Well... that's another week done and dusted! Time is flying by and we are now starting to feel the chilly Autumn weather approaching. Please remember to bring a warm hat, scarf and gloves (with names on) everyday or to keep in your child's bag should the weather get cold. We go outside everyday regardless of weather.
It was great to welcome Miss Whitlow on Monday morning. Miss Whitlow has thoroughly enjoyed spending time getting to know all of our Apples and Mrs Grimes has brought Miss Whitlow up to speed with everything that she needs to know about our happy classroom!
We've been back on the farm this week - this time focusing on the jobs that a farmer has to get on with at harvest time. We've watched combine harvesters in action and the children were fascinated by this amazing piece of machinery. We have had so many fabulous discussions about the function of the parts, the size, the colour and the crops that they cut. Added to this, we continued to think about other pieces of farm equipment - the tractor and the telehandler which are also very busy during the harvest. The children took such effort and care as they made their own junk models of farm machinery and we do hope that you enjoyed seeing these treasures at home time. It would be great if you could spend time at the weekend chatting about how farmers harvest their crops and the job of the combine harvester. The important words we used about the combine were:
header/reel - the bit at the front that cuts
cab - the bit where the driver sits
tank - the bit where the wheat grains are stored
shoot - the bit that transfers the the wheat grains from the tank to the trailer
You will see all of this vocabulary in action in the short video link attached. We do hope that you'll find time to watch this with your child and they will be able to tell you all about the harvesting process.
Afterwards we had a go at making our own farm vehicles! The children looked closely at images of combines and tractors and were able to recreate them using our junk model materials. They were able to explain their choices (this is a light for the tractor, these are the wheels, these are the seats for the passengers etc) and thought carefully how they could join the materials together and later improve their model. Well done everyone!
Back down in our outdoor provision the children again were drawn to making tractors and combine harvesters! They took it in turns becoming the farmer (driving the machine) and picking up more and more passengers on the way. Our conversations were mainly around 'whose turn it was next to become the farmer' - but we did get some purposeful conversations in too 'what would make good wheels for our tractor.' From one of the videos we watched at carpet time, it told us that the tractors have 'tracks' in the tyres which helps the tractor from getting stuck in the mud!
In free play the children have enjoyed role playing with the farm toys, developing their fine motor skills by using scrunched tissue paper to stick onto pictures of combine harvesters and tractors and being in the 'tuff tray' where we created a small world area with tractors, trailers, farm animals and sensory materials (cornflakes, mini shredded wheat, oats etc.)
Mrs Grimes managed to get a bunch of wheat from a local farm and the children very much enjoyed exploring this, finding the little grains and crushing them with a stone to make flour.
Later in the week, the children found out about some of the less glamorous farm jobs - the farm yard needed to be cleaned and the farm vehicles needed a wash. Sweeping is great for our gross motor skills and it builds strength in our muscles. This is vital for good physical development and actually, the children think it's fun! Cleaning the farm vehicles is great for our fine motor skills - we have to apply enough pressure to get rid of all of the muck and dirt.
Have a wonderful weekend
Miss Whitlow and Mrs Grimes
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