The children loved learning about Diwali this week and particularly enjoyed our Topic book this week which recounted the story of Diwali and introduced the Hindu God Rama, his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana. In our Role Play the Fledglings had the opportunity to dress up in colourful fabrics, wear masks and jewellery and act out their own versions of the story. They also were able to explore a range of objects and literature related to the celebration of Diwali. In Art the children made Rangoli designs with salt dough and pulses. This was a great activity to support the children's fine motor skills when handling the small beans and lentils and shaping the dough into different shapes.
We continued our focus on Diwali during Free Play and on our Outdoor Learning Day where we experimented with making different types of Rangoli patterns. The children loved collecting natural materials such as leaves, sticks and berries and used these to create their own Rangolis on the common. Making these sparked lots of creativity, discussions and team work amongst the children as well as encouraging them to think about patterns and symmetry.
In Science, we worked collaboratively to build bridges. This related to the one of the challenges Lord Rama faced on return to his homeland. The children tested out balancing and using different materials to decide which ones were stronger and more stable. They worked in teams and we loved listening to them sharing their comments and ideas and working together to decide on the best course of action! They negotiated with eachother and compromised in deciding how to proceed. The focus on listening to each other and respecting each other's opinions also tied nicely to our Classroom Principles and our teaching of British Values and Mutual Respect.
On our Outdoor Learning Day the children participated in a Nature Rangoli making competition and made leaf garlands. This activity really tested their ability to persevere. Despite the task of threading leaves initially appearing tricky for some of the Fledglings, by the end everyone mastered the skill and we were very proud of all the Fledglings achievements. Some amazing colourful leaves were found and the children all came back with beautiful natural garlands for us to use to decorate the classroom!
In Literacy the children sequenced the Diwali story based on what they learnt and made their own colourful books. It was lovely to see them wearing the Diwali masks and chatting to the Chicks about who they were and teaching them about the story of the ‘naughty king Ravana’.