Week commencing 18th May

Activity 1

I love printing with vegetables. You can create so many different patterns and shapes and it is a great way to introduce new vegetables to your children.

All you need is just  a selection of vegetables, some paint , a knife (for you to use since it needs to be sharp to cut and carve the vegetables for your child) and paper.

Rolling and carving:

Take a cob of sweetcorn and roll it in a paper plate of paint. Roll the corn cob back and forth on some paper to make a pattern! You could also try carving into a carrot and rolling it in paint, then rolling it on some paper. Carrots are quite hard to carve into, so you could try a courgette. If the courgette is soft enough, your child could have a go at carving with a teaspoon.

Stamping:

Take a brussel sprout cut in half. Dip the flat side in paint and stamp it onto some paper. What does the brussel sprout print look like to you? Pick something else to print with. You could try a courgette, an onion or an apple. The main picture shows some of the prints that different fruits and vegetables will give you. Alternate the veggies you are using to make an abstract patterned print.

Save the carrot top for tomorrow’s activity!

Activity 2

A few weeks back, we planted seeds in cotton, so today we are going to grow a plant in a different way, without the need of a tiny seed:

You will need:

• Carrot top (2-3 cm from stem with some root growth remaining on top)
• Shallow dish
• 10 Cotton wool
• Water
• Sunny and protected spot

Simply add a layer of cotton balls to your small dish. Add a light dribble of water over the cotton balls so they are wet but not completely flooded with water. Press your carrot top into the wet cotton balls and place the dish in a sunny location. Be sure to check that the cotton balls remain wet throughout the growing period. You do not want to dry them out. It will take a few days for children to see the carrot top begin to grow, however, once it starts it will grow quite quickly when in the right conditions.

Activity 3

Making homemade slime is an easy and fun sort of science experiment to keep the kids busy. Once you’ve mastered the basic technique, there’s no limit to the ideas you can come up with together. If you don’t have some of the ingredients, make playdough instead.

You will need:

• 100ml PVA white glue (children’s craft glue or CE marked glue)
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• food colouring
• 1 tsp contact lens cleaning solution (more if the slime is too sticky)
• glitter (optional)
• small blob of shaving foam (optional, only use it if you like your slime to be fluffy!)
• How to make your slime:

1. Squeeze the glue into a mixing bowl (look for a bottle in a 100ml size if possible so you won’t have to measure it out). Add the bicarbonate of soda and mix well.

2. Add a drop or two of your chosen gel food colouring. Less colouring gives a pastel colour; the more you add, the brighter the colour. Mix until well incorporated.

3. Add the contact lens solution and mix. The slime will begin to form, going stringy before coming away clean from the bowl into a ball.

4. Once it has formed, take it out and knead it with your hands. It will be sticky at first but after about 30 seconds you’ll have a smooth and pliable ball. Add glitter at this point, if desired, and work in with your hands. Store in a pot with a lid.

Activity 4

Sorting coloured ice cubes:

Pom-poms are very versatile. They are great for sensory play and perfect for colour sorting, counting, and working on those fine motor skills. But if you don’t have pom-poms, you could use small Lego pieces (small enough to fit in a section of an ice-cube tray), buttons, pasta shapes or colour paper clips.

To make the ice-cubes, just pop a pom-pom (or the material you are using) in each section of an ice-cube tray, then fill it with water. Once all the ice-cubes are ready, pop them into a large bowl and place smaller bowls around (as many as colours or shapes, if you are using pasta shapes, you have). Challenge your child to sort the ice cubes in groups (by colour or shape) using a spoon to scoop the ice-cubes into the smaller bowls. It may prove tricky as they became slippery as they start to melt, but it is great to develop fine motor skills. 

Activity 5

Try this activity to make a flower like the one in ‘The Tiny Seed’ story.

You will need:

• Egg carton
• Scissors
• Paint
• Pom-poms or buttons (optional)
• Straw of pipe cleaner (optional)

First, help your child to cut out four containers out of the egg carton. Trim around the edges so that it gives it a rounder shape for the petals of the flower.

Squirt some paint colours onto a paper plate and paint the flowers. 

After the paint’s dried you can attach the stem of the flower by gluing the straw or pipe cleaner to the back. Next choose a coloured pom-pom or a button and glue that to the centre of the painted egg carton.

Now have some fun with Mr. Jones:

This week we are continuing with our topic of Spring. In the video you can sing along to our Spring song, adding your own actions and making different sounds for each animal. Can you hear any of our Spring animals outside?

You can watch the Week 2 Music Video below by clicking on the link under the picture.