February and the start of March have been very busy and productive months for the children of High Kirk Community Playgroup.

In February our theme was people who help us. There was quite a diverse range of visitors to inspire the children and the photographs show how learning can be fun.

High Kirk Playgroup learn together in February and March

High Kirk Playgroup learn together in February and March

Vets 4 Pets visited to teach the children the importance of caring for their pets as well as the role of Vets. Then later in the month we invited Fire Personnel to visit and to teach the children the importance of safety in the home. They also taught us about the role of the Fire Brigade in our community. The children enjoyed trying on their equipment and using the hose.

High Kirk Playgroup learn together in February and March

Making Playdough is one activity the children of High Kirk Community Playgroup particularly enjoy. This wonderful activity gives the children the opportunity to explore how the ingredients change as they mix together, about quantities and how to be safe in the kitchen and of course the children love to get messy too.

Craft is another activity where children can use their imagination and problem solving skills and in this picture you can see the pleasure obtained in creating their helicopter. This led to a discussion around lifeboats and helicopter rescue and was a brilliant learning opportunity.

Another important visitor was Alison the Optician. The children enjoyed trying on different shaped glasses and the importance of caring for your eyes.

On the 1st March Angela The Librarian visited High Kirk Community Playgroup and the children were enthralled by her puppets, storytelling song and rhyme session. We are really looking forward to a visit to our local library.

2nd March was World Book Day and this is a very important date in the High Kirk Community Playgroup Calendar. We like to use this date to reinforce the importance of early literacy and the positive aspects of sitting down with children and reading.

The children are encouraged to dress up as their favourite character from either a book, rhyme or fairytale. This as you can see, from the pictures, captured the children’s imagination and we would like to thank the parents for all their hard work in putting together the costumes.

Phew, what a month. Please keep an eye on the High Kirk Community Playgroup blog to keep up with all that we do here in Ballymena.