Squirrels News - 27th March 2026

This week the children enjoyed a visit to the 345-ice cream parlour, where they tucked into a delicious treat in the warming weather. With plenty of sprinkles available, the ice creams were made even more exciting! As part of our shop experience, we have been exploring 1p, 2p, 5p and 10p coins. With physical money used less often, it is important for the children to understand that money doesn’t simply come from tapping a card or phone, but has real value.

Meanwhile, the firefighters were busy responding to emergencies around Balham, including a shop fire and even a “cat stuck up a tree.” Thankfully, the Squirrels firefighters were on hand to ensure everyone stayed safe and that no one was hurt—phew! The marble run, remains a firm favourite. This week the children worked both collaboratively and independently to design and build a variety of creative runs. 

During Dance this week, the children visited a “secret garden” (“not the real one, it’s not Outdoor Learning Day, just pretend!”), where they met butterflies, bunnies and chicks, exploring props as they moved in a variety of ways. 

In some of our Focus activities this week everyone took part in Write Dance to help develop the muscles in their hands and arms in preparation for writing. During Circle Time, we explored different yoga poses from our book of the week, “Zoo Zen.”

We started our Outdoor Learning Day with a stroll around Balham, talking about what estate agents do, while the children shared what they liked and disliked about the various properties we passed. As we walked past the dental clinic, we discussed the job of dentists, and along the way, we greeted postal workers and rubbish collectors, who kindly said good morning.

When we reached the common, the children explored their environment, discovering homes made for invertebrates, plants, fungi, and flowers growing amongst the foliage. They had a fantastic time developing their gross motor skills, climbing and running around the children were then excited to see a den made from wood from recently cut-down trees, which had been transformed into a tent. They worked together to build a large campfire and even tried rubbing sticks together to light it. Snack time followed, which was wonderfully peaceful as we perched atop our chosen log.

After Snack, we had an Easter egg hunt. Each child was given half of an Easter egg and had to find the matching half. If they came across someone else’s egg, they left it where it was. Once they completed an egg, they were given another half to find its match. Some eggs proved tricky, particularly one that had all five of us searching for it! It was a fantastic activity to finish our Spring Outdoor Learning sessions.