Animal fun

In the first part of the day, the children had to choose what they wanted to play with from the toys inside inside.

Some children played with the cars and the garage, some children wanted to explore the sensory room with the lights, and others wanted to play on the soft mats and blocks. One boy loved to kick and roll a ball around.

During the second part of the day the children got the chance to see some animals (goats, a donkey, dogs, an alpaca). One boy wanted to keep the doors and windows shut as he was scared of the animals.

One boy liked brushing the animals' fur. He was told to not brush near the nose or eyes but he found it a challenge not to do this. He had lots of energy and brushed it with sudden movements.

One boy held a goat and had a massive smile on his face and flapped his arms around after doing so. A few children liked to throw the ball to the dogs and watch them bound after it.

The animals really helped the children who saw them to light up and come alive.

After lunch there was animal yoga on the grass outside with big cushions (a few children stayed inside engrossed in the lego).

I joined in with the children. A lady showed the group of children who came out some soft toy animals. She then showed them the yoga move connected to each animal eg: a dog - downward dog. One boy was very good at copying the movements.

The lady puts some oil on the children’s hands and the key person gave their key child a hand massage, using it helped them to relax. She then read a story about the food chain. The last thing the lady did was to pass around the happy ball and each child and staff member had to say one thing that had made them happy during their day so far. I said seeing people smile, one child said holding a goat, and one said kicking a ball.

After the animal yoga one of the children stayed outside to kick a ball around. He was really good at it.

Some children relaxed and watched Kung Fu Panda and the others built impressive things using the lego (some copied the animals they had seen outside) and others chilled out in the sensory room looking at the lights or climbing on the soft blocks.

One girl liked to sit on the floor and play with her doll. She seemed very content when doing this.

One boy came during the last part of the day and he loved to be chased around and giggled a lot.

At the end of the day the children were excited to see their families and carers again.

Animal day at LS29 on the 13th August was fun. The children loved interacting with the animals and getting involved in animal yoga. What a busy day!