Children at The Limes Nursery School have been caring for wildlife and exploring their emotions this month through hands-on activities that develop empathy, self-awareness and understanding of the natural world.
At the start of the month, the children were busy in the garden making bird feeders with Elly. Everyone loved getting stuck in and learning about what birds like to eat and how to help them whilst developing understanding of caring for wildlife. The seeds have disappeared off the bird feeders very quickly, showing that the birds are appreciating their efforts! The children have also been busy looking for worms and other minibeasts in the garden, discovering the creatures that share their outdoor space.
Later in the month, the children have been reading Anna Llenas’ book “The Colour Monster,” which does a great job of explaining feelings in an accessible way. The children explored pulling different faces to show their feelings, as well as making artwork to capture feelings using colours with intention, connecting emotions to visual representation. They have been talking about the things that make them feel happy, sad and angry, developing emotional literacy and self-awareness. The team have been introducing the word ‘calm’ and thinking about ways to feel calm, with everyone’s favourite being ‘balloon breathing’.
These meaningful experiences help children develop care and compassion for living things whilst building the emotional vocabulary and self-regulation skills that support wellbeing and positive relationships.