Nursery 2024/25 2024 - 2025

Welcome to Nursery.

Mrs Brady, Mrs Young and Mrs Slattery

18.1.25

Another week gone, time is flying by! In maths we have been learning to recognise the numeral 6 and we have been counting forwards and backwards in different voices. We have also started our 'Phonics Shed' phonics lessons, we met Joe (the puppet) who runs the phonics shed and we talked about listening and what that looks like. We tasted tortilla chips and guacamole from Mexico, we learned to say hola and gracias. We worked on our fine motor control threading uncooked spagetti through colanders and making faces with the playdough. 

In other news....

We are reminding the children to go to the toilet throughout the day but we are still having a number of accidents. Whilst this is completely normal for children of this age we suspect that some of the 'accidents' are not accidental! We would appreciate it if you could encourage your child to return home in the same clothes they went to school in. A sticker chart might help with this or some other sort of reward scheme. Some interesting facts.....

Blackcurrant and citrus are both bladder irritants, they can cause your child to need the toilet more frequently. So can fizzy drinks (including water) which is something that may need to be considered at home. 

Children at nursery age have a bladder size of approximately 120 mls which is fairly tiny!

You should not restrict a childs fluids as it can make urine more concentrated, they should drink between 400/500 mls throughout the school day which is staggered between the morning and the afternoon. (We have regular drinks times throughout the day and the children have access to their water bottles when they are playing. They can access the toilets independently whenever they need to go.)

6.1.25

We have had a fabulous first week back, I have been very impressed with the way that the children have settled back into Nursery. This week we have used our listening skills to hear environmental sounds, we practised counting objects and we practised holding a pencil and drawing some pre-writing shapes. This term for tasting we will be trying food from around the world, we started with croissants from France. We looked at a map of the world and we watched a video all about France. We learned that French people say Bonjour and Merci. In addition to all of this fun we had snow! The children had a great time playing outside this morning. Pictures in the gallery. 

19.12.24

We have had a wonderful last week. The children have done really well considering how excited and tired they all are! We really enjoyed our nursery singalong today. Thank you so much for coming, we really appreciated everyones efforts. Thank you for singing along as well, it was really nice that you couldn't only hear the teachers this year! Thank you for all of the gifts, we really appreciate it and it is very generous. We hope that you have a fantastic holidays with lots of fun and rest. Please have a look below to see the spring newsletter, there is lots of information about the coming term. 

12.12.24

We have had yet another action packed week. In maths we have been recapping all the numerals to 5. For tasting we made and ate gingerbread which was delicious. We have spent lots of time practising our songs and we hope the parents have learnt them too. We have been working on the whiteboard to complete some interactive games and we also went for Chrsitmas dinner which was yummy. Have a look in the gallery.

5.12.24

This week has been lots of fun. In maths we focused on the number 5, we learned what the numeral looks like, we made 5 with our fingers, we found 5 objects and we even tried to write the numeral. In our phonics sessions we have been practising the songs for the nursery sing along, recognising rhythm and rhyme plays a part in learning to read and write. In tasting we had mince pies and I was really impressed that a number of children decided to try them even though they weren't sure that they liked them. They were a big hit! We have been so busy that we forgot to take any photos so no gallery this week. 

28.11.24

The weeks are flying by and we have had a great time with the children. It was great to see everyone for parents' evening, thank you so much for coming, it is lovely to get to know you all a bit better. This week we have been practising our performance and I am adding the running order, words and videos of some of the songs for you to start learning. Look near the bottom of this page in the videos and files sections. We have also been learning all about the number 4 and we are starting to prep for some Christmas activities with the children. When we do tasting we always use all of our senses. We talk about how the food looks, feels, smells and tastes. We are always disappointed that the foods don't have a sound so this week we tasted popcorn and listened to it popping in the microwave. The children were very impressed! There are photos in the gallery.

21.11.24

We have had another busy week. We learned all about the number 3, check if your child recognises the numeral and can represent it with their fingers or objects in your house. We have had a big focus on turn taking and sharing this week and we would appreciate your help with this. Please play some turntaking games at home, we have enjoyed Jenga, snap and matching pairs. Encourage your child to say which player has the next turn and don't let them miss anyone out. We have also worked on building structures with blocks and duplo. The children are finding it tricky to think of what they would like to make so building together would really help. On Wednesday we had a visit from Mrs Tatham and her lovely assistand Lydia. They worked with the children to decorate some Christmas cupcakes. The children listened carefully and they did an excellent job, the photos are in the gallery. 

14.11.24

We have had yet another lovely week with the children. We tasted sweet potato fries which were generally a hit. We learned all about the number two, we have tried to write the numeral (ask your children to show you on their pads and pens, they will either be up their sleeves or in their pockets!), we have found two items to represent the number two and we have played fastest finger first where we show two fingers in different ways. We worked on our gross motor and fine motor movements to help with our writing. Pictures are in the gallery. 

7.11.24

It has been lovely to welcome the children back after a week away. We have had a really busy week. We have learned all about Diwali, we tasted samosas and popadoms and we coloured in rangoli patterns. We also celebrated bonfire night, we watched Fireman Sam's top tips for staying safe and we made breadstick sparklers. We have been working hard on our fine motor control by feeding tennis balls some pasta and we have learned all about the number one. The pictures are in the gallery. (The photos off the children holding one object are from when we went on a one hunt)

10.10.24

We have had a lovely week so far, the children have been busy as per usual. We started the week by exploring the large water area outside. Next we tasted roasted pumpkin, unfortunately it wasn't much of a hit but I was really impressed as the all gave it at least a little nibble. Next week we will be trying the potatoes that the older children grew in the school veg beds last accademic year. We have also performed our first 'Talk for writing' nursery ryhme, 'Twinkle, twinkle little star.' We use 'Talk for writing' as a way of giving the children ideas of how stories should be put together and ideas for content. We learn a story or rhyme off by heart and perform it. We then we change some of the ideas to make our own story. As the children get older the stories become more intricate and they begin to write them. In nursery we are learning to recite familiar rhymes and stories. I have added a video of the children, just scroll down the page, apologies for the adults singing! There is also a new gallery for you to have a look at. 

3.10.24

Our week has been chocca! We have had lots of fun, we started the week by beginning to make our Christmas cards for the PTA, these will be made into cards and you will be able to buy them to help raise funds for the school. The next day we went picking apples from the schools fruit trees. We peeled and grated them and made them into a lovely apple bread which we had for our first tasting session. The following day we made our own butter! We put some double cream into and container and then shook it for ten minutes until the butter seperated from the buttermilk. We used the butter on our toast on Thursday, it was delicious. We have also had a visit from the Lollypop Lady and a lady from SCARF (The PHSE program that we use) and her giraffe called Harold.  I have been very proud of the way that the children have behaved with our visitors, they were respectful, they listened carefully and they asked lots of questions, hooray for them! Have a look at the gallery at the bottom of the page for a variety of pictures.

27.9.24

There has been lots happening this week. We had a visitor on Tuesday, Mrs Marshall brought her niece and sister to meet the children, they were all very excited but they stayed calm so as not to scare the baby. The children asked lots of questions and listened carefully to the answers. We also introduced the painting area this week, the children have really enjoyed using the new easel together. We went on a Nursery walk around the school grounds, we even snuck through the juniors as quietly as mice and no-one heard or saw us! I have added an assortment of pictures to the gallery. 

20.9.24

We have had lots of fun; the children are adjusting well to their new environment and they are beginning to make friends and learn each other's names. We have begun to discuss the school's behavioural expectations and the children are loving getting tokens and stickers when they do they right thing. Some of the children are finding separating from their grown-ups a little tricky. This is perfectly normal and we have lots of tricks up our sleeves that will make this easier. Please trust that we will call you if they remain distressed. 

We will be having our open classroom on Tuesday 24th straight after school for approximately 30 minutes, this is an opportunity for you to come in and take a look around, the children can show you where they like to play inside and I can answer any questions you might have about the environment. Don't worry if you can't make it this time, we do them every half term. 

I have added some pictures to the gallery. Enjoy and have a nice weekend.  

12.9.24

Hello, well we have had a fantastic first week in school with the children. They are starting to settle in to the new routines well and are happily learning through play in all of the areas. I have put some first week photos in the gallery so please take a look with your child, it will give you a good opportunity for them to tell you what they have been doing in Nursery. A few reminders... please send in your toast money if you havent done already, this enables us to have 'Toast Thursdays' (already begun) and 'Tasting Tuesdays' which will start in the next few weeks. If possible, can you put it in a named envelope so I can keep a record. Thank you very much for paying the lunchtime fees promptly. Please make sure your child has a set of spare clothes that stay in school on their peg. Please name all water bottles and packed lunch bags. There is a Whatsapp group for the nursery, set up by one of the parents, if you are not already on it but would like to be, please let a member of staff know and we will give you the number. The group works well when I forget to give you some information! 

Toilet training- The children are at varying stages of their toilet training and we would really appreciate your help to teach them some independence- especially when it comes to wiping. I have added a link to a helpful website that teaches you to teach your child how to wipe their own bottoms.

Useful links-

https://www.andrex.co.uk/gotime/prep-stage/articles/teaching-children-how-to-wipe 

https://eric.org.uk/potty-training/