Hot and Cold Countries
Following on from our discussions about journeys and holidays, we looked at some photographs of hot and cold countries. We talked about the weather and thought about which animals live in hot places and which live in colder areas. The children enjoyed using the small world area to sort the animals.
In the creative area we used the “hot colours” red, orange and yellow to create our art work.
Children loved using the remote controlled cars this week and were able to move them backwards and forwards between the obstacles. It was lots of fun!
Our Maths focus this week has been capacity. We have been using the mathematical vocabulary of capacity full, empty, half-full.
In group time we filled our cups with pasta, making sure they were half-full was tricky.
We also practised our skills in the sensory area, pouring the sand carefully into the tubes and bottles. We had to concentrate really hard.
Help at home
Can you use the language of capacity at home ? Is the cup half-full yet? My cup is full ? Can you empty the box?
Next week our story of the week is
Our Nursery rhyme of the week is
A Sailor went to Sea.
Sun safety
As the weather gets warmer this week, here are a few reminders from our previous communications.
Sun safe reminders
- Bring a named sunhat every day.
- Ensure your child has a full water bottle (named) at nursery every day.
- Parents and carers must apply cream before nursery.
- Please put your child’s name on their sun cream.
- Put sun cream in your child’s group basket if you want it applying at lunchtime. Please don’t leave it in their bag.
- Collect your child’s sun cream at the end of the day.
- Help us out by using ‘All day’ cream and applying at home
Thankyou for your continued support.
Transport
We continued our interest in transport this week using the ramps inside. The children used ramps and tubes to see how far their cars could go. We used a number track to check which car went the furthest, first to 5 and then to 10.
We learnt how to fold paper to create our own paper aeroplanes. It was quite difficult but we kept trying and were really pleased that we did. Outside we tested out our planes from various places. We wondered if they would go further if we set them off from the top of the slide?
Outside this week we practised our throwing, we aimed for some number on a target with the bean bags. We recorded our scores with tally marks on paper.
We used team work skills and our fiddly fingers to create some bridges, balancing the lolly sticks on the paper cups. We then tried to balance small figures on top. It was really tricky but we got better at it each time we tried.
Help at home
This weeks maths focus has been talking about our daily activities and using words to describe when things happen such day, night, morning or afternoon. We looked at our daily routines and tried to sequence the events. Try to use some of this language at home, too. What happens in your house in the morning? What do you do as part of your bedtime routine? What comes first, next, last? What day is it today? Do you go to Nursery tomorrow?
Reminders
- Our Nursery registration closes at 9.10am. Please ensure that you arrive to Nursery between 9-9.10am to allow us to begin our learning activities on time. Thank you.
- Please send your child with a rain coat to Nursery everyday; the weather is very changeable at the moment.
- We have lots of water bottles that don’t have children’s names on – remember to check that your child’s hasn’t worn off. You may also want to check cardigans and jumpers, too.
- Please ensure that your child’s sun cream is in their group basket if you would like it applying at lunchtime.
Off we go!
The children returned to Nursery happily on Monday with lots of chatter about their half term adventures. Some children had been on trains and some on long car rides to various destinations. This talk led us to think about lots of different types of transport – cars, trains, planes and boats.
We sorted and counted lots of different types of vehicles in the Maths area, counting some really high numbers as we lined up the vehicles.
During story time, we’ve enjoyed listening to The Train Ride. We noticed that the rhythm of the story makes us think about the train going along the track. We drew some maps of the journey, passing the sheep in the meadow and the lighthouse at the seaside.
Outside in the Nursery garden, we got a wonderful surprise to see that our strawberries, beans, peas and carrots were growing so well. We can’t wait to start harvesting them once they’re ready. How are your beanstalks growing at home? Don’t forget to let us know.
In group time, we talked about night and day and next week, we’ll move on to ordering key events in our daily routines .
Some more learning from this week.
Help at home: Talk to your child about day and night time. What activities do people do in the day and at night? What do they do in the morning/afternoon/evening?
Next week’s learning:
For the final half term, we’ll revisit all of the sounds we have learnt and we will focus on key phonics skills such as identifying initial sounds, spotting rhymes and segmenting and blending words.
Over the next few weeks, our focus will be on oral ‘segmenting and blending’ skills. This is when we segment words into sounds and learn how to blend them together. Segmenting and blending orally is an important skill for children to acquire before they begin the more formal teaching of phonics in Reception.
We practise segmenting and blending sounds that we can hear in words. This skill is quite tricky and can take children some time to grasp; it will continue to be taught throughout the Foundation Stage.
To segment ‘bus’, we would say ‘b – u – s’ . We always use pure sounds and try to avoid putting ‘uh’ on the end of a sound, for example ‘ssss’ not ‘suh’.
So for example, you may ask your child if they would like some ‘j – a – m ‘ on their toast at breakfast.
Please don’t hesitate to ask Nursery staff for any further information with how to support your child
Next week’s story of the week
Duck in the Truck
And finally…
The children watched a video this week of our butterflies being set free. They decided to arrive a little later than expected, during the half term holidays. We are sure that they will find their way to our Nursery garden, so we’re keeping a look out for them everyday.
Busy bees
We have had a lot of busy bees in Nursery. We have been learning all about bees, Bumblebees and Honey bees. We found out where they live and how hard they work. At snack time, we tasted some honey on our toast. Although some children were a little reluctant to try it at first, everybody had a taste and decided if they liked it or not.
Outside, we played a ‘bee’ game where we had to collect ‘pollen’ from around the garden. Children loved hiding the balls for their friends and then running to find them. After we’d collected the pollen balls, we counted them into a large five frame to see how many we had found.
In maths, we noticed a pattern in the honeycomb in a book about bees. We used hexagons to see if we could recreate the honeycomb pattern. There were lots of opportunities to practise our counting skills this week using yellow counters as pollen for the bees.
At group time we used our mark making skills to create pictures of bees. We are working really hard at holding our pens with a pincer grip. We made sure that our bees had a repeating pattern of black and yellow and of course 6 legs!
We have been watching our cocoons closely this week in the hope that they would turn into butterflies before the holidays. It appears that they are super cosy inside their cocoons and are not quite ready to emerge just yet. They will be going home with Mrs Beesley so that she can keep a close eye on them.
Help at home
We have been finding out lots of facts about mini beasts this half term. Ask your child if they can talk to you about what they have found out. We are sure that they will remember lots.
We hope that you all have a happy and healthy half term holiday. We will see you back at Nursery on Monday 02 June.
Incy Wincy Spider
This week, children have been searching for spiders in Nursery and looking for their webs. We sang Incy Wincy Spider and made spiders in the malleable area using playdough. First, we had to roll a ball to make the body and then we rolled sausage shapes to add on the legs. Some children managed to count 8 legs to put on their spiders!
In the maths area, we counted spiders carefully to match the numeral written on each web. During group time, older children counted spiders and looked at which web had the most/fewest spiders. We also talked about what happened if we had ‘one more’ or ‘one less’ spider on the web. For example: ‘There are 4 spiders on the web, 1 spider runs away. How many will be left? How do you know?’
In the creative area we made our own spiders webs by rolling a marble backwards and forwards. It was lots of fun and we were very happy with our silky webs.
In the sensory area we used tweezers to pick up our own spaghetti worms.
Help at home.
Have a minibeast hunt in your outdoor space or at the park. Can you find any minibeasts ? How many legs can you see ? Do they have a pattern ? Do they have wings ? Let us know at Nursery what you find.
Next week
We will continue reading “Mad about Minibeasts”
Our Nursery Rhyme of the Week
Ring-a -ring of roses
Our sound of the week
Yy
Reminders
Please remember to put your child’s named sun cream in their group basket on the days that you want it to be applied.
Your child needs a coat every day. The weather is changeable at the moment and a sunny morning can often turn into a chilly afternoon.
Very Hungry Caterpillars
We were very excited in Nursery this week when a very special delivery arrived: a tub of our very own ‘Hungry Caterpillars’! We’re looking forward to watching them grow over the next few weeks. Our story of the week is ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ – it’s taught us all about the life cycle of the butterfly and now we’ll be able to watch it for ourselves.
The children’s interest in minibeasts has continued in all of the Nursery provision. Outside, we’ve found lots of creatures hiding under logs including wood lice, spiders, slugs and some very long worms. Inside, we’ve been busy threading beads to make caterpillars and exploring our indoor small world area.
We’ve enjoyed the sunny weather this week, planting some more vegetables. We really have got green fingers !
We’ve also had lots of discussions about keeping safe in the sun. We know that we need to wear our sun hats, use sun cream and drink lots of water.
Help at home
Listen for the initial sounds in words. Find three objects, two that begin with the same sound and one that starts with a different sound. For example, car, cookie, banana. Can your child spot the odd one out? Say the name out loud, emphasising the initial sound.
Next week
Our Book of the Week is a poetry book. Your child will be able to identify the rhyming words.
Our Nursery Rhyme of the week is Incey Wincey Spider. You can sing this together at home.
Our Sound of the Week
Ww
Reminders
Sun safety
Please remember a sun hat, sun cream and water bottle. Please ensure that all sun cream is clearly named.
We hope that you have a happy and healthy long weekend. Nursery will open again next week on Tuesday 06 May.
Welcome to Summer Term
Welcome back ! We hope that you all had a lovely Easter break. We’ve heard all about your Easter holiday trips and visits from the Easter Bunny. The children have returned to Nursery brilliantly and settled in happily to the final term of the year. We’ve had a very busy week in Nursery.
We’ve enjoyed the sunny weather preparing our planters for seeds and planting our beans outside. Thanks for letting us know how the children’s beans are growing at home, we’ve had some fantastic photos sent in.
We created a bike wash following the children’s interest. Using our large muscle movements to scrub with brushes and sponges.
In maths, we looked at the number four. We can show number 4 on our fingers, we clapped and jumped four times. We looked at objects that are all linked to the number four.
Help at home: Can you count objects at home? How many forks or spoons do we need on the table at tea time ? Encourage your child to count carefully, pointing to or moving each object as they say they number name. How many socks do you wear? Can you put 4 bricks/ cars/ pencils away?
We also visited some new friends at home visits. It was lovely getting to know them. Everyone is looking forward to welcoming them next week.
Next week
We will begin our new theme with the story ” The Very Hungry Caterpillar”
We will also be watching our very own ” hungry caterpillars” grow and change.
Our Nursery Rhyme of the week is “1,2,3,4,5, Once I caught a Fish Alive”
Our sound of the week is Vv
Reminders
Can everyone please check that their child’s shoes are named, we realise that sometimes names can rub off. We have a few children with identical footwear this year and they are getting muddled up. Having names in shoes helps us to solve this problem.
We hope that you have a happy and healthy weekend and thankyou for your continued support.
Easter celebrations
This week, we’ve been learning about how some Christians celebrate Easter. We’ve made Easter cards, painted patterns on eggs, filled eggs in the sensory Easter tray and explored the interest table.
We listen to a story called ” We are going on an Easter Hunt” enjoying re-telling the story as the rabbits passed chicks, lambs and bees on the hunt. We followed some Easter traditions by decorating eggs and rolling them, going on an Easter hunt and tasting Hot Cross Buns. We spotted the important symbol of the cross on the top.
Help at home – Some of our older children are learning to hear the initial sounds in words. What can you find that begins with a ‘l’? You might find a lemon, a lolly or a leaf.
For our younger children in yellow group, this might be a little tricky. You could enjoy singing a rhyme related to Easter such as ‘Chick, chick, chicken‘ or ‘Little Peter Rabbit‘.
We hope that you all have a happy and healthy Easter holiday and enjoy some family time together. We’ll look forward to hearing all about your adventures when we return to Nursery on Tuesday 22 April.
Oliver’s Milkshake
We enjoyed reading ‘Oliver’s Milkshake’ this week, which is part of the same series of books as ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’ written by Vivien French. We found out about where milk comes from and learnt that milk is good for our teeth and bones.
As we drank our milk at snack time, we continued to talk about how to keep our bodies healthy and how to look after our teeth. We used toothbrushes in the sensory area to clean the dirty teeth and we listened to some songs all about how to brush our teeth. This song was our favourite!
Help at home – Talk to your child about looking after their teeth and why it’s important to brush them at least twice a day.
We loved making some ‘milkshakes’ in the water tray and whisking the water to make it frothy.
There has been lots of other learning in Nursery this week sorting and counting flowers, making gardens in the dough and painting the daffodils that we found in our garden.
We have been thinking about positional language in our maths. Using words such as “above,” “below,” “next to,” “in front of,” and “behind.” We used toy characters and placed them in different positions.
Help at Home: Can you give your child an instructions including some positional language when playing? For example, “put the car in front of the house.” Then let them be the teacher and give you the instructions.
Nursery Rhyme of the week – Miss Molly had a Dolly
Sound of the week- Ll
Next week, we’ll learn all about Easter and have some Easter-themed fun!