New Beginnings in Early Years

October 2024

It has been a busy first half term in Reception and Nursery. With every day there have been new friends to make, areas to explore, activities to try and routines to learn. The children have coped very well and everyone is feeling settled. Here are some of the pictures from the first weeks.

We Love (Yucky) Worms!

June 2024

Reception and Nursery have wowed Ladbrooke with their worm wisdom!

After reading the book, 'Yucky Worms' by Vivian French, we investigated these wiggly wonders and shared everything we found out in our class assembly which was performed to an audience of friends and family.

We learned that worms are amazing little creatures that help our gardens. Earthworms eat dead leaves and plants and turn them into something called 'castings'. Castings are like super food for our plants. Earthworms dig tunnels in the soil which help water and air get to the roots of plants, giving them room to spread out so that the plants grow stronger.

We wanted to observe worms, so we set up womeries in the classrooms. One rainy day, we went to the big field and did some worm charming. We looked for worm casts to find the biggest worms, then dug holes to find them. We collected more than 20 worms, including an extra big one called Bandit.

  
We put layers of soil and sand in a clear box (the sand was there to help us see the tunnels better). As the worms moved up and down, we could see gaps in the sand where it had got mixed in. Worms like it damp and dark, so we kept the box covered most of the time. We put some dead leaves on top them to eat. 

What else did we learn?

Did you know that the longest earthworms in the world are found in Australia and can grow up to three meters long? What about that worms have a brain? Or that they breathe through their skin?

We are not the only ones who like worms - birds, frogs and badgers think they are really tasty!

We made our own worm book with information we collected.

We think earthworms are pretty amazing, and we hope that now you do too.

Science workshop

April 2024

All the children in the Foundation Stage were treated to some interactive experiments in today's science workshop from Einstein Entertainers. It was great fun and the children were very enthusiastic and engaged.

Bubble blast!

March 2024

We have had great fun making giant bubbles using homemade bubble solution and wands that we crafted from sticks and string.

We learned a lot about how bubbles work and how different ingredients chan change their properties. For instance, adding glycerin and guar gum to washing-up liquid makes the bubbles stronger and more elastic, which allows them to grow bigger. 

It took lots of practise to find just the right movements and speed to create the best bubbles, but the children were soon expertly making bubbles as big as beach balls! And of course, everyone enjoyed popping those that were floating around the playground. We even managed to create bubbles big enough to fit a person inside.

We even managed to study the bubbles more closely by watching what happens in slow motion.