Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The children had the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities and experiences such as turning the home corner into Buckingham Palace, baking fairy cakes to have at our Jubilee tea party, decorating Union Jack flags and making crowns.

It was a wonderful week full of imagination, many pretending to be in the royal family, we had many kings, queens, prince’s, princesses, and we also had a few corgi’s !

The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

A child in the orange group showed a keen interest in bugs and insects while outdoors, this child then found a big green Caterpillar while outside which sparked conversation and interest throughout the nursery around caterpillars and how they transform into butterflies.

The children have experienced many thought provoking experiences which has developed their understanding of a butterflies life cycle.

We have had realistic caterpillars which we investigated up close looking at the colours, size and texture before comparing and sorting them. Some were smooth but others were spiky and hairy. We researched some more and found out that birds don’t like eating the caterpillars that are spiky.

The children have also been experimenting with some story stones which they have been sequencing the story in order.

Our children who are going to school in August.

I want to wish all the children in the orange group the best of luck in starting their wonderful schools. I am so proud of each one of you and all your achievements during your time at Cross Arthurlie Nursery Class!

Lots of love, Mrs McCluskey x

May has been packed full of lots of learning and fun!

The orange group have been really busy at group times practising their new songs that they have been learning for the moving on ceremony.

They have all mastered the Makaton signs that go along with the words of the song! Well done everyone!

Baking  

Most children were keen to take part in baking throughout the month. They have asked for different things to bake which we have done throughout the month.

“Can we do some shortbread again?”

“I would like to have pasta for snack”

“Cheesy pizza would be yummy”

The children explored and developed a variety of their skills as it  encourages children’s thinking, their problem-solving and their creativity. It also allows them the opportunity to use the knowledge they have and apply it by counting, measuring, following a sequence, following directions, and cause and effect.

Children have also taken on a very important role as we have started using our compost bin outdoors, the children have been given the responsibility to put their food waste in a separate bin which they then take out to recycle. Children have been learning about the process and each day they are excited to see what bugs are in the container.

Planting

In the garden each group has been given their own planter, the children have chosen which bedding plants to plant and then have taken the responsibility to look after them each day. They have also been given the opportunity to plant their own sunflower seeds before taking them home.

Stay and Play!

May was super exciting because it was the very first time we got to welcome our parents into our nursery playroom. The children were so happy to show their loved ones around all their favourite areas and introduce them to their friends.

They have been so excited to get the photos we took printed and put straight into their journals!

Sports Week!

 

Sports week was a raving success! It was jam packed full of amazing activities and events for everyone to take part in.

All children enjoyed practising the races the week before.

The children had the opportunity to take part in races, potted sports, dancing and bike/ scooter day where the children could bring in their own bike or scooter to use in the primary schools playground. It was wonderful to have some spectators too, thank you so much for coming along and supporting us!

We all bounced back after the spring break ready for lots of fun and learning that the last term has to offer!

In the lead up to Earth Day we had a compost bin delivered and we decided to set it up in our community garden.  All children at snack have been encouraged to put their food waste in a separate container when cleaning up. Together they carried the container  outside and we began the composting process.

Each day the children have remembered to separate their food waste from their wrappers before taking outdoors.

“We need to take that to the compost bin”

“My crisps can go in there but not the packet!”

“Its going to feed the little worms and slugs!”

“Can I come and help today?”

Children in the orange group have been learning how we look after our planet, they explored planet earth by closely looking at a globe and some maps. They decorate their own planets by differentiating between land and water.

As the temperature outside has improved more children in the orange group have been venturing outdoors more. They have been reading “Jaspers Beanstalk” which has been engaging their interest in speaking about days of the week and runner beans. The children looked closely at the little details in the beans before planting them. They  have continued to revisit them each day to water them and check to see if they have started to grow.

After spending lots of time outdoors looking and digging for insects and worms we pretended to be a little worm and made Mrs McCluskey laugh! Other children had a little go too!

Pattern Challenge!

Each child in the orange group has really enjoyed making their own patterns using a variety of resources. We have used buttons, animals, paper and even shoes. It has been great fun learning about how to continue a simple pattern  and how to create more complex ones of our own!

Some children looked at only one colour but separated it into shades before creating a pattern.

“That’s dark and that one is light so they are different!”

It was also good fun to let the buttons run through our fingers and watch where the landed after having a little bounce on the floor. There was lot of giggles and laughter as the buttons scattered on the floor. As a group, the children were really responsible and everyone took a turn cleaning up once they were finished.

We have had fun getting ready for our up coming sports week.

 

We had a visit from the refuse collectors and they taught us about the importance of recycling.

The children had to work hard sorting through some rubbish and putting them into the correct bin with some litter pickers.  Dave then showed us how to work the bin lorry and pressed a button the tip the bins upside down. The children were also very safe and listened carefully to instructions as they walked round in pairs.

Over the last few weeks the children in the Orange group have been taking part in a variety of Frobelian Occupations.

Paper Pricking –  The children used cocktail sticks to make holes in the play dough and then added paper on top to create another pattern. They really enjoyed holding the paper up to the lights to see  it shine through the holes.

Threading  – The children were keen to make bigger holes in the paper and card with the hole punch.  They concentrated really well while threading wool through the holes and made some wonderful designs.

Sewing – The children then progressed onto sewing with needles and threads on binca material. This was a little trickier, especially threading our needles, but the children concentrated really well and were keen to add to their designs every day.  They made some beautiful patterns and shapes!

Slat work –  The children have been very creative and have shown great imagination with the wooden slats.  They have made roads,  patterns, objects, shapes and letters.

Mrs McCluskey has been so proud as many of the orange group have continued to revisit these experiences time after time extending their knowledge and skills.

 

This month the children were enthusiastic when asked what their favourite activities were to do at group time, or even an idea that we haven’t done before.

The children’s ideas were fantastic and together we made a mind map. Each day the children have been excited to see if it was their activity at group time. All the orange group have been kind and shown enthusiasm to others, sharing their likes and dislikes with each other.

“Jenga was a great idea”

“I do like using pens to draw but crayons was good too” 

“I like your idea”

Over the last few weeks we have had lots of things to celebrate;

Science week was packed full of lots of fun, exciting science experiments. We investigated icebergs, dying flowers, planting flowers and even volcano eruptions.

We celebrated the nurseries First Birthday by having a teddy bear’s picnic!

 

 

As the weather has been improving more children have been exploring outdoors and our new pulley system!

We have been very busy this month, developing our interests and following our own learning within the nursery.

We showed lots of love and kindness on Valentines Day by giving compliments and telling our friends what we admire about them.

“You can build the tallest tower”

“You are my best friend, you can balance good”

“I love your hair, its so soft”

Emotional Awareness

We took some funny selfies exploring our emotions.

“Look cool.”

… we tried!

The Titanic

Most children in the Orange group have shown an interest in the Titanic. Some children have looked closely at books and researched some information online. Others have drawn their own boats and even built them out of blocks. We have learned some new vocabulary including what propellers, icebergs and funnels are.

We have learned some interesting facts about the Titanic.

“It had three propellers.”

“Not all the funnels worked properly.”

“That is the Captain of the Titanic”

Fine Motor

We have been developing our fine motor skills lots this month, we have been learning how to sew and thread a needle, which takes lots of concentration. Others have been using pin boards which is helping us develop our hand eye coordination and pencil control. Some children have been using loose parts to make their own creations, Loose parts helps inspire our imagination and creativity in our own individual way. One child added some loose parts to a building to “decorate it and make it beautiful”

Keep Fit Mondays!

A little video from our gym hall visit this month.

Bird Watching

Since our nursery garden didn’t host many birds we ventured into the school playground to fill in our charts. “There’s lots of blackbirds isn’t there?” We have been learning how to use tally marks to keep count of how many birds we spotted.

 

 

Happy New Year! Hope you all had a wonderful break.

We have been so busy on the first few weeks back in nursery. Many children in the orange group have been spending lots of time in the block area developing their team building and turn taking skills. Some children were able to construct their very own indoor slide! It was wonderful to see everyone taking turns to go down and when it toppled over they worked hard to fix the broken pieces.

😉 Concentrating hard! We worked together to make many different models and train tracks too.

At group time we have been identifying different letters, we have been working on special letters from our first name and surnames. All of the children in the orange group have been so helpful and kind to each  other. We spoke about capital letters and why some letters may look different.  Everyone took a photograph of their special letters.

We have also been working on following instructions and developing our pencil control.

December has been filled with so much fun, crafts, singing, dancing and magic.

All the children in the orange group have been busy making lots of crafts in preparation for our Christmas market which was very successful. It was exciting and a lot of fun to share our nursery with our wonderful families for the very first time. We made some Christmas cards, tree decorations, hot chocolate and so much more!

All month we practised our nativity each day, learning all the words to the songs and the dance moves, all the children did a fantastic job taking part, dressing up and having the best time performing together as one big team!
Each and every part played was so important and the video is fantastic, I am sure all our families will love and treasure it just as much as we do!

Each day we have had an exciting start to the morning looking for our mischievous elf, Peach. She has been a little tricky to find some days but it has given us some giggles and laughs finding her and then sharing what our elves have been up to at home!

“My elf was toasty”
“ My elf put socks and pants on the tree”
“It put toilet paper on our Christmas tree!”
“Our elf drew a minion on my bananas!”
“It cut up my clothes!”

Well done to all the Orange group for working so hard over this fun filled month.
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, stay super safe and I will see you all in the New Year!
Love , Mrs McCluskey xx 🎄

November is Here!

The orange group started off this month exploring and investigating Bonfire night. We created fireworks pictures using forks, wool, spaghetti, paint and of course lots of glitter!

We talked about fire safety and how to keep safe near fireworks.

Some new children have joined us at nursery and all of the Orange group have been so friendly and kind to their new friends, helping them find their belongings and what happens next in their nursery day.

Preparing for our Christmas Fayre.

We have all been super busy creating different crafts to be sold at our very first Christmas fayre this year. The children in the orange group have been preparing some fabulous decorations to sell. They are all so excited to welcome you into our nursery garden!

We helped raise awareness and money for children in need. We had an excellent crazy hair day which was a fun filled day all round! We raised an incredible amount too!

We have started practising for the Wriggly Nativity!

The children have been engaging really well, learning all the actions and the songs too.

Our dress rehearsal went perfect! All the staff are incredibly proud of every child!

Have a look to see what the children have been up too in nursery so far this term.  As they have been settling back into nursery and getting to know new friends  there has been a huge amount of learning going on as well as lots of fun and laughter.

 

Cooking and Snack 

It has been a really lovely addition to the nursery this year. Whilst still keeping to our COVID guidelines, we have been able to introduce the children to baking and cooking, helping them develop important skills such as knife control, mixing and measuring.

Construction 

 

 

 

Health and Wellbeing 

It has been great to get into the gym hall and work on developing gross motor skills, following the rules of a game and building fitness. Well done everyone!

 

Literacy

 

 

 

Outdoor Learning 

Through outdoor learning the children are making connections with nature and the real world. They have been learning about growing seed to make plants which then produce vegetables for us to use in the kitchen when making food.

In the mud kitchen the children use their imaginations to make recipes and potions.

Having fun chatting with friends is the best bit about nursery.

The children have been helping to plant Spring bulbs, we are keeping our fingers crossed that they will make a colourful appearance next year.

 

Happy Halloween

 

Music 

 

 

Keeping fit and active.

During the last few weeks children in the Orange group have been going into the school to visit the gym hall. They have been learning lots of new games and skills during their time on a Wednesday morning. Most children have been very eager to join Mr Fleming when he asks them. The children have been playing games which focus on colours, shapes, taking turns and following instructions.

Group time in the orange group.

Over the passed few weeks we have been working on our pencil control and giving meaning to our drawings. We have been looking closely at details and explaining what they mean to us.

Sitting down together and playing games has helped us take turns whilst learning to count and match numbers to objects.

We also love a selfie!

Wood work.

We have began learning about real tools and how to safely use and look after them. We have been very patient and able to very quickly understand and follow all our safety rules. We have started off using a pumpkin to hammer some golf tee’s into which really helps our hand/ eye coordination.

 

 

Halloween Fun!

Together we have been having a great time exploring and investigating a variety of Autumnal and Halloween themed resources. From the crunchy leaves changing colour to slimy pumpkin seeds and multi coloured rice which we liked feeling through our fingers. We have also been trying to perfect the nursery play dough recipe so we can start making it independently measuring out all ingredients.

We also had a huge pumpkin at nursery which we drew on then cut open. It was taller than some children!