Reception- Expressive Arts and Design- Sparking Creativity
In a vibrant burst of curiosity, the reception classroom transforms into a miniature botanical studio as children dive into the world of floral painting. By observing real-life flowers including tulips and daisies alongside vivid photographs, the children learnt to bridge the gap between nature and art, noticing the intricate patterns of a petal or the deep green of a stem. This hands-on exploration does more than just fill a page, it sparks their creative confidence as they experiment with color mixing—discovering how a dash of yellow transforms blue into the perfect leaf-green. Each brushstroke is a lesson in sensory play and fine motor development, allowing their imaginations to bloom as they translate the beauty of the physical world into their own unique, colorful masterpieces.
Nursery/Pre-School - Maths - Matching Shadows
This week, the children in Nursery and Preschool have been busy working in our classroom "Vets" to help identify hurt animals that need their care. The children entered a special "X-ray room" where they were challenged to look at images of animal shadows and bones. This activity focused on their observation skills and their ability to recognize shapes and properties. The children looked closely at the silhouettes to spot identifying features, such as a long tail, big ears, or a sharp fin. Using these visual clues, the children then had to search the veterinary clinic to find the matching animal. This task encouraged the children to use mathematical language to describe what they could see and to use comparison skills to link the 2D shadow to the 3D toy animal. It was a wonderful way to develop their problem-solving skills and attention to detail while engaged in purposeful role-play.
Nursery/Pre-School-Chinese New Year
This week in Nursery/Pre-School we have been celebrating Chinese New Year- The year of the horse. The children have really engaged in our chinese restaurant, cooking up some lovely chinese food from our chinese menus. The children have been learning new fine motor skills to help them when using the chopsticks to pick up the chinese foods. Children have also enjoyed creating and decorating chinese lanterns which are on display around our environment.
Reception- Maths- 1 More
The reception classroom buzzed with excitement as the children embarked on a cosmic mathematical journey, focusing on the concept of "one more" for numbers up to 10. Using a vibrant space rocket as their primary tool, the students took turns placing a digit in the rocket's window and then determining the next number in the sequence to launch their craft. It was wonderful to see them move beyond simple counting; they seamlessly retrieved their prior knowledge from previous lessons, demonstrating a solid understanding of how numerical values grow. By physically writing "one more" to the window, the children didn't just recite numbers—they applied their logic to bridge the gap between abstract counting and concrete addition, proving they are ready for even greater mathematical adventures.
Reception- Music- Teddy Bears Picnic
The Reception children hosted a Teddy Bears’ Picnic during music class this week. The children showcased their hard work by performing the classic song with enthusiastic hand gestures and impressive rhythmic timing. The atmosphere was heartwarming as each child sat proudly on their blanket alongside a "special guest" brought from home—ranging from well-loved, tattered bears to vibrant plush dinosaurs. To wrap up the lesson, the music transitioned into a peaceful background melody while the children shared a snack with their stuffed companions, perfectly blending musical education with a sweet moment of social bonding.
Nursery And Pre-School - PSHE - Valentine's Stay And Play
This week, Nursery and Preschool were delighted to host a special "Stay and Play" session, inviting the children's grown-ups into the setting to celebrate Valentine's Day together. The children took great pride in being "tour guides" for their visitors, showing their grown-ups their favorite areas to play and explaining their daily routines. This provided a wonderful boost to their confidence and communication skills as they shared their learning environment with their families. Throughout the session, the children engaged in various collaborative crafts, working side-by-side with their grown-ups to create Valentine-themed art. It was lovely to see the children interacting so positively with each other and their families, demonstrating their ability to share resources and work together on creative tasks. The morning was a beautiful celebration of the bonds between home and school, filled with happy faces and a wonderful sense of community.
Nursery And Pre-School - PSHE - Valentine's Stay And Play
This week, Nursery and Preschool were delighted to host a special "Stay and Play" session, inviting the children's grown-ups into the setting to celebrate Valentine's Day together. The children took great pride in being "tour guides" for their visitors, showing their grown-ups their favorite areas to play and explaining their daily routines. This provided a wonderful boost to their confidence and communication skills as they shared their learning environment with their families. Throughout the session, the children engaged in various collaborative crafts, working side-by-side with their grown-ups to create Valentine-themed art. It was lovely to see the children interacting so positively with each other and their families, demonstrating their ability to share resources and work together on creative tasks. The morning was a beautiful celebration of the bonds between home and school, filled with happy faces and a wonderful sense of community.
Nursery - Art - Valentine's Flowers
This week, the children in the nursery class have been busy creating beautiful vases of flowers as special Valentine’s gifts for someone they love. The project began with the children focusing on their mark-making skills to decorate their vases. Using a variety of tools, including dabbers and felt tips, they practiced their control and intentional design to make each vase unique and colorful. To create the flowers, the children engaged in a tactile sensory experience by painting their hands with bright red paint. They then carefully used handprints to represent the flowers growing from their vases. This activity was a wonderful way for the children to explore the properties of paint and see how they can use their own bodies to create art. The finished pieces are a lovely celebration of the children's creativity and the spirit of Valentine's Day!
Reception- Science- Exploring Colours
Our classroom transformed into a mini-laboratory today as the children became scientists exploring the magic of colour! Using clear jars of vibrant primary-coloured water, the children took part in a hands-on experiment to discover what happens when colours collide. There were gasps of excitement and plenty of "oohs" and "aahs" as they carefully poured and mixed the liquids themselves. They watched with wide eyes as the blue and yellow swirled together to create a bright green, and red and blue transformed into a deep purple. By taking the lead in their own investigations, the children were able to see the immediate "cause and effect" of their actions, sparking wonderful scientific discussions about how many new shades they could create.
Reception- PSHE-Teamwork
In our sand area today, our little builders turned into a team of royal architects! The children worked brilliantly together to create a magnificent castle fit for a giant. Using a mix of sturdy bricks and textured sand, they communicated their ideas with wonderful clarity, discussing exactly how to make the walls tall enough and where the giant would sleep. It was fantastic to hear them negotiating space, with one child suggesting, "Let's use the sand to make a moat!" while another added, "We need the biggest bricks for the giant's tower!" By sharing their thoughts and listening to each other’s suggestions, they successfully added a grand entrance and a lookout point, proving that their teamwork was just as strong as their building.
Nursery - Literacy - Bakery Creations
This week, the children loved visiting our classroom Valentine's bakery, where they used playdough to "bake" their own cakes, biscuits, and treats. The activity provided a fantastic workout for their fine motor skills. The children worked hard to squeeze, splat, roll, pinch, and poke the dough, building the hand strength needed for future writing. They used cutters to create heart-shaped biscuits and carefully placed dough into cupcake cases, adding various decorations to finish their "bakes." As the play progressed, some children were inspired to record their work. They moved from the dough table to the drawing area, where they transferred their real-life creations into drawings. This was a wonderful way for the children to give meaning to their marks, as they explained what they had drawn and matched their pictures to the treats they had made in the bakery.
Pre-School-Expressive Art And Design-Junk Modelling
Last week, the children dug deep into their imaginations to create their very own masterpieces in expressive art and design. They were given a range of materials, including glue, tape, paper, tissue paper and plenty of junk modelling resources, and were then encouraged to see what they could create. We saw unicorns, robots, rockets and so much more. I was incredibly proud of their imaginative thinking and the teamwork that went into bringing their creations to life.
.png){kind=logo}
