Feeling is living, whether good or bad and today has had both. The good was the rain, feeling it on our faces and letting it drop onto our tongues. The bad was something to do with someone I love and I hope that it will come out well. I am not being deliberately mysterious but I don't want to write about it here in detail, just to record it for myself to think about. 
On the shelf are a selection of train books-we have been looking at lots of transport stories and books this term and the train set is very popular! The books have been looked at a lot this week. There is a number line with detachable numbered trains-it carries on round the shelf, across the door(to the boiler room!) and onto the window.
This is a board showing all the nursery staff-arranged alphabetically on the main board-it seemed the easiest way as I don't like a hierarchical view of all of us. On the other board is an explanation sheet of everyone's roles.
Display three. The children are building in the block area and there are quotes of what they are saying. It shows their understanding and achievement, is good for conversation, self-esteem and re-visiting learning. It has the most beautiful double mounting you ever saw-though I say so myself! It is a bit of lucky chance that the colours are like building site warning tape! At the end is a group of photos of some tall buildings from around the world. Today Lilly talked about how she had seen one of the buildings(The Empire State Building) in 'Home Alone Two'.
These two photos are almost the same but for one tiny nose butting in as I took my pictures! Can you see her?
I love the tone of the instruction-'Thread cotton Thus'-I can imagine it being spoken in a clipped and refined(refained) 1950s accent! I did thread cotton thus and it worked like a dream!
It is a machine with no bobbin-how it works is a mystery to me but it produces chain stitch. It is a bit hit and miss, and does not really like to join two layers of fabric together, but I can see embroidery possibilities. I have a small collection of old cotton threads which are just right for this machine and are in a lovely selection of colours.
This is a little video of the Vulcan in action-I apologise for the blurriness but it gives the idea.
There are ducks everywhere.
Bodiam Castle was built in 1385 by an enterprising knight called Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, who applied to the King for a 'license to crenellate' (I love that phrase!), so that he could turn his manor house into a castle. He had a new castle built in fact, and had the surrounding grounds landscaped. It is a perfectly castlelly castle-set in a moat, with towers and battlements and overlooking a beautiful valley.
Sun at Forest school. We were very happy!
I didn't know that daisies bloomed at this time of year.
The children loved the catkins from the alder tree with their wiggly worminess!
The blackbird posed for us. The crocus popped itself out of the ground for us. I would never have seen it from far away, so luckily we were getting close to the ground this morning, digging in the mud.
My tulips in their Victorian tulip jug. I have been using this jug as a paint water pot, as it makes me happy to look at it. The blue is just lovely. Putting tulips in a jug in the middle of the table reminds me of playing in my Wendy house when I was a child. Vases of flowers always give me that feeling of playing at being grown up, just because I used to put them in that house.
This last pairing is my favourite, as we had a lot of fun in the mud this morning, and I got some great observations. I am constantly following the children around with my post-it notes and camera, writing down what they say and do. Never again will they be so documented! (Unless they become famous of course which I could see lots of them doing-they are a very entertaining bunch!) We have a concrete/rubber safety matting part of the playground and a garden part-grass and railway sleeper raised beds. The grass part often stays shut in the winter as it gets really muddy and slippery. I don't necessarily think this should be the case as I think it deprives the children of lots of learning opportunities. So when it is my week outside I like to have it open if possible. This morning was not wet and lots of them wanted to dig so we did. The floor in the nursery was covered, despite me getting everyone to wipe their feet. We need a boot scraper! I think it was worth it though as they were really talking loads about what they were finding and were very excited. Diebe found a root that he called a spider. He also found real treasure-a marble buried a couple of inches under the soil. Aisha found a stone. She excitedly told me this. I said something like "Ooh, that's like treasure isn't it?" "No, I told you it was a stone!" She said. 'Shut up Sarah' I thought! Ellis and Abishek went to get the big digger trucks and filled them with soil. When we found the crocus I said "Ooh, don't kill it I want to take a photo." "I don't want to kill it!" Diebe exclaimed indignantly. 'Shut up Sarah' again I thought! (I have been a bit scarred by past experiences of children pulling the heads off of tulips!) 
