This week’s bible story
Jesus calms a storm: Mark 4:35-41
Have a think about what peace means to you. Is it a time without conflict or is it calmness? Today, we’re going to hear a story about Jesus and his disciples who were stuck on the Sea of Galilee in the middle of a storm.
Time for reflection:
Think about the times when it seems like you’re in the middle of a storm; perhaps when there are arguments or when things seem confusing and difficult or when things are frightening. Think of Jesus being there, saying, Peace, be still. Take a moment now to hear those words, and enjoy the peace they bring.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Help us to remember, even when we’re in the middle of a storm and life seems hard, you are always there to help us feel peace.
Amen
Welcome back!
It was so lovely to see all the smiling faces when we returned to school on Tuesday. We started off the week by having lots of chats about what the children had been doing over the Easter break and we are glad to hear that everyone had a good holiday.
Our new theme for the next half-term is ‘Minibeasts’ and we’ve already been busy learning about spiders. The children have enjoyed listening to ‘Spider Sandwiches’ by Claire Freedman and we’ve been discussing the ingredients we may need to make some of the delicious recipes in the book. How about a nice bowl of ‘lice rice’, anyone? The children have been writing recipes to go into our cookbook and they have been taking orders in our rainforest cafe. We’ve been looking at the minibeasts on our investigation table and drawing spiders at the creative table. We’ve also been counting spiders and thinking about the amount of legs they have, too.
The weather has been beautiful so we’ve been outside a lot this week. On Wednesday, the children enjoyed washing our outside vehicles and we’ve also been exercising our gross motor skills by playing games with hoops. Inside, we’ve been doing lots of mark-making and looking at letter formation. A very busy week indeed!
Next week, we’ll be learning about our new focus number (the number 5) and we’ll also be planting out the herbs which we began growing on the window ledge of our classroom. Our beans are already doing really well outside and will shortly need sticks for support! I wonder whose beanstalk will be the tallest?
Things to remember:
As the weather is getting warmer, please bring a hat into school for your child.
Please remember to name your child’s clothes, shoes and water bottles.
Many thanks.
This week’s bible story
11 I have told you these things so that you can have the true happiness that I have. I want you to be completely happy. 12 This is what I command you: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15: 11-12
Have a think about an occasion when you have argued with someone and found it difficult to resolve.
Do you know of any conflicts or wars taking place anywhere in the world? Unfortunately, conflicts are continuously occurring as humans try to share the world.
Whether an argument occurs between two people or between nations, the situation is still a conflict. Having conflicts is part of being human. If we did not have differences of opinion, we would never see anything in a new light or change a view that we have wrongly held. However, what is extremely important is the way in which a conflict is handled. If conflicts between large groups of people get out of hand, they can become bigger and bigger until they become wars. The way in which we manage conflict can enable people who have different opinions to work peacefully together for the better.
When we think of peace we often think of:
– freedom from war
– freedom from disputes
– freedom from worry and anxiety
– peace of mind
– quietness, silence, stillness
In the Bible, in Matthew 5.6-8, it says that people who work for peace are happy. In John 15.11-12, Jesus says that we will be happy if we care for others.
Most world religions value the importance of peace.
Reflection:
How could you contribute to peace around the world? Maybe you could try harder to listen when someone has a different opinion to your own. Maybe you could walk away if you feel angry with someone. There are many little things that we can do to contribute to the peace of the world.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for giving us the ability to make others feel better.
Help us to share our lives together in peace.
Help us to love and care for those who need us.
Help us to care for our families and friends.
Please help us to play our parts in encouraging peace in the world.
Amen
Happy Easter!
We can’t quite believe where the last term has gone. We’ve all been so busy learning that the time seems to have flown by!
Our week began with a visit from some beautiful farm animals and the children really enjoyed the opportunity to see them up close (some were brave enough to give the animals a gentle stroke). On Monday afternoon, we took our decorated eggs to the hall and had a chance to look at some of the other entries by the older children in the school. Congratulations to all of the winners – there were some fabulous ideas and it must have been difficult to judge them.
We’ve been doing lots of Easter-inspired learning this week and the children have created some fabulous Easter egg designs using collage materials. Each day, the children have been finding named paper eggs hidden around the classroom (this gives them a chance to recognise their own name and think about the initial sound they can hear). We’ve continued to focus on the number four in our maths sessions and have been concentrating on rhyming words in our phonics. As always, there has been a lot of mark-making in the classroom (and outside, too) and some of the children are beginning to write some or all of their name using their developing skills.
It’s been a very strange end to the term as the weather has turned colder again but we hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Take care and we look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday, 19th April.
Easter egg competition
It was great to see how creative the children had been when decorating the eggs. There were some amazing ideas – it made the judging very difficult! Well done.
This week’s bible story
Jesus is friends with Zacchaeus: Luke 19: 1-10
Have you ever heard the story of Burglar Bill – Bill goes out every night. Getting into houses through open windows and taking things. Until one night, Bill found a baby, and that changed his whole life …
There is a Bible story about a man who stole from other people. He took extra money when he gave them their tax bills and became very rich on all the money that he stole. Zacchaeus was a little man and that small people can’t see in crowds. Read the story of Zacchaeus to find out what happened to him.
Reflection:
Jesus loved everyone when he lived on the earth. It didn’t matter how bad people were, Jesus was always there for those who needed him. This is true for us too – no one is so bad that God doesn’t love them. And the more time we spend with God – praying, thinking about him, finding out about him, the more we want to be like Jesus; kind, helpful and good. Just like Zacchaeus, Burglar Bill changed his ways and tried to be more like Jesus by loving those around him. Even though Burglar Bill and Zacchaeus made the wrong choice, God forgave them and continued loving them.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you that Jesus loved Zacchaeus even when he wasn’t making the right choices. Help us to love all of those around us.
Amen
Superheroes!
What a week it’s been at nursery! We’ve had lots of fun talking about all of the people who help us in our daily lives and we’ve also imagined what life would be like if we were superheroes. The children really enjoyed thinking about the people who work as doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers and lifeguards and we discussed what their jobs involve and why they are important. We looked at different types of books and their layouts and some children tried to make their own comic books. All of the children’s fine-motor skills are developing really well and some of them are able to cut along straight and curvy lines using scissors. As the weather has been very beautiful this week, we’ve been outside exercising our gross-motor skills by learning about ‘push’ and ‘pull’.
Our focus number at the moment is the number four and we will continue to learn more about it next week. In our weekly music session, the children watched a clip of an orchestra performing and we talked about the role of the conductor.
Next week, we will be thinking about Easter and will celebrate by doing some Easter-themed activities throughout the week.
Things to remember as the weather gets warmer:
Please make sure your child brings a NAMED water bottle to school each day and a sun hat, if possible.
This week’s bible story
Peter’s story (Based on Mark 8.27-38, Mark 14.15-72 and John 13.36-38)
Have you ever told a lie to keep yourself from getting into trouble? You don’t have to answer the question out loud, just to think about it.
Have they ever let a friend down, rather than get into trouble? Again, don’t answer outloud, just remember how it felt if they have.
In the bible, Jesus had 12 disciples – these were special friends of his that helped him. One of his closest friends was a man called Peter. Peter, even though he was Jesus’ friend, was someone who did both of those things. Read Peter’s story (Based on Mark 8.27-38, Mark 14.15-72 and John 13.36-38)
Reflection:
Why do you think Peter behaved as he did. Peter was confused: how could anything so awful happen to God’s Special One?; his fear of arrest; his fear of the palace guards; his courage in following Jesus as far as he had; his loyalty to his friend despite his cowardice.
How do you think Peter felt when he heard the cock crow. Do you think he could ever be friends with Jesus again?
Jesus meet Peter again for the first time after he had risen from the dead. He asked Peter three times if he loved him, once for each time he had denied him (John 21.15-19). Jesus told Peter then that he would have an important part to play in telling the world about him; and he did – but that’s another story!
Prayer:
Dear God,
When we are frightened:
Please help us.
When we don’t know what to do:
Please help us.
When we are tempted to lie:
Please help us.
When we let our friends down:
Please help us.
When we are sorry and want to make amends:
Please help us.
Amen.
This week’s bible story
The Son Who Left Home: Luke 15:11-32
Jesus told many stories that are recorded in the New Testament. His stories were often about everyday events that all the people could relate to, but they had a special purpose – they were told to help people understand more about God. Usually, the stories, or parables as they are called, spoke for themselves, but sometimes they had to be explained. Let me now tell you one of Jesus’ best-known parables.
Read the story of the son who left home.
Reflection:
Jesus told this story to show how much God loves us. Just like the son in the story, we often want our own way and do not think of the consequences. We make foolish mistakes and come to regret them later. Just like the father in the story, though, God never stops loving us and is always ready to forgive us when we admit our wrongdoing.
Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Forgive us, we pray, for the times when we have acted foolishly.
When we have wanted our own way and not listened to good advice;
when we have not considered the thoughts or feelings of others.
May we be prepared to forgive others when they are sorry for hurting or upsetting us, just as you are prepared to forgive us when we admit our wrongdoing.
Amen.
We’ve been gardening!
This week in nursery, our focus books have been ‘Jasper’s Beanstalk’ and ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’. Reading these books (and talking about them) has encouraged us to think about how plants grow and what sorts of foods are good for our bodies. The children have enjoyed planting seeds and beans and have predicted what their plants will look like once they have fully grown. We’ve also looked closely at flowers and have made some wonderful observational drawings using a limited palette of colours. Next week, the children will be looking at how they have changed and grown since they were babies and we would really appreciate a photograph of your child as a baby for a display in our room. We’ll be measuring how tall we are and will be talking about all the wonderful things the children have learned to do since they were born.
Dates for your diary:
Our Parent Teacher Consultation Evening is on Monday, 21st March. Appointments can be made online – please let us know if you have any difficulties booking them.
Friday, 18th March is Red Nose Day. Your child can come to nursery wearing an item of red clothing to celebrate the day.
