Author: Miss Ward

We have been enjoying lots of festivities this week!

We’ve been designing out own Christmas cards, decorating baubles and making our own party hats ready for Christmas dinner day. We may have also had a special visitor in to see us.

IT WAS SANTA!

 

We have also been reflecting on this years half-term. Our Christian value this half-term has been- Compassion. The children understand that to be compassionate is to be kind and caring . Here are some of the children’s thoughts on what being kind is too them.

I’m kind to my friends when I share my cars- J

If someone needs help I am kind to them- Oria

If someone hurts themselves I can get a Teacher to help them feel better- Avery

I like to give people a hug- Elliott

Miss Feldman is kind because she gets us some snack and milk- Blossom

 

Notice:

The Nursery team would like to wish you all a happy, healthy Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

A special mention from myself to say Thank you for a wonderful last term. It has truly been an enjoyable experience and it’s amazing to see all the progress that has been made since September. I will be signing off for a little while now to enjoy spending some time with my family and entering into motherhood. I hope to see you all soon,  Miss Ward.

 

This week our focus story has been another fabulous book by Jill Murphy

Whatever Next

We took our teddies and space helmets into space in our rockets. We had a lovely picnic and saw lots of things on the way too.

Can we go to the moon now? – Blossom

Look it’s an Owl, it’s nocturnal- Elliott

We need to have our picnic now, I’ll get the food – J

I’ve got some watermelon- Avery

Oh no it’s raining, we need our puddlesuit- Oria

We need to go back now to get our bath beacause we are dirty- T

Big rocket- Tate

Help at home: Take a journey to the moon, what will you see?

If you have any empty boxes at home you could decorate it and take your grown-up’s on a journey. Don’t forget to be back in time for your bath before bed.

Have a lovely weekend!

The Nursery Team

This week we have been reading ‘ Peace at last‘ by Jill Murphy

We have been talking about all the different noises Daddy Bear could hear whilst he was trying to get to sleep! Some of those being animals outside, Can you remember what kind of animals are awake at night time?

That’s right.. Nocturnal!

One of our favourite nocturnal animals has been the Hedgehog. Sometimes we see them around school, especially in our forest area. We must remember to be quiet as they are sleeping.. Shhhh!

This week we were scientist, we made some delicious hedgehog bread. We talked about the ingredients we needed and how to use the weighing scales to measure how much we would need. Once we mixed our dough, we had to give it a good knead- this is a fantastic fine motor skill to help strengthen your child’s hand’s. We made sure our key ingredient was in.. Yeast. Without the yeast the dough wouldn’t rise. The children observed the process of the dough rising before we put them in the oven.

Here is our end result!

Help at home: Have a go at making some bread at home, What animal could you do this time? below is the recipe we used to make our bread

• 400g of wholemeal bread flour
• 1 sachet of yeast
• 380ml of luke warm water
• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp of salt

Mix all the ingredients together and then knead for 10 minutes.

Shape your dough and add in any extras such as raisins for eyes.

Allow ro rise for 1 hour in a warm place.

Place your dough into the oven at 180 for 15 mins, (make sure your grown-up helps with this part)

Allow to cool and enjoy!

Notice:

Reminder of Parent Consultations this coming Monday 25 November 3:30-5:30pm

We’re going to the Moon!

Some of the children may have come out to you on Friday saying they need to bring snacks and a teddy as we’re going to the moon. This is partly true apart from we will be providing the snacks! So please just bring one of your teddies to school with you next week. I’ve got mine ready, he can’t wait to go!

Have a lovely weekend

The Nursery Team

 

This week we celebrated ‘odd socks day’ for anti-bullying week. We all wore different socks to represent the differences in each other and how we’re all unique.

We also read a story called ‘Odd dog out‘ by Rob Biddulph.  All she wants to do is fit in, so she goes on a very long journey to find a place where she will be just like everyone else. After months of walking, she finally discovers the place she’s been looking for. But, she soon realises that being who you are is the best way to be!

We also joined in with World Nursery rhyme week. We sang along to familiar nursery rhymes and added these into our provision. We made 5 current buns on the playdough table, a farm for Old MacDonald and we also enjoyed some library time, reading some of our favourite stories.

Help at home: Being who you are is the best way to be! just like Odd dog out. What makes you different? What makes you, YOU?

I love the colour green and I often like to wear this colour! That’s what makes me, ME! – Miss Ward 

Have a lovely weekend everyone

The Nursery Team

 

Applications for a Reception place for September 2025 can be made from 01 November 2024 until 15 January 2025. Guidance on applications can be found on Leeds City Councils You Tube video

A quick guide to school admissions

If you’d like to come and look around our school the next open sessions are on Thursday 14 November at 1.30pm and Friday 29 November at 9.30am.

Please remember that you still need to apply for a Reception place even if your child attends St.James Nursery.

 

Thanks

The Nursery Team

This week in Nursery we have explored our senses carving pumpkins. Before we cut them open, we asked the children what they already knew about pumpkins..

They are for Halloween – Avery

You can find them in the supermarket- Oria

I went pumpkin picking with my Mummy, Daddy and Daisy. It was in a big field and Daddy put them in his trailor – Blossom

I think it will be soft inside- Elliott

It grows in the field- J

Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving and creativity. It helps to build nerve connections in the brain. It’s also a wonderful experience for children to develop their fine motor skills, picking out the pumkin seeds supports pincer grip, strengthening those muscles ready for early writing.

Help at home: Pick a pumpkin, whether it be from the supermarket or out in the fields, this is a fun activity for you to enjoy with your child at home!

 

Notice:  Just a reminder that Friday 25 October we are closed for a training day.

 

Have a happy and healthy weekend!

The Nursery Team

This week our focus story has been ‘We’re going on a bear hunt‘ by Michael Rosen.

Throughout the week, the children have been able to predict and recall key parts within the story.

We decided to join in and create our own sensory walk!

Help at home: Can you tell your grown-ups the different environments the family had to go through to find the bear?

Sticking to our outdoor theme, we talked about the artist Andy Goldsworthy. Andy is a British sculptor and land artist; he finds his inspriation from nature and uses this to create his art. The children enjoyed looking at the bright coloured leaves and enjoyed trying to figure out what materials Andy had used.

We had a go ourselves. Here is some of our own Andy-inspired artwork!

Have a happy and healthy weekend!

The Nursery team 🙂

Hello everyone!

This week we have been exploring the seasonal changes. We’ve been into forest school jumping in giant muddy puddles and collected some Autumnal objects to add to our tuff tray.

We have been focusing on fine motor control, using pincers to pick up our objects and practising using these skills with our fingers sorting them into baskets.

Fine motor skills involve small muscles working with the brain and nervous system to control movements in areas such as the hands, fingers, lips, tongue and eyes. Developing fine motor skills helps children do things like eating, writing, manipulating objects and getting dressed.

Help at home:

We practice ‘dough disco’ daily to further develop these skills. Here is one of the children’s favourites for you to enjoy at home!

(This is a YouTube link. Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog along the play bar and turn off autoplay – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.)

 

Have a happy and healthy weekend! 

The Nursery team