Save the Whale!
Our theme this term is ‘Let’s make a splash!’
We started this week off with Julia Donalson’s, ‘The Snail and the Whale’
A beautiful tale of an unlikely friendship, a tour of the world and a heroic rescue!
We’ve been talking about the differences in the world around us, from the countryside to the seaside, we looked at some artwork and here’s what we thought…
We don’t have beaches at home but we have one outside in our garden’- Ella D
There is lots of grass- Oria
I like the seaside, I went on my holiday – Elliott
I love getting an ice-cream, with sprinkles and red sauce- Louie
It’s full of tree’s and big wall’s – Immy
After the half-term, the Caterpillars had finished growing in their cocoon and we’re ready to be released. We had 4 in total!
They spotted our wild flowers in the garden and went on the hunt for some delicious pollen.
Miss Ward, Miss Harvey and Miss Feldman
Minibeasts are everywhere!
We’ve been on a minibeast hunt this week and they are everywhere!
We have been reading a non-fiction book this week – ‘ Minibeast Food’ by Charlotte Guillian
What better place to search for minibeasts, than in our own forest!
We found lots of different minibeasts including, worms, earwigs and centipedes!
It’s got so many legs! -Charlie
Miss ward it’s tickling my hand -Immy
I’ve found a big fat slug, it gets smaller when you touch it – Ella D
It needs a leaf to eat, I think it’s hungry -Evie
Help at home: Can you find any minibeasts in your garden or out on a walk? here’s a little checklist to help you ..
With all the rain we had on Monday it created a monster puddle! which we all thoroughly enjoyed. MUD SLIDE!
We also looked at the symmetrical patterns on butterflies wings and created our own versions. we looked in detail at the different colours and patterns and used these to explore colour mixing.
This weeks sound is: ‘Z’ Zebra
Rhyme of the week: Ring a Ring of roses
Have a happy and healthy weekend everybody!
Miss Ward, Miss Harvey and Miss Feldman
Glug Slug Milkshake!
This week our focus story is called ‘ Spider Sandwiches’ by Claire Freedman
The children got creative making spider sandwiches using appropriate materials to reach their desired outcome! We used, playdough, sticks, leaves and clay to make our own sandwich.
In maths we have been doing lots of counting- 1:1 correspondence. This helps them to build a strong foundation of number sense, by grasping the concept that one object represents one unit. We often ‘touch’ count in nursery to ensure we count each object once.
Help at home:
Here’s the numberblocks explaining the rules of counting and more!
Can you count some objects around your house? how many did you find? did you make sure you touch counted them all?
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: Go to the settings cog (it’s 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
This weeks sound is: ‘Y’ for Yo-Yo
Rhyme of the week: Incy, wincy spider
Notice:
Just a reminder …
Tuesday- is our forest school session and library book day
Wednesday- is PE day (comfortable clothes)
The weather has started to pick up this week and hopefully long may this continue. Therefore we ask if your child may have suncream applied before school. You may wish to send your child with bottle of suncream (clearly labelled) incase they need a top up in the afternoon. please can you also provide your child with a sun hat.
We hope you have a lovely happy and healthy bank holiday weekend!
Miss Ward, Miss Harvey and Miss Feldman
But he was still hungry!
This week the children have really enjoyed reading ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle.
We explored the process of ‘Metamorphosis‘ which was a really big word for the children to try and say!
Metamorphosis is the process of changing physical form, such as the Caterpillar.
Help at home: What are the four stages of the Caterpillar lifecycle? Are there any other animals that go through this process? We may have some wigglying around in our tank in Reception…
We went BIG and created our own Caterpillar lifecycle! We also made a giant Catrepillar using natural resources in forest school.
During our story the children asked why the caterpillat needed to go to sleep for so long. This linked nicley with our living and learning statement this week – ‘I know the importance of sleep’.
Here’s what they thought..
because it’s dark
I put my jarmas on after I’ve had a bath
I get really tired and it’s time to go to bed
When you’re tired you go to sleep
My daddy is grumpy in the morning
I have my teddies in my bed
This weeks sound is: ‘W’ for Wave
Rhyme of the week: 1,2,3,4,5 Once I caught a Fish alive
Notice:
Just a reminder …
Tuesday is our forest school session and library book day
Wednesday is PE day (comfortable clothes)
Have a lovely weekend!
Miss Ward , Miss Harvey and Miss Feldman
Welcome to Summer term!
Hello Everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful well rested Easter break!
We’ve got straight back into being busy bodies in nursery this week! We’ve also welcomed some new friends who have settled really well!
Our theme this term is Wheels, wings and other things
This week our book focus was a favourite amongst nursery and myself- SUPERWORM! by Julia Donaldson
Superworm has lots of different jobs and is very helpful towards his friends, but we need to watch out for that sneaky Wizard Lizard!
In Forest school this week, we made a Wormery!
Help at Home: Can you make your own wormery? What do they need to help them burrow? think about the layers we made and what natural resources we used!
Fun fact: Whilst observing our worms the children wanted to know how they see where they are going? Worms don’t have eyes, they use antenna-shaped sensors to help them move around
This weeks sound is: ‘V’ for Volcano
Rhyme of the week: 5 little ducks
Notice:
Just a reminder …
Tuesday is our forest school session and library book day
Wednesday is PE day (comfortable clothes)
Have lovely weekend!
Miss Ward, Miss Harvey and Miss Feldman
He is alive!
This week the children have enjoyed learning about the Easter story.
We spoke about how the cross represents Jesus’ Crucifixion. The tomb in which he lay was covered by a rock in the shape of an egg and the rock cracking symbolises how our Easter eggs crack. Easter brings new life such as chicks, lambs and birds.
Jesus- he is the son of God – Ella D
He was put on a cross with nails, it was really mean and made him sad- Charlie
( Jesus praying) He is talking to the sky – Evie
He comes back alive!- Elliott
During our forest school session this week, we made our own crosses using natural resources such as sticks, mud and leaves. We then placed some around the camp fire.
Help at home: What can you find in your garden or out on a walk to make your own cross? Send us a picture of what you create to our email address and we will share this with your friends.
stjamesnursery@spherefederation.org
We’re going on an Egg hunt!
The Easter bunny telephoned nursery to let the children know he needed some help collecting his eggs from around school ..
He left a surprise inside them for us to enjoy!
We also had some chocolaty faces this afternoon. The children enjoyed making their own Easter nests using melted chocolate, cornflakes and a mini chocolate egg to decorate. We loved hearing the crunch of the cornflakes mixing in the bowl and it tasted nice too!
This weeks sound is: ‘L’ for Lollipop
Rhyme of the week: Hot cross buns
We hope you have a happy, healthy and restful Easter!
See you all back on Monday 15 April
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey
Oliver’s Fruit Salad
This week we have continued to learn about healthy eating and what we can do to keep our bodies healthy. Here’s what we have been up to …
We enjoyed making our own fruit salad. The children practised their cutting skills, chopping them up and popping it into the bowl. We added orange juice to mix it up and the children enjoyed eating it afterwards. We talked about how its important to brush our teeth twice a day to keep them clean. We also know that we need to visit the dentist to get them checked.
Help at Home: Can you make your own fruit salad? What fruits did you chop up?
This week sound/s was: ‘B’ Bear and ‘F’ for Flamingo
Rhyme of the week: 5 little ducks
Have a super weekend!
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey
We love to read and rhyme!
This week we celebrated World Book Day!
Thank you to those who came and shared this day with us. The children thoroughly enjoyed becoming their favourite book character and engaging in some nursery rhyme activities.
We’ve also been enjoying our weekly forest school sessions. This week we found lots of mini-beasts. We counted how many snails we found and made comparisons between the length of our worms.
Quick question! How do we know the difference between a Snail and a Slug?
This week’s focus story has been ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’ by Vivian French
What kind of vegetables did Grandpa grow in his garden?
Why couldn’t Oliver see the potatoes ?
Which vegetables would you like to try?
The children enjoyed being able to practice their chopping skills. We chopped up some fruit and vegetables to add texture and scent to our playdough.
Help at home: Would your child like to help you cut up some vegetables to make tea? What vegetables do you already know and what could we make with them. For example, we know that potatoes can be made into chips, mash and Jacket’s.
This week sound/s was: ‘H’ for helicopter
Rhyme of the week: I’m a little teapot
Have a super weekend everyone!
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey
On Monday he found a …
Bean!
This week we have started to notice the changes in the weather and that Spring is on the way!
Our focus story this week was Jasper’s Beanstalk, the children have really enjoyed this story, anticipating what might happen next, retelling what happens and exploring how Jasper is feeling.
Jasper found a bean on Monday and he planted it on Tuesday – Ella D
He waited a long time for it to grow, it made him feel sad because it wasn’t growing quick – Ella M
Snails have a shell and slugs don’t have a shell- Charlie
It’s really long- Elliott
There might be giants – Louie
He needs to climb to the top- Evie
As we approach our ‘growing’ season, we decided to plant our own beans to see how long it will take them to grow. Over the next few weeks we will observe, discuss and draw how our plants have changed. Exciting!
In maths, we’ve been learning about the number 3. We looked at 3 spots on a dice, 3 counters on a five frame and spotted that there were 3 corners and sides on a triangle.
Help at home: Have a look to see if you can find groups of three things around your home. Can you spot the number three on any house doors or number plates? We also liked watching this song all about the number 3.
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.
Next week, we’re learning about growing up and looking at how we change as we get older.
It would be great if we could look at some photographs of children when they were babies and toddlers. If you are able to, please send us an email with one photograph of your child as a baby and one photograph of them as a toddler. We’ll use these in group time and will also be adding them to our Home Corner family display.
Stjamesnursery@spherefederation.org
This week sound/s was: ‘U’ for Umbrella
Rhyme of the week: Baa Baa black sheep
Notice:
Born of the Forest has officially finished for Nursery- so a big thank you to Shaun! The children have enjoyed it so much we have decided to continue our own forest school sessions, these will now be on a Tuesday starting 27 February. Your child can come in their PE kit or some comfy clothes.
- joggers/jumper
- spare socks
- wellies
- waterproofs/puddle suit
You are more than welcome to leave these at school for the rest of term!
Have a super weekend!
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey
Year of the Dragon!
This week Nursery have been celebrating the upcoming festival- Lunar New Year!
This year is the year of the Dragon, the children wanted to make a really big Dragon for the classroom, so we got busy practicing our gross motor movements and fine motor skills. The combination of both help to support control and balance, preparing them for early writing.
We asked the children- ‘What is Lunar New year?’
They clean their houses to get rid of the dust- Savannah
Red means lucky – Ella M
It’s a big Dragon- Louie
They have lot’s of fireworks – Mia
We also tasted some traditional Oriental food. We had sweet and sour rice, vegetable spring rolls, and vegetable Bao Buns.
It’s really yummy, I didn’t think I would like it – Charlie
I like the buns, they were fluffy – Ella D
Forest School
We had an exciting time in forest school this week. We made a fire!
The children learnt the importance of not being left alone around a fire as it is hot and dangerous!
Help at home: What 3 things can you remember that you needed to make a fire? .. think about what Shaun needed to put into the fire-pit!
Of course when you have a fire, you have to toast some marshmallows!
This week sound/s was: ‘C’ for Cat ‘K’ for Kite. We know that both letters make the same sound.
Rhyme of the week: Jack and Jill went up the hill
We’ve had a fabulous first half-term, we welcomed some new faces and we’ve all made some new friends. We hope you have a lovely half-term break and we will see you on Monday 19 February.
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey