Pre-School- Maths-Rocket Shapes
The children have used different materials and shapes to create Rockets. The children recognised squares, rectangles and triangles and we counted how many sides each shape had.
Nursery - PSHE - Our Pets
In Nursery class we have been exploring all about our pets. The children have really enjoyed searching behind the doors to find their own pets, showing them off to their friends with pride! They have also enjoyed finding their friends pets and sharing their findings with each other. We have explored the sounds that our pets make, what their names are and how to look after and care for our animals.
Nursery - Music - Using Instruments to Support Rhyme Time
Nursery class have introduced instruments to rhyme time. The children have been encouraged to select their own instruments and have enjoyed listening to the different sounds that each instrument makes. We have been practicing how to use the instruments and how we can make loud sounds and quiet sounds.
Pre-school- Art-Space pictures
Space Art The children have been exploring space. We have been very creative using different materials that are 3D, hard, soft and shiny to add texture to our pictures. The children used stars, glitter and foil to make their amazing Space art.
Pre-school-Literacy-The Giant Jam Sandwich
Literacy We have started reading the story of 'The Giant Jam Sandwich'. The children have been creating different pictures and learning new words but today we decided to make our own jam sandwiches with different styles and tastes of bread. The children selected which bread they would like and added jam if they wanted to. We discussed the sweet smell and how the wasps were attracted to the town.
Nursery Class - Understanding the world - Finding Hidden Animals in our Environment.
Nursery class explored their outdoor environment to find some hidden animals. The children used their brilliant searching and looking skills to find all of the animals from our story and match them to our checklist. As the children found the animals they were encouraged to voice the animal sound, some children began to make movements like the animals they had found and could even remember where some of the animals would usually live.
Pre- school- Physical development- Catching and throwing
In P.E the children have been learning to throw and catch small balls. The children started at a short distance throwing balls to each other and then moved further away from each other to make longer throws. The children showed great understanding and skills in our lesson and worked well together.
Pre-school- PSHE- Me and my friends
PSHE- Me and my friends The children listened to the story of Elmer and Rosie. Within this story the children discussed their friendships and how they like and dislike different things. We talked about who we were friends with at nursery and at home. We discussed how we have similarities and differences between us. The children created Elmer the elephant of their own and talked about how everyone had created different ones.
Nursery - Communication and Language - Which Animal Made that Sound?
Nursery class have used their brilliant listening skills to identify which animal from our story 'Where's spot?' made the sound that they could hear. They worked really hard to link the sound with the correct animal picture and then mimicked the animal sound. The children took this new knowledge and found different animals during independent learning and were very excited to voice the correct animal sounds.
Friends of DSJ
We are looking for new members of our Friends at Darwen St James group. The group was created to help raise funds for school by thinking of ideas and planning fundraisers throughout the year. Past events include; *Film night *Bingo night *Family evening *Summer Fair *Christmas Fair All the money we raise is used in school - we have developed the nurture room and we are currently renovating the library areas around school. If you would like to find our more or if you would like to volunteer, please speak to Miss Sears.
Nursery Class - Computing - 'Where's Spot?', Designing A Puppy.
Nursery class has been working on Purple Mash to design their own puppy after reading our story 'Where's spot?'. The children selected the fur pattern they wanted and used their hands to create different marks on their puppy stencil.
2 Year Old Funding Information
WORKING FAMILIES - Applications are now open for families with children who are turning two before the end of August 2024, ready for a funded place in September 2024. You can apply on www.childcarechoices.gov.uk and YOU receive the Eligibility Code. To be eligible for a funded place in September children must already be 2 or turn 2 between 1st April 2024 and 31 August 2024 AND must have a Valid Eligibility Code. We recommend you apply for the Eligibility Code from Mid June (so you don’t have to reconfirm before the start of term) Eligibility Codes obtained after 31st August 2024 will mean the code is not valid and the child isn’t eligible for funding in the Autumn Term (September)
Two's Room, Exploring Transport.
We have been busy exploring the different types of transport that we have. We have enjoyed playing in the tuff tray with the trucks, filling and emptying them with the different cereals. We had fun using the ramps to see how far the cars could go. We had fun colouring in the different pictures of transport too using paints and felt tips.
Pre school - Maths
Racing cars The children enjoyed racing different cars down the ramp to see which number it landed on. The children subitise how many cars landed on the same number and recognised numbers 1-5.
Pre-School - Transport
In Understanding the world this week we have looked at old and new transport. We looked at different pictures of new transport and we recognised a lot of them but then we looked at old transport pictures and how they used to be. The children picked out features and questioned why it was like that. We then played a matching game with the objects and pictures.
Henry Program - New Course Available!
The next Henry 0-5 will be held at Darwen Family Hub (Lord St) starting on Wednesday April 17th from 12.30-2.30. It is an 8 week programme with a creche available for younger children if needed. Parents/carers can self refer by telephone 01254 585000 or by using the new family hub website https://familyhubsbwd.org/looking-after-your-family/parenting If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Online Safety - What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Township
Potentially addictive online games are nothing new, but the specifics of this kind of media can vary enormously – and, as a consequence, the risks in each individual game are just as diverse. The city-builder Township is no exception: providing its legions of devotees with accessible, satisfying fun … but exposing them to potential hazards at the same time. However, any safeguarding issues that the game might have can (with a little knowhow) be neutralised – allowing young players to have some engrossing fun without adults needing to worry about children’s data, their money or their mental wellbeing. Our guide outlines how to help young gamers enjoy Township safely and responsibly.
Easter closure information
Easter closure information
Easter Competition Winners
A huge well done to the winners of this years Easter competition! Rev Kev and Miss Greenwood had the difficult decision of selecting 3 winners form each class. We had over 20 family entries too, which was great! Congratulations to those winners.
Online Safety - Wake up Wednesday - Clickbait
While scrolling online, you’ll almost inevitably have come across posts or links with headlines like “You Won’t Believe These 10 Crazy Facts about …”. Such lurid language – and the often-dubious nature of the content it promotes – has become something of a running joke on the internet. Yet while these articles are often laughed at by communities online, they can have an insidious side. Clickbait, as it’s known, can frequently function as part of a trap: intended to draw users in for the sake of advertising revenue or, in worse cases, masking an attempting to collect their personal information. This #WakeUpWednesday guide explores the various risks of clickbait and offers some top tips for evading the pitfalls of this controversial marketing technique.
Easter Egg Competition
This year our competition theme was the Paris Olympics and we have had some eggstrodinary entries! Well done ot every family that entered this years competiton, the judges have had an eggstremely dificult decision this year! The winners will be announced in our special Easter Worship tomorrow, you are all welcome to join us.
Pre School - Making Easter Bunnies
The children have had so much fun making Easter bunnies at the workshop table. The children used different materials and techniques to create their own bunny.
Two’s Room - Egg Hunt
This afternoon, we went on an egg hunt in the outdoor area. We had to find lots of different coloured eggs. We all worked together as a team and found them all!
Measles Guidance
Please see the latest guidance for measles.
BwD Family Hub Website
Fantastic news! Our website is live! The Start for Life Family Hub Website is the gateway to information of where services are, it details everything a family will need in those 1001 critical days and beyond. Our Family Hubs and Children Centres are our Single point of access to those start for life, wider services and family help. The Hubs and Children Centres are the physical places where a family can visit and speak to a trained staff member, face to face, who will provide them with straightforward information or advice on a wide range of family issues spanning the 0-19 (25 with SEND) age range and connect them appropriately to further services across that age range if they need more targeted or specialist support.
Toileting Drop In Support Group
Lord St Family Hub are running a number of sessions to help and support you with toilet training your little one. Please see the dates and times listed in the photo, these sessions are ideal for ensuring your little one is ready for school in September.
Two’s Room - Cars and Ramps
We have been exploring the cars and different ramps, to see how fast the cars will go. We had lots of fun doing this!
Two’s Room - Art and Design - Creating Flowers
We had lots of fun making our own flower pictures today, just like in our story.
10 Top Tips for Parents and Educators: Encouraging Open Conversations at Home
Cultural and technological changes have made the experiences of today’s children vastly different to our own childhoods; it can be challenging to engage youngsters in open, honest conversation – especially about more sensitive topics. This, combined with many children’s instinct to avoid “rocking the boat”, can make it difficult to stay up to date with the goings on in their lives. However, it’s hugely important that trusted adults still offer an empathetic ear and feel able to encourage young people to open up about their day-to-day activities. This #WakeUpWednesday guide provides ten top tips for promoting open conversations with children – helping to make sure there’s someone they know they can turn to in times of need.
Nursery - PE - Balancing on a Ball
We had lots of fun in our PE session today. We have been learning how to sit and balance on a ball. This was very tricky to do but we all did so well. We also tried balancing with a partner using our feet and legs.
Pre School - Collage Creations
Today in funky fingers we used the scissors to cut the different wild animal prints to make a collage picture. Very impressed with our cutting skills.
Pre School - Maths - Dinosaurs
In Maths this week we have been counting dinosaurs and learning to give the correct amount asked for. We then sorted the dinosaurs and looked at which had more and less or the same.
Pre - School - Van Gogh - 3D Flowers
The children have been exploring the Artist Van Gogh and this week the children have created 3D flowers to stand out of the picture. This also links to our Literacy story Katie and the sunflowers. The children learnt new skills, rolling up the tissue paper in different ways to get a different effect.
Nursery - World Book Day
Nursery have had a wonderful day today celebrating World Book Day. They have dressed up, brought in teddies and shared stories!
Inclusion Coffee Morning
Yesterday we held a coffee morning to find out how we can represent all cultures in our Early Years. We had a fantastic turn out and we have some great ideas on how to move forward with this. Thank you to Mrs Adamson for leading this session. If you are interested in coming along to our next session, please send Miss Sears or Mrs Adamson a Dojo.
Two’s Room - Messy Fun!
We enjoyed having some messy fun, using the tractors to create marks with paint.
Two’s Room - On the Farm
We have had lots of fun today looking at our new story all about the farm. We enjoyed playing with the farm and the animals. We created pigs today using paper plates and pink paint.
Pre School - Keeping Ourselves Safe
Today in PSHE we have been looking at keeping ourselves safe looking at safe and unsafe things to put on our bodies and in our bodies. We looked at different medicines and shampoos. We talked about sand and mud and how we have to try and not get it in our eyes and make sure we wash our eyes.
Two’s Room - Minibeasts
We have had a fantastic week in nursery this week. We have been learning all about minibeasts and creating our own bees. We had lots of fun during rhyme time with our family members. We had fun playing in the water with the ducks. We looked at the word sitting and what it means to us. We all practiced doing this and we also showed this with other objects. We enjoyed playing a colour matching game where we had to match the different colours to the different coloured objects. We have spent time exploring the outdoors and we even found some worms.
Two’s Room - Rhyme Time
The parents and children in the Two’s room had a fantastic time during our rhyme time today. Thank you to all of the parents who could make it. Please don't worry if you couldn't make it this week as it will be running it every week.
Two’s Room Fun!
We have had lots of fun today. We have started looking at a new book this week, which is all about being a good friend. In our book, there are lots of different things to look at. We had a picnic together sharing all of our yummy food with our friends, just like in our story. We also created beautiful butterflies using lots of different materials. We had fun in the tuff tray making caterpillars and spiders by threading the cereal and pasta onto the pipe cleaners.
Online Safety - Self Regulation
As infants, we all rely completely on adults to help us resolve situations that are causing us to become upset or stressed. This is known as co-regulation. The next phase, once autonomy has begun to develop, is called self-regulation: this is when children start to become capable of exercising more control over their impulses and behaviour, and managing their own emotions. This vital developmental milestone, however, isn’t reached spontaneously. Learning to self-regulate requires sensitive guidance from trusted adults – simply talking with children about their thoughts and feelings, for instance, can ease the route to self-regulation. This #WakeUpWednesday guide has some expert tips for supporting children to reach this goal.