Nursery blog

• Wednesday 3 May 2023 Caterpillar News Just after Easter holidays, we had some new arrivals to Nursery - caterpillars! Children have spent the last few weeks carefully and excitedly watching the caterpillars moving, growing and all the changes taking place. We have learned about their lifecycle and even thought about what kind of minibeast we might like to be if we got the opportunity. Finally today, we think they might be about to make their chrysalis...... watch this space!
• Friday 28 April 2023 Minibeasts Recently Nursery went on a minibeast hunt to the Forest School area. We began our session by having a conversation about what kinds of minibeasts might live or frequent our Forest School and where we might find them. Children gave suggestions such as worms, spiders, slugs and snails! From our previous work on minibeasts, we knew to look in dark cool places such as under logs, leaves and stones. The children were careful and respectful of our environment too – e.g. rolling logs slowly and replacing them when finished, etc.
• Friday 17 March 2023 Science Week During Science Week, we talked about the importance of dental hygiene and what would happen if we didn’t take care of our teeth. We conducted an experiment using eggs (to represent our teeth) by leaving them in a variety of different solutions – tea, coffee, coca-cola and vinegar. A few days later, we returned to find out what had happened to the eggs. We discovered that the eggs left in tea, coffee and coca-cola had stained and become darker in colour. The shell of the egg left in vinegar had broken down and begun to dissolve, much to the excitement of all the children! We demonstrated cleaning our teeth by gently rubbing the surface and observed the shell being brushed away. What remained was a rubber outer shell – the children we so excited and motivated to find out if we could bounce it! We had a go with inevitable results!
• Thursday 2 March 2023 World Book Day Today we celebrated World Book Day. Our focus this year was on non-fiction and information texts. Children were invited to bring a non-fiction book to school and dress up as something related to their text. We had such a variety from astronauts, animals, insects and dinosaurs. We really enjoyed sharing our books and making some bookmarks to use at home.
• Wednesday 1 March 2023 Planting and growing
• Friday 24 February 2023 Forest School in Nursery Today we started Forest School in Nursery! Children were very excited to spend time exploring and investigating in the woods. To introduce Forest School, we learned games such as ‘123 Where are you’ and how to keep safe whilst playing and exploring. Wonderful listening and joining in, well done!
• Friday 3 February 2023 RE Week - Buddhism This week is whole school RE Week. We have been learning about Buddhism. Children explored the story of Siddartha the prince and how he became Buddha. We aligned the Buddhist beliefs with our own school values to consider how to live a good life through being kind, thoughtful, helpful and respectful of each other and our natural environment. Children also made a prayer wheel to signify the meaning of the Buddhist colours such as green for harmony and balance, blue for purity and healing, white for learning and knowledge.
• Wednesday 1 February 2023 Shape Monsters! In our maths lessons, we have been learning about shape. Today we received a surprise - the shape monsters visited Nursery and challenged us to find all the shapes hidden in the classroom! Children engaged with the task with enthusiasm and gusto searching all areas of the room. There was lots of discussion and comparison about how many of each shape we found including their properties and characteristics. We then set about making our own shape monsters too!
• Thursday 26 January 2023 The Three Billy Goats Gruff This half-term in our literacy lessons, we are exploring Traditional Tales. We began with The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Children have enjoyed engaging in role play and drama by recalling the story using props such as masks and our large wooden blocks to make a bridge. We have also considered the feelings of the characters in the story by applying teaching approaches such as Role on the Wall and Hot-seating. We have sequenced the story in our own words and learned that every story has a beginning, middle and end. Miss Baidoo worked with small groups of children to make their own billy goat too - don't they look wonderful!
• Thursday 19 January 2023 Chinese New Year This week, we are celebrating the upcoming festival of Chinese New Year beginning on Sunday 22nd January 2023. We are learning that it is the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese Lunar Calendar and the festival lasts for two weeks!
• Wednesday 14 December 2022 Snow Day! Nursery really enjoyed the opportunity to explore and experience snow this week. We had so much fun both indoors and outside. We filled our water tray with snow and watched as it changed and melted. We even added food colouring and loose parts to help us engage further by using our imaginations to build and sculpt with the snow. Outdoors was just as fun - we made a snowman (of course!) and also experimented with writing and mark-making using different tools - sticks, spades and our fingers!
• Thursday 17 November 2022 Family Learning in Nursery This week we welcomed families into our classroom to join in with some STEM activities. We measured paper and cut it into three parts, securing with a paperclip to make a paper spinner. Children then tested them out on the Piazza and had fun watching them twist and twirl to the ground. “I’ve made a ballerina!” commented one child.
• Friday 11 November 2022 Repeating Patterns During our maths lessons, we have been learning about repeating patterns. We had a go at making our own repeating patterns too using interlink cubes, coloured camels, loose parts and printing with paint. Children are beginning to understand the concept as one child commented “A repeat pattern goes again, and again and again, Mrs Knappert!”
• Friday 4 November 2022 Learning about Diwali This week in Nursery we have been learning about Diwali. We know that Diwali lasts for 5 days and is also known as 'the festival of lights'. We enjoyed making diva lamps with clay and practicing fine motor skills to pinch and mould the clay into a bowl shape, decorating them with glitter and sequins. We also made a Diwali candle by exploring how to make drippy trails with PVA glue and then sprinkling with glitter. We learned about Rama, Sita and the demon king, Ravanna to understand one reason why we light diva lamps during Diwali. We had fun cleaning our home corner to welcome Lakshmi into our classroom for Diwali too!
• Friday 14 October 2022 Nursery celebrates Culture Week! This week, we celebrated the diversity within our Nursery classes. We had so much fun learning about different traditions within our families and from around the world. Children had fun making paperchains and flags to decorate our classroom – it looks wonderful! We also made Rangoli patterns using coloured rice, chalks and crayon, explored Indian spices in playdough, tasted exotic fruits from Kenya and enjoyed listening and dancing to music from all around the world. A big thank you too, to all volunteers that came into school to share stories and information with us – your time is much appreciated. To conclude our week, children were invited to wear some traditional clothes to school for our Carnival day!
• Friday 7 October 2022 Autumn has arrived in Nursery! This week, we have been observing the change of Season – Autumn is here! The children have been arriving to school with their Autumn collections – leaves, pinecones, conkers and sycamore seeds. This inspired us to create an Autumn table to investigate all our treasures. We also used the natural materials to make our self-portraits as part of our All About Me theme, which are now on display in the classroom. Next week, we look forward to using some more natural materials to make wonderful Autumn artwork.
• Thursday 29 September 2022 Getting to know you..... We have been spending the past few weeks exploring the classroom and getting to know one another. The staff are so proud of all the children and how they are learning the routines and expectations - well done everyone! This week, we have started reading the story The Worrysaurus by Rachel Bright to explore our feelings and emotions around starting school. Just like the Worrysaurus, our worries feel like butterflies fluttering in our tummies too. We are exploring ways to chase away those fears by making friends and having lots of fun instead!
• Wednesday 8 June 2022 Jubilee Day in Nursery On Monday 6th June, we celebrated the Queen's Platinum Jubilee across the school. Nursery got involved by making crowns and flags. We also enjoyed an indoor picnicon the Piazza with a red/white/blue theme!
• Wednesday 8 June 2022 Outdoor Learning Week Nursery children engaged this week by learning to identify some of the trees in our school grounds such as holly, oak, sycamore, elder, horse chestnut, silver birch and willow. We learned about the different parts of a tree, the importance of bark and how a tree gets its food and energy. We also learned that acorns come from oak trees, conkers are found on horse chestnut, holly gets red berries in Winter and we can make a delicious drink from elderflower. Holly is prickly but elderflower is soft “like a fairy”!
• Thursday 12 May 2022 We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo! We have had two fantastic visits recently to Shepreth Wildlife Park to learn more about animals and their habitats. We particularly enjoyed watching the noisy otters and parrots, cheeky meerkats and visiting Bunnyland. Afterwards, we had a well-earned rest and lunch break before our workshop, What’s in the log pile
• Friday 18 March 2022 A trip to the pond..... As it was such a beautiful day, we decided to visit the pond today. Children were very excited to see what was happening in the water. After a short safety talk and demonstration of how to use our nets and trays carefully, children set about on their discoveries.To our amazement, we found the pond is brimming with life! We discovered so many interesting things living in the pond, from water snails and water fleas to dragonfly larvae and even some newts! There was so much anticipation and excitement to check our nets each time they were brought out of the water. Children demonstrated curiosity and great teamwork in collaborating and helping one another.
• Friday 25 February 2022 Forest School Begins! Today we started Forest School in Nursery. Children were very excited to spend time exploring and investigating in the woods. To introduce Forest School, we learned some games such as ‘123 Where are you’ and how to keep safe whilst playing and exploring. Wonderful listening and joining in, well done!
• Monday 24 January 2022 All about shape and pattern! This half-term we have been immersed in shape and pattern! We have used our knowledge of shape to make our very own Shape Monsters - you can see them at your next visit!Children applied their creative ideas and discovered how to make repeat patterns using printing technique with paint and shapes. Next week, we are looking forward to getting outside and exploring shape and pattern in the outdoor environment. We might even compose our own musical patterns too!
• Friday 5 November 2021 Culture Week in Nursery On our first week back after half-term holidays, we celebrated the diversity within Nursery. We had so much fun learning about different traditions within our families and from around the world. Children had fun making paperchains and flags to decorate our classroom - it looks wonderful! We also made diva lamps using clay, Rangoli patterns using chalk, paint and crayon, explored spices in playdough, made Chinese lanterns and enjoyed listening and dancing to music from all around the world. A big thank you too, to all volunteers that came into school to share your family traditions and customs with us - your time is much appreciated. To conclude our week, children were invited to wear some traditional clothes to school for our Carnival day!
• Friday 17 September 2021 Starting Nursery What a busy start to the year we have had in Nursery! We have been taking our time getting to know one another through daily circle-time, games in the round, Exploration and our Let’s Talk sessions. Children are learning their routines and expectations quickly which is an important part in helping them to settle and focus into life at Nursery. We have really been enjoying making our natural resources self-portraits too and finding out about each other’s interests. We look forward to a year of fun, laughter and learning.
• Friday 21 May 2021 Outdoor Learning Week Outdoor Learning Week gave Nursery the perfect opportunity to explore our wonderful forest area to collect natural materials.  We challenged children to use their finding in a creative and imaginative way - they made crowns, belts, journey sticks, collage pictures etc. Children demonstrated curiosity and wonder in our natural environment.
• Friday 7 May 2021 Active Learning in action!
• Saturday 24 April 2021 Little Green Fingers! Since returning to school on 12th April, we have been so busy and engaged with our new theme – Growing! 
• Thursday 25 March 2021 The Great Big Art Exhibition To engage with this National Project, Nursery were inspired by Anthony Gormley because his project, entitled “Sculpture – animals/mythical or real.  From one ball of clay what can you shape, without tools, made in your hand”, could be used in a flexible way to enable children to apply their imagination and creativity to make a sculpture of their own choice.  Children working at home were also invited to get involved.
• Thursday 17 December 2020 December News What a rollercoaster December has been, which is why this blog is a little later arriving!  We have been busy making Christmas snowmen, snowflakes, paperchains and all manner of Christmas decorations for the classroom.  We also enjoyed a lovely Christmas celebration day where we made Christmas crowns and had a little snack party with Christmas music!  Mrs Johnson has been amazing too, teaching the children some beautiful Christmas songs which I hope you enjoy watching on our class Advent calendar.
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