We hope you have had a great week. Here is a look at some things we have been up to…..

 

Children have been exploring the outdoor area to create dens and develop their fine motor skills through cutting and chopping in the mud kitchen using scissors and freshly picked lavender. Children have been collaborating their ideas on how to make a good den using materials and crates.

A group of boys used the wooden blocks to make a track for the toy cars. They weaved the track around the room adding to their design as they went and listening to what others had to say to develop their ideas.

Children have joined in with a colour pattern game as they have to copy the patterned structure on the picture. Everyone worked really hard to match the colours and could recognise when they had made a mistake and worked to correct it with little support. The children requested trickier structures as they went. This opened up the conversation about positional language, height, colour patterns and symmetry.

 

The children have taken an interest in the tinkering table outside as they develop their fine motor skills through using the screwdrivers and unclipping pieces of circuit boards.

 

 

We had our first session this year at the forest which the children thoroughly enjoyed and spoke fondly of. Children were role play9ing that they were selling ice-cream, finding a forest monster made from wood and created their own games together. We also tried cooking pesto pasta for the first time which went really well and the children shared their liking for it.

When we got back we had lots of discussions on what went well and what everyone’s favourite thing to do at the forest was and what they request for snack on the fire next week which will be beans on toast or soup!

 

Children have been linking in nursery to learning at home as they bring in items to share with peers and adults. This has extended our learning wall for animals as children brought in bird books and shells from a recent holiday.

 

Reminders:

• Our forest session is on a Wednesday morning where we will meet at Waterstone Crook car park from 9:00am until 9:15am where we will then head to the forest location, please remember to pick up your waterproofs and wellies the day before.
• Parent chats will be happening next week, if you need a reminder of your time please just ask.
• We will be able to add faces to the blog as soon as we have received confirmation of all permissions for photos.

We hope you have a great weekend and we will see you next week ☺️

The nursery team x

Hello everyone we hope you have had a great week this week, here is a look at what we have been up to…

 

Children have been exploring lots of songs and rhymes as they take part in small group opportunities as they use the wooden song spoons and ‘what’s in the bag’. Children chose an object from a bag and sang a song based on what the character or item was. Children have also been looking at a range of books alone and with peers to see what they can spot in the pictures and retelling the stories together.

 

Children are becoming more confident when taking part in lunchtime and snack routines as they collect what they need with little support and carry their tray to the table and choose who they want to sit next to.

Children have been challenging themselves with puzzles as they complete a range of different jigsaws starting off with the ones with less pieces and working their way up to 100 pieces where they delegated who would complete each area to them combine their sections together to finish the jigsaw.

Lots of new friendships are being formed as children bond over shared interests with familiar and unfamiliar peers.

We have been exploring ball games outside where children used the football to pass to one another, a target to throw beanbags at to see what number would get the most points and using the bats and balls to hit back and forward. The children took turns mark making a line next to the points each time they hit either a 20, 50 or 100.

 

Children have shown a keen interest in using the fire station to explore jobs in the community as they discuss firemen. There has also been men in to cut down a tree this week where children have been keen to find out about what they have to wear and how they keep safe. A child also noticed Rory our janitor with a tool box and quizzed him on what he was doing which lead to a discussion about tools they had at home and what jobs they like to help their families with.

Children have been working together to create a wonderful Christmas tree 🎄 The children had been role playing in the house that it was Christmas time so decided they needed a tree. This gave the children the opportunity to be creative and develop their fine motor skills as they weaved material in and out of the branches.

Reminders:

• can we please ask any relevant paperwork such as the All About Me Sheets, Sun permission slips, Seesaw permissions etc be returned next week. Thank you!
• Please feel free to leave a pair of wellies and waterproofs at nursery for your child for water play and can we ask that names are added to these so they don’t get mixed up with others!

 

We hope you have a lovely weekend and we will see you next week ☺️

 

The Nursery Team 

Hello everyone, we hope you have had a good week. Here is a look at what we have been up to…..

 

Groups of children have been exploring their musical side as they use the wooden spoons to sing with and choose to join in the Lycra songs singing “where are the children” as they take turns to shake the Lycra and hide underneath.

At the forest, children worked together to complete tasks as they made a giant leaf pile. The children used a range of tools and skills to collect the leaves.

Children have been weaving outside as they work on their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Children have continued their interest in bugs as they look for them around the garden. They have been lifting plant pots to look under, searching in the flowers and looking under the shed to find out where they are hiding.

Since the puppet theatre has been moved outside, the children have been using it a lot more and using it to entertain their peers.

Children have been working on their target practice and hand eye coordination as they threw at a target and other children kept score to see which number got the most hits.

Children have further developed their interest in the mud kitchen and bugs as they make a house for the woodlouse and create a salad using leaves and pipe cleaners.

Children crated their own shop area outside using loose parts, junk modelling and a till. The children created their own shop menus and explored giving and receiving change and looking at the weights to see how heavy each item or shopping was.

Children created their own stage where they started to sing songs and put on a performance together and took turns dancing, singing and watching 🎤

It was Luke’s birthday this week and we would like to wish him a big happy birthday 🥳 🎂 we hope you had a great day at nursery 🎁

 

Reminders:

• next week will be our last forest session
• next week will be the last play on pedals sessions

 

Have a great weekend, enjoy the nice weather 😎☀️ Miss McKenzie

 

Hello everyone, we hope you have had a lovely week. Here is a look at what we have been up to….

 

children have been using the block area to explore their creative side as they made a range of structures such as houses and dino dens 🦕

Children have been role playing teachers as they hold a Christmas sing along and count how many accidents have happened that day to mark on the register ✍️

Groups of children have been very keen to investigate the woodwork bench to make models using the new wood that got delivered this week. Children have been reminded about how to use the tools safely and what they can add to their inventions to create interesting shapes and features 🔨

Children have been showcasing their art skills as they create wonderful pictures using a range of materials ♥️

We have had a lovely forest session today, we have been….
swinging from trees,
digging with sticks
building traps using loose parts
imagining we are picking oranges from the trees
discussing the weather and how it makes us feel

Went on a flower hunt around the grounds and took lots of photos of the different types to research their names
making sure we gave the animals space whilst observing them at work 🐝
We then sat around the fire for a tasty hot dog 🌭 or some shortbread 🍪
On our way back, we looked at the road signs and shared what they were there to warn others about

Children have been discussing a lot of Minecraft this week. Children then took their ideas to the block area where a Minecraft pig and panda were made. These ideas were put into the block play book where an adult scribed some of the ideas.

Groups of children participated in their first play on pedals session. We first discussed safety, looking at the bike, the functions such as tyres, brakes and the use in the correct manner. We discussed appropriate clothing such as trainers, their coats zipped up, the correct fitting of the helmet and the saddle height. We talked about listening skills and awareness of others and objects around.

The children have been creating obstacle courses as they used a range of loose parts and work to find out if the items were stable or wobbly and then used trail and error to find a new item instead.

Children have explored using the Lego outside to be creative and build models based on their interests. Children created Minecraft structures with their buddies and others just wanted to explore fitting pieces together and manipulating them to make different shapes 🟨

Children have been using the block area book to design their own houses that they will build. One child shared they wanted a dancing area for the teacher and the other had a pool so she could sunbathe in it. Another child was inspired to design their dream house and added to the book sharing “I would have a striped door”.

 

Reminders

• there will be no nursery on Monday 2nd June or Tuesday 3rd June for a holiday and in service day.
• there will be no play on pedals next week but will continue the following week.

We hope you have a lovely long weekend and will see you on Wednesday 4th June 😄

The Newport nursery team x

Hello everyone, we hope you have had a lovely week. Here is a look at what we have been up to this week in nursery….

 

When walking back from the forest the past 2 weeks we have noticed bees crawling along the ground and warned others to watch out for them. Back at nursery, we used a bee book for research and to find out more about what the bees were doing. We took the book down and went to visit the beehive in the bottom garden area.
The children asked lots of questions they wanted to find out and shared the knowledge they already had about bees. We have added pictures and quotes to our learning wall in the room about our visit.

Children were using the mud kitchen to create soup together. They used a range of leaves and flowers to add as ingredients to their creation.

A group of children took part in activities based around listening and talking. We went around the garden to see what we could hear and spoke with our friends and made posters showing all of the things we could see and hear. Children confidently shared what they also heard at the forest as they spoke about birds and imagined what else they could possibly hear in the garden area.

We have been making the most of the sunshine in the garden as we explore the outdoor environment, making cosy spaces to read, climbing trees, rolling resources and role playing being out at see on the boat spotting sharks 🦈

Children have been displaying their creative skills as they paint in the art area and build in the block area. They collaborated their ideas and shared their achievements with others 🌈

A big happy birthday to Innes, Flora and Lochlan who all had birthdays this week 🥳

 

We hope you have a lovely weekend, remember your suncream, it’s going to be hot! ☀️😎

 

Reminders

• parent chats will be happening again next week, please check in with your key worker if you need a reminder of when it will be!

Hello everyone we hope you have had a lovely week. Here is a look at what we have been up to…

 

We had a wonderful time down in the bottom garden on a few occasions this week. We explored the new loose parts and found different ways we could use these. Some used them for making a combine harvester and others used the tubes to crawl through.

 

The children have sustained their interest in the yoga mats this week as they continue to use these for exploring yoga positions alone, with a peer or showcasing their gymnastics moves to one another.

 

A group of children looked at light and shade today as they drew around each others bodies or shadows ☀️ They discussed what makes shadows and compared different shadow sizes.

 

 

we had our wonderful trip to the aquarium where we explored all the animals and learned some interesting facts. We also had an Easter egg hunt where we went around the aquarium looking for eggs in different enclosures. We took part in a shark talk where we learned about where they live and how sharks have eggs attached to them! We then went for a meerkat talk to find out about what they eat and how they find bugs 🐛 we then went to the beach where we collected loose parts such as shells and sticks and then used the sand to mark make in.

We created our own Easter egg hunt around the garden and in the nursery, we found 36 eggs in total! (And only one remains unfound 😅)

Happy Easter when it comes!

Reminders:

 

• we are on holiday for 2 weeks and will return on Monday 21st April.
• There will be no forest the first week back we will be at nursery as usual.
• please remember to take all belongings such as water bottles and packed lunches home.

Hello everyone! We hope you’ve had a great week, here is a look at what we have been up to…..

 

Children have been using the giant snakes and ladders game mat outside where they explored turn taking and problem solving.  Children spoke about how many spaces the did and didn’t want to move on their next roll of the dice and where they would have to go if they landed on a snake or ladder.

 

A group of children played the jack and the beanstalk game for the first time were they spoke about turn taking and shapes. The children compared the different groups of shapes to guess who had the most and the least and counting to check.

 

 

Children were able to explore the book fair during nursery time where children, with the help of some P7’s, chose and bought there own books where they experiences giving and receiving change.

 

 

It was international school meals day on Thursday where the children had the choice of sweet and sour chicken with either rice or noodles.

 

Children have been showcasing their work and celebrating their own achievements as they share how they have tidied areas in the nursery as a team.

 

At the forest, children took part in a big hunt where pictures of bugs were hidden around the forest and the children had a checklist that they ticked every time they found that insect or bug 🐛 Children worked together to share where they found the bugs and what ones their friends needed to tick off next. The children then created their own giant leaf pile before jumping into it together 🍂

 

Children have been engaging in lots of role play as they discuss families and family members. They have also been using the loose parts to cook with in the home corner.

Children have been looking at counting and clapping out different beats on a smartboard game. The children had to listen to how many drum taps there were and select the right number at the end. The children then independently demonstrated this using their hands to copy the amount of beats they heard.

Thomas and Fraser have been using the bee bot map as a car map and are role playing using a range of different vehicles together 🚗

Reminders

• Forest is on a Tuesday morning where drop off is Waterstone Crook
• Our next family learning day is Thursday where it will be Peep and the session topic is Behaviours

 

We hope you have a great weekend and will see you next week ☺️

The nursery team x

Hello everyone! We hope you have had a great week, here is a look at what we have been up to this week…..

Children have been exploring stories in many ways as they listen to one another tell stories and look at the pictures and writing their own stories as an adult scribes what they tell. Our children are very creative and have been looking at interesting words to put into their story. They used the story sequencing cards to give them prompts on what might happen next 📚

 

Children have been using the torches in their role play as they search for a ghost-monster-werewolf and hunt for clues as they found paint on the floor and thought that it could be a trail to follow….🐺

We had a great forest session in our bottom garden as we toasted marshmallows on the fire and explored the wide open space using the loose parts and communicating with peers in games. We also came across a very tame Robin who almost ate some biscuits right out of our hands! 🐦

The children have been sharing their interest in songs and rhymes as they use different props to explore different songs together showing good listening and talking skills.

Our children have been very crafty this week as they create lanterns ahead of Ramadan. The children were very independent with designing them and only needed a little support to fold it together at the end. Over the next few weeks we will be exploring Ramadan through stories, videos and research 🌟

The children have also been exploring their creative side through mark making and using tools to help them. Some children used the flip chart outside whilst others used a range of different coloured cards at the writing table and helped adults use the paper

George and Zac have been exploring numbers outside using the wooden number disks as they recognise different numbers.

Reminders:

• Please ensure your child comes to nursery with waterproofs, a jacket and wellies for outdoor play as the weather can be so unpredictable.
• if anyone has any forms for the nursery trip to the aquarium can we please have these signed and back asap please
• forest is on a Tuesday morning where we meet at Waterstone Crook till 9:15am then head up to the forest.
• we have a big selection of lost property if you could have a rummage through to see if anything is yours.
• The lunch menu on every second Thursday has changed from steak pie to mince pie.
• next Thursday it will be Bookbug just after 9:00am in the huts with Miss Nelson and Mrs Laing

Have a great weekend ☺️

Miss McKenzie

Hello everyone, we hope you have had a great week! Here is a look at what we have been up to in nursery…..

This week learning is… Exploring, Predicting, Being Curious, Literacy, Mathematics, Sharing, Self-Esteem, Creativity, Motor Skills, Turn Taking, Technology, Outdoor Learning and Problem Solving.

This week some  of the children have continued their interest in animals by researching how many species of bears there are in the world. They discovered that there  are 8 main species, they then extended their interest by researching into a  Sun bear. They were able to recall certain information, this is what they said….

“They have a golden spot on their chest”

They are the smallest of the bears”

“They loke to live in the trees”.

This is-now  displayed on our learning wall that is still very much developing,  and the response from the children is absolutely amazing.

      

We have also been observing an interest in the weather, its effects on the environment and how seasonal changes are occurring. This was observed in the recent bird watch outing around the school and when down at our forest session. The children were discussing how the birds were not out, questioning  if it was cold or too windy. And when out in the forest some children had noticed lots of trees fallen, and branches snapped off which lead to investigating the roots and how they spread out, and were lifting up out of the ground.

In the forest this week the children were observed exploring and investigating all areas, demonstrating skills in using the swing rope, climbing the various trees. to exploring the surroundings finding the strange model in the bushes at the back. They discussed making one of these for the nursery garden, recognising that we could recycle items to build. A couple of the children asked to explore the are up the hill after discussing how many of the trees and branches had fallen during the storms. They investigated the roots on one tree, following all the different pathways that they made. They went for into the trees to discover more which lead to talking about the different types of weather, its effects- and how they link into seasons/time. This could lead to a possible new learning topic with some.

The children also helped the adult to build a large tent using the tarpaulin and a very large branch and tent pegs. They had lots of fun role playing different scenarios from Superheroes , monsters, and police. They also enjoyed a hot snack and drink to keep them warm throughout the morning.

   

     

Throughout the weeks we have been observing children developing their learning through exploring a range of resources to see what they can do. They when asked by an adult what have they discovered  through a use of open ended questions, they could confidently share their findings. Last week we observed children using the large scales to discover weight, size. This week we have been observing children exploring shapes inside and out through using a range of resources and identifying these using the correct language, but also to discuss the properties of these. Some were able to recognise some 3D shapes too, whilst creating a range of models through using these resources., Along with shapes children have been exploring books of colour and are creating  their own images of animals linked to that colour..

     

    

In the snack area, Emily Rose decided to help create the shopping list for the nursery snack, recognising the items and used the correct language to describe. Then we had a very different tasting session with the children experiencing eating edible flowers with their crackers. They talked about the shapes of the flowers, colours and about how they could only eat the flowers that are safe and provided by an adult. On Friday they helped to make a lovely warm vegetable soup using different tools to blend.

 

   

 

Reminders

With the changing  seasonal and varied weather conditions  ☔️❄️🥶, please remember to provide your child with welly boots, waterproof clothing, hat, gloves 🧤, scarf🧣 and at least 1 full change of clothes in your child’s bag.

• Can all parents if your child has a packed lunch can we please ensure grapes and big fruits are cut to minimise the risk of choking.🍇
• Can we remind all parents\carers to park in a white space only as the yellow spaces are for staff only.
• Can all parents ensure your child has a set of waterproofs and wellies to play outside when it’s wet.
• Our nursery blog is sent out every week on a Friday afternoon.
• If your child is going to be picked up by someone else, please let the ladies know or the office so we are aware.
• Can we ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather.
• Can we ensure when you are leaving the nursery that the gate is locked.
• There is learning at home sheets available in the nursery to share your child’s learning and experiences you do at home.

Our Cosy Time Library 📚 This will be available to families at drop off and pick up time every day for you and your child to choose a book to take home to read 🏡There is no time limit on our library books we would just ask that you sign the book with your child’s name, the title of the book they have taken, the date it was taken and when it was returned ✍️There will be pens and hand sanitiser available for you to sign the books in and out. If your child has any special requests for a certain book please ask a member of staff or send a message on seesaw and we can help you 😃There will be a folder with your child’s name for them to put the book in for its journey to home and back 📁A tray will be available for you to put in your returned books so we can quarantine and clean them before putting them on display again, if you have any questions, any member of staff would be happy to help ☺️

Loose Parts

We are always in need of replenishing our loose parts in nursery. If you are out and about on walks, or are planning to recycle items, can we ask that you think of us first please 😃

Here is some of the items we are looking for:

Conkers, stones, shells, tea cups, sticks, picture frames, plates, wood, drainpipes, etc,  anything you thinkmight be of used in nursery.

We hope you have a lovely weekend and we will see you all on Monday for another great fun filled week!

Mrs Wilson and the rest of the Nursery team. x

 

 

It’s our first week back at nursery and we have had lots of fun together as we learn. Here is a look at what we have been up to…

Groups of children have been exploring their mark making skills through different media’s as they look at mixing colours, pattern making and detail work.

Children have been using the loose parts in the home corner to help extend their play as Fraser uses wool for spaghetti and conkers for bolognese.

Groups of children have been exploring their numeracy skills as they use the coloured vehicles to make groups of colours or type of vehicle and looking at adding collections together to get a total sum.

Children have been extending their literacy skills through use of books and story cards to look at story sequencing and developing their language.

Leo and Brodie were investigating the ice outside as they discussed how ice is formed and how it feels when they touch it.

Children have been using ribbons to explore rhythm and movement as they dance along to a song on the whiteboard with their peers.

Children have also been using the wooden song spoons to sing along to songs together. The children’s favourite was 5 currant buns and they used money to give to one another during the song to show an awareness of buying and selling.

Following along with this, children also set up their own shop area to use money and create prices for items where they explored simple addition of items and making simple amounts using coins as they identified the different coin types.

Some children explored using the wooden number slices where they ordered numbers 0-20, identified a missing number and also a number in between 2 given numbers. The children showed independence and also asked for support when they knew they needed it.

Children have been continuing their interest in numbers as they explore matching quantities to the number. The children were keen to join in and shared their learning with others.

Reminders:

• The weather can change suddenly and we would ask that you wrap your children up super cosy for nursery with gloves, scarves, hats etc for outside play as the children can play outside in all weathers.
• Peep and bookbug sessions will continue again at the end of the month and we will keep you updated with the dates when we have these. These will both continue on a Thursday morning.
• We will update you with the forest start date when we have it.

Have a great weekend! ☺️