As any beginning, this month has been full of “firsts”, and what a good job the Hawks have done! Starting off with by getting familiar with a new class full of many corners and games to discover. And the best thing about it, is being able to do it with old and new friends…for example, our water-play table and science corner give them the possibility of partner play which is a great way of stablishing new and supportive bonds. But even if inside play time is going great and we will definitely make the most of it during the colder months…most of the exciting moments of these last weeks happened outside!
As a way to say our last “bye” to the summer season, the Hawks had a biking and scooting session, where we got a feel of how much they all enjoy these energy filled activities. Not long after that we went on our first forest trip, where we got to explore and learn about the forest patch we will be visiting regularly. It is not just any forest, there are also some old bunkers in the area, so we also acquired some valuable tips and rules to move about in them. The Hawks now know to put their hands up when stinging nettles are around, they know how far in they can go under the bunkers, as well as not to get too close to the hills’ drops, and they of course know the best spots to climb and jump! It was a very successful trip, which means they are now ready to enjoy the many more to come.
The next trip we took was to the Leppävaara running track, another place that we will revisit. That day, we packed our water bottles and walked all the way there, which is actually the same path that we will walk to get to the ice skating hall in the winter months. Once we got there we looked for a long jump pit and had a little warm up session. The Hawks quickly learned the techniques and rules of long jump, and they were all great at it! We had many rounds of that before we moved on to running. First, we did some sprinting and everyone got to race 4 other friends, after that we went for one lap around the whole track which went amazing. To complete the very sporty morning we took a different way back, through the forest. We ran up and down, up and down the hills…and in no time we were back in the daycare. We will carry on going to the track to play different athletics sports as well as bringing the track sports to us. Last week we did shot put and hammer throw followed by races of course, and this week we are going to put some hurdles up outside our classroom, so stay tuned to see how that goes!
Last but definitely not least, was our Villa Elfvik trip. This was the first time taking public transport together, the bus and tram. Once we got to our destination, we met our tour guide Maria (who some of us knew from the previous year). She told us all about Autumn and its effects on nature, we talked about leaves, mushrooms, rocks, forest animals (and other mythical creatures), etc. We went for a hike along the lovely Villa Elfvik forest and had a quick snack all together. Lastly, we built some cool food nests in teams for the animals to keep their food during winter before heading back to the daycare. Since it was such an enjoyable morning, we are all hoping we can go back in Spring!
Between fun trips, the Hawks are having a great time during free play. They are now familiar with the inside and outside playing areas, and they are all very open to try out different types of entertainment. As the Autumn arrives, so do puddles and fallen leaves, which are a nice extra. The leaves bring out the most creative side of some of our Hawks and puddles are of course great jumping spots (when wearing the proper clothing). As mentioned previously, inside play is also going nicely; the Hawks seem to enjoy trying new games and they are following the steps that have been set for each playing corner, which creates a very pleasant environment for everyone.
The other thing keeping the Hawks busy is our first space project, the ceiling solar system! So far, we have made the structures of the Sun and 5 other planets. These consist of balloons completely covered on paper-mâché that will be painted once they dry, and then hanged in the right order. They have been making these in pairs with another friend and with the help of a teacher during outside time (it gets a bit messy). We have also been learning “The Planet Song” as well as asking and answering questions related to the chosen topic, which will be very helpful for the next steps of the Solar System and for our next project. Once the planets are above our heads, it will be time to build our rocket!
