All age groups have been basking in the glorious sunshine this month & have been very excited to explore the different paddling pools & sprinklers in both outside areas. The hot weather also enables us to teach the children how to stay safe in the sun, through applying sun-cream, wearing hats, short sleeves, shaded areas & drinking lots of water. When it was too hot…the children were provided with wonderful play experiences bringing the outside in; paddling pools & water trays, ice play & sand play.

This month Blue Monkeys have been developing their fine-motor skills & extending their creativeness through activities & art work which will conclude as a fantastic jungle display! Our youngest children have used different textures such as hay to make coconuts, paint to make Giraffe spots, papier-mâché to create animals & a fountain & finally the children have used a variety of materials & mark making tools to created their own interpretations of jungle animals. Amongst all these fun activities the children have enjoyed developing their language by naming animals & making their sounds.

Pink Monkeys have been encouraging their maths development through exploring patterns. The children have looked at patterns closely identifying & naming the different shapes & colours. This has then been extended by the children being given the opportunity to create their own pattern pictures through printing & sticking. Also this month our toddlers had lots of fun using their physical skills by going on a number hunt around the room thus encouraging number recognition & naming.

Our Red Monkeys this month are developing their continued interests by making further discoveries about ‘under the sea’ & ‘people who help us’. Group discussions have taken place about each child’s favourite sea creature & the children have been encouraged to draw them. Red Monkeys have also enjoyed playing ‘under the sea bingo’, which encouraged them to match objects & words; they especially enjoyed shouting BINGO when this was achieved!! For ‘people who help us’ stories have been read & discussed about; Teachers, Doctors, Fireman & Police. The children have also been exploring a new interest of transportation through creative activities such as making hot-air balloons, cars & boats. Discussions have also been held about land, water & sky transportation.

This month we were also finalists for the Herts Nursery of the Year Award, we wanted to say a big thank you to everybody who nominated us!