Summer 1, Week 6, w/c 20th May 2024

We had a very exciting start to the week and the beautiful sun was shining for our first sports day! The children have worked hard leading up to the day to practice running in the lanes, balancing bean bags and mastering jumping in a sack. The children were very excited for the parents to join us for the afternoon and had lots of fun running the races, and cheering on their friends!

With the weather becoming warmer we have been discussing being safe in the sun. We explored some items that help to keep us safe in the sun such as sun cream, hats, sun glasses and water bottles. The children demonstrated a very good understanding of why it is important to put sun cream on and wear a hat to help protect us when it is sunny and hot. We also discussed the importance of drinking lots of water to keep us hydrated. The children also enjoyed sharing other ideas of how to stay cool in the warmer weather such as playing in the paddling pool or eating an ice lolly. 

During our Jigsaw session this week we have been thinking about being the best friend we can be. The children each took a turn to hold Jigsaw Jenie and tell her what is it that makes them a good friend. It was lovely to hear so many of the children using our school rule ‘because I am kind and brilliant’ to explain why they are a good friend. We also discussed how we can help others if they are feeling sad, how we can invite other children into our play and how we can work together to help each other. 

There has been lots of new learning this week as we continue working on our letters and sounds. The children have enjoyed recognising rhyming words and playing a range of games where the children have worked hard to listen to the sounds and blend them into the words. On a Thursday we explored different objects, thinking about the objects name and clapping the syllables as we said each word, we have also practiced doing this with the syllables in our names.

We have continued our exploration of shape during maths this week. The children have been busy creating play dough shapes, printing shapes using paint and using magnetic shapes to turn 2D shapes into 3D shapes. It has been great to hear the children using their mathematical language during their exploring time when talking about their pictures and creations. 

For the past 3 weeks in Acorn class, we have watched 5 caterpillars turn into chrysalis and after waiting patiently, on Monday we returned to 5 beautiful butterflies. We released these into our nursery garden and waved them off as they flew away. This experience linked perfectly to our our group time on Friday as we discussed animals we could find in our garden. The children were challenged to slow down and look closely whilst outside to see if they could find any animals in our Nursery garden. 

We hope you have a lovely half term and look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday 3rd June. 

 Summer 1, Week 5, w/c 13th May 2024

It has been another exciting week here in Acorn Class! Another week has flown by and we have had a wonderful week exploring 2D and 3D shapes, looking after our 10 chicks and practicing for our sports day, next Monday!   

Our Maths focus this week has been exploring 3D shapes. The children have been exploring mathematical language such as, straight, flat and round. During our exploring time the children have been using this vocabulary to explore a range of 3D shapes such as cubes, cuboids, spheres and cylinders, while also using their knowledge on 2D shapes they learnt about last week. The children have been busy exploring the properties of shapes through hands-on exploration. We have been using shaving foam to draw around the sides of a shape, making shapes using lolly sticks and sorting 2D and 3D shapes. 

Continuing our learning of the world around us, this week we have taken a close look at shadows. We were lucky to get a break in the clouds to go outside and explore our shadows. The children explored how their shadows could change size and shape, and how they could use their bodies to create shadows too! Hopefully we get some more sunshine next week so we can explore shadows on the playground and how we can use our bodies to create shadows and then explore if we can run away from our shadows, change the shape and even get some chalk out to trace our outlines!

In our Jigsaw session this week we have discussed what to say and do if somebody is unkind. The children discussed how they would feel if somebody would be mean to them and also practiced saying phrases such as “stop please” and “please don’t do that, I don’t like it”. The children are encouraged to use these phrases to resolve challenges within the classroom and are also encouraged to seek adult support when needed.

Next week we look forward to continuing expanding our knowledge on 2D and 3D shapes. We will be exploring the ways we can be safe in the sun and we also have our Sports day to look forward to!

     Summer 1, Week 4, w/c 6th May 2024

It has been another fantastic week in Acorn class. We have especially enjoyed the beautiful weather and spending much of our week exploring the outdoor area. The children have been cooling off with water play, riding the bikes and scooters and being creative in the construction area. We have also been busy practicing for our first sports day which is on Monday 20th May. The children have enjoyed practicing the races on the big field, many of them being supported by the older children in the school. It was lovely to see so many older siblings helping our nursery children to run their races. 

Our maths focus this week has been exploring 2D shapes. The children have been exploring mathematical language such as sides, corners, straight, flat and round. During our exploring time the children have been using this vocabulary to explore a range of 2D shapes such as squares, rectangles, circles, and triangles. The children have been busy exploring the properties of shapes through hands on exploration. We have been using shaving foam to draw around the sides of a shape, and matching and sorting shapes through a range of activities.

Continuing our learning of the world around us, this week we have taken a close look at flowers. The children used magnifying glasses to closely observe the different parts of a flower. The children were able to identify the stem, leaves and petal which supported them to draw their own flowers on Friday thinking carefully about the different features. This activity also enabled the children to discuss the similarities and differences between the flowers and explore the areas and features that attract insects, who spread pollen to other flowers, helping to grow new plants. The children were very excited to observe some changes that have happened to the plants we have planted within our classroom as they begin to germinate.

In our Jigsaw session this week we have discussed what to say and do if somebody is unkind. The children discussed how they would feel if somebody would be mean to them and also practiced saying phrases such as “stop please” and “please don’t do that, I don’t like it”. The children are encouraged to use these phrases to resolve challenges within the classroom and are also encouraged to seek adult support when needed.

On Tuesday we had a very exciting delivery of 10 eggs. The children were able to see the eggs in the special incubator and were encouraged to make predictions on what they thought could be inside. On Wednesday morning the children arrived to nursery to 3 fluffy yellow chicks. There were a few disappointed faces as they realised they were not dinosaurs or dragons, but this soon turned to excitement as we awaited the hatching of the remaining 7 eggs. By Friday morning all 10 eggs had successfully hatched and we look forward to watching them grow and looking after them for the next week before they are homed to a family nearby. This experience provides the children with many learning opportunities including exploring life cycles, growth and development as well as encouraging social interactions and promoting caring and nurturing skills. 

Next week we look forward to expanding our shape knowledge by exploring 3D shapes, we will also be continuing our sports day practice and having lots of cuddles with the baby chicks! 

     Summer 1, Week 3, w/c 29th April 2024

This was one of our most exciting week’s in Acorn Class, one that the children had been looking forward to for a long time! 

We started our week by reading the story The Sun, by Carol Thompson. The children shared their stories about Summer, and what they enjoyed most about the warm weather! We shared the clothes we wear when it’s warm and we also shared why it is so important to wear sunscreen! During our provision this week, the children used their artistic abilities to create their own ‘sunny skies’ using different art mediums. 

During our Maths group time this week we have been exploring comparing quantities, and introduced the vocabulary of ‘more than and fewer than’. During our exploring time, we have been doing some Ladybird maths. We have been comparing the number of spots on different ladybirds. The children also showed the different ways they could make 5 using the ladybird template, and then challenged themselves to try and find the different ways to make 10 and 20. 

In our Jigsaw session this week we shared the things we like about our friends. We started off by each sharing what we liked about Jigsaw Jenie. We then started sharing what we liked about each child in our class and we discussed some similarities that some children shared about their friends in our class. We also shared how sharing is a big part of friendships and makes each of us happy.  

On Wednesday, we had a very exciting day at the Sutton Courtenay Environmental Centre. We also bought the warm weather along with us! The children enjoyed exploring the Woods before having their snack outside together. Once they were done, they enjoyed their Teddy Bear picnic with all their teddies, which they enjoyed finding food for. They were busy finding things for their shelters and then building the shelters for their teddies. The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring the outdoors, making their own ponds and dancing dressed as bears! They were exhausted but loved every minute of it. Thank you to all our parent volunteers that helped out! 

Our Makaton sign this week was ‘help’. See if your child can show you this over the weekend. Our phonics sounds that we learnt this week were ‘i’ and ‘t’. 

Next week, we look forward to exploring 2-D shapes in Maths. We will also explore the book, Little Beaver and the Echo.

     Summer1, Week 2, w/c 23rd April 2024

This week in Acorn class we have been busy exploring the world around us and learning how we can help to look after our planet! 

We started our week by reading the story Errol’s Garden by Gillian Hibbs. We enjoyed looking at the pictures and discussing the families and characters involved in creating the rooftop garden. Together we have created a plan for the nursery garden, and the children had a wonderful time creating their own plant pots to plant the seeds for our nursery flowers and vegetables. We have discussed how to look after the garden and we look forward to watching the seeds grow over the coming weeks. During our exploring time we have been busy exploring different seeds and developing our fine motor skills to remove seeds using tweezers from a variety of fruits and vegetables.

During our maths group time this week we have been exploring the vocabulary related to the position of objects. We revisited the story The Three Billy Goats Gruff and discussed the position of the troll under the bridge and the goats on the bridge. The children enjoyed taking turns to move our Jigsaw Jenie to sit on the chair, under the chair, in front and behind the chair. It has been wonderful to hear the children using the vocabulary to discuss the position of objects during their exploring time. 

In our Jigsaw session this week we have discussed the feeling ‘lonely’. We reflected on times we have been feeling lonely and what helped to make us feel better. We also thought about what we could do to be a good friend if somebody was feeling lonely including giving them a cuddle, inviting them to play or giving them a teddy to cuddle. 

We have had a very exciting arrival of 5 caterpillars. We are going to look after the caterpillars and hope to watch their lifecycle by eventually releasing the butterflies into the garden. During our exploring time the children have been busy creating their own caterpillars using play dough and using the measuring cubes to measure their length. 

Next week we look forward to our Nursery trip on Wednesday to Sutton Courtenay Environmental Centre. Please ensure your child is dressed in warm clothes, they will get into their waterproofs and wellies before we leave the school. All part time children are to be collected from school at 12 o’clock. 

 Summer 1, Week 1, w/c 15th April 2024

What a brilliant start to our new term! It has been another busy week back in Acorn class. The children have all settled back into routine again and we look forward to another busy term. We started off our term with our new topic, Sunshine and Sunflowers. 

Monday started off with playing some ‘Fred Games’. We used Fred Talk to help children practice blending sounds together. We used some useful words around the classroom and the children really enjoyed this. We introduced our new topic by reading the story, Butterfly Bouquet. During the story, we discussed how the body parts of the butterfly changed and how the girls’ garden changed and grows over time. We also learnt about the lifecycle of a Butterfly and the children were able to sequence the pictures in the order of the life cycle. See if your child can tell you about all the special facts they learnt about the lifecycle over the weekend!

On Tuesday, we learnt about sequencing in our Maths lesson. The children were introduced to the vocabulary related to time, such as first, next, then, after that and finally. We then continued to use the vocabulary related to time but this time it will be in the context of real events i.e. the things they do to get ready for nursery. On Thursdays, we review their learning and demonstrate their understanding by talking about or revisiting previous Maths sessions and our continuous provision activities. This week we revisited sequencing, this time time through the context of fictional events from a familiar story. We continued to use the vocabulary related to sequencing events, such as ‘first’, ‘next’, ‘then’. 

On Wednesday, we had a lovely Jigsaw lesson. Thank you to all families for sending their pictures in! This was a lovely surprise for the children! The children were delighted to see pictures of their families and their classmates’ families, and even more excited to talk about their pictures, family members and what they were doing when the pictures were taken. 

On Thursday, our group time was focused on Letters and Sounds. The objective was for the children to be able to distinguish between sounds and to remember patterns of sound. We did this through producing a body percussion and passing it on while we all sat in a circle. We were able to link this to our Maths topic this week by introducing a sequence of sounds and challenging the children to remember and repeat the sequence correctly. 

On Friday we shared a powerpoint of signs all around us. We invited the children to choose a sign that they recognise and say what they think the sign says. We encourage the children to talk about the places that they visit and their experiences there. 

This week we introduced and learnt two new Set 1 speed sounds: m and a. 

Our Makaton sign for the week is ‘please’. See if your child can use this at home over the weekend!

We hope that you have a lovely, restful weekend. On Monday we look forward to continuing our Sunshine and Sunflowers topic by introducing the story, Errol’s Garden.