W.B. 22.06.20

Week beginning 22/06/20

Theme – Just Add Water

This week’s theme ‘Just Add Water’ will focus on some of the basic characteristics and uses of water. Children will take part in melting and freezing activities and will experience many activities with ice. This theme will allow children to reflect on their use of water every day and enjoy books that offer them facts about water as we as appreciate its natural beauty and variety. 

Friday

Activity 1 - Today, we would like you to have a go at a melting ice experiment! We would like you to choose some of your favourite plastic animals or toys that you would like to freeze!

Put each of your plastic toys into a separate container (this can be any type of container such as a zip lock bag, a tupperware, a bowl / cup or an ice tray). Then, fill each container with water and put them into your freezer. Leave them in your freezer for a few hours.

After a few hours, take your containers out of the freezer. Then, take each toy out of the containers. They should be frozen as blocks of ice! Now, leave your ice blocks to melt.

• Which one of your toys melted the quickest?
• Which one of your toys melted the slowest?

Activity 2 – Now, we would like you to have a go at another experiment! This one is all about floating and sinking.

When something floats, it stays on top of the water.

When something sinks, it goes to the bottom of the water.

Fill your bath with some water or get a large bowl and fill with water. Choose some of your favourite toys or objects. Grownups, encourage your child to hold each item and predict whether they think each item will float or sink. Ask questions such as: 'What is it made of?' 'Will it float or will it sink?' Can you think why?' 'Do you think bigger things always sink?' Help your child to test each of the objects in turn to see if they float or sink by putting them into the water. Ask questions such as: 'Was your guess (prediction) right?' 'Do some objects always float?'

Challenge – Can you record the results of your experiment? You could either draw the objects on two charts labelled 'objects that sink' and 'objects that float', or simply by place the objects in separate trays and send us a picture!

*Remember, your children should always be supervised when playing in or with water!

Activity 3 – Click on the link below for another fun yoga activity! This video is called ‘Underwater Adventure!’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrYqWAw8P_8&frags=pl%2Cwn

We hope you have enjoyed this week’s activities exploring water!

Have a great weekend!

The Nursery Team X

Thursday

Today, we are going to think about what we use water for.

Grownups, ask your child what we use water for at Nursery? (Some examples - to have a drink, to wash our hands, to fill the water tray so we can play with the water toys, to clean the paint pots etc.)

Now, ask your child what water is used for at your home? (Some examples - to have a drink, to have a shower, to wash our clothes, to use in the garden etc.)

Activity 1 – We would like you to help your grown-ups with some washing today, using the water you have at your house. You could:

• Help to wash the car.
• Give your dolls / toys a bath.
• Help your grown ups to wash your clothes.
• Wash some pots.

Please send us some photographs of you doing some washing today! We would love to see them.

Activity 2 – Capacity. Click on the link below. 

Capacity.docx

Activity 3 – Click on the link below for a NUMBERJACKS episode all about capacity. This episode is called ‘Container Drainer’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y0QvlFGxqA

Wednesday

We hope you all enjoyed the walking water science experiment yesterday! Miss Thompson also had a go at the experiment at home. Take a look at the pictures below to see what happened:

You can see how the water has travelled up the paper towels and then down into the empty cups to fill them, mixing the colours too! 

Activity 1 – The word ‘water’ begins with the ‘w’ sound. Can you think of any other words that begin with this sound?  

Activity 2 – Look at the picture below and use it to start a discussion with your child.

Ask them the following questions:

• What can you see?
• What do you wonder?
• What do you think?

… about this picture.

Challenge - Ask your child to write a sentence that begins with ‘I can see…’

Activity 3 – Today, the weather is going to be glorious! We would like you to enjoy some fun water activities in the sunshine. Here are some activities that you may want to do today:

• Have fun in your paddling pool.
• Use jugs / containers to pour water.
• Water the plants using a watering can.
• Make some homemade bubbles.
• Paint with water.
• Make a bubble painting.
• Fill the bucket outdoor water game. See who can fill their bucket first using a sponge (see pictures below).

*Remember to wear sun cream today! It is going to be extremely hot! 

*Remember, children should always be supervised when playing in or with water!

Activity 4 – Whilst you are playing outside today, enjoy singing some songs and nursery rhymes all about water! Here are some below:

• Incy Wincy Spider
• Rain, Rain, Go Away
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• Listen to the Rain (see below)

Tuesday

Let’s start our day off with an amazing walking water science experiment! Follow the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGwG--GZEfw

This experiment explores how water travels up the paper towels. It is an example of how plants and trees are able to get water from the roots in the ground! This experiment also explores colours and colour mixing. For this experiment you will need:

• Plastic cups (the quantity depends on how many different colours you choose to use).
• Food colouring (you can decide how many different colours to use).
• Paper towels / Kitchen roll.

If you do this experiment at home, please send us some pictures! We would love to see them.

Activity – Follow this link to listen to the story ‘My Friend the Weather Monster’.

We have had lots of rain recently. Rain is water that falls from the clouds in the sky. Rain is part of the water cycle.

Now, answer the following questions about the story:

1. How do you feel about the Weather Monster now you have heard the story?
2. Why were the villagers so scared of the Weather Monster?
3. How did the Weather Monster feel when he thought nobody cared about how he felt?
4. Why did the sun shine in the end of the story?
5. If you could control the weather, what sort of weather would you choose?

Activity – Click on the link below for a Cosmic Kids yoga activity! This video is called ‘Underwater Party!’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hvwLdk5D5g

Monday

To start off the week, we would like you to explore a range of videos and activities on the Espresso website, all about water!

• Click on the following link which will take you to the Espresso website: https://www.discoveryeducation.co.uk/what-we-offer/discovery-education-espresso
• In the top, right hand corner of the page, click on the ‘Login’ button. Then click on ‘Espresso’.
• Enter the username and password (please email us if you are unsure of the login details).
• In the search bar, type in ‘water’. Click on the first link that appears called ‘water’.

Here you will find video clips and quiz activities all about:

• Weather
• Boats
• Water all around us
• Water for life

Activity - Look at the picture below and use it to start a discussion with your child.

Ask them the following questions:

• What can you see?
• What do you wonder?
• What do you think?

… about this picture.

Challenge - Ask your child to write a sentence that begins with ‘I can see…’

Activity – Water Drop Collage

Ask you grown up to draw a water droplet on a piece of paper (see picture below).

Now, decorate your water droplet using whatever collage materials you have at home. You could use pencil crayons, felt tips, coloured paper, tissue paper, sequins, coloured cellophane etc. Think carefully about the colours you will use to make it look like a real water droplet.