Festivals and Remembrance
This week we have been talking about Diwali- The festival of light. We explored the meaning of Diwali and what happens during this festival. We also talked about Bonfire Night and why we celebrate this day.
The children were very creative this week and got stuck into lots of messy activities. We made Diya lamps from clay and decorated them with lots of bright colourful paints and glitter. We also made some firework pictures using our favourite colours. We made a cut out using a tube and used this to make prints on our paper to look like fireworks.
Help at Home: Next week is World Nursery Rhyme week.
We have been learning lots of new nursery rhymes since the start of September. Can your child remember which ones we have learnt and can they sing their favourite using the actions?
This Sunday is a special day where we remember all those who faught in the war. This can be a sad time for many, so here is a little video that the children in Nursery have watched this week to help them understand more. From this, we made our own poppies to display on our wreath in Early Years.
Notice:
- World Nursery Rhyme week.
- Tuesday 12 Nov– ‘ Odd socks day’ this is to symbolise that we are all different and that children should be themselves and be accepting of one another.
- Friday 15 Nov – it is non-uniform day for Children in Need.
Have a lovely weekend
The Nursery Team
Room on the Broom!
Over the last two weeks the children have enjoyed reading Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
In forest school, we made our own cauldron to help the Witch make a new broomstick. Here are a few things the children could recall from the story.
We made a pot for the Witch, from Room on the Broom -Oria
A cauldron, some sticks and some leaves- J
We put some feathers in, they make the broomstick- T
We need to make a potion and cast a spell- Blossom
Iggy, ziggity, zaggity, zoom- Elliott
Some big sticks to hold up the cauldron- Avery
Dragon, he flew after the Witch -Noyan
Help at Home: Let’s get crafty!
The children have enjoyed lots of creative activities this week.
Could you make something at home relating to our story? a few ideas could be, your own wand, creating a Witches face using different shapes, exploring pumpkins, making potions.
Don’t forget the outdoors is a wonderful place to get messy!
Notice:
We’ve had a wonderful first half term and the children have all made some fantastic progress, we’re extremely proud!
We would also like to thank Miss Harvey! Miss Harvey is sadly leaving St.James to pursue her career in teaching and we wish her all the best with her future endeavours.
You may have noticed that Miss Feldman has been in Nursery recently. Miss Feldman will now be in Nursery as our full time Teaching Assistant. The children have already welcomed her with open arms and we’re looking forward to our next half term.
Have a happy and healthy break and we will see you all on Monday 04 November.
The Nursery Team
Reception places for September 2025
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
It’s pumpkin season!
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
Oh no, we’ve got to go through it!
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 🙂
What is happening outside?
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
Who are you?
We’ve had a lovely few weeks settling back into Nursery. As we have made new friends we started to talk about out families and who is important to us.
We became artists and captured our families on paper. Each child chose a colour to represent each person within their family.
In the early years, your child’s main way of learning and developing is through play. Building these realtionships between family and Nursery helps your child learn key life skills, like communicating, thinking, solving problems, moving and being with other children and grown-ups.
Spending time playing together sends your child a simple message – you’re important to me. This message helps your child learn about who they are and where they fit in the world and we foster this within Nursery!
Help at Home:
As the weather is beginnng to change, so is our environment. This is the perfect time go out for a family walk and see what you can find!
Please bring in all your lovely Autumnal treasures so we can add them to our tuff tray next week.
Have a happy and healthy weekend!
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey
Welcome back everyone!
It’s been lovely to welcome back our returning nursery children and also to introduce our new starters!
We’ve had a wonderful settling in week, exploring our provision and becoming familair with our nursery routine.
Here’s a sneak peak of some of the activities we’ve been enjoying
During snack time this week the children have enjoyed listening to the nursery rhyme ‘Wheels on the bus’.
Help at home: Can you child recall some of the actions from the ‘Wheels on the bus’ nursery rhyme?
Next week, we will be starting our first focus story ‘ The Gruffalo’ By Julia Donaldson.
- In the coming weeks, we will be talking about our families. Please could parents/carers email some photos of their families to- stjamesnursery@spherefederation.org
Have a happy and healthy weekend!
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey
Our new sensory space; The Den
Over the summer, Mrs Freeman has been busy creating a sensory themed room in school.
The Den is a safe space which aims to provide any child with the individualised sensory input they need to self-regulate so they can be better prepared for learning and interacting with others.
The Den offers a safe space for relaxation, exploration, independence, and social sessions. The resources in The Den can be used to stimulate, soothe, entertain and distract, depending on the child’s requirements.
We would like to say thank you to the school PTA for the contributions towards resources for this room.
We hope users of The Den benefit from the stimulating visual and tactile activities.
I make safe choices, including online!
This week has been safety week across school. In Nursery and Reception we had a visit from Dave at D-side.
He spoke to us about the importance of being safe online and what we should and shouldn’t do!
We watched a little video about a girl playing a game on her Daddy’s computer and all of a sudden an advert popped up to win a toy.
Should the girl click on the prize?
‘ No, it could be dangerous’
Here are some other response we had from the children in relation to sharing personal information online ..
‘They might ring your number’
‘They might drive to your house’
‘Because they might find where you are playing’
Who should we ask before we go online? use a computer, Ipad or phone?
Mummies, Daddies, Grandparents, uncles, aunties older people’
Help at Home: Can you remember what these numbers mean?
Have a happy and healthy weekend!
Miss Ward, Miss Harvey and Miss Feldman