Reception- Technology-Follow The Mouse
In the bustling environment of the Reception classroom, the children took their first exciting steps into the digital world by mastering the IT mouse. With small hands poised carefully over the device, they practiced the fundamental skill of clicking the buttons to navigate the mouse along a winding track. This activity served as a fantastic practical application of positional language, as the children eagerly called out "left" and "right" to guide their movements and keep their mouse on the path. Developing this fine motor control is a huge milestone; it requires the coordination to input information into the mouse and how many steps it would make. Taking turns in this simple game with friends to show awareness of digital literacy.
Reception- Worship- Easter Story
The children in Reception were absolutely captivated this week as Jack the Puppet joined the circle to share the vibrant story of Palm Sunday. With Jack’s help, the children "travelled" to Jerusalem, imagining the dusty streets filled with waving palm branches and joyful shouts of "Hosanna!" as Jesus arrived on a humble donkey. Through Jack’s gentle storytelling, the children learned that Jesus didn't come as a powerful king to be served, but as a friend who showed extraordinary kindness to everyone he met. Jack explained how Jesus encouraged his disciples to follow his lead—teaching them that a small act of love, like sharing or helping a friend, is the most important job of all. It was wonderful to see the children's faces light up as they realised they could be "kindness champions" just like the disciples.
Nursery/Pre-School-Continuous Provision-Independent Learning
There has been lots of exciting independent learning happening in our Nursery/Pre-school this week! Our story of the week is Jasper’s Beanstalk. The children have enjoyed becoming 'little gardeners' and exploring different ways of planting flowers, creating beanstalks at the play dough table, and using their maths skills to measure beanstalks of different sizes.
Nursery/Pre-School - R.E - Kind Hands And Caring Hearts
This week, the children in Nursery and Preschool have been exploring the Easter story. We focused on the scene before the Last Supper, where Jesus washed his disciples' feet. To help the children understand this story, we watched a short cartoon video that showed how Jesus cared for his friends. Inspired by the video, the children had the opportunity to act out this act of service themselves. After taking off their shoes and socks, they used wet wipes to carefully clean their own feet, just as they had seen in the story. Following the activity, we sat together to talk about the meaning behind this story. We discussed how even though Jesus was a very special man, he still chose to help people and treat others with kindness. We linked this back to our own classroom values, reminding the children that at nursery, we always use our kind hands and kind words. We spoke about our mantra, sharing is caring, and how we look after all of our friends to make sure everyone is happy and included in our play.
Nursery / Pre-School - Maths - Hungry Hippos
This week, Nursery and Preschool engaged in an exciting, large-scale game of "Hungry Hippos" to support their mathematical development. The activity was adapted to meet different learning focuses, allowing all children to explore concepts of quantity and comparison through active play. Exploring Full and Empty For some children, the focus was on the concepts of "full" and "empty." As they moved around the classroom to collect the scattered balls, they closely observed how their baskets changed. They practiced identifying when their basket was "empty" at the start and the satisfying moment it became "full" once all the balls were gathered. Comparison and Equal Quantities Other children used the game to develop their understanding of comparison. Working in teams, they aimed to collect the "same" number of balls in each basket. This required great focus and teamwork as they counted their hauls and compared them to the other team's basket to see if the quantities were "equal" or "different." Matching and Sorting To add an extra challenge, some children focused on the properties of the balls as well as the quantity. They worked to ensure that both baskets were "identical" by matching the colors of the balls they collected. This encouraged high-level observation and sorting skills, as they had to find the exact color matches to make their sets the same. This energetic activity successfully combined physical movement with key mathematical language, helping the children visualize and describe the groups they were creating.
Nursery / Pre-School - Science - Where Did Dinosaurs Live?
In celebration of National Science Week, the children in Nursery and Pre-School have been investigating the lives of dinosaurs. The lesson was sparked by the children's curiosity as they began questioning where dinosaurs lived and what their environments were like. To help answer these questions, the children accessed the playdough table to create their own dinosaur models. Using image references and Widgits, they worked to identify specific physical characteristics that provided clues about a dinosaur's lifestyle. They looked for features like long necks for reaching high trees, sharp teeth for eating meat, or wings for flying. The children used a variety of resources on the table to mimic these characteristics in their own creations. This hands-on exploration allowed them to move from simple questioning to making scientific connections between an animal's body and its habitat or diet. It was a fantastic way to encourage critical thinking and observation skills while celebrating the wonder of the natural world.
Nursery/Pre-School-P.S.H.E-Looking After Ourselves-Teddy Bears Picnic
This week in P.S.H.E., we explored the importance of self-care and healthy living. To put our learning into practice, we hosted a "Healthy Picnic" alongside some very special guests—our favorite teddy bears from home! During our session, the children discussed how to fuel our bodies with nutritious food and shared their daily self-care routines, from brushing teeth to keeping germs at bay with a good soak in the bath.
Reception- Maths- Make A Double
In their latest maths adventure, the Reception children dived into the concept of doubling with a hands-on, prehistoric twist. The classroom was buzzing with excitement as the children constructed a tall wall to hide a small group of dinosaurs on the other side. To sharpen their "subitising" skills—the ability to recognize a quantity without counting—the children were invited to take a "quick look" over the wall before the dinosaurs were hidden once more. After identifying the initial number of dinosaurs they saw, the challenge began: they had to calculate what that number would be if it were doubled. This playful activity turned an abstract mathematical operation into a visual game, helping the children understand that doubling is simply adding the same amount again to create a larger total.
Reception- English- Create A Front Cover
During a literacy session, the Reception class embarked on a creative journey by selecting their very own favorite stories to explore in depth. After listening closely to the tales and discussing the vibrant illustrations, the children were tasked with designing their own unique front covers based on what they had seen and heard. This activity served as a fantastic workout for their fine motor skills, as they carefully manipulated their pens to bring their visions to life. Beyond the artistic effort, the project provided a wonderful platform for the children to communicate their personal interests, explaining why certain characters or scenes resonated with them. By translating auditory and visual information into their own tangible creations, they not only strengthened their early literacy comprehension but also gained confidence in expressing their individual identities.
Nursery / Pre-School - Literacy - Using Gross And Fine Motor Skills To Put The Fires Out
Oh no! The nursery was "on fire" this week, and our brave children jumped at the opportunity to act out their firefighter dreams to help save the day. This high-energy role-play was a fantastic way for the children to develop their communication and language skills as they worked together to shout "Help!" and "Fire!" To "put out the fires," the children used a variety of tools that provided a brilliant workout for their fine motor skills and hand strength. They practiced different movements to build up their muscles by squeezing spray bottles and sponges, pinching pipettes to drop water onto the "flames," and gripping paint brushes to "paint" water over the fire. It was wonderful to see the children so engaged in their mission. By using these tools, they are not only being heroic firefighters but also developing the essential coordination and strength needed for their future writing journeys!
Pre-School-P.E-Yoga
In P.E. last week, the children really enjoyed and engaged in our yoga session. It was a fun and energetic way to learn new skills using our bodies to develop both gross and fine motor skills. The children all tried their very best to achieve each yoga pose, using their upper body strength in some poses and lower body strength in others.
Reception- Literacy- Reading
Watching Reception children engage with guided reading books on a daily basis is like witnessing a series of small, brilliant light bulbs flickering on in real time. As the children transition from simply "reading" the pictures to decoding phonemes and blending sounds with growing confidence. This daily consistency is key; it transforms the daunting task of literacy into a predictable, rewarding adventure where high-frequency words become familiar friends. The magic lies in the structured support—by revisiting carefully leveled texts every day, children don't just improve their fluency, they build the "reading stamina" necessary for more complex stories. You can see their pride swell as they realize that the squiggles on the page carry meaning, turning every session into a significant milestone in their journey toward becoming independent readers.
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