Squirrels News - 27th February 2026
It was wonderful to welcome the Squirrels back this week after the February half term and to hear all about the exciting things they got up to during the break. We heard about pillow fights, trips to the shops, visits to the trampoline park and lots of other wonderful adventures. After sharing our holiday news as a group, the children enjoyed recalling each other’s experiences before writing about their own during Focus Time.
During our Numeracy Focus Time we sequenced our school day on a Monday. The children used time-related vocabulary such as before and after, and were encouraged to apply these words as they ordered the events of their day. In the other, the children worked on identifying numbers to 10 and subitising numbers to 5. Everyone tried very hard, and it is wonderful to see such positive progress in their mathematical development.
Before half term, the Squirrels exhibited their artwork, and this week we have continued using the William Morris set-up, which has now become our café role-play area. Following on from what we learnt from various artists we studied, this week the children have enjoyed free art, exploring different media and practising the skills they have learned to design their own unique creations.
Our book of the week, Grumpy Frog, looks at the emotion of being grumpy, some ideas of what could make us grumpy and how this emotion can also make others feel. The Squirrels discussed the things that sometimes make us feel grumpy. The children shared thoughtful ideas, including not getting a treat, being told it is time for bed, or not getting something straight away. These conversations help to support the children’s emotional awareness and communication skills and it was great to see everyone thinking about the topic.
During Free Play this week potion-making was very popular, with many magical mixtures turning people into various animals! The children explored 2D and 3D shapes, identifying similarities and differences between them and discussing their features. In the creative area, playdough was carefully cut and shaped to create food for the café, while others demonstrated problem-solving skills by completing puzzles. Alongside this, we continued to practice correct letter formation.
In the Outdoor Learning Environment, the children became window cleaners, having immense fun using spray bottles. This activity also helps to strengthen the muscles in the children’s hands. They also enjoyed being pirates aboard a vast ship, being careful not to fall into the lava and developed their ball skills.
This week the children decided they would like to help care for the ducks on the common and make them happy by preparing a special mixture of duck food made from oats, quinoa and split peas. They worked carefully, spooning and pouring the ingredients into cups before transferring them into bags, ready for our Outdoor Learning Day.
Our discussion about what ducks eat led to a wider conversation about the diets of different animals, including Loki and Stardust (our class gerbils), as well as cats and lions!
Our Outdoor Learning Day started with us walking to the duck pond. It was nice to walk down different streets, noticing flowers we hadn't seen before as Spring is upon us. We passed the recycling truck and wondered what new things would be born out of the recycling. We also met a postal worker delivering letters and had some interesting discussions about the things we saw on our route such as the inside of a mattress where we were able to see what the springs look like!
Once we were at the common we took a minute to stand still, listening to the wonderful sound of bird song. We even heard a woodpecker as we watched the birds flying to and fro. When we arrived at the pond it was time to have Snack as we discussed what a balanced diet meant as well as the word moderation. After this, it was time to feed the ducks the yummy duck food the children put together a day earlier. The ducks were very excited, which they showed by their loud noises as the food was thrown into the pond, but we did find that some of the ducks needed to be reminded to share. Once we had walked around the pond and fed the ducks we found a felled tree for the children to climb and crawl along. For some this pushed the highlight of feeding the ducks to second in line! We all agreed that today was a wonderful Outdoor Learning Day.