This month we celebrated the New Zealand celebration, Waitangi Day; children & staff sported the colours of the flag & dived into themed activities where the children’s knowledge & understanding of world was strengthened & developed. We also celebrated Valentine’s Day which was full of lovely creative activities with reds, pinks & hearts. Conversations were also held about families & friends supported by photo’s from home. We finished the month with Pancake Day celebrations & the children were able to engage in a variety of activities; using real pancakes in the home corner imaginations came to life, busy fingers were able to explore pancake play-dough & maths development was encouraged through sticking toppings onto paper pancakes.

Also this month our babies in Blue Monkeys have been exploring transport, this has encouraged our youngest children’s early language development as they tried to pronounce the names of the different vehicles on the flash cards. To extend this an interactive road puzzle was explored & the babies enjoyed driving cars around our new wooden car garage. Blue monkeys are eagerly anticipating Spring & are in full swing of creating a pretty display; clouds have been created through cotton wool sticking & a textured tree using paint & rice.

Pink Monkeys have loved developing their letter recognition through jumping games & the use of alphabet mats. They have been exploring the magnetic letters & with support from their carers they are beginning to recognise the letters in their names & spelling them out. The children have also found letters in their messy & creative areas nestled between flour & play-dough. A fantastic activity using paint, card & zippy bags was also explored & thoroughly enjoyed creating beautiful rainbow pictures!

Our Red Monkeys have also been discussing spring & the changes that happen with the seasons. Birds & their nests, sheep & blossomed trees have been created using paper plates, paint & different collage materials. The children’s maths development has been extended this month as they have been working out sums & familiarising themselves with the signs; + – =. Various games were played to support this & the children created addition number plates by cutting & gluing coloured paper to complete a sum.