Celebrating the Queen's Jubilee

Celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee in style :-) This week our role play area has been Buckingham Palace and the children have a high tea with the queen each day! We put ‘Royal’ invites in the class for the start of the day and only those invited on that day were able to go visit the queen!! The highlight?? Real china (mini) cups and plates with real British goodies (cut up into tiny bite sized pieces!) I cannot imagine why this was so popular and caused such excitement!! Lol! We are having a class tea party next week and I cannot wait! :-D

Self portraits

Most children love to paint and draw and they begin to draw themselves and each other from an early age. By putting out mirrors, photos and using transparent painting frames, the children become more aware of form, position and composition in a natural way, exploring for themselves what people look like and how to get particular effects. It never ceases to amaze me what beautiful portraits and pictures our children are able to produce when given time, space and resources to have a go without any pressure of having to achieve.

A Reggio Emilia-esque poem

"If..." A poem by Pamela Houk

If I can
ask my own questions,
try out my  ideas,
experience what’s around
me, and share what I find;

If I have
plenty of time for
my special pace,
a nourishing space,
things to transform;

If you’ll be
my patient friend,
trusted guide,
fellow investigator,
partner in learning;

Then I will
explore the world,
discover my voice,
and tell you what I know in a  hundred languages.

by: Pamela Houk

When I started teaching nearly 9 years ago, I did not realise the path I was embarking on, where it would take me and how much I was about to learn! Now, 3 countries later, I am happy but with still much to learn and I cannot see that changing any time soon. I have developed a love for natural objects within the classroom setting and am amazed by the ideas our children come up with, how they manipulate and combine objects to make new and exciting discoveries and constructions. I enjoyed visiting the town of Reggio Emilia in Italy and their work continues to inspire me, as well as following the children’s own interests and ideas - life is never boring!