well as some interesting food. We talked about what it looked, smelt and felt like and which country we thought it was from.

We had plantain and a photo of plantains being grown in Cameroon, halva from Greece, croissants from France, pasta from Italy, an Indian snack, jasmine rice from Thailand and tortilla chips and salsa from Mexico.

After exploring them with our other senses we got to taste them all! We wrote down on a sheet whether we liked or didn't like something, but most of us liked everything!

We learnt that food grows in different parts of the world and that food from different places tastes different. We also learnt that it's good to try food you haven't had before, because you might find out that you like it!

The same... but different!

Today we have been learning all about foods that are the same in some way, but are also different! We talked about what the words 'same' and 'different' mean before exploring some objects in the mystery box. There was a potato, a packet of crisps, two pieces of cheese, a grape, a raisin, a banana and a small piece of hard banana which was dried banana.

We matched the foods up with their partner and talked about why they went together. Some of us knew that crisps were made from potatoes and, although the fresh banana and dried banana looked different, we could see that they were both banana. Well done to Dexter who explained why the grape and raisin went together - "because grapes are left out in the sun and they turn into raisins."

We talked about how the types of food looked the same or different, then we tasted them. Although the two pieces of cheese looked the same, they actually tasted different. The grape and raisin didn't taste the same or look the same! The texture of the fresh banana and dried banana was very different, but they both still tasted of banana.

Which foods can you think of that seem the same but are actually different, or seem different but actually come from the same place?

Guess the flavour!

This week we are learning all about the sense of taste! We talked about what taste means, which part of our body we use to taste (our mouth) and which part of our mouth we use to taste. Some of us thought it might be our lips, some of us thought our tongue, some of us thought our teeth. To find out we had to eat something!

Our challenge this afternoon was to 'guess the flavour' - we talked about what 'flavour' means and how there can be different flavours of things, like different flavours of ice cream.

First we tried two different flavours of jelly. We found that we were using our tongue to taste the jelly! We had different ideas about what the flavours might be, including strawberry, chocolate, cherry, blackberry and raspberry. Then Miss Ayres told us the results - the first jelly was raspberry and the second was strawberry! We talked about how they tasted different and which one we liked best.

Then we worked in two groups on challenges with Miss Ayres and Mrs Waites. With Mrs Waites we had three different flavours of fromage frais to eat and guess the flavour. Well done to Lucy, Blue and Harry who all guessed the first one was strawberry! No one managed to guess the second and third flavours though - they were apricot and raspberry!

With Miss Ayres we had three different flavours of crisps to try. In our groups we wrote down what we thought they were before Miss Ayres revealed the results!

Crisp 1: Group 1 - Plain. Group 2 - Spicy. Answer - Ready Salted.

Crisp 2: Group 1 - Cheese. Group 2 - Onion. Answer - Cheese and Onion!

Crisp 3: Group 1 - Pepper. Group 2 - No idea! Answer - Salt and Vinegar.

Well done especially to Fallon, Summer, Emily, Jack and Olivia who all did some super writing.

What are your favourite flavours? Can you work out what flavour something is just by the taste?

Spicy art!

Today we have been exploring herbs and spices. We explored and smelt some different herbs and spices on the discovery table and on the Busy Fingers table we were challenged to pick up some peppercorns with tweezers and move them from one pot to another!

On the creative table we were making spicy pictures! We mixed some herbs and spices, like caraway seeds and paprika, into our glue. We spread the glue onto our pieces of paper and then stuck on lots of other herbs and spices such as peppercorns, coriander seeds and fennel seeds. We explored the colour and texture of our pictures, and of course the wonderful smells! Emily was very keen on making spicy pictures and made two!

This morning we also had a new mystery smell to guess on the discovery table (it was ginger), scented playdough (it smelt of mint!), apple-scented bubble bath in the water tray and scented paint to paint with. We've also started making some beautiful flower pictures that really smell of flowers!

Run, run, as fast as you can..!

This afternoon we have been learning how to retell a story. Can you guess which story it was..?

It was The Gingerbread Man! We retold the story and all joined in with the repeated phrase, "Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

We worked together and followed a recipe to make our own gingerbread men. We used special cutters so our gingerbread men were either missing an arm, a leg or a head!

We also did lots of other activities this afternoon to support our understanding of the story. We made masks and puppets from the story, designed and cut out our own gingerbread men, practised our pencil control by making patterned gingerbread men and practised retelling the story.

Can you work out which sense we are learning about this week?

Here are some clues...

We said the syrup in our gingerbread men smelt sweet - we all liked it! Most of us liked the smell of the ginger. When the gingerbread men were cooking, we could smell them - and they smelt delicious!

Yes, this week we are learning all about smell! Check back throughout the week to see what other exciting things we are doing and learning as we explore the sense of smell!

Exploring rhyming words and poetry!

This week we are learning all about the sense of hearing. Today we have been learning to hear and say rhyming words through lots of different activities! We've been finding rhyming pictures in a puzzle (including a wizard with a lizard, a moon with a spoon and a king on a swing!), singing nursery rhymes, playing a rhyming game on the whiteboard, matching rhyming pictures and reading some rhyming stories!

This afternoon Reception learnt a poem called What Can I Do? It goes like this:

What can I do?

Do, do, what can I do?

I can do so much.

Do, do, what can I do?

Why don’t you come and watch?

Watch me, watch me, watch me…

Jump!

Jump! Jump! Jump!

Watch me, watch me, watch me…

Run!

Run! Run! Run!

Watch me, watch me, watch me…

Wiggle!

Wiggle! Wiggle! Wiggle!

Do, do, what can I do?

I can do so much!

We added actions to our poem and said it several times until we could recite it off by heart. Then we made up our own version of the poem. To do this we had to think of different things we could do and put them in the poem in the right place. This is our finished poem!

What can I do?

Do, do, what can I do?

I can do so much.

Do, do, what can I do?

Why don’t you come and watch?

Watch me, watch me, watch me…

Stretch!

Stretch! Stretch! Stretch!

Watch me, watch me, watch me…

Walk!

Walk! Walk! Walk!

Watch me, watch me, watch me…

Stomp!

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

Do, do, what can I do?

I can do so much!

In Play and Learn time Fallon worked really hard on writing her own rhyming poem about animals. This is Fallon's poem:

Goat on a boat

Dog on a log

Cat on a mat

Great rhyming words Fallon, and brilliant use of phonics to sound out all the words. Well done!