Duckling Discoveries

Nursery, spring term, week 11

It has been the BEST WEEK EVER in Nursery! On Monday, the duck eggs arrived, and by 10am the first had already hatched, followed by the second at 1pm, perfect timing for lots of observation and discussion.

We all held an egg, not the real ones, but very realistic, to see how it felt.

While watching and waiting for the hatching to begin, the children read stories to the eggs.

…and did a little research on what to expect when you’re expecting.

The children were poised and ready to write about what was happening.

And once they hatched, they did some observational drawing.

Isn’t it cute?

Our first time handling them.

We learned that all living things need food and water.

More observation work.

A superb description of a duck, with a sprinkle of imagination.

On Thursday the ducks were ready for their first swim.

Alongside the tadpoles and ducklings, the children have been busy looking after our school dog, Willow.

Using a big voice to say “Lie down.”

Our animal and nature work continues outside with the development of our forest school space. This week, the children were investigating what bugs live there.

Scientific observation… and a snack.

We’ve continued our work on becoming writers, with the children strengthening their physical skills through a range of fun activities.

Flying paper aeroplanes to build arm strength.

Using long sticks to make music.

A jumping challenge.

ine motor skills in action – picking up tiny items with pincer fingers.

A pincer grasp

Rolling playdough using the whole arm.

Stretching up and down.

All this physical work comes together when we pick up a writing tool. This week, the children used chalk to draw cross shapes, practising moving from left to right across the page.

Left to right, top to bottom.

Aiming for the same size cross shapes.

Practising mark-making skills during play.

A busy week of learning and exploring, with tadpoles, bugs, and plenty of outdoor adventures, and of course, a few cheeky ducklings to keep us on our toes!