The month of March brought many different celebrations and special days, providing opportunities for our children to gain an insight into other cultures and ways of life.  At Monkey Puzzle, we aim to enhance children’s understanding of different faiths and beliefs by actively participating in many celebrations throughout the year. We believe that we can provide a solid foundation to encourage all children’s understanding that we live in diverse communities with many different cultures and lifestyles.

St. David’s day and St. Patrick’s day were both celebrated this month, giving all children the opportunity to discover more about our neighbouring countries and share their own personal experiences; stories were shared about places we have visited and traditions that some families observe on these special days. The children delved into the colours of the flags of Ireland and Wales using a range of media and listened to stories about St Patrick and St David. Exploring food and Music from these countries provides an opportunity for children to use first hand experiences to learn about different cultures and traditions.

During Shrove Tuesday, the children enjoyed tasting pancakes, having pancake races and choosing their own pancake toppings. The children briefly discovered why Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday is observed and have been learning about the Christian festival during the lead up to Easter.

As a nursery we participate in a range of fundraising events throughout the year. Comic Relief brought lots of fun and laughter to Orient Close this month as all staff and children dressed up and explored a range of Red Nose themed activities. Children of all ages collaboratively used their baking skills to make cakes and biscuits for our bake sale, discovering how to weigh and measure in addition to using a range of tools to combine ingredients.

The children’s love of books and stories was celebrated for World Book day as the staff and children dressed as their favourite book characters and brought in their own books from home which saw children engrossed in stories all day. Children used their bodies to act out scenes from their  favourite stories and watched with fascination as nursery adults used puppets to put on a show! The children’s imaginations grew as they used cuttings from old recycled books to create their very own unique stories!

As the end of this very busy month drew closer, the children became busy making Mother’s day cards and gifts using a variety of media and materials to take home to their loved ones. Discussions were shared about relationships and people who we are close to, with many children commenting on what they love about their Mum!