We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone. It has been a very busy year with so many great things happening. It has been such a treat to teach the Nursery class and I know that Mrs Plunket and Miss Bunyan would agree that they have been a lovely class. Also, we would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped out with forest school trips.
We would all like to say thank you for our gifts and cards from all of you. It is really appreciated. We hope you have a great Summer Holiday and get some well needed rest with your families and friends. We wish all the children the best of luck as they move into Reception.
We will be thinking about Summer celebrations over the next couple of weeks. This includes Father’s Day this coming Sunday. If you celebrate anything special over the summer, please let us know and we can discuss this with everyone as a class. If you have any photographs, or items which are helpful to support these celebrations, again, feel free to send them into school (or add photos to Tapestry if extra special).
The children will be creating a Father’s Day card which they will be able to give to a special role model in their life.
During phonics the children will be looking at the sound ‘sh’. This sound can be found at the beginning, middle or end of words. We will be looking at words with ‘sh’ at the beginning and end. We will be focusing on the words ship, shop, shell, fish, dish.
During Maths we will be looking at recognising all of the numbers we have covered so far between 0-10. This will be done through a selection of number songs, games and whole class learning.
As the weather is very hot at the moment, we kindly remind you to bring a sun hat for your child every day. Can children have their hats ready to put onto their pegs when they come into Nursery please? There can be quite a kafuffle around the book bag basket when children are looking for their sun hats. If they already have them on their pegs, it prevents this confusion. Thank you for your help in this matter.
Sun cream should be applied before the children come into school. If they are staying for the afternoon, please feel free to leave a labelled bottle of sun cream in their bag for reapplication if needed.
For the remainder of the term you will be receiving Tapestry updates every two weeks. Your child may not have any learning uploaded in these periods because, as we are nearing the end of the year, we are concentrating on ‘landmark’ or new learning. Rest assured we are always watching and assessing.
This week is Art Week. We will be spending lots of time exploring natural materials to create different pieces of art. We will be using pebbles to follow simple shapes, leaf printing and bark rubbing. We will also be making our own natural paintbrushes to paint pictures.
The aim of the week is to use different natural materials to create our art. So we will be using leaves, pebbles, blossom, flowers, twigs and any other natural resources that we find around the nursery/school grounds. If you have any natural items at home that you think we can use for art week, then feel free to bring them in. Conkers are great for marble rolling, fir cones can be used to make mini animal structures, or even bunches of flowers.
During Phonics this week, we will be looking at the sound Ww. We will continue blending and segmenting the sounds we have learnt so far to make simple words. We will also use these words in sentences that we make up during the week. Phonic sounds we have learnt so far are as follows: s, ss, a, t, p, i, n, d, o, g, c, k, ck, o, u, i, e, r, h, f, ff, l, ll, v, x, z, zz, y, b, j (not necessarily in this order)
We will continue exploring shape, colour and number during our choosing time. The maths area has had a little refresh. Can you match the dots on the dice to the numbers on the leaves? Then can you count out the matching number of counters to add on to the leaves?
In the tough tray we will be exploring natural materials using magnifying glasses. We will be able to add to the tray with things that we find while in the garden, or when we go to Forrest School on Thursday.
This week is also Walk to School week. The children are encouraged to walk to school every day. For every day the children walk to school, they will receive a sticker. If they manage to walk to school every single day, they will also receive a special badge! If you live too far from school to walk all the way, we suggest that you could drive and stride if you can. This means leave the car parked a short distance from school and walk the rest of the way. Your child will still get their sticker if they manage this.
An update on our planting- Below are some photos of our plants growing. Each colour group planted a different vegetable. Peas, sweetcorn or potatoes. The potatoes are sleeping under the soil still and so are the sweetcorn seeds. The peas have been really enjoying the rain and have grown quite a lot already. I wonder how high they will grow?
Library visit and changing of books- As a reminder, we will be changing the children’s story books on a Monday for the time being. This is so that the children get to experience the use of our school library now that it has reopened. We went on Monday this week and the children really enjoyed having a story read to them and then spent time choosing a book to take home. Please continue to read these to your child as often as you can during each week. We will be putting the blue box outside for you to place your story books and orange reading records. If anyone does not have an orange reading record, can you please let a member of staff know. We had a few library books that did not go home this week, as we did not have all children’s reading records available.
We have also been thinking about school rules we would like to break this week. We will finish deciding which rules we would like to break at the beginning of the week. We have come up with some really lovely rule breaking ideas so far. We just need one or two more ideas. Have a chat over the weekend and see if you can come up with a great idea we can add to our list.
I hope you will all be enjoying the Bank Holiday on Monday? Hopefully we will have some beautiful sunshine and we will get to enjoy the outside as much as possible.
We look forward to seeing you all back in school at the usual time on Tuesday 4th May.
This week we will be joining the whole school in a Geography theme. We will be looking at Maps and Journeys. We will discovering what a map is, what we use if for, who might use a map and look at a variety of different types of maps. This might be a river map, a train map, a road map, a train map, an underground tube map. During Busy Fingers we will be making pirate maps, using the cars to make a track and making puzzles of different types of vehicles.
“We know that pirate use maps! And x marks the spot! x marks the treasure!”. So, we thought it would be a good idea to have a pirate ship and pirates ready to set sail for an adventure in the tough tray. Will you need a telescope?, Will you make your own pirate maps to find the hidden treasure chest? Look out for the sharks and other sea creatures! Don’t get caught up in the fishing net! What will the treasure be me harties?!
Over in the Small World area, we have decided to have a little something different. We thought it might be a great idea to explore the Mobilo, as we have not had this out for a while. Can you see the reflection of the different pieces? Can you make a model and see what happens when you place it onto the mirror? Can you make the reflection?
We will be using maps in our Phonics this week. We will be looking at a map of the outside area which will tell us where to find letters of the alphabet. Once we collect the letters together, we will be making some simple words out of them. The focus letter for this week will be the letter Vv.
During maths we will be looking at making a simple two part pattern. This might be ordering boys and girls into a pattern, ordering Duplo bricks into a two colour pattern, or even using small objects to make a continuous pattern.
Forest School message:-
This Thursday is Forest School. If you have not already seen it, the helper’s rota is on the Nursery classroom door. Dates are May 6th and May 20th. Thank you again to those of you who have volunteered for this half term (and for next half term). Dates for next half term will be June 17th (Reserved Sports Day- So no Forest School if this happens), July 1st and July 15th. If you would like to help out please let me know as soon as possible as places fill up quickly. I have 3 helpers for next half term already. We have space for another 3 helpers.
Just as a reminder, please ensure children are wearing long sleeves, leggings/joggers, due to the brambles. Also, as the weather will be getting warmer (hopefully anyway), can children please bring a sun hat into Nursery everyday, fresh water in water bottles (we will remind children to drink at regular parts of the day/top up water bottles if needed). It is recommended that all children have sun cream applied before the start of the school day.
It was a busy time last week in Nursery. With adventures at forest school and celebrations for St George’s Day, the children still managed to find time for several weddings too. We will be continuing this theme into the new week, by making tissue paper flowers during busy fingers. The children will then be able to use these for their weddings.
Playing with the castle and finding out about dragons were also popular last week. We have decided to move the small display into a bigger space for the children to continue to explore. They will also be able to finish making their own castle, which they started last week.
During Small Group times we will be planting a range of vegetables. Potatoes, sweetcorn and pea plants. We will also be exploring alliteration through a phonic game of Bertha Bus and categorising furniture into different rooms of the house, using the dolls house.
During Phonics we will continue building our phonic knowledge through the sounds Jj and ai. We will have a go at saying a tounge twister using the ai sound and make silly Jj sentences. Have a go at saying “The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain”, or “Jim’s jam jiggles”
In Maths we will be looing at the number 8. We will explore counting 0-8, showing eight on our fingers, representing 8 in different ways and checking out how many legs a spider has.
I would like to say ta big “Thank You” to everyone who has offered help at forest school over the next half term. I have also had a volunteer for the 2nd half of the Summer Term. If you feel that you would like to be involved with this event, please speak with Mrs Pickard.
The list for the rest of this half term will go up on the Nursery window. Please look of you have volunteered.
Just as a reminder, we will be changing books on Tuesday’s from now on. Please continue to read stories with your child, repetition of the same book is very important with our Nursery children.
This week we will be looking at horses and structures. We will continue to explore the construction area through creating our own models and displaying them for everyone to see. In our small world area, we have set up a field of horses. The horses have logs to jump over, a lake to drink from and lots of horse friends to play with. By the end of the week we will be adding the castle and knights to the scene.
Gallop, canter, trot, jump, run your way around out field of horses.
We will be starting back to Forest School on Thursday. We are looking for a couple of helpers to support with this great fortnightly adventure. A list will be going up this week on the Nursery Classroom door. If you are able to help with this, please sign your name up. There is a limit of 2 helpers each week.
Forest School and PE have moved to Thursdays.
Towards the end of the week, we will be celebrating St Georges Day. Now the horses and castle make sense! St George rode his horse across villages after joining an army. He was very brave and fought a dragon to save a princess. We will be exploring the story of St George and will be creating our own English flags. We will be listening to some very traditional English songs, some of which you might have heard during sports events, such as the rugby. On Friday 23rd April , we will be dressing up in red and white to celebrate the day. A class photo is in need, so this will be a great opportunity for a great themed photo.
During Phonics we will be exploring the letter Bb, alongside all of the other phonic sounds we have already learnt. In Maths we will be recapping shapes and number recognition through songs and rhymes. During small group times, we will be playing phonic bingo, making dice patterns and looking at patterns in fruit through fruit and vegetable printing. We will also look closely at the inside of the fruits we have at snack time this week. If you have an interesting fruit/vegetable we can cut open and talk about, please feel free to bring it in.
Our busy fingers activities this week include, St George themed pencil control, using Lego to print patterns into play dough and pegging around pots and containers.
It looks like a busy week ahead everyone. I hope you have had a relaxing weekend and enjoyed the sunshine with your family and friends. Did anyone get to go back back to their clubs or groups this week?
Welcome back everyone. I hope you have all had a lovely Easter Holiday and have lots of time to relax ready for the term ahead.
This week, we will be recalling our virtual trip to the farm. We will be talking about the different animals we find on the farm and choosing our favourite farm animal to paint. This will be a small group activity so that we should all end up wit our own farm animal to put up on display around the classroom.
Come and have a look at one of our farm books, or explore the mini farm. Can you put the eggs in size order? What do you think should go in the smallest egg?
During Phonics, we will be looking at the phoneme Bb. We will look at different things beginning with Bb and will be using our phonic knowledge to continue sounding out simple words together.
In Maths, we will be looking at the number 7 and sequencing the days of the week through songs, games and exploring our inside and outside environment for number 7 in different ways. In addition, we will be able to practice sorting simple shapes. We will be able to talk about how we know the shapes are the shapes we think, by talking about the sides and corners of each different shape.
Come and explore the maths area. We will be adding to the display board this week, using photographs of the mathematical things we do during the week.
Roll the dice. How many spots are on top? Can you find the matching number?
Can you sort out the triangles, circles, rectangles and squares? How many corners does your shape have? How many sides does your shape have?
In the role play area, there has bee a little change around. We still have the kitchen and foods, so you can continue to make delicious meals using the recipe cards. In addition to these, we have babies who will need feeding, potty training, playing with, read stories and putting to bed. If you have a toy baby bath or a toy potty that you no longer need, or would be happy to lend for a couple of weeks, please speak to Mrs Pickard.
We have found a beautiful piece of material with musical notes and symbols on. So, we thought it would look great in the music area. What do you think? We have also moved the frog masks into the music area, so that you can continue using them for singing and dancing with.
One of the most exciting things we have ready for you, is a little addition to the construction area. We have made space for you to display your models that you make. You can use the different construction media to make anything you want. If you would like some inspiration, have a peek inside the books. If you are feeling even more adventurous, have a look at the pictures of structures people have made from around the world. You might like to have a go at making some of these?
What in the world will you build?
Don’t forget that school is closed to pupils on Monday. We look forward to seeing you bright and early on Tuesday 13th April. Please bring with you the books which you borrowed over the Easter Holidays and we will be able to exchange them for new ones for you. We look forward to seeing you!
This week we will be continuing to look for signs of Spring. We will be looking for new life in the garden and through songs and stories. We will be going on different types of egg hunts around the classroom and in the garden. We will be looking for shapes and letters as we go egg hunting. We will be sharing the story of We’re Going in an Egg Hunt together and will continue with our phonic sounds, learning the sound ‘l’ this week. During maths we will be practising our number recognition through songs and rhymes as well as through interactive games. Below are some photographs of some of the activities set up around the classroom to celebrate Spring and Easter. I wonder what is going to be inside the eggs in the tough tray? Can you sort the eggs in the maths area by colour group? Lets learn a new song too, called “I went to Visit a Farm One Day”. Oh yes, don’t forget that on Friday morning we will be going on a virtual class trip to the Farm. We are hoping to see lots of baby farm animals. I wonder which farm animals we will see? On Friday, for snack, we are also planning on taste testing hot cross buns. A message about this will follow next week, on Tapestry.
Can you sort the eggs by colour group? How many eggs will you put in your basket?
What do you think is in the eggs? Come and find out!
Come and play with the duck and frog pond in our small world area. How many ducks will you find? What are those hoppy frogs up too? Can you find the snail and the bugs?
Which colours will you use? Can you make a rainbow? Would you like to paint some daffodils? Or maybe paint a butterfly using your hands? Or a caterpillar with your fingers?
Ll is our new letter sound of the week. Come and add some eggs to our Easter tree while we share the story of We’re Going on an Egg Hunt together.
How can you help at home?
If you celebrate Easter, have a go at making an Easter Tree with a family member. We have used eggs in the classroom, but I wonder what you will decorate your tree with?
Name as many things as you can that begin with the letter ‘l’. Can you use them in a silly sentence like this one… “Little Lilly likes licking lemon lollies lots”
Watton Nursery 