Squirrels News - 17th October 2025
Our Topic Book “I’ll wait Mr Panda” has been lots of fun to explore this week. The children have also enjoyed working in the recycling centre, sorting various materials and thinking about what they could be turned into next. The theme for this Role Play was directly informed by one of our Outdoor Learning Days where the children discussed the helpful people who collect our rubbish.
During one of our Focus sessions, we practised our listening and waiting skills, just like in our book of the week. The children had to wait for the music to start before making a particular repetitive stroke on their paper, such as up and down. They continued their mark making until the music stopped. When it paused, they changed the colour of their writing implement and waited patiently for the next instruction. The children did a fantastic job of listening carefully and being ready to make their marks when the music began again. In another activity, we explored waiting and listening skills as we took turns to tap out a rhythm while counting. We then played together, copying the rhythm that was introduced.
In Dance with Miss Jade, the children enjoyed a picnic-themed session. Before they could have their picnic, they had to find different fruits to eat, which was lots of fun and a lovely nod to our Teddy Bears’ Picnic last week on the Common.
On our way to the common this week, we spotted quite a lot of building work going on. There was lots of scaffolding going up and somebody was having their roof insulated. It was very interesting to observe and sparked various conversations around the building project we had been able to watch a few weeks ago.
On our walk we discovered a car being charged, speaking about why the car was plugged in and the different types of fuel cars use. The property where the car was parked also had a pumpkin which was blowing its nose. This provided entertainment with the children laughing at the sight, "it's hilarious!" on child said.
Once we arrived at the common the children set about playing and rebuilding the ‘fire’ we have so far returned to each week, finding sticks and balancing on the log. It was then time for Snack before embarking on some tree climbing.
After this our Focus activity was to expand our exposure to various games we can play together. Every week we have been to the common so far, the children have chosen to build a fire and play Hide and Seek. These activities have been great fun, but we wanted to engage the children in some other game options. Today we played Duck, Duck, Goose and What's the Time Mr Wolf? There were lots of laughs and giggles all round.