Week 7

In Ally's class this week we have had lots of Christmas activities. Our story has been We're Going on an Elf Hunt, which the children have really enjoyed. We had lots of different props to explore as we went on a trip looking for the elves!

The children have practised cutting Christmas wrapping paper, we made candy cane patterns using coloured pasta shapes and we made gingerbread salt dough and used it to make Christmas tree decorations. 

In our Sensology session we have started to name our senses and recognise what senses we are using. We have also been exploring the way objects feel and saying how we think they feel using communication boards.

We used some bagels this week to make pizza bagels, the children enjoyed making them and some of the children enjoyed tasting them and asked for more.

To end the week we had our Christmas dinner and Christmas party, we enjoyed listening to Christmas songs and playing pass the parcel with our friends.

Week 6

Our sensory story this week was all about Winter. We have explored lots of activities related to winter, practising lots of skills.

We used pipettes to pick up coloured water and squeeze it onto a cotton wool snowflake. This was lots of fun, we got to see the colours mix together and it was a great activity to practise our fine motor skills.

One of our favourite activities was the melted snowman messy play, we used communication boards to say what we could see and label different parts of the snowman. We also made snowman playdough and added eyes, buttons, nose and a scarf.

This week we got to go out on the minibus, in the morning we went for a sensory walk around Rainfords Christmas trees. We could touch, feel and explore the trees independently. In the afternoon we visited church to see the Christmas lights at St. Pauls, they had lots of fun activities to join in with and the children who visited had a really great time. 

Week 5

This week in Ally's class we have enjoyed lots of music and movement! our sensory story this week was based around the Barefoot books story and song 'Up, up, up'. We enjoyed using the parachute, balloons and lights to explore the sensory side to the story.

The balloons were a huge success and the children even used them to paint with, we decorated our own hot air balloons using paint and glitter. We made requests using core boards to show our choices. 

The children have enjoyed lots of colour and shape activities through soft play, classroom activities and puzzles.

Our Sensology session is a lovely calming session which the children really enjoy. They show good anticipation for what's about to happen and the children are really beginning to link their understanding of the senses through the objects they explore. The children are tracking objects, recognising what to do with objects and sharing.

We have also been busy practising our Christmas songs for our show next week and we can't wait to share it with you.

Week 4

 This week in Ally's class we have enjoyed the Nursery rhyme Old MacDonald, alongside this we have had farm small world play to explore and play with. The children enjoyed looking at the animals, playing with the toy tractors and using switches to listen to animal noises.

The children have enjoyed messy play including gloop, making sensory bags and decorating paper plate farm animals. We have also explored colouring on the interactive board, changing colours and making marks.

In PE we have been practising our gross motor skills to climb, balance, run and swing. This week we also practised throwing a beanbag towards a target, which is something we will continue to work on throughout the term.

Week 3

Our topic for this half term is music and movement, with it being National Nursery Rhyme week we have explored Incy Wincy Spider throughout our activities. The children have listened to the rhyme and have been encouraged to copy the signs for the rhyme. 

We had cutting and sticking activities to make their own Incy Wincy Spider scene and we practised our writing pattens copying vertical lines.

This week we made Gingerbread biscuits, the children were able to pour, scoop, mix, roll and use cutters to make their biscuits. They really enjoyed all the aspects of this.

The children have shown some excellent communication this week to engage in choose activities. They have been making requests and engaging with toys for longer periods of time. 

We also made some Reindeer food, which will be on sale at the Christmas family night. The children enjoyed filling, scooping, mixing and pouring the ingredients. Every child had a go!

On Friday we enjoyed the Sensory and Physical afternoon, showing Mums, Dads and Nans all our fantastic sensory equipment in class. We had out some of the children's favourite activities and had lots of fun, we hope you did too! 

Week 2

This week we have explored lots of events in the world around us. We started the week with a sensory firework story. In the story we felt crunchy autumn leaves, listened to fireworks and people cheering as well as exploring colour.

In PE we continued to practice balancing, climbing and swinging. We have been using communication boards to express wanting more or to change activity. The children are becoming confident in using these.

During our art session we did some firework printing, the children selected their tools and colours using a communication board. They used the interactive board to colour in firework themed colouring sheets independently. We also made edible sparklers using breadsticks or biscuits, chocolate and sprinkles. The children made their own choices and had some adult support to make their sparklers.

The children have enjoyed mark making and practising skills linked to spelling their names. This week the children have done really well sharing spaces and resources more independently, we have seen some beautiful interactions between the children and them wanting to interact with each other more.

To finish the week we had a sensory afternoon with activities linked to Remembrance day, all children enjoyed engaging in favoured activities.

Week 1

This week we experienced a new sensory story, we explored a story all about Halloween and had a tuff tray with cauldrons, Gelli baff and Halloween figures to mix in. We used apples and orange paint to print our own pumpkin patch. Some children enjoyed making a Halloween collage using foam shapes and sequins.

We explored numbers through games, tracing big number using a whiteboard pen and by building towers. We practised our fine motor skills using playdough making a broomstick for the playdough mat.

The children have enjoyed sharing resources and playing with the car track and noisy cars.

Week 1