Crafty kids and missing lids

If you want to see a little learner disappear into thin air, just shout "tidy up time!" It works every time....sadly!

Without exception the call to tidy up will send little learners scurrying off to all corners of the setting in their desperate attempts to shy away from the inevitable monumental clear up at the end of the school day. 

The Sunnyside Reception team have over the years wised up to this cunning little learner tactic, and have devised a variety of strategies to try and convince their charges that tidy up time is FUN! However, there are some little Sunnysiders who remain unconvinced that fun can be had from tidying up a toy explosion, and will consequently dream up a myriad of excuses as to why they should be relieved of any such duties. Much like the forward thinking little learner this afternoon, who managed to rope in a few of his chums to help him achieve his 'tidy up time' get-out clause.

It all began just prior to 'tidy o'clock' when Mrs Organised became aware (as she was straightening out the creative trolley) that there was a distinct lack of red crayons in each of the crayon pots. All other colours were present and correct, and upon closer inspection Mrs Organised also spotted that there were no red felt pens to be seen either. How strange thought she scanning the classroom for possible clues as to their whereabouts. As she scanned the room, her eyes fell upon the home corner where she spied four little learners huddled together deeply engrossed in something that involved much wittering and twittering and a good deal of masking tape. 
"Is everyone okay over there?" called a curious and somewhat suspicious Mrs Organised. 
Since her inquiry appeared to have fallen on deaf ears, Mrs O gingerly edged her way over to the still very preoccupied group and asked, "Children are you busy tidying at all?" 
Like a parting of the proverbial waves, the little group stepped aside the table they were huddled round to reveal a seated little learner swathed head to toe in what appeared to be blood stained dressings. 
"Heavens!" shrieked Mrs Organised, addressing the embalmed little learner before her, "what on earth has happened to you?"  
"I've broken all my knee caps," whimpered the forlorn invalid, pointing to the 'bloodied' paper towels bound to his trousers by the classroom's yearly supply of masking tape. 
"Broken your knee caps? shrilled Mrs O, trying to digest the gory scene before her, "and a good deal more besides I see!" 
It was now that she spotted all the missing red crayons and felt pens (minus their lids) as they lay strewn across the table and all over the floor. As the penny began to drop as to what was going on here, Mrs O suggested that everyone should work together to pick everything up off the floor before anyone else had such a dreadful accident. 
"He can't tidy up with broken knee caps!" responded one of the wounded learner's accomplices. 
"Oh dear...is that so!" stated Mrs O, retrieving the scattered lids to the topless pens. "Well...there's only one thing for it then," she continued,......"I must phone for an ambulance straight away!"  
Hearing this, the maimed little learner staggered to his paper towel bound feet and croaked, "No, don't do that......can you just phone my Mummy to come and get me right now? "And"...he continued, limping his way towards his coat peg, "can you tell her to bring m' Spider-Man scooter!" 
"Well that's not happening", tutted an indignant Mrs O, blocking the little learners path to his belongings and peeling back the wool from over her eyes!

A lame excuse

My foot is sprained, my head is gashed,

The bones in all my limbs are smashed!

I'm sorry there's no earthly way

That I can tidy up today.

The doctor says is for the best, 

I give my arms and legs a rest.

On top of that it would appear,

He thinks I'll be like this all year!

"I'm a scooting miracle!"

Flat caps and deaf dogs

The Reception Team at Sunnyside School love Fridays! 

Fridays means book sharing morning. This is a positively lovely time where the Reception learners have the opportunity to pair up and share their reading books with one another. It also affords the Team the opportunity to do a bit of eavesdropping and carry out a few observations on the little learners as they discuss the pictures in their books.

It was Mrs Crayon who was drawn to the two little learners seated across from her by the sink deep in conversation as they scrutinised one of the illustrations in their reading book.

Making her way over to the sink and then pretending to wash up absolutely nothing, Mrs Crayon glanced over her shoulder to see that the little learners were poring over a very colourful and busy park scene. 

In it were two children of unequal size and weight getting nowhere on a seesaw with the smaller and lighter child clinging on for dear life as it hung precariously in mid-air! There was a young man blasting on the whistle slung round his neck trying to retrieve his apparently deaf dog, who was running in the opposite direction with an irate gentleman's flat cap in its mouth. A baby in a pushchair was screaming blue murder since the Mr Whippy she was undoubtedly enjoying moments before, was now busy melting in the grass. A small boy was hotfooting it back to his mum as the football he'd just booted across the park had frightened a tabby cat from out of a bush which happened to be the home of a nesting blackbird. Across the middle of the page a mother duck leading her brood of six ducklings to safety, was desperately trying to navigate her way past the deaf dog and the jet propelled tabby. And all the while two ladies with bouffant hairdos and heavy makeup were sat on one of the park benches chatting nine thousand to the dozen, absolutely oblivious to the mayhem going on around them. 

Whilst the two little learners were not at all impressed with the overly made up and "not very helpful chatterboxes" on the park bench, they were also terribly concerned about the little and desperately sad chappy, whose balloon was ascending into the stratosphere because he'd unfortunately let go of the string. 

As Mrs Crayon continued to wash and scrub imaginary paintbrushes and paint pots, she heard one of the little learners impart to her reading partner that, "If you let go of the string of your balloon....it will go up, and up, and up, and up, and up, and up, until it gets to heaven....and then you won't ever see it again, and that's that!" Anxious to hear how the little learner's friend was going to react to this very definite statement, Mrs Crayon clasped the sink and leaned over to hear the second little learner clear her throat and say, "Well.....if you like God you can ask him to come down and get it for you!"

Well, it's worth a try!!

A SPECIAL REQUEST

Excuse me please, if you don't mind,

There's something I need you to find!

If up there my balloon you see,

Please could you give it back to me?

"Tell him yours is the red one!"

POOEMS LAUNCH

12th November, what a day to remember! 

A huge thank you to everyone who came along to Quay Arts Newport Isle of Wight to be part of the launch of Pooems - A humorous anthology of animal poo. It was a wonderful afternoon of song and verse. Great fun was had by all.

Now the hard work begins!

This copy is bound for Italy

Nigel George, founder member and director of The National Poo Museum, proudly shows off one of the museums more curious exhibits - a poo in a shoe!

Singer songwriter Spike Oatley sings The Poo Poo Train, A brilliant way for little ones to learn about the human digestive system.

Poetry challenges on the day proved very popular.

Daniel Roberts founder member and director of The National Poo Museum sharing a verse of The Poo Poo Train.

Copies of POOEMS are available for purchase at  http://www.malvernvillapublishing.com/

POOEMS A humorous anthology of animal poo

Hello everyone

I am currently taking a break from Sunnysiders as I'm sinking all my energy and time into launching my first book. POOEMS A humorous anthology of animal poo. 

You can follow my adventures right here. Nicola Winsland Author

Meet some of the family!

Poo at the Zoo

Mrs Crayon's typing fingers are a twitchin'. The rhyming cogs in her head are whizzing round at centrifugal speed. She is gripped by an overwhelming urge to grab her paintbrushes and start doodling!

So what on earth is prompting this sudden outpouring of creativity? Well, it's poo if you must know! Yes poo! Whilst quite by coincidence, the word poo is bandied about left, right, and centre by the Reception learners at Sunnyside School, due to the fact that it's currently the rudest word they know, it has nothing to do with this, but everything to do with the fact that THE NATIONAL POO MUSEUM has just opened it's doors to the public, a mere stones throw from Sunnyside School at the Isle of Wight Zoo.

What's all the more exciting about this unique happening, is that THE NATIONAL POO MUSEUM is the brainchild of Dan Roberts aka 'Daring Dan Recycle Man' one member of a group of brilliant artists from Eccleston George Public Artists. 

Sunnyside School has been fortunate enough to have worked with this talented team on a number of occasions over the years, from making art on the beach, to helping to create an outdoor classroom in the grounds of Sunnyside School. 

It is Dan's incredible inventiveness that has continued to impress and inspire Mrs Crayon, and as a result she has dedicated several stories and rhymes to 'Daring Dan' alone. So having already written about his hair-raising attempts to fly, and his ingenious clean up operation following a rather unfortunate cooking episode, how the blazes could she not put Biro to paper and conjure up a rhyme to celebrate the fact that thanks to Dan and the Ecclestone George geniuses, Whippy Cove has a poo museum!!!

    

Daring Dan poo-collector man!

Daring Dan recycles things

From bits of wood to broken springs,

Plastic tubing big and small,

Daring Dan collects it all.

Twisted metal dulled by rust,

Teapots, saucepans, Dan's not fussed!

It's all treasure in Dan's head,

And so he piles it in his shed.

Along with......

Pencil shavings, chicken wire,

Toilet seats, a tractor tyre,

Bottle tops, ceramic tiles,

Candles, handles, knobs and dials.

Deckchairs, magnets, cogs and wheels,

Curling tongs and fishing reels.

Walking sticks, an antique chair, 

Floor to ceiling Tupperware!

Bent umbrellas, fountain pens,

A stethoscope, a camera lens,

Copper piping, biscuit tins,

Watches, swatches, violins.

Now in amongst all this to do,

Dan thought he'd start collecting poo!

He made the somewhat odd decision,

To build a pooey exhibition.

It was Dan's unique intention,

To give all poo more of a mention.

And so he packed his home-made tent,

To scour the land for excrement.

Dan gathered poo from all around,

You'll be amazed at what he found!

From animals of every species,

He bagged a dollop of their faeces.

Now, whilst this might seem rather queer,

Dan set them in a resin sphere, 

And trapped within, in all their glory,

They tell a fascinating story.

Dan soon developed an affection 

For his mounting poo collection,

But then arrived the perfect day,

To put his poo gems on display.

Now everybody else can see 'em

At The National Poo Museum,

You won't forget the day you came,

You'll never look at poo the same!

And once you've seen this pooey show,

You'll find you're in the pooey know,

Then no doubt you'll become a fan,

Of poo-collector Daring Dan!

"Ahhh! I can see it all now.....Poo-fuelled rockets to the moon!"

For more information about THE NATIONAL POO MUSEUM

https://www.facebook.com/The-National-Poo-Museum-221359568218781/

https://poo-museum.github.io/daily-poo/


https://poo-museum.github.io/daily-poo/blog/

Pink pigs and croissants

Now that the annual Easter makes are in full swing in the Reception Class at Sunnyside School, much whispering and wittering can be heard among the excited little learners regarding the imminent visit of a secretive long-eared furry creature, bearing chocolatey eggs aplenty, for each and every one of them. 

In preparation for this Eastertide delivery to Sunnyside School, the Reception learners wasted no time in creating Easter baskets to transport said chocolatey eggs home in at the end of the day. 

As the classroom disappeared under a mound of tissue paper, cellophane, glue sticks, and pom poms, Mrs Crayon (whilst endeavouring to find the lost end of the cellotape for the four thousandth time) worked with a small group of little learners who were busy drawing pictures and retelling the Easter Story in their special 'Golden Books'. 

Despite only hearing the story once, and watching a short animated version on the Smart TV, Mrs Crayon was astounded not only by the amount of detail in the little learners' depictions, but also the content of their brilliant verbal accounts when describing the events leading up to the Crucifixion. Whilst aspects of the Easter story appeared to merge with that of the Christmas story in places, Mrs Crayon nonetheless hastily scribed as the children spoke to produce this completely unedited version of the Easter Story courtesy of her little charges. 
     
Enjoy!!    

The Easter Story

(...it's something to do with Peppa Pig!)

'Cheesus' had his last meal with the shepherds. They had beer and croissants and garlic bread. Then 'Cheesus' went to another place, it was some woods in Germany. Everyone liked 'Cheesus' except for one of the shepherds. One of the shepherds had a chicken and it went 'cockerly-dooderly-doo' four times and the army came and took 'Cheesus' away and put him in a cage under a bridge. Then someone opened the door and 'Cheesus' got out and the army made him carry the plus sign up the hill and 'Cheesus' didn't have his T-shirt on. The army put spikes on his head and screwdrivers in his feet. After three days it rained and 'Cheesus' went to prison, but before he went he said 'hello' to his friends Peter and Harry, then everyone said Amen.

Happy Easter holiday everyone!!

Fish cakes and fugitives

There's no doubt about it, little learners love their cuddly toys. 

Be it bears, bunnies, monkeys, sheep, or even strange one-eyed yellow creatures sporting blue dungarees, little learners love them all......a lot!

The Reception team at Sunnyside School know this fact only too well. For whenever this treasured menagerie of fluff and stuffing comes into school, and winds up lost amongst the classroom paraphernalia, (as it so often does,) there is always tears and tantrums from despairing little learners, until they are reunited with their fluffy friends once more.   

And it was a fluffy friend related melt down that caught Mrs Very Jolly and Mrs Crayon by surprise today, as it happened right in the middle of Mrs Very Jolly reading Julia Donaldson's 'Monkey Puzzle' to the class. 

As the group listened attentively to the tale of a young monkey who looses his Mum, a little learner sitting at Mrs Very Jolly's feet, suddenly burst into floods of tears, and with head in hands deeply lamented the loss of his penguin.     
As Mrs Crayon comforted the distraught little learner, he revealed that his much loved penguin had gone missing from home, and as he had no clue as to it's whereabouts, he was fearful that he'd never seen his flightless friend again. 
When the little learner informed Mrs Crayon that his penguin wore a scarf, was no taller than a pencil and had glittery eyes, she was completely satisfied they were dealing with a stuffed toy, and not a real live penguin.   

With a description to go on, the rest of the group then sprang into action and began producing a ton of hand drawn 'missing penguin posters', all pleading for folks to be watchful and alert in case of a penguin sighting.       

And so the hunt is on dear readers for a small, sparkly-eyed penguin, possibly carrying a suitcase but definitely wearing a scarf. It's worth noting that as he has no prior knowledge of the great outdoors, he will more than likely appear a little disorientated. 
Should you spot him, he answers to 'Penguin', and according to his owner, "he really likes fish cakes!" 

Thank you in advance for your help!

My Penguin Packed His Bag One Day!

My penguin packed his bag one day

And left his home to run away.

He didn't tell a single soul

That exploration was his goal.

He took no compass or a map,

(He's not a forward thinking chap.)

His destination was unclear,

(Not my penguin's best idea.)

He set his sights on who knows where,

(This reckless penguin didn't care!)

But recklessness comes at a cost,

'Cause now my penguin's very lost.

He's left no clue, no single trace,

It is the most perplexing case.

He may have moved to warmer climes,

(He's dreamt of that a thousand times.)

He could have found a place to stay 

On a fishing holiday.

Perhaps he jumped on board a bus

And just forgot to contact us.

Either way he isn't here

And for his safety I now fear.

There's only one thing I can do, 

And that's to ask each one of you,

Please keep your eyes peeled every day,

In case my penguin comes your way.

Please note:

HE'S BLACK AND WHITE,

HIS EYES ARE BRIGHT,

HE WADDLES LIKE A DUCK,

NOW PLEASE DON'T LAUGH,

HE WEARS A SCARF,

TO HELP BRING HIM GOOD LUCK.

HE'S VERY DIM,

BUT I LOVE HIM,

I WANT HIM BACK WITH ME,

ONCE THROUGH THIS DOOR,

HE'LL 'AVE WHAT FOR,

AND FISH CAKES FOR HIS TEA!

Thank you for your cooperation

"Phew! How's a penguin s'posed to decide!"