During March and April, the friends and families of Leahurst Road Pre-School embarked on a virtual walk to Kenya.
The aim being to raise vital funds for the Pre-School, and help ensure its long-term sustainability.
Stopping off at key destinations on route, the children were able to get a taste of the different cultures and traditions through a variety of themed activities on offer to them along the way.
Shortly after setting off, everyone was surprised at how quickly Paris, the first destination was reached.
The staff quickly responded and assembled some French-themed activities.
The children worked together to produce a mosaic of the French flag, and as they chewed on some baguette and brioche at snack time, they spoke about the Eiffel Tower between mouthfuls.
They also listened to some nursery rhymes and recited some numbers and words in French – très bien!
After nearly 1000 collective miles, came Rome with some fun Italy-themed activities to follow.
The children helped chop vegetables and add toppings to pizzas, which they devoured at snack time. Spaghetti and paint provided a terrific base for messy play.
By adding the paint to cooked spaghetti, the children really enjoyed mixing and squashing it with their hands for the ultimate sensory experience.
The vibrant paint, reflecting the colours of the Italian flag, combined with both hard and soft pasta produced some dynamic artwork.
By pressing the paper onto the soft spaghetti mess, creative prints were produced. The spaghetti painting and pasta collage also proved very popular too.
Another week down, the virtual walk arrived in Athens.
The children were given the opportunity to explore the traditional costume worn by the people of Ancient Rome.
Some enjoyed trying on a ‘Chiton’ and a ‘Laurel wreath’ whilst the others got on with their ‘handprint’ Olympic torch. This sparked a brief chat about the Olympic Games, before the children took part in their very own ‘Leahurst Road Pre-School Mini Olympics’.
Races included the ‘Balance the bean bag on your head’ race, running races, jumping races and the Bean bag shot put! All of the children did great listening, had a fantastic time and all received a certificate at the end for taking part.
Even over the Easter Break, the friends and families of Leahurst Road Pre-School continued sending in their virtual miles, ensuring that they continued to making progress towards Kenya via Cairo.
The penultimate stop was Sudan, where the children enjoyed making sand sculptures and camels as part of their daily activities. The desert stretch had been tough going, so it was therefore a relief to reach the Nairobi, the final destination!
Paper plate safari animal masks ranging from elephants to tigers were craftily made and shown off by the children as they ran out at home time, much to the delight of the parents and carers!
The Pre-School have been thrilled with the support from current and past friends and families of the Pre-School who have tirelessly sent in their miles each week and kindly donated to their crowdfunding page.
Every penny that has been donated has been greatly appreciated, and despite having not reached their funding target, it has still been humbling for them to read the abundance of positive and heart-warming comments made about their fantastic pre-school.
The pre-school sincerely hope that they can continue to thrive and serve families of our local community, for another 40 years!
For further information visit their crowdfunding page at:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/please-support-our-local-pre-school
