Autumn 1, Week 7, w/c 16th October 2023

We had a very exciting start to our week with our first trip to forest school! We used magnifying glasses to search for signs of autumn and to investigate insect habits. Mrs Scrivener read the story ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’, and the children enjoyed retelling the story using the different areas of forest school to set the scene. To warm up we had a delicious hot chocolate and ate our snack before returning to our classroom. 

In maths this week we have been learning all about the number 1 and have been practicing our counting skills. The children have used tweezers to carefully remove seeds from a pumpkin and have enjoyed counting these seeds into pots. We have also been sharing our shape knowledge and have been busy creating picture using shapes to print coloured paint onto paper.

To support the development of our fine and gross motor skills we have been exploring ways of changing the shape and texture of play dough. On Wednesday we had a ‘dough disco’ where the children enjoyed following instructions and moulding their play dough to be beat of a song. The children enjoyed squeezing the play dough between their fingers, pushing to create holes and stretching and rolling to reshape the dough. 

Our Makaton sign this week was ‘toilet’, see if your child can show you this sign over the weekend. 

We have had a brilliant first half term in Acorn class, the children have all settled in well and have been busy forming new friendships with their peers. It has been fantastic to see the children growing their confidence, sharing their knowledge and to observe them developing so many different skills. I hope you all have a lovely half term break and look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 30th October to start our exciting new topic ‘Once Upon a Time’.  

 Autumn 1, Week 6, w/c 9th October 2023

We have had another fantastic week in Acorn class and have been busy exploring Autumn. Thank you for returning all of the autumn bags, the children were very excited to share their autumn treasure they had collected on their walks over the weekend. We had a wonderful collection of conkers, acorns, leaves, sticks, brambles and even a pumpkin for us to explore throughout the week. 

During our PE session on Monday we have been learning about different woodland animals. We have been thinking about the animals features and demonstrating how each of the animals might move. We have been flying like an owl, crawling slowly like a hedgehog, creating quietly like a mouse and slithering like a worm. We have continued our learning of woodland animals by baking hedgehog bread rolls on Friday. The children carefully used scissors to cut the dough to create spikes and have added raisins for eyes. 

We have been exploring different ways to fill an egg box using conkers and acorns. The children have busy counting the items into the boxes and comparing who has the most in their box. We have also challenged the children to think about how many they would have in total if they added one more. 

In our jigsaw session this week we have been learning what being responsible means.  It was wonderful to hear the children explaining their responsibilities such as tidying up toys, listening to adults and being kind to our friends. We challenged the children to each look after a cube during exploring time, and to take responsibility for keeping their cube safe. There were a few cubes that got lost along the way, but many of the children kept their cube safe for the duration of the activity. 

Our Makaton sign this week was ‘drink’, see if your child can show you this sign when asking for a drink over the weekend.

Next week we look forward to learning some autumn songs and introducing the children to a range of parachute games. 

    Autumn 1, Week 5, w/c 2nd October 2023

This week in Acorn class we have been learning about the different seasons and have been very busy searching for signs of Autumn. 

We enjoying going for a walk around the school grounds where we found some brown leaves, acorns and apples that had fallen from the tree. The children have been creative painting the leaves to print and rolling painted conkers along the paper to creature beautiful pictures. 

Our book this week was Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. We have been discussing what Leaf Man had seen on his journey and thinking about how he would feel along the way. We have been busy creating our own ‘leaf people’, and whilst outside have been searching for Leaf Man in case the wind had blown him into our playground. 

The children have each brought home an autumn treasure bag to collect some items over the weekend from your local park or woods. You could include colourful leaves, pine cones, conkers, sticks or any other items relating to autumn. These items will be used next week for the children to explore and be creative with. 

Our Makaton sign this week was ‘help’, see if your child can show you this sign when asking for help over the weekend. 

Next week we look forward to continuing our learning about autumn by exploring woodland animals and their habitats. 

    Autumn 1, Week 4, w/c 25th September 2023

We have had a very exciting week in Acorn class! This week we have been learning about key workers and people who help us in the community. On Thursday we were very lucky to have a visit from Didcot fire station. We learnt about the equipment they use to help people, the uniform they wear to stay safe and were able to sit inside the back of fire engine.

In our role play area this week the children have used their imagination to become people who help us. They have enjoyed role playing police officers, dentist, fire service and have been busy looking after the poorly teddy bears at the teddy bear hospital. 

The children have enjoyed going on a shape hunt around the nursery classroom and garden. They have demonstrated fantastic shape knowledge when finding circle wheels on the bikes, square windows and rectangular tables. 

Our Makaton sign this week was ‘thank you’, the children have been using this sign when asking for their snack and milk. 

Next week we look forward to going for a walk around the school grounds searching for signs of Autumn. 

    Autumn 1, Week 3, w/c 18th September 2023

We have had a busy week in acorn class and have enjoyed learning about the colours of the rainbow. The children have been exploring colouring mixing using paint and have been working hard matching objects to a colour wheel. The children have used their colour knowledge to identify objects frozen in ice and have created colourful patterns using cubes and buttons. 

We have enjoyed reading the story Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. In our group times this week we have been discussing the characters in the story and thinking about what a friend is and how we can be good friends to each other. 

Our Makaton sign this week was ‘please’, see if your child can show you this sign at home over the weekend. 

Next week we look forward to continuing our topic Me and My Community and learning about people who help us 

Autumn 1, Week 2: w/c 11th September 2023

Nursery have had a BRILLIANT first full week! We have been learning all the routines in Nursery and getting to know each other. It has been lovely to see the children playing nicely with each other both inside and outside and we have taken full advantage of being outside before the rain is due next week! So don't forget your coats!

Here are a few photos of the fun we have had this week. We hope you have a lovely weekend and the children get lots of rest, as I am sure they will all be exhausted! 

See you on Monday! 

Autumn 1, Week 1: w/c 4th September 2023

What a fantastic start to the year! It was lovely to meet all of our new families at the home visits this week and welcome the children into Nursery on Friday. The children have settled in and adapted to the room well. They have been interested in exploring the nursery, the garden and have particularly enjoyed exploring the water sprinkler in this very hot weather! 

We are looking forward to next week when we will dive into our topic; learning about the children's communities, families and pets. Please remember to email in a photograph of your child and their family.