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Nursery NEwsletters
Nursery NEwsletters
22nd - 25th April 2024
We may have only had a four day week, but the children have been super busy.
On Tuesday, the children shocked all the adults with how calm they returned to the school routine. We expected chaos with the newly returned energy level, post Easter holidays, but the children were super chill instead.
On Wednesday, the children practised their hand-eye coordination with different target practise stations. One had a big hoop, one had a small hoop and the third was a small game of ring toss. The children thought it would be easy and were shocked to discover that it was harder than it looked. They finished the session with some dances that required listening and instruction following. A favourite of ours is the rhythm dance by Danny Go.
Thursday brought chaos but the children all worked super hard and welcomed the new children wonderfully. It was wonderful to see how kind and friendly everyone was with our new children, it helped them settle nicely and calmly. We are super excited to have them in our nursery and see their characters flourish as they settle in fully.
Today may be the end to our short first week back, but we have lots of exciting things planned as we head into Term 5! Our nursery children have started delving into our phase 1 books to help their transition into reception come September. Our pre-nursery children have developed their language and communication skills too, and it has shown through their deepened interactions in their play with each other and the adults in nursery too.
We are blessed to have so many amazing children in our nursery!
Have a restful weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team!
In the lead up to Easter, the children have been up to lots of tasks to create some beautiful, unique and creative Easter cards. They have been doing lots of crafts including sponge dabbing eggs, paint flicking eggs, loose part crosses, using their hand outlines to craft the sunrise background for the cross, and spraying lots of tissue paper with water to create watercolour eggs too.
In between their crafting, they have had lots of fun n an obstacle course. They climbed, ran, jumped, balanced and slid through the outside course, using both the soft play, outdoor and natural resources available in the nursery
The children have been exploring and playing so well together this week and have made some amazing comments and observations on things. They are so invested in their learning and it is wonderful to see.
Lastly, we would like to say a huge farewell to Roxana!
She has been an integral part of our nursery this year, and though we are sad to see her going, we wish her all the best in her new nursery. We hope she makes lots of new friends and learns lots too.
She will be missed by everyone in our nursery.
Have a wonderful Easter holiday, and we will see everyone fresh and bright on Tuesday 22nd April.
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
9BD77CF140204482A010469678FC1460.mp417th - 21st March
Starting off strong this week, we celebrated St Patrick's Day!
The children got super involved with lots of crafts from printing with peppers to copying rainbows. They had lots of fun looking for our cheeky leprechaun, who kept playing lots of tricks in the nursery.
He put glitter in the water tray, tied blankets to fences, threw money around and even trapped Mr Condon in his office!
Tuesday saw the children learning about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The children took part in an active story, which was a lot of fun! They lined up and listened to instruction to lay their 'coats' (high-vis jackets) for Jesus to walk across. Afterwards, some of the children helped by crafting palm leaves by cutting around lots of their hand templates and gluing them all together.
Wednesday brought lots of sun, so our PE lesson took us to the big playground. They first followed the lines and movement instructions around the playground, and they did so well, that they were rewarded with playing on the grass and equipment before going inside for toast and Bluey. It was a high energy day with lots of outside play in the warm sun.
Thursday brought some fantastic chick crafts by all the children, following from their learning about different baby animals. Their determination when they find things tricky, and offers to help each other is wonderful. They have certainly come a long way as a class and their kindness towards everyone is lovely.
Following their learning about spring changes, and our current story of 'Hello Spring', the children went on a spring walk and collected lots of bits of fresh grass, flowers and other spring signs. They stuck it all to a broom handle that was wrapped with tape. The handle was used to make a story of their spring walk, and it was fantastic to have a lesson in the sun!
Today's experiment will be outside and messy, we will be making bubble snakes!
Have a lovely weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
10th - 14th March
This week the children have certainly got their energy back. They have been playing lots of running games and have enjoyed finding their lungs!
On Monday, the children helped with an Elmer display by drawing themselves, their friends and their teachers. They discussed what makes them different and were told why we should celebrate everyone, as it would be boring if we had 25 of the same person in the classroom.
On Tuesday, we revisited the story of the Good Samaritan. The children have amazing memories, for they were able to tell Miss Dale what happened, step by step. They remembered how we role played the story when they first heard it, and even used the same words and phrases to describe certain characters as when they first learned the story. We had lots of 'I wonder' questions throughout the story revisit, and the children were able to give well thought answers as to who was a good friend, or who was not and why.
Wednesday's PE session was a circuit, focusing on their balancing, crawling and ability to follow visual instruction for certain movements. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves, repeating the circuit several times. Due to it being a circle, the children had to stop and wait at points for their friends in front. They were very kind to each other and it made us very proud to see how much they care for each other.
Thursday felt like a quieter day, with a big cut and stick session in the morning. In small groups, the children cut out lots of pictures and stuck them next to the correct season on a seasons wheel. Some found it a bit tricky, but they asked for help from both their friends and the adults. They were amazingly focused and tried super hard with their cutting skills.
It has been a fun packed, and very long week. The children have been amazing and have come so far. We cannot believe that we only have 2.5 terms left before a lot of them go into reception!
Have a lovely weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
3rd - 7th March 2025
This week has been super busy! We have been baking, eating, creating, learning, helping and playing!
On Monday, the children made hot cross buns and learned of their importance for Easter. It may be a bit early for hot cross buns, however the children learned lots of skills about measuring, mixing, kneading, preparing and cleaning. They all worked super hard and produced some amazing tasting, smelling and looking hot cross buns.
On Tuesday, we had pancakes in celebration for Shrove Tuesday. The children tried a variety of chocolate spread, jam, golden syrup, blueberries and raisins on their pancakes. It was a very yummy treat, and the children learned of Lent and why we start with pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. In understanding of the Lent period, the children role played the parable of the Good Samaritan, taking turns to play each character and discuss what it means to be a good friend and care for each other.
Wednesday's PE was outside, and the children all played catch in pairs, we played the potato game, and did a dynamic warm up too. Their hand eye coordination is impressive and we are super proud of their hard work for PE.
Thursday gave us World Book Day, and lots of variety of pyjamas. We heard, and watched lots of different stories, made a patchwork Elmer, had a special Room on the Broom snack, and had lots of fun throughout the day playing in pyjamas.
Before lunch, the children did a balloon experiment, and discussed what may happen when they are feeling lots of big emotions, and the balloon blows all over the place.
There has been lots of fun, learning and laughter all week.
It has been a lovely first few weeks of Term 4.
Have a lovely weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
24th - 28th Feb 2025
The first week back to nursery after a half term break can normally be quite chaotic whilst the children settle back into their routine, however, all the children have come into nursery every day and been amazing. We have been pleasantly surprised by how calm and happy they have been this week.
As usual, they have all been very busy. Each day, the children have been discussing and exploring a different career path.
We have looed at farmers, nurses, musicians and teachers. The children have made their own job roles throughout their play too, including coach/ bus drivers, chefs, doctors and budding engineers, who built an entire city out of blocks. Their creative imaginations have come up with all sorts of interesting scenarios and they enthusiasm in their play has been a joy to observe.
The children have been super focused on their numbers, speaking to each other and the adults about number orders and how '4 and 4 make 8' or 5 and 5 make 10', subsequently showing us on their fingers too. They have been using numicon, and matching lots of objects to the correct numberblocks too. Impressive work!
We have lots of exciting things planned for this term, as the children explore the meaning of Lent, and all of the special things involved in the lead up to Easter.
Lastly, home toys are left at home. Children who bring home toys to nursery will not be allowed to play with them for they may get broken, lost or be used by another child.
Have a lovely weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
3rd - 7th February 2025
In nursery this week, the children have been doing lots of work with numbers and subitising to 5, and reading/ sequencing The Hungry Caterpillar.
They have shown lots of enthusiasm and determination in their learning and it has come across in their play too.
The children showed off their knowledge at the beginning of the week by sorting shapes. They listened to instructions and used their tweezers to pick the correct shapes in the correct order. Lots of finger strengthening exercises for their fine motor skill are showing major signs of development, to which the children should be very proud of themselves.
With it being Children's mental health week, the children have been learning about what their brains are used for, and have changed the name of the week to Brain Week!
They know that are brains help us to move our bodies, remember things, dream when we are sleeping and help us to feel our emotions.
Yellow - Happy
Blue - Sad
Red - Angry
Grey - Scared
Pink - Loved
Green - Calm
Each morning the children come up to the board, one by one, and tap on the emotion or emotions they are feeling in that moment. It was very interesting to see the children choose their emotions, some were mixed, some felt the same each day. A practise that we will be continuing and using in our daily practise to help the children identify and understand how they are feeling when they are mixed up and unsure.
Have a restful weekend, ahead of the last week of term 3.
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
27th - 31st January 2025
This week has been a celebration of Chinese New Year!
The children have been learning lots about how it is celebrated, the traditions and decorations and the animals that represent each year.
This year is the year of the snake!
The children made lanterns and used lots of red, the colour of luck. They painted their hands, a class favourite activity, and helped to craft a unique whole class new year dragon.
Coupled in with the New Year activities and learning, the children have persevered with their writing and number work. Their fine motor skills are progressing well, with some huge improvements in skill and finger/ wrist strength over the last few weeks.
Every child is a credit to themselves, and they have all shown determination towards their individual development and within social environments too. Massive well done to everyone!
Have a restful weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
20th - 24th January 2025
The children have been stars this week! Each day they hit the ground running and work through every task given to them. They have all showed their determination when finding things tricky, whether it be with using a pen, pair of scissors, or transitions from having lunch in the school hall, or coming into/ leaving nursery. Each and every child should be proud of how brave they have been when they have felt a little scared or nervous.
On that note, we have also finished our colours and emotions:
Red - Anger
Blue - Sadness
Grey - Fear
Though, by knowing which colour represents which emotion, it does not mean we will stop using them. Instead, the language around colours and emotions will continue to feed into our daily conversations to help the children understand and regulate their own emotions, especially when they are feeling lots, all at the same time. So, if they come home talking in colours, it may mean they are talking about their feelings too.
Each day this week has been quite busy, the children have had time to explore and use our smaller room on a small group and 1:1 basis as needed. We have added some colour changing lights, sensory tiles and spots, a spinning chair and some other toys to help support the children as they grow. This has allowed us to give the children a calmer and more sensory based space, which has shown big differences in all the children when they are feeling big emotions.
We are finishing this week, celebrating The Year of Hope. Which is the theme of the year for our school. The children have been busy bees, decorating their own hand cutouts, and telling us their hopes within nursery and hopes for their future jobs. I must say, we have lots of aspiring teachers, doctors, firemen and pigs! The wide range of hopes of your children is amazing, and we cannot wait to see what they grow to become!
Finally, a special shout out to Mayah, who not only wrote all the letters in her name, in order and in a line, but also did it independently, without copying it….for the FIRST TIME!
She went straight down to show Mrs Selway and Mr Purser, who gave her stickers and were both super proud. Well done Mayah!!
Have a restful weekend, ahead of an exciting week, next week.
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
13th - 17th January 2025
This week has been a mixture of emotions....quite literally. Each day, the children have been learning about their emotions through colours and the colour monster.
So far, they have looked at:
Yellow - happy
Green - calm
Pink - Loved
They answered each colour with things like:
"School makes me happy" - Levi
"I love my mummy" - Jaxon
"All of you make me happy" - Mayah
"My best friend is Roxana" - Aoife
Some of the children have been working with Mrs Sofia each day, focusing on listening and communication. They played lots of movement games to musical cues, and they have been exceptionally good!
Some of the other children have been focusing on writing their names. They first find letters in a tub of sand to match to the names, then trace their red name with their finger and a pen and practise some of the tricky letters too. Lastly, they had a go at writing their names. They have tried their hardest, and that is all we ask for. It has been amazing to work with them on this skill and see the joy they get from learning how to write their names so well.
The children we have in nursery have been brilliant with helping our newer children to settle in nicely. Some have helped through communication in their first language when playing games and doing puzzles, to help with learning and communication. Some have been really good role models and helped to show and guide others with the expectations and boundaries we have in Nursery. Others have been really supportive when someone is finding things a bit tricky and given them a hug or taken them to the quiet area to have some calm time. Your children truly have worked really hard and been so welcoming to each other, everyone should be very proud!
Enjoy the weekend!
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
6th - 10th January 2025
Happy New Year!
Welcome to our new children too!
This week has seen lots of changes in nursery. The home corner has had a bit of a move around, and the children have certainly loved having more space to play and explore. It has meant that the classroom has more floor space for building and the creation of their masterpieces.
The older nursery children have been very welcoming and friendly with the new children. They have shown them around, played with them and helped each other learn the routines and boundaries of nursery. For this, you should all be very proud of your children.
It has been bitterly cold this week, and although this has meant less time outside, it has not stopped the children from exploring signs of Winter and still loving the snippets of time they have been able to enjoy the frosty weather.
It has been a fantastic start for all of our new children and they have really kicked off their time in nursery well. Each and every child has been a joy to have so far and we all look forward to watching their progression throughout their nursery journey.
We hope you have a restful weekend,
Miss Dale and the nursery team.
16th - 20th December 2024
As it has been the last week of term, last week of nursery 2024, and the last week before some new children start nursery, we have had lots of fun activities going on within nursery.
It started with our nativity, and I must say, the children SMASHED IT! It was amazing to see so many parents, carers and family members attend, but also absolutely fantastic to see how well the children did and how excited they were to show you their performance too.
All the adults were blown away by their final performance. Well done to all!
The rest of this week, the children have been watching the KS1 and KS2 performances, one in the school hall, the other in the church, and again, their impeccable behaviour shone through, and they have had nothing but praise from members of staff around the school.
As with our last day, we have had a Polar Express Day. Pyjamas and comfy clothes were a must, with lots of fun surprises planned throughout the day too. Photos will follow on tapestry.
Lastly, every single nursery child has made amazing progress over the last few months, and they have all come so far. We as a nursery are proud of every new step they have made and how all their individual personalities are coming through. We cannot wait to see what the new year brings.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
9th - 13th December 2024
Second to last week of term, and the children have been busy bees. They have been working hard to practise for their nativity on Monday, learning about the Christmas Story and who Jesus was, and they even managed to squeeze in a 'fire day'.
Wednesday's fire day saw the children exploring lots of equipment, clothes and activities associated with firefighters and their very important role. The children had the opportunity to dress up in fire fighter uniforms, complete with hats that were VERY large. They played in a fire engine tent, and completed a fire drill so they are super prepared if a real fire were to happen.
In the afternoon, the children waited their turns are had a go at hosing down sokme painted flames. They started with individual turns and later on, worked together to make sure all of the 'flames' were extinguished. It was lots of fun and the discussions the children were having and language used during their play was amazing to hear.
I have been hearing lots of positive comments on the children's development within nursery, and all credit must go to the children. They are all developing so well, both individually and together. They blow the adults away with how much they know, want to know and their determination in their learning. Every child has made leaps and bounds since September and it is incredible to see!
As lots of time has been spent on nativity practise this week, there is not much news to share as we will not spoil the suprise of their nativity performance.
The Early Years performance will take place in the School Hall next Monday. We will start at 9.45am so please arrived by 9.40am to get a seat.
Have a joyous weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
2nd - 6th December 2024
This week has been quite busy with the festive period, nativity rehearsals and the other odd bits that crop up all over the place. However, the children have handled being out of routine very well!
On Monday, the children painted their hands green to help create a very unique advent wreath. They learned about advent and what it means in the lead up to Christmas, and Jesus' birth.
On Tuesday, the children in the afternoon were able to do some baking in Room 7. They wore aprons and became little bakers. Some of the children made chocolate concrete and the others made banana flapjacks. The children were responsible for matching the correct ingredients to the picture. Looking at the numbers on the scales to make sure the quantities were correct, and mixing everything together. Some even had a few sneaky tries of the mixtures before they were baked. Whilst waiting for the creations to bake, they had the chance to play with the toys in Room 7, and really enjoyed themselves. Amazing work by all the children!
Wednesday's rehearsals meant no PE, but the children did get to have an Advent assembly with Mr Condon and explore the Christmas corridor, much to all their delight and fascination. They loved the lights and figurines and even started chatting about who was who and relating it to their roles in the nativity.
To end the week, the have learned about Hanukkah. They listened to Miss Dale tell the story of Hanukkah, then proceeded to make Hanukkah candles, practicing both their pen and scissor skills. They are amazing us with their development, with most children now using the thin pens to practice their mark making and the pincer grip.
With only two weeks left before Christmas, the nursery is quickly becoming a fully festive Christmas classroom, with most of the decorations made by the children, hanging from ceilings and walls. It all looks super effective, and they are very excited to take it all home at the end of term too.
Any nativity costumes, please bring to Nursery in a named bag ASAP. The nativity is on Monday 16th December at 0945. All headbands for the children will be made in school.
Have a restful weekend!
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
25th - 29th November 2024
What a week!
Monday became a Health and Safety Day for the children to learn and understand what will be happening on the farm trip. They discussed the rules we have whilst at the farm, such as not talking to strangers, what to do if someone we do not know speaks to us etc. They did a practice walk around the big playground with their high vis jackets, and their key adults for the farm trip. I must say, all their 'training', certainly paid off.
Tuesday was TRIP DAY. The adults in nursery were a mixture of emotions, lots of excitement, thrown in with some nervousness and a little bit of uncertainty of what the day would bring, however, it was an amazing trip. The children were fantastic and got stuck in to EVERYTHING!
Some of the activities they did included:
- Holding and petting Guinea Pigs (Named Flash and Bolt)
- Feeding sheep
- Feeding and petting chickens
- Touching some cows heads
- looking at the goats
- Trying some plants such and Sorrell and Chive
- Smelling plants such as Thyme, Rosemary, Mint
- Playing with the mini diggers
- Gardening
- Lots of snacks and eating too
The children were absolutely fantastic, they asked lots of questions, were on their best behaviour and really represented themselves as positive, kind and enthusiastic. It was astounding to hear all of the knowledge they had and the questions they gave were thoughtful too.
For the rest of this week, the children have been looking at Christmas in different countries, Japan, Australia and Germany.
They learned that in Japan, people eat KFC for their Christmas dinner and have to order it months in advance.
In Australia, they usually spend Christmas on the beach, and Santa wears shorts! They also looked at and made some of the different foods they eat for Christmas. Some children helped to cut up some fruit to make a fruit salad for snack time, whilst others were designing shorts to put on our Santa.
Next week is the start of Advent, and the children will be doing lots more Christmas crafts to bring home, decorate the class and to get ready for the Nativity.
As a reminder, please send your nativity costumes to Nursery ASAP in a named bag. Some things will be made in nursery, such as a headband for every child for their role.
Have a restful weekend, ahead of the start of December,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
18th - 22nd November 2024
The nursery children have made everyone really impressed with their effort and development this week.
We have been exploring the book Aargh Spider, by reading, listening, acting it out and sequencing the story throughout the week. The children even had a look through some close up photos to work out what the picture may be, it was lots of photos related to spider signs, and they further explored the outside area by hunting for the signs. They were very respectful by not poking and prodding any webs or spiders. Plus, Tuesday's snow helped the webs to become sparkly, just like in the story.
Wednesday's PE lesson gave the children lots of activities related to the sequence of the story. They used their creative big movements to move like spiders, dance, catch flies (beanbags) and to make up an alternative part of the story after the spider goes driving with his new family.
They displayed their cutting skills by making snow angels from paper plates and completed some more decorations for the nativity play. Of which, all children now have their roles and are super excited to perform it at the end of term.
It has been a fantastic week and we are all prepared for the trip on Tuesday to Windmill Hill City Farm.
Have a restful weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team.
11th - 15th November 2024
Each day this week has had a different theme.
On Monday, the children learned about remembrance day and what the red and purple poppies mean. They enjoyed colouring poppies, making them with playdough and painting their hands red to form a unique poppy wreath. The children were super engaged and very respectful during the two minute silence.
On Tuesday, it was Odd Socks Day for Anti-bullying week. During the morning we had a fire drill, all children were very behaved and remained calm when getting out to our fire assembly point quickly. We were all very happy with how they conducted themselves and listened extremely well. For Odd Socks Day, the children were very creative within their craft and helped create an odd sock washing line that is now displayed above our Learning Journey Board.
During Wednesday's PE, we used the parachute again. The children all waited patiently and had a go at being both the cat and the mouse. They then worked as a team to wrap the parachute around one child at a time and quickly pull it out. This meant the child in the center was spun really quickly, it was very fun! On Wednesday, the children also had the opportunity to explore the new play tent at the end of our outside area and use the new space hoppers in the garden. They were a massive hit!
For Thursday, it was Nursery Rhyme Day! The class was set up with lots of different nursery rhyme activities. We started by singing the rhymes, and then exploring them through crafts, paint, building and puzzles. The children painted their hands and feet, built boats, put together nursery rhyme puzzles and made spiders out of playdough and pipe cleaners.
Finally, for Friday, it is Children In Need Day! The class became alive with spots.. We were joined by some other children during our science experiment where we made coloured spots disappear under water! It was super cool.
Lastly, the children have learned two more nativity songs:
Dude where's my donkey is still being practised.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJI3pxu-7KE
Little Donkey is being learned...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVQPmtjHzh4
Sparkle and Shine is also being learned...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_DI7Rs8TCQ
The children have impressed everyone with how focused, engaged and curious they have been this week. Their development is amazing and we are so pleased with every single child.
Enjoy a restful weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
4th - 8th November 2024
It is the end of the first week of term 2!
The nursery have explored two different celebrations this week, Bonfire Night and Diwali. In doing so, they have learned about fire safety and the origins of the two celebrations.
For bonfire night, the children did an exploding paint balloon experiment, which has splattered some of our outside area in neon orange, pink and blue. The children also made edible sparklers and firework chocolate bark. It was delicious!
For Diwali, the children re-enacted the Rama and Sita story from memory, taking great care to take turns in different parts and use lots of different resources around the class to use as props for some parts of the story. They also created their own diya lamps, coloured Rangoli patterns and created Rangoli with lots of brightly coloured rice.
The song the children have been learning this week is Dude, Where's My Donkey? It is the first of our Nativity songs to learn, and we would very much appreciate if you could help your child learn it at home too, or have it on in the background sometimes. The nursery will be learning a new Nativity song each week, and recapping the already learned ones to be fully prepared for the nativity in December. It may seem like a while away, but considering how fast time flies, the Nativity will soon be upon us. More details to follow soon.
Link for the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJI3pxu-7KE
Wednesday's PE lesson had the children practising their listening, hand-eye co-ordination and gross motor skills. They started by playing the potato game. They further threw bean bags into hoops from a spot. If they got the bean bag in, the hoop got moved further away. Their determination to keep trying was amazing! Lastly, they did lots of different movements in relation to animals, and found lots of different pathways to move around the hall each time.
This week has been a very nice week to start term 2, and a calmer week to settle back into nursery routines.
Important notice for next week:
Monday: Remembrance Day
Tuesday: Odd Socks Day for Anti-bullying week (Please send your child in, in odd socks)
Wednesday: PE
Thursday: Nursery Rhyme Day for Nursery Rhyme Week
Friday: Children In Need Day (Please send the children in, in something spotty or Pudsey related for a donation)
Have a restful weekend,
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
Untitled video.mp4
21st - 25th October 2024
Term 1 is over! It has been super busy with lots of learning, socialising and messy explorations. Every child in nursery has made amazing progress and I am super proud of every single child.
The learning journey photo is a small snippet of all the learning of Term 1, and by no means a showcase of EVERYTHING the children have been up to, we would never manage to put every photo or achievement on one board. We would instead need a board for each child, they have just done SO MUCH in 8 weeks!
As ever, this week has been chaotic. Despite having lots of coughs and colds, all the children have been really determined in nursery and shown their good behaviours, listening skills and positive attitudes off, to staff and the other children in the school. It was noted by the photographer on Wednesday as to how well behaved the children were during their photos.
The children were learning Shine, Jesus, Shine this week in class. A much calmer and slower song than last week, though Our God is a Great Big God was still frequently sung.
The link to the song is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S-OPTEEhVs
The children have been able to do lots of activities surrounding the creation story this week. They have heard the story, watched the story, helped sequence the story with an interactive session outside and helped produce a display depicting each of the seven days in order.
The link to the video we watched is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teu7BCZTgDs
Our ABC song this week has been a phonics version. The children have learned the sign of all letters, and this learning will be consistently repeated throughout the year, however the new version of the song helps with the letter sound and name too. The link to the song is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PmB3SIjNdQ
Alongside this, the children have had lots of messy play activities this week. On Monday, they all helped turn a box into a pirate ship, and each child had a pirate's hat made for them. They further played lots of pirate games, listened to a few sea songs, and some children had a pirates lunch all together.
On Tuesday, the children helped to clean lots of farm animals and dinosaurs with sponges and scourers. They further used the water to make lots of lemonade, cupcakes and other delicious baked goods in the mud kitchen.
Thursday has been our messiest day of the week so far. The children explored colour mixing, falling objects, water play and turn taking by dropping lots of conkers and pine cones in pink and blue paint. The nursery was filled with lots of laughter and happy chatter afterwards, along with MANY pairs of purple hands. The children used books to create wind and blow lots of tissue paper around the classroom. They also used the play dough to make more delicious goods in their mud bakery.
The imagination and creativity of every single child is amazing to see and a wonder to hear. Their developing friendships and excitement to see each other and get stuck in each day is fantastic.
We cannot wait to see the development of every single child next term in the lead up to Christmas!
We wish you a restful and happy half term,
Miss Dale and The Nursery Team.
14th - 18th October 2024
We have had lots of coughs, colds and sickness in nursery this week, however, having less children in class, has not meant it has been less noisy. The children who have been in, have certainly made themselves known with their emerging voices! Especially now everyone has settled in fully and their individual characters are starting to show!
This week we have been learning about the creation story, and what God did on each day. We have not finished the story yet, for the children are recapping and learning the days one by one. So far, they have learnt:
Day One - There was darkness, and God created light. (We covered our eyes for the darkness and opened them when Miss Dale said about there being light).
Day Two: The sky was made to separate the sea from the rain in the clouds.
Day Three: The land was created with plants, trees, fruits and vegetables for us to eat.
Day Four: God created the sun, moon and stars to give us daytime and nighttime.
Day Five: God created animals for the sea and the birds for the air.
Alongside this, the children have been learning the song, Our God is a Great Big God. They have adored this song, and learned the actions very quickly. It is a joy to sing it everyday - sometimes, multiple times a day too! The link to the song is..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8obB5mZxHs
The children are still learning their ABC's in sign language too, they finish this week off with the letter 'p'. Their sounds and signs for the alphabet are improving all the time.
The children have been using their new colour mixing knowledge through their play at the making table and in the water tray too. They have been asking lots of questions and have been very enthusiastic with their knowledge too. The curiosity of the children in the nursery is amazing, even while asking hundreds of questions a day, they are always keen to learn and explore more. It is wonderful!
The children did a science experiment with a pumpkin this week. They used lots of tools to carve and core out a pumpkin, then further added some oats and water to make pretend cupcakes, soup and other bits and bobs. With the second pumpkin, they tried to help him feel better, but managed to make him throw up instead. They enjoyed seeing the reaction of the bicarbonate and vinegar, they smelt the 'sick' and had a feel of all the bubbles and bits in the bowl too. It may have been a more disgusting experiment, but the children seemed to enjoy it more!
Last week, the children were learning and identifying farm animal sounds. This prompted a discussion on whether cows drink milk or water. Further to this discussion, we decided to do a milking activity to learn about how cows are milked and which other animals may produce milk in a similar way too. The children had a blast and loved using the 'udders' to produce milk.
Have a restful weekend ahead of the last week of term, next week.
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team.
7th - 11th October 2024
In nursery this week, the children have played and created lots of things together. Buildings, bridges, towers, and hedgehog homes too.
Our learning for the week has been around the alphabet song. Alongside this, the children have learned 2-3 signed letters a day too. We are currently up to 'k'.
The link for the signed alphabet is...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OO4VfT-OzI
The alphabet song can be sung in any format and does not need to be consistently the same, just make sure the video ends with the English 'z' sound and not the American sound if you would like to practise at home.
For PE, the children did lots of running races as animals. We did bunny hops, frog leaps (a particularly hard jump), creeping like mice, stomping like elephants and slithering like snakes. The children put lots of effort into their movements and were very enthusiastic too. At the end of PE, we played a tag like game. it started with Miss Dale as Spiderman, whoever she tagged then became Spiderman and had to tag others. It was a very fun lesson, and the children were very tired and ready for their toast and Bluey afterwards.
We have been exploring what makes all the children special over the last few weeks, and so, the children have all had a go at drawing a self-portrait using a mirror this week. We have had lots of artistic interpretations of facial features and it was very nice to watch and hear how the children see themselves as they did their self-portraits.
Special mention to one of our children, Myla, who was awarded with a headteachers award for her self-portraait and amazing attempt at writing her name too! Well done Myla!
In the tuff tray, everyone had a go at exploring what happens when yellow and blue are mixed together. After they discover what can be made, we watch the colourblocks video of said colour and discuss other things that are the same colour.
We have so far explored, red, yellow, blue, orange and green.
Quick reminder: please send your child to school with suitable footwear for running on a Wednesday for PE. If the come in with wellies on and trainers in their bag, that is great, however, if they do not have any suitable footwear, they will not be able to participate in PE. Trainers are preferred.
Have a restful weekend!
Miss Dale and the Nursery Team
30th September - 4th October
This week in Nursery Class our book of the week has been, Room on the Broom.
The children have heard, watched and discussed the story. They amazed Miss Dale, Miss Smith and Mrs. Sofia with their knowledge to help created a story map on Thursday morning.
We have done lots of witch crafts this week, including wand making with natural resources and potion making.
The children have had lots of fun with water paint to tap and blow paint onto paper. Once they had finished their creations, they explained what they had made. We have some very creative children with paintings ranging from elephants to fire and leaves.
On Wednesday's PE lesson, the children played crack the egg to help their eye-hand co-ordination and Spiderman tag. It is fair to say that we had lots of out of breath children after PE, and had a rather quiet 10 minutes whilst they recharged their energy with toast.
On Thursday, the children made blackberry crumbles and everyone tried a little bit. It was very messy, but very fun! It made the nursery smell delicious too!
Our nursery rhyme of the week has been the days of the week. It is the same video as last week, however, the children have slowly learned how to sign each day of the school week in Makaton too.
Days of the week song link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXMofxtDPUQ
The video link for the Makaton is below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYIQWWpZm08
As it is Autumn, and the children are learning, exploring and discussing the seasonal changes, we would kindly ask the children to bring in twigs, leaves and autumnal bits they may find around when walking to school or on the weekends. This helps them to explore their surroundings and expand their creativity when using natural resources to both craft and build habitats for creatures in school. Creatures such as hedgehogs, the children have learned that hedgehogs come out at night and sleep during the day.
We also request the children to bring coats to school. We have a shelter and so the children are able to play outside for most of the year. With it being colder over the last few days, the children need coats on to play outside. If they do not have a coat, they will not be able to play outside.
Have a restful weekend,
Miss Dale and The Nursery Team
16th - 20th September 2024
Happy Friday!
This week in nursery, the children have been very busy.
The nursery rhyme of the week was shake, rattle and roll. The children really enjoyed using the egg shakers when doing the actions to the music.
Later in the week, the children got to make their own rattles to use for the songs, and we got to see their creativity flourish.
If you would like to practise at home with your child, here's the link to the song... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT-bN7K0HEs
Every day this week, the children got to practise their scissors skills in small groups. They made the playdough together with Miss Sofia, and then did lots of finger and hand activities with their playdough before using different types of scissors to cut the dough.
Miss Dale played some turn taking games with the children, to help them learn to share and wait their turn. Miss Dale even managed some magic tricks with colour changing pen nibs. The children loved picking a colour to use and coming up with lots of imaginative drawings in the tuff tray.
Wednesday's PE lesson took place in class with parachute games. The children loved shaking the parachute, creating big mushrooms, crawling and hiding underneath and then shaking both Miss Dale and some other children in the centre of the parachute. There were lots of smiling faces all around the classroom.
We hope you have a restful weekend, ready for another busy week, next week.
Miss Dale and The Nursery Team
4th - 14th September 2024
The first two weeks of nursery have been full of lots of learning.
In the first week, the children walked in brightly coloured paints to look at their footprints and how they are all different. We made a mess with slime, making shapes, filling cups and trying to make solid balls of slime in our hands.
We ended the first week with an explosion outside - The children got to see what happens when you mix diet coke and mentos!
The second week, we welcomed our new nursery children and they have made a fantastic start!
Our nursery rhyme for the week was Humpty Dumpty,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrv495corBc
Our Makaton focus was colours. The children have learned to sign black, blue, brown, green, orange, pink, purple and red.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDkw0VTNNvA
If you would like to continue their learning at home or see how well they remember the signs, use the links above.
This week, we have read The Colour Monster, and The Colour Monster goes to School, to help the children understand their different emotions and start to discuss their feelings whilst in nursery. The children coloured in their monsters on their first day with the colours they were feeling.
Green - calm
Yellow - happy
Blue - sad
Red - angry
Grey - scared
Pink - love
The children have started to learn the rules and routines in nursery, and it has been noted by the teaching assistants in class, as to the children's AMAZING tidying skills!
As a team we are very proud of all the children in the way they have settled into nursery, and the friendships they are starting to make together.
If you have any questions or queries or need any help, do not hesitate to email nursery@ctk.education
Miss Dale and The Nursery Team
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