Image of Nursery - Literacy - Fine Motor Skills
16 Jun

Nursery - Literacy - Fine Motor Skills

This week, our two-year-olds put their fine motor skills to the test with a fun lion-themed challenge! The children were tasked with creating a magnificent lion's mane using clothes pegs. This was a fantastic way to strengthen those little hand muscles! Some of our children focused on the crucial first step, diligently practising just squeezing the pegs open and closed. This action is vital for developing hand strength and coordination. Others, ready for the next challenge, skillfully navigated the pegs onto the lion's face, carefully attaching them to form a spiky, mane. It was wonderful to see each child working at their own pace, developing essential skills that will help them with everything from holding a pencil to buttoning their coats. Our little learners showed great determination and focus.

Image of Pre-school-Maths-Patterns-Notice Error in Repeated Patterns
16 Jun

Pre-school-Maths-Patterns-Notice Error in Repeated Patterns

Children used different activities to find errors in repeated patterns, some children had to find the error using colour bears some had picture cards and had to identify the error and others used lego bricks to help them find the error in the repeated pattern. Finding errors in repeated patterns is a crucial step in developing early mathematical thinking in Early Years children. It helps them understand the concept of a "unit of repeat" and strengthens their logical reasoning skills. This helps the children with- Pattern Recognition: It reinforces their understanding of what a pattern is and how it repeats. Logical Reasoning: It encourages them to think critically and identify what doesn't fit the established rule. Problem-Solving: It provides a hands-on opportunity to fix mistakes and see the immediate result of their correction.

Image of Pre-school-Maths-Patterns-Notice Error in Repeated Patterns
16 Jun

Pre-school-Maths-Patterns-Notice Error in Repeated Patterns

Children used different activities to find errors in repeated patterns, some children had to find the error using colour bears some had picture cards and had to identify the error and others used lego bricks to help them find the error in the repeated pattern. Finding errors in repeated patterns is a crucial step in developing early mathematical thinking in Early Years children. It helps them understand the concept of a "unit of repeat" and strengthens their logical reasoning skills. This helps the children with- Pattern Recognition: It reinforces their understanding of what a pattern is and how it repeats. Logical Reasoning: It encourages them to think critically and identify what doesn't fit the established rule. Problem-Solving: It provides a hands-on opportunity to fix mistakes and see the immediate result of their correction.

Image of Pre-School- UTW-Life Cycle Of A Caterpillar
11 Jun

Pre-School- UTW-Life Cycle Of A Caterpillar

Over the last few weeks the children have been observing caterpillars and watching what happens next. We introduced the eggs to the children and explained what is in the jar. As the weeks went on we started to see the caterpillars pop out of the eggs and start to grow. The caterpillars got bigger and bigger and then needed to go home with Mrs Corbally to be looked after in the holidays. At this time the caterpillars went into their cocoons and we waited and waited to see what happened next. On the first day back into nursery we had butterflies! The children helped to feed the butterflies sugar water and oranges before letting them go.

Image of Nursery - Phonics - Identifying Animal Sounds
10 Jun

Nursery - Phonics - Identifying Animal Sounds

Today, the nursery class actively engaged in a Phase 1 Phonics activity, focusing on listening and identifying wild animal sounds. The children displayed excellent listening skills, showing focused attention as different animal noises were played. They enthusiastically participated, attempting to identify each sound and often trying to imitate them. It was noted that some of the sounds were familiar, like the lion, while others, such as the elephant or monkey, introduced them to new animals, directly linking with our current story, Dear Zoo. This activity was excellent for developing their auditory discrimination, a key pre-reading skill, and also supported their language development and cognitive abilities through sound-matching and recall. The children's high level of engagement showed it was a fun and effective learning experience.

Image of Pre-School- PSHE- Changing As We Grow
10 Jun

Pre-School- PSHE- Changing As We Grow

The children have been learning how we change over time and what things we need to make this happen. The children discussed that babies need food and sleep to grow. To help us grow the children talked about looking after our bodies, we spoke about losing our baby teeth and getting our adult teeth and this is a sign of growing up. We talked about the different stages of growing up from a baby to an adult looking at pictures and using each other to measure our growth.

Image of Reception - RE - Visit To The Church
22 May

Reception - RE - Visit To The Church

As part of our unit on Special Places, Reception Class visited our local church. They took time to notice all the special parts in the church such as the cross and coloured windows. We then discussed how people worship God and we had our own worship time using the instruments.

Image of Nursery - Listening And Attention - What Is My Animal?
21 May

Nursery - Listening And Attention - What Is My Animal?

During our listening and attention activity the children showed great curiosity towards our mystery animal in the box.The children were given 3 possible animals and were tasked with listening to clues relating to the mystery animal to find the correct match. Each child listened very carefully to to various clues such as ‘my animal can fly’ or ‘my animal likes to jump’, and used those clues to match the characteristics to a specific animal, either by pointing, reaching, or vocalizing the animal's name or sound. While individual children showed varying speeds of processing, the group as a whole successfully narrowed down the choices, often arriving at the correct animal after one or two clues. This activity effectively engaged the group in a shared listening experience, prompting active participation in a problem-solving task.

Image of Online Safety - Violent Content Online
21 May

Online Safety - Violent Content Online

Around 70% of teenagers say they’ve seen real-life violence on social media in the past year. Violent content online isn’t just something young people are occasionally stumbling across – in many cases, it’s becoming a routine part of their digital world. From fights and stabbings to toxic ideologies , disturbing videos are often just a click away on social media or group chats. This week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide highlights the unseen risks this poses to children’s mental health , sense of safety, and social behaviours. With insights from a leading expert , it offers practical ways for parents and educators to respond with empathy and support – not punishment or panic.

Image of Pre-School-Understanding The World-Bug Explorers
21 May

Pre-School-Understanding The World-Bug Explorers

This week in Understanding of the world the children have been bug explorers. The children used a range of equipment like magnifying glasses and bug catchers to explore our outdoor area to see what creepy crawlies they could find. The children loved to explore with the different equipment and also enjoyed looking at all the bugs we found such as worms, woodlouse, beetles, flies, spiders, slugs and snails. Bug exploring in EYFS is a fantastic way to engage young children with the natural world and supports a wide range of developmental areas. It fosters curiosity, observation skills, language development, physical skills, and an understanding of living things and their habitats.

Image of Pre School - Phonics - Sound Hunt
21 May

Pre School - Phonics - Sound Hunt

In Preschool the children have started to learn some of the sounds from phase two phonics. Each week the children will learn two new sounds. The sounds we have learnt so far are s,a,t and p. The children love to find objects that begin with the given sound, we play games with these sounds with the flashcards hidden around our nursery. Phase 2 phonics focuses on introducing new letter sounds and building blending and segmenting skills. Children learn how to combine sounds to make words and how to break words down into individual sounds.

Image of Pre-School-Understanding The World-Bug Explorers
21 May

Pre-School-Understanding The World-Bug Explorers

This week in Understanding of the world the children have been bug explorers. The children used a range of equipment like magnifying glasses and bug catchers to explore our outdoor area to see what creepy crawlies they could find. The children loved to explore with the different equipment and also enjoyed looking at all the bugs we found such as worms, woodlouse, beetles, flies, spiders, slugs and snails.