The children had a super time making their wraps. Some of the children helped cut up the vegetables. They were very good at squeezing the sauce out of the bottles. Some of them were very creative making faces out of tge vegetables before rolling them up and wrapping in foil.
We had a fabulous morning when we celebrated Father’s Day with Daddy’s, Mummies and Grandads. We hope you enjoyed yourselves, we certainly enjoyed sharing our breakfast rolls with you all.
We hope all the children’s Special Adults enjoy what they have made for them. The children loved doing the candle holders, they got very sticky. We hope they look pretty when you light a tea light in the jar.
This week, we were lucky enough to have the garden accessible all day long, every day.
Yesterday was a glorious day and we got to spend a huge amount of time in the garden. 
The flowers were beautiful and we found a lone daisy in the grass. 
We went treasure hunting and found lots in our mud pit.
We ‘sifted’ the soil in the colander. 
We made a birthday cake, which we tried to make it as tall as possible- using lots of mathematical language and counting the ‘candles’ (coins) and adding as much as could fit to the cake.
We made another cake, adding sticks as candles and found a huge ‘candle’ to put in the middle. 
We made an obstacle course trying to avoid the crocodiles in the water, and doing lots of balancing, working together to make the planks balance, discussing ideas and putting them into practice. 
And we made castles.
This week we’ve had lots of fun planning our tea party. 
One child spent a lot time building a huge car ‘park’.
He tried to work out where the truck would fit. 
And realised it was too big.
The farm all set up ready to explore.
Dinosaur world.
A sea world With lots of different animals having a swim, in the middle of the train track. The child that designed this knew all the animals and named them as he placed them in their specific places.
Balancing.
The wheels on our wooden car. We had lots of cars around the room, some with passengers and some 2 seaters. We had lots of discussion and teamwork amongst the children.
Building a house for the people.
A special tower.
The room all ready for the children to come and do lots of exploring, playing and learning.
So this term we have welcomed 11 new little ones to join us at Woodentops. We are really proud of how well they have come in and settled plus how well their parents have managed leaving their most precious child with us. It is a privilege for us to have them. 
The fairy reel and fairies have gone down a treat. The children added small squares of material (from the craft area) to make beds for their sleeping fairies. 
This ‘tunnel’ is much more fun for jumping on and seeing how high we can go.
All ready for Jules and Sam from the signing company. The children loved the session, especially the bubble song.
We have had lots of crafting going on. The children help themselves to all the bits they want to use with a little support from the adults.
The team work and making up of rules as they build and then use their obstacle course.
Tea party anyone?
This was no longer a book, but a tray. Sorting out the kitchen bits ready to start done ‘cooking’. And when she had finished I’m proud to say she put everything back (reset) where she got it from ready for the next person to use.
Super proud of how well we did in Potton Show. Next years one is on the 12th September.
Next week we have the photographer in on Wednesday 18th from 10 am to 12pm. All parents and childminders are welcome to have their child’s photo taken. Just pop in.
Macmillan coffee afternoon is on the 26th September from 1pm to 3pm. We have a raffle with fantastic prizes, lots of cakes and some fun activities for the children.
All parents should have received this months newsletter. If not speak to a staff member.
We took 36 children and lots of adults for a lovely play at the RSPB on 21st June. The longest day and it was beautiful. 
We had a fab time making lots of different dens using all the wood we could find. Snack was custard creams, bourbons and breadsticks to ensure all the children could eat snack safely.
We found some red ants busily moving their eggs after we accidentally moved the roof of their home. It was fascinating to watch.
One of the children wanted to find some ear wigs, and the RSPB woods did not disappoint. We found lots.
We made pictures out of the wood and spent time collecting different coloured leaves, pine cones, small and large pieces of wood and even soft peat.
One child spent a long time cutting up the string and adding it to her picture.
We visited the pond and found some very bouncy, springy peat to jump on. It was like a trampoline.
The geese and their goslings weren’t too impressed at being watched so went to hid in the bushes. When we first got to the pond there was a heron having a swim. He soon flew off.
We managed to make a snowman out of the little snow we had. The children worked together with Jackie, rolling the snow round the garden to make it ‘bigger’.
One little 4 year old spent lots of time sorting through the bugs, categorising them and then sticking them to the unit with sellotape. He added the knives in at the very end.
Our favourite games to make vehicles out of the crates in the garden. This time it was a camper van which was loaded up with resources that you’d need to go on a trip.
Den building. The children are getting quite adept at using the fence to help support the roof of their dens. The giant pegs are great for developing those finger and hand muscles for writing when they are older.
Making a road out of our big wooden bricks and then testing out the car.
We had a fab bingo night which we raised £450 for the preschool. The evening was a great success and all who came had a good night.
More car building, this time the bits of wood on the wheels were the ‘brakes, to help it stop’. The green car has got a ‘hand brake’ too.
A very long fire engine with lots of seats.
Lots of hearts.
Circles and lines. Talking about our names, the sounds our letters make and singing some jolly phonic songs.
Making music with our lovely drums and beaters.
How tall can we make our rainbow 🌈 go? The children worked together to balance out the sections as they placed the pieces on top of each other.
Some areas set up ready for the children when they come in.
This term started with a bit of a bang, we had 4 new little ones join us and they settled so well. It was a delight to see how they ‘braved’ their first few days to then becoming very confident at waving goodbye at the window.
We have a very open setting in that parents, if they want to see their child’s file can just ask for it. We love showing the parents and children how their child is progressing with their play and learning at Woodentops. All staff love to talk about their key children, just ask and you’ll get given lots of information.
The room already set up for our children to come and play. We have the schedule board out ready so children can see what is going to happen through out the morning. When the activity takes place, it is taken off the board so the children can see how close snack, lunch or home time is. It really helps those that are a little anxious about routine. The little tables covered in white are for the children to put their names on so they can put any products they make- pictures, models etc; on to take home. This helps reinforce how their name looks and encourages them to recognise their name.
Building towers and bridges for the cars to go along.
Working with nuts and bolts. The children really enjoy twisting and turning the nuts and bolts into the colander. They used the loose parts to make patterns and pictures based on their ideas. They were also used as a drum. There was lots of talk about what the bolts felt like- whether they were heavy, light, cold, ridged etc.
The Children sorted through the heavy weights and the buttons, doing lots of matching games.
This was our giant man.
We made a combine harvester.
Playing with the people in the ‘meadow’.
Making a marble run- the children work which balls fit in the run and move fast. they have found out things that don’t roll, do not move in the runs.
The children use metal cutlery to play with in our kitchen area. This child has great pincer control over the knife and playdoh, super practice for when he starts to write.
Camp site making and then den building. The children are a dab hand at making dens, using their ideas, working together and supporting each other to make their dens even better.
Painting, we have been encouraging the children to wash out their paint brush after using it in one paint. this way they get to learn about waiting and taking turns and that water washes out the paint.
Building a road for the cars and lorrys.
This was a great invitation to play and learn- The children had a photo of different types of building and lots of different sized blocks.
We added wooden chess pieces to the display and the children lined them up and added them to their buildings.
We love having flowers in, the children prepare them for their little vases, any left overs or ones that were damaged are used in their loose play and often become ‘food’.
So we found a very poorly baby that needed bandaging up. The children found some micropore tape and made sure the baby was wrapped really well in the bandage and taped up. The baby felt lots better later after lots of cuddles.
Woodentops started Christmas at the end of November. Practising our songs for our alternative Carol Concert which the children had chosen. The favourites were Baby Shark, We Will Rock You- including guitars and Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney. The carol concert was a resounding success, the children thoroughly enjoyed it which is what it was all about.
Making Christmas cards using lots of glitter.
Slime- oh my the children loved the slime. They made it with a little support from Shannon, then they squeezed it, pumelled it and stretched it. We discovered how long it could go if we stretched it carefully, all the way to the front door from the office door. There was lots of mathematical language, so impressive.
Paper chains were the next interest, again the children tried to make them as long as possible.
Building with bricks. The children worked together using the ladder to try and reach the top of their tower. Once it was too tall they added more brickwork to the different levels. There was lots of sharing of ideas, lots of reflection on how they were doing and planning for the next stage off their build. Fabulous co-operation and team work.
Christmas Candles.
The children moulded the clay and pushed in a tea light. Then they helped themselves to a variety of resources to add to their table decoration. They chatted about what they were using, discussing the textures and weight, then deciding where to put them in their clay.
Flowers- the children helped cut the flowers and put them in vases. Some of them used the left overs to make ‘dinner ‘ too.
Eddy the Elf came to visit us on the 1st December, the children looked for him every morning. He was very good at hiding.
Christmas cake making
The children iced them and took them home in their Christmas bag.
We played with the treasure box.
We had a fabulous Autumn term and we’re looking forward to the New Year and Spring term. We start back on the 7th January 2019. Can’t wait to see all out little ones and hear about what they did over the Christmas holidays.
Preschool Childcare. 