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Date- 06/02/25

Topic- Chinese New Year

Rhyme of the Week- 5 Little Dragons 

Sound of the week- t 

 

We have had some wonderful learning adventures in Nursery this week as we learnt about Chinese New Year. The children enjoyed a variety of activities which included making snake puppets and playing in the Chinese restaurant role play area.  

We read information books and stories about Chinese New Year and the children remembered lots of key information. We also read the story about 'The Great Race' to find out about the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. We found out that it is the Chinese Year of the Snake.

In our maths sessions we have learnt to use the language of length, measuring long and short objects and comparing them. We also talked about  which objects were longer, shorter, longest and shortest.

Date- 30/1/25

Story of the Week: The Naughty Bus

Rhyme of the Week: The Wheels on the Bus

Number of the Week: 4

Sound of the Week:  a

We would like to say a big thank you to all of the parents and carers who were able to come to our 'Learn and Share' session this week. It was wonderful to see the children exploring, learning  and sharing their ideas with the adults during a variety of activities linked to our topic and our curriculum ambitions.

The children enjoyed sharing their learning environment with their parents and carers, playing with the puppets, singing Nursery Rhymes and sharing favourite stories in the book corner.

Other activities included making 3D models of vehicles using recycled materials and drawing pictures of trains. The children also had opportunities to make bird feeders by threading Cheerios onto pipe cleaners and explored the emotion stones and bean bags.

One of the most popular activities was 'Potion making' outside. The children used a variety of herbs and petals to make their potions and lots of interesting and imaginative discussions took place.

Date- 24/1/25

Story of the Week: The Train Ride by June Crebbin

Rhyme of the Week: Down at the Station

Number of the Week: Number 4

Sound of the Week: S

The children in Squirrels class have enjoyed sharing the story 'The Train Ride' by June Crebbin. We made the role- play area into a station and even had a train for the children to ride on, made from chairs. Lots of lovely imaginative learning and language took place as the children shared their ideas.

We learnt a new song this week called 'Down at the Station'.

The children explored the train set in the small world area and also used construction toys to build train models.

Our sound of the week was 'S' and we found lots of objects beginning with this initial sound in the magic box. In our maths sessions we learnt about the number 4.

In our Music session this week we used the tapping sticks to tap our names. We also learnt some new songs  including 'Sticks Up High and Sticks Down Low'. We explored how to use the sticks in different ways to make sounds.

Date:16/01/25

Story of the Week:  Blown Away by Rob Biddulph.

Rhyme of the Week: Two little robins sitting on a wall.

We have had many wonderful learning adventures in Squirrels Class this week. The children have enjoyed sharing the story ' Blown Away' about Penguin Blue and his friends. 

On Monday we went for a walk around the school grounds to look for birds. We saw crows, blue tits, magpies, wood pigeons and seagulls. In the classroom we looked at pictures of robins, great tits, blackbirds, sparrows and starlings and learnt their names.

We learnt the rhyme 'Two little birds sitting on a wall' and changed the type of bird each day. eg. Two little robins sitting on a wall.

 

During our Maths sessions we have focused on counting and recognising numbers up to and beyond three.

Date-10/01/25

Story of the Week: My Granny Went to Market: A Round the World Counting Rhyme by Stella Blackstone.

Rhyme of the Week: We All Go Travelling By.

 

Learning Adventures in Squirrels Class

Happy New Year !

We have had a wonderful first week back in Squirrels Class. The children have all met Learning Bird who helps us to remember what we are learning about each day.

Our new topic is all about 'Adventures Around the World'. We enjoyed sharing the story  ' My Granny Went to Market' and lots of interesting conversations took place about the book. The children made magic carpets and thought about where they would like to travel to. 

We made sure that Adventure Ted was dressed appropriately for the cold weather.

20/12/2024

 

Story of the Week: Eight Candles to Light: A Chanukah Story by Jonny Zucker 

Rhyme of the Week: Hanukkah is Here! 

Number of the Week:

 

Printing Present Bags 

This week, the children have enjoyed making present bags to gift their snowman decorations to their families. They applied their maths learning, printing the bags using Winter stampers, with the images repeating in an AB or ABC pattern (e.g. Santa, Christmas tree, Santa, Christmas tree).  

 

  

 

Christmas Party And A Visit From Santa 

The children had fun at their Christmas party this week, playing 'Pass the Bauble', 'Musical Statues' and 'Pin the Nose on Rudolph'. We also received a surprise visit from Santa who gifted each of the children a book to take home. 

 

 

 

Making A Hanukkah Menorah (or Hanukkiah) 

Nursery have enjoyed learning about the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah this week. The children created Hanukkiah (a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah) posters. They used their hand prints to form 8 candles, which symbolise the 8 nights of Hanukkah, as well as the Shamash ("helper" candle), which is used the light the other candles. They used fingerprints to add flames to each of the candles and coloured in the curved shaped branches of the Hanukkiah with felt tip pens. 

 

      

 

Baking Rugelach 

This week we have also had fun making, baking and eating Rugelach, a crescent-shaped pastry with a sweet filling, often eaten by Jewish families during Hanukkah. The children all had a turn at mixing the ingredients, kneading and rolling out the dough and spreading the strawberry jam filling. 

 

          

    

  

The Nursery team send all our families the warmest wishes for a happy holidays and look forward to seeing you in the new year! 

13/12/2024

 

Story of the Week: Dear Santa by Rod Campbell 

Rhyme of the Week: We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Number of the Week: 3

 

Well done to all the Nursery pupils for putting on a brilliant performance at the Christmas Sing-Along! The Nursery team are so proud of the hard work you have put in over the last few weeks to learn all of the words and actions.

 

Advent 

This week, Nursery have learnt that Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas and it is a time for Christians to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. We learnt that churches often display an Advent wreath, consisting of a circle of evergreen branches with four candles standing in a circle. Some of the children had a go at making their own Advent wreaths from playdough and loose parts.

 

            

 

The children shared whether they have an Advent calendar to help them count down the days to Christmas. We have also been taking it in turns to add a decoration to our Squirrel Class Advent calendar (shaped like a Christmas tree) every day this week. 

 

Nativity Story

This week, the children listened to 'The Nativity Story' and learnt that many Christians celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of Jesus. They then used wooden figurines to practise re-telling the story to their peers, recalling where Jesus was born, who came to visit Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus and what gifts they bought with them. 

 

      

 

 

Writing Letters To Santa 

This week Nursery have been thinking about what they would like from Santa for Christmas. They have practised their cutting skills, choosing pictures from toy catalogues to show Santa what gifts they would like best, and practised their name writing, so Santa will know who has sent each letter. 

 

  

Christmas Play and Learn 

The children have also had great fun during Play and Learn, improving their fine motor skills through dressing up, writing Christmas cards, and inspired by our story of the week, wrapping Christmas presents to send in the 'Christmas Post Office' themed role-play area.  

 

  

 

Christmas Lights Patterns 

In maths we have been learning to describe, extend and create AB and ABC patterns, as well as spotting and correcting mistakes in a pattern. The children enjoyed creating their own AB and ABC patterns this week, through creating strings of Christmas lights, ensuring that the colours they chose repeated again and again. 

 

      

06/12/2024

 

Story of the Week: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats 

Rhyme of the Week: Jingle Bells 

Number of the Week: 2

 

The Snowy Day

Our story of the week was, 'The Snowy Day' by Ezra Jack Keats. After reading the story, Nursery practised sequencing the order in which Peter (the main character) participated in different activities whilst outside in the snow. The children sequenced a series of picture cards, considering what Peter did 'first', 'next' and 'last'. 

   

 

  

 

In the story, Peter had lots of fun making footprints and tracks in the snow by moving his feet in different ways. The children enjoyed replicating Peter's tracks by making different patterns with their fingers or sticks in salt. 

 

Freezing and Melting

Inspired by our story of the week, the children participated in a science experiment about freezing and melting. In the story, Peter tries to save a snowball to play with the next day by taking it home in his coat pocket. However, when he looks in his pocket before bedtime, he is surprised to discover the snowball has disappeared! 

 

 

 

The children made suggestions about what had happened to Peter's snowball, and through the experiment discovered it had melted because his house was too warm! During the experiment, we tested whether sand, salt or warm water would cause the balls of ice to melt more quickly, and discovered that both salt and warm water sped up the melting process. 

 

Snowman Decorations 

Another of the activities Peter enjoys on the snowy day, is making a snowman. The children went on the create their own snowman decorations, by painting a log slice white, adding its facial features in felt tip pen, and then selecting a felt hat and scarf to "dress" their snowman in. 

 

   

28/11/2024

 

Story of the Week: When's My Birthday? By Julie Fogliano 

Rhyme of the Week: Happy Birthday To You

Number of the Week: 2

 

Celebrating Birthdays 

This week Nursery have been thinking about how birthdays are celebrated. We started the week by looking at our class birthday display, and enjoyed finding out if we shared a birthday month with any of our friends, and what season our birthday month was in. 

 

      

 

In maths we enjoyed finding out the age of our class cuddly toys, using our subitising or counting skills to work out how many dots were on their birthday badges. The children ensured that each teddy bear had a cake with the correct number of candles and a birthday card that showed the numeral that matched with age. 

 

             

 

The birthday fun continued for the remainder of the week, with lots of role-play in the home corner, making playdough birthday cakes at the malleable table and creating pop-up birthday cards to take home and give to a family member or friend with an upcoming birthday. 

 

Light and Dark 

We also continued our learning about light and dark, reflecting the shortening days and lengthening nights as we move into Winter. 

 

      

 

The children had fun using the light box to discover which objects would let light pass through them and which would not. They practised identifying and naming the materials each of the objects were made from; glass, wood, paper, plastic, metal and rubber. 

 

Learn and Share 

A big thank you to all parents and carers who were able to come to our 'Learn and Share' event. It was lovely welcoming you into our learning environment to join in with a range of activities themed around mark-making and improving our fine motor skills.

 

      

     

22/11/2024

 

Story of the Week: Peace At Last By Jill Murphy 

Rhyme of the Week: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star 

Number of the Week: 2 

 

Daytime and Night-time 

This week, our story of the week was 'Peace at Last' by Jill Murphy. After reading the story, we thought about what we can see or hear during the daytime and night-time and discussed our daily routines. 

 

   

 

The children enjoyed recalling the story of the week, and remembering all the night-time sounds that kept Mr. Bear awake. In small groups, they looked at a series of pictures and identified which noises were in the story and which were not. 

 

Nocturnal Animals

In the 'Peace At Last' story, one of the things that kept Mr. Bear awake were the animal noises in his garden. We learnt that animals that are awake when we are asleep are called 'nocturnal animals'. 

 

 

 

The children had fun creating different 'nocturnal  animals' from playdough and loose parts including bats, rabbits, foxes and owls. 

 

Light and Dark Collages

This week, we looked at the monochrome (black and white) artworks of Bridget Riley and used these to discuss the meaning of the words 'light' and 'dark'. We also looked at the types of lines and patterns in her artworks, so the children could replicate these when creating their own. 

 

  

           

 

The children created their own collages inspired by Bridget Riley's work, using a range of media glued onto black or white paper. We learnt that to show up clearly the chosen media needed to be the opposite colour to the background e.g. light objects on a dark background or vice versa. 

 

Light and Dark Explorers

In pairs, the children took it in turns to hide classroom objects within a 'dark box' and asked their partner to try and identify the object inside by looking through small holes in the top of the box. They quickly realised that the inside of the box was too dark for them to guess what was inside, and that they would need a light source, a torch, to shine into and light up the box. 

 

      

 

The children discussed other sources of light in their homes and the local environment, and how they work e.g. by turning on a switch or a flame produced by a candle or fire. 

15/11/2024

 

Story of the Week: We're Going On A Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger 

Rhyme of the Week: Autumn Leaves Are Falling Down 

Number of the Week: 1

 

Signs of Autumn 

This week, Nursery took part in a variety of activities where we explored the signs of Autumn. Following on from reading our story of the week, we went on our own leaf hunt around the school grounds, and practised using positional vocabulary to describe our journey. 

  

        

      

 

Once back in the classroom, the children used the leaves they had collected to have a go at leaf rubbing - rolling a crayon on its side to leave an impression of the leaves on a piece of paper. The children also drew leaf hunt maps, combining places the characters had visited in the story and those we went to on our own leaf hunt, before describing the route they took to find leaves with their maps. 

 

Remembrance Day 

On Monday 11th November it was Remembrance Day. As a class we learnt about why people wear poppies on this day, and marked the day with a minutes silence to remember those who have given their lives in wars around the world. 

 

      

 

The children created their own poppy field paintings, using carved potatoes to print the red poppy petal shapes and fingerprints to add the black centres.   

 

Odd Socks Day and Children In Need 

On Tuesday the children enjoyed wearing 'odd socks' to Nursery as part of 'Anti-Bulling Week', as an opportunity for everyone to express themselves, celebrate their uniqueness and celebrate kindness and respect. 

 

      

        

 

On Friday, Nursery took part in a whole school 'Drumba-thon', to raise money for 'Children in Need'. All pupils completed in the challenge, to keep continuous drumming going for the duration of the school day. It was great fun! 

08/11/2024

 

Story of the Week: Lighting A Lamp - A Diwali Story by Jonny Zucker

Rhyme of the Week: Five Little Fireworks Standing In A Row 

Number of the Week:

 

Diwali 

This week, the children learnt that during the half term holidays, Hindu families celebrated 'Diwali' the festival of lights. We listened to the story of Rama and Sita and discovered that when Rama rescues his wife Sita from the evil king Ravana, that they were guided home by the light of many Diyas (oil lamps). 

 

      

 

The children discovered that during Diwali celebrations Hindu families often light diyas, watch big firework displays, create Rangoli patterns using rice and sand in their homes, and exchange gifts and sweets. We had a go at creating our own Rangoli patterns by using loose parts to "colour in" the patterns drawn into a tuff tray with chalk pens. 

 

Bonfire Night

As well as fireworks being a part of Diwali celebrations, many of the children were lucky enough to experience a fireworks display this week to celebrate 'Bonfire Night'. The children described their own experiences, including what fireworks look like, what sounds they made and whether or not they enjoyed watching them. 

 

      

 

We had fun creating our own firework paintings on black sugar paper to represent the night sky. The children used splayed out cardboard tubes and straws to print the different coloured paint onto their paper and then sprinkled glitter into the wet paint to add some sparkle. 

 

Maths - Zero 

In maths this week, the children have been learning about the number 'zero', understanding that it means nothing or none. We have practised recognising zero represented in lots of different ways including as a numeral, and as the absence of something in a picture e.g. an empty sweet jar, a domino without any spots and a hand without any fingers held up. 

 

                   

   

Outside Play 

The children have enjoyed playing in the outside area whilst settling back into our daily routines. They have become more confident to explore a greater variety of equipment and resources independently. 

 

      

24/10/2024

 

Story of the Week: Bumps in the Night (Funnybones) by Allan Ahlberg 

Rhyme of the Week: Magic Finger 

Number of the Week: 3

 

Doctor Bones' Surgery

After listening to our story of the week, 'Bumps in the Night' by Allan Ahlberg, we discussed what had happened to the skeletons in the story, and the fact that they needed to 'send for Doctor Bones' every time they had a 'bump' to make them better. The children thought about if they had ever been to the doctors, and why they had visited. 

 

 

 

During 'Play and Learn' our role-play area was set up like 'Doctor Bones' Surgery'. The children had a great time role-playing booking appointments for one another, visiting the surgery with various aches, pains, injuries and illnesses and being doctors treating the patients. 

 

Potion Commotion 

Nursery had lots of opportunities this week to make their own potions, both in the water tray and the tuff tray in our outdoor area. The children considered what ingredients they needed for their potions, decided what actions they needed to make it (stir, mix, pour etc.) and imagined what their potion would do (make them fly, turn them into a unicorn etc.) 

 

      

 

The children also participated in a whole class potion making experiment, making good predictions about what would happen when we added the ingredients to the cauldron based on the story 'Potion Commotion' by Peter Bently. 

 

Magic Wand Making 

In preparation for our 'Magical Tea Party' the children each made a magic wand. They really utilised their fine motor skills, cutting out star shapes, colouring in the stars, and sprinkling glitter and gluing on gems to decorate the wands. 

 

             

 

Magical Tea Party 

During our 'Magical Tea Party' the children enjoyed playing a series of party games in the hall including the 'Four Corners Game', 'Pin the Stalk on the Pumpkin', 'Musical Monster Statues' and 'Pass the Pumpkin'. 

 

 

 

     

 

              

 

Nursery also had fun being creative at our 'Spooky Snack Time', turning their fruit into ghosts and pumpkins. Thank you to all parents and carers for encouraging your children to dress up for the party, they looked amazing! 

18/10/2024

 

Story of the Week: Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson 

Rhyme of the Week: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes 

Number of the Week: 2

 

International Week

This week, Nursery have been learning about where we live, and the different countries around the world they have visited or where members of their families live or originate from. Thank you to all the Squirrel Class parents who came in to teach us about another country or language!

 

    

    

 

We enjoyed studying local area maps, as well as world atlases and globes to find out where different places and countries are located. Some of the children chose to colour in a variety of world flags, and learnt that the 'Union Jack', the flag of the United Kingdom is red, white and blue. 

 

Maths - Sorting by Colour and Size

In maths this week, we made comparisons between objects relating to colour or size. During our carpet session, the children worked in pairs to sort compare bears by size. Some of the children independently lined up the bears in height order from smallest to biggest, and others divided them into groups of 'big', 'medium' and 'small' bears. 

 

      

 

The children also participated in an adult-led activity where they sorted plastic family figurines in different ways. Firstly, they matched the family figurines to their correct houses by identifying which were the same colour. Then, the children had a go at organising the family figurines by size, looking to see if they could put all the parents in one group, and all the children in another. 

 

Music - Composing A Soundscape 

In our music lessons this week, we have been using body percussion to imitate the sounds we might hear at different places in our local community (library, supermarket, playground, hospital). 

 

      

 

Towards the end of this week, the children had a go at composing a piece of music in small groups, using both instruments and percussion to evoke the soundscapes of a hospital, playground and beach. The children used a range of percussion instruments such as agogos (to represent the bell at the end of playtime or the sound of an ambulance siren) claves (to represent running feet) and guiros (to represent the scraping of scooters on the tarmac). Once they had practised their composition, the children performed the piece of music to the rest of the class. 

11/10/2024

 

Story of the Week: What I Like About Me by Allia Zobel-Nolan 

Rhyme of the Week: Oats and Beans and Barley Grow

Number of the Week: 2

 

Harvest Festival 

This week, the children learnt about 'Harvest Festival' (06/10/2024), which celebrates the time of year when crops are gathered from the fields. 

 

      

 

The children enjoyed shopping for produce in the 'Farm Shop' role play area and harvesting vegetables from the small world farm scene. 

 

Matching 

In maths, we continues to consolidate our understanding of matching and being able to explain why two things are the 'same'. We used a potato printing technique to create 2D shape prints, practised naming the shapes we had printed, and then identified which ones matched and why. 

 

      

 

During carpet time, we searched for the classmate who had a matching Numicon piece, looking closely to see who had one of the same colour and with the same number of holes. Nursery also used their problem solving skills to match all of the 2D shapes to their outlines drawn on paper. Well done! 

 

Patterns 

During 'Busy Fingers' our focus this week was pattern. The children experienced drawing patterns (e.g. zig-zags, swirls, waves) with a lollipop stick in flour and glitter, as well as creating repeating colour patterns by threading different coloured beads onto strings or building towers of different coloured blocks. 

 

      

 

What I Like About Me! 

Our story of the week was 'What I Like About Me' by Allia Zobel-Nolan. After listening to the story, the children thought about what they best like about their appearance.

 

 

 

Using an iPad, we recorded each child performing their sentence, and put them all together to form a whole class poem. 

 

04/10/2024

 

Story of the Week: First Day at Bug School by Sam Lloyd

Rhyme of the Week: How Many Fingers On One Hand? 

Number of the Week:

 

First Day at Bug School

This week, Nursery listened to the story 'First Day at Bug School' by Sam Lloyd and then thought back to how they felt on their first day at Nursery. The children practised looking in a mirror and changing their expressions to show the different emotions their friends felt.

 

       

 

They were introduced to and practised using our 'Feel It!' board, where they can move their 'mini-me' to different sections to share with the classroom adults how they are feeling each day at Nursery. 

 

Maths - Matching 

In maths this week we have been practising finding matching pairs and describing why two objects match or do not match. 

 

    

 

When matching two buttons, the children made sure they found two that were the same colour, same shape and had the same number of holes. If any of these things were different, the buttons did not match. 

 

Rosh Hashanah

This week, Jewish people have been celebrating 'Rosh Hashanah', a festival that celebrates a new year and new beginnings.

 

   

 

We listened to the story 'Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah' by Sylvia A. Rouss to learn what happens during Rosh Hashanah. Often sweet foods such as honey and apple are eaten to represent the sweet new year that is beginning. At snack time the children very much enjoyed eating apple slices dipped in honey! 

27/09/2024

 

Story of the Week: All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold 

Rhyme of the Week: Five Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day

Number of the Week: 5

 

Our Daily Routines - Busy Fingers 

Nursery have demonstrated they are really settling into our daily routines; remembering to self-register themselves using their 'Squirrels' and then find their table for a 'Busy Fingers' fine motor activity. 

 

   

      

 

This week, the children have been selecting and placing loose parts to follow pre-writing patterns and stretching elastic bands to create lines and shapes over the pegs on geo-boards. 

 

Our Daily Routines - Washing Our Hands

This week we read, 'I Don't Want To Wash My Hands' by Tony Ross, and discussed the importance of good hand hygiene. The children then made suggestions of when we need to wash our hands whilst at Nursery. 

 

      

 

In groups the children went into the washroom and watched an adult model the hand washing steps, before having a go at washing their hands themselves, ensuring they wash them for an appropriate length of time, use enough soap and scrub all parts of their hands. 

 

Our Daily Routines - Putting On Coats 

We have also been practising ensuring that we put all our belongs in the correct place on arrival at school; pack lunches on the bench, coats and bags on our pegs, water bottles in the tray and any smaller items in our tray. 

 

   

 

The children have been practising doing the 'coat flip' to encourage independence when getting ready for outside play and the end of the school day. 

20/09/2024

 

Story of the Week: Things I Like by Anthony Browne

Rhyme of the Week: One Elephant Went Out To Play

Number of the Week: 1

 

Play and Learn 

Over the last few weeks, Nursery have been getting to know their learning environment, exploring the resources both inside the classroom and within the outside spaces. They have had fun making new friends and learning each others' names.

 

       

       


'Marvellous Me' Bags

The children have also very much enjoyed learning about their friends' interests, likes, dislikes and families through the sharing of their 'Marvellous Me' bags. Nursery have impressed me with their listening skills and the encouragement they have given their classmates, clapping and saying "well done" at the end of each presentation. 

 

            

 

Listen To The Sounds 

In our phonics lessons this week, the children have been listening to and identifying environmental sounds. We very much enjoyed going on a 'Listening Walk' around the school grounds and describing what we could hear.

 

       

      

 

We also had fun identifying which objects were hidden within the 'sound socks' from the noise made when they were shaken. Lastly, we learnt how to play 'claves', (a percussion instrument) and experimented with tapping them on different surfaces in the classroom to see how this altered the sound they made. 

Welcome to the Spring Term at St Peter's
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