Welcome back!
This week, we have been very busy looking a little more closely at Autumn. One of our focus books for the past week has been ‘Leaf Man’ by Lois Ehlert and this has been the inspiration for lots of learning in our classroom. On Tuesday, we took a trip around the school field to collect lots of leaves which the children sorted and then made into leaf crowns. We have also used conkers to create wonderful mark-making and some of the children have made their own ‘leaf people’. We have also been reading ‘It was a Cold, Dark Night’ by Tim Hopgood and this has given us the opportunity to talk about nocturnal creatures and their homes. Next week, we will be looking at the work of environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy and the children will be creating their own collaborative autumnal pieces of art.
Have a safe Bonfire Night, a lovely weekend and we’ll see everyone next week.
This week’s bible story
A persistent builder: Genesis 6:5-22
God gave Noah a pretty big job; God asked him to build a huge boat. Even though he didn’t live near a lake or ocean, Noah persevered in finishing the job that God gave him.
Someday, God might give one of us a hard job to do, too. God might ask you to be friends with a kid who everyone else is choosing to ignore. He might ask you to forgive a brother or sister who teases you every day. God was pleased with Noah’s perseverance, and God will also be pleased with you when you persevere in doing what is right.
Reflection:
What is the biggest project that you have built out of Lego, wooden blocks or something else?
How long did it take? Did it take much perseverance to keep going and finish the project?
What would have happened if Noah had given up and left the ark half built?
Prayer:
Dear God,
There are times when we face some hard challenges. Sometimes those challenges seem so big for us to do and to finish. Help us to persevere and remember that we can do it.
Amen
A wonderful end to a fabulous half-term!
A big ‘Thank You!’ to all the Nursery Class children for a wonderful first half-term. Mrs Cairnes and I have had a fantastic time teaching you and we’ve seen lots of fabulous learning in our classroom. This week, we have finished reading ‘Room on the Broom’ and the children were able to re-tell the story as a group. We’ve been doing lots of mark-making, mixing more autumnal colours and even had the chance to do some puddle jumping! We have sorted animals by colour and category and have also talked about the textures of bark, leaves and rocks. On our last afternoon, we also taste-tested some lemons and limes and discussed our reactions!
Many thanks to all parents and carers for your support over the last half-term; we look forward to seeing everyone on our first week back after the holiday. If you have any photos to share from half-term, we would love to talk about them in class. You can email them to us at:
stjamesnursery@spherefederation.org
Have a happy holiday and see you soon.
This week’s bible story
The Good Samaritan: Luke 10: 25-37
Today, we’re thinking about how we treat people and reminding ourselves that we should never bully or intentionally hurt other people. First, think of some kind things that you could do today. Second, think of some things that you should not do today because they would upset other people.
Hopefully, many more of the kind things than the unkind things will happen today. Next, read the Bible story about someone who got hurt and think carefully to see who did and who did not help him.
Reflection:
In the story, someone had been badly hurt, or bullied, but only one of the three people who came by helped him. I wonder what we could learn from that story about how we treat other people, especially those who are feeling hurt or upset.
Think about these two suggestions for how you could help.
The first is that, if you see someone who is hurt or upset, don’t just ignore them – either go and help them yourself or fetch an adult who can help.
The second is to be prepared to help anyone, not just someone you like.
Prayer
Dear God,
There are times when we need help from others and times when others need help from us.
Help us always to be ready to help each other, even people we don’t like, just as Jesus taught us.
Amen
This week at Nursery…
This week, the children have been doing lots of learning based upon ‘Room on the Broom’ which is our focus book for two weeks. We have used props and puppets to retell the story and have made our own wands and hats. We have mixed potions and created our own ‘Magic Mud’ using cornflour, water and food colouring. The children were excited to see how this mixture can exist as a liquid and a solid at the same time – I think we have some budding scientists in Nursery! We look forward to another exciting week ahead where we will be continuing our ‘Room on the Broom’ learning activities.
Here are a selection of photos showing what we’ve all been up to…
This week’s bible story
Our friendship with Jesus: John 15:12-15
Jesus calls us his friend and He wants to be in a relationship with us. In the Bible, we see the friendship of Jesus and his disciples develop. Although their intent was to serve and follow Jesus as Master, He calls them friends. Jesus’ love and sacrifice for those He walked with is the ultimate example of a relationship. Though we may show it differently, we show our friends how much we love them by the actions that we take.
Jesus calls us friend and He wants to live in a relationship with us. This means that He wants us to get to know Him and He wants us to share our lives with Him – every joy, every care, every hurt, every triumph.
Reflection:
We show our friends we care by the actions we do and how we behave towards our friends. Think about how you can show your friends you care this week and how you can share your week with them.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you that we will always have a friend in Jesus. Help us to be good friends to our friends and show them that we care about them.
Amen
We’ve had a very busy week!
This week has been a very busy one at Nursery! We have been reading ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen, we’ve been mixing some beautiful autumnal colours and we’ve also been investigating the properties of ice whilst making some wonderful marks.
Next week, we will continue talking about the weather and looking at hot and cold places around the world. If you would like to share any family photos of holidays which we can talk about, please email them to us at:
stjamesnursery@spherefederation.org
Please remember to bring named wellies into Nursery as we expect to be puddle jumping soon.
Here’s just a snapshot of our very busy week!
This week’s bible story
Four friends help a paralysed man: Luke 5: 17-25
If I asked you to tell you one of the things they liked doing best of all, I imagine it would be playing with their friends. Have a think about your friends and think about what you feel is special about them. In our story, we hear about how four friends help a paralysed man.
Reflection:
Think about the story.
Were there good friends in it?
Think about your friends.
What makes a good friend?
Think about yourself.
Are you a good friend?
Prayer:
Dear God
We thank you for our friends and for the happy times we share with them. Help us to be a good friend to them. Teach us how to play fairly and to share. Help us to recognize loneliness in others and show friendliness towards them. We know that you are our friend and will be with us always.
Amen.
What have we been learning this week?
This week, we have been learning all about dinosaurs! We have been reading dinosaur stories, singing dinosaur songs, counting dinosaurs, sorting dinosaurs and even drawing their skeletons. We have also looked at non-fiction books and talked about where dinosaurs may have lived.
Next week, we will be discussing the change of seasons and learning to mix autumnal colours. We will also be talking about our families and would love family photos to include at circle time. These can be emailed to the following address:
stjamesnursery@spherefederation.org
Things to remember for the coming week:
Please can all children have a named pair of wellington boots in school as soon as possible – we would love to go puddle jumping soon!
This week’s bible story
David and Jonathan: 1 Samuel 18-19
Friendship is a precious gift. Everyone wants to have friends. If we are fortunate, we will have a group of close friends, people with whom we can share our lives. However, sometimes, things go wrong. There can be disagreements that lead to friends falling out and maybe not talking to each other altogether. When David was a young boy, he had been told that one day, he would be the future King of Israel. As he grew up, David became famous for defeating the giant, Goliath, and for being a skilled soldier. He also wrote many songs that are recorded in the Book of Psalms in the Bible.
When David was a boy, a man called Saul was the King of Israel. Saul had a son who was called Jonathan. David and Jonathan became great friends. One reason was that Saul (Jonathan’s dad) was the present king and David was going to be the future king. David was also a great soldier and King Saul became very jealous of him! Another reason is that, if the usual practices were followed, Jonathan would have followed in his father’s footsteps as the future king – not David! Jonathan had a good reason to be jealous of David!
Reflection:
It would have been very easy for Jonathan to be jealous of David. Instead, he always protected him – sometimes, even saving David’s life!
How do we treat our friends?
Do we get jealous when they are successful or if they are better than us at something?
Or do we encourage them? Do we stand up for them? Do we feel happy when something good happens in their lives?
In David’s case, he really did get by ‘with a little help from his friend’.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for friends whom we can trust.
Thank you for friends who stick with us when we need them.
Please help us to be a friend to anyone in need.
Amen.