Nursery - Literacy - Creating Marks And Following Patterns
Making links with Diwali celebrations, Nursery class have been making marks and following patterns in glitter. The children selected their mark making tools and used their fine motor skills to draw in the glitter, noticing the black void that their movements had made. The children were encouraged to copy the shapes made by their teachers, mimicking small and big movements. Some children were also able to slowly trace the patterns drawn under the glitter to reveal the lines.
Nursery - Maths - Categorising Objects
This week, Nursery class have been reading 'kitchen disco', two of the first fruits we have explored are lemons and oranges. We discussed the size difference, encouraging the verbal use of 'big' and 'small'. The children vocalised the shape of the sliced fruit segments being 'circle' and also used their senses to smell each piece to help differentiate between the lemons and the oranges. We then separated the fruit into piles of oranges and piles of limes, the children used their own methods to do this from their knowledge gained during the adult led part of this activity. Well done Nursery class!
Fire Safety
A Home Office study has found that approximately 350 children are injured in accidental fires every year
Nursery - PSHE - Birthday Celebrations
Our new story for this week is 'Happy Birthday Lulu'. The children have really enjoyed reading about Lulu's celebrations on her big day, so we also took a look at our own birthday celebrations. We took turns in tapping the gifts on the screen to reveal the images behind. The children loved sharing pictures of their birthdays with the class and likewise, they enjoyed looking at their friends celebrations too. We discussed what items we could see in the pictures, presents, cakes, balloons, family members and more!
Nursery - Computing - Can You Design A Cake?
The children in Nursery class have been working on their computing skills this week. They have learnt how to navigate software on purple mash to design a birthday cake. Using their fingers, hands and even noses, the children have been able to select different cake toppings and make marks of their choice on the screen, watching their creations develop as they drew.
Nursery - PSHE - What Would You Like To Be When You Grow Up?
Our dressing up box has been the focal point of our learning this week. The children have explored different job roles as we have discussed what they would like to be when they grow up. Using our brilliant role play skills we have been able to take on the job roles of, police officers, fire fighters, postal workers, doctors and nurses, builders and chefs!
Nursery - Science - Exploring Shadows
This week Nursery class have accessed our sensory room to explore different shadows. The children used torches to shine light onto different objects, including their hands, balls, cars, animals and other objects from around our classroom. The children made links between the size of the shadows they saw and how far away their torch was, investigating this by moving the torches backwards and forward. The children loved this activity and have continued to develop their understanding of shadows throughout the week, during their independent learning time.
Nursery - Science - Identifying Body Parts
This week, Nursery class have been learning all about themselves and we have focused on their different body parts. The children have really enjoyed incorporating songs into their learning so we have been listening to 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' to support their understanding. The class used their listening skills and did really well, engaging with the song and listening to the different body parts that they needed to find.
Nursery - Maths - Capacity
Our maths focus this week in Nursery class has been capacity! The children have been encouraged to use the target language 'empty', 'full' and 'more' and correctly link those words with their experiences while exploring different areas of our classroom. Water play has been one of the main aids in this area of learning, the children have used different jugs, cups and containers to develop their pouring skills, hand eye coordination and also to further support their understanding of capacity.
Nursery - Maths - Using Language 'Big And Small' And Sorting By Size
This week we have used the resources on our malleable tray to support the children's understanding of big and small. The children were tasked to find big and small pompoms of various colours and were encouraged to repeat and label the pompom 'big' or 'small'. Some children extended their learning and were able to find lots of pompoms of the same size and colour and successfully categorise them. Great job Nursery Class.
Nursery And PreSchool - P.E - Gross Motor Skills
In PE this week Nursery and PreSchool have been working on their gross motor skills, exploring different ways to move their bodies! The children walked, ran, slithered, crawled and jumped around the hall. They also used their listening skills to stop and freeze when asked. We also worked on some colour recognition as the children were tasked to find specific coloured hoops between the different movements.
Nursery - Music - Exploring Different Instruments
This week we have been reading 'Goat goes to playgroup'. In our story, Goat plays a variety of different instruments, so the children explored them too! They learnt the names of some new instruments and how to play them correctly, some of the children were also able to make loud and quiet sounds with their instruments. We had lots of fun exploring the different sounds and enjoyed making LOTS of noise!
Nursery - Science - Scattering Wildflower Seeds
We took some inspiration from this week's story and decided to scatter some wildflower seeds! The children loved shaking the seeds into the soil and made some predictions about what colour they thought the flowers would be once they grow. The children used gentle hands to rake the soil and have worked hard watering our seeds. We will continue to take care of them and hopefully, in spring, our wildflowers will bloom and brighten up our flower bed! We can't wait to see them grow.
Nursery- Art-Colours
In Expressive Arts and Design this week we have been exploring colours. We watched the colours change when mixed together and gave meanings to our marks.
Nursery-PSHE-Exploring The Environment
The children have had a fantastic week back, meeting new friends and exploring the environment. Learning how to use new resources and engage in different activities around the classroom.
What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Worry and Anxiety
At times, growing up can be a stressful experience. It’s not unheard of for young people to fret about things that could potentially go wrong in their lives – and what implications this would have for their life. In some situations, this can go beyond feeling uneasy about the future and become full-blown anxiety, which affects their mental, emotional and even physical wellbeing. While worry and anxiety can originate from many different places, it's immensely important for parents and educators to understand the effect this can have on youngsters – and how best to support them if they’re going through a difficult time. This guide provides insight into the ramifications of worry and anxiety, and how you can help children manage – and hopefully overcome – these challenges.
Nursery- UTW-Celebration
We have had lots of fun playing party games in Nursery. Learning to play pass the parcel and musical chairs and trying to understand that we might not always win. We developed our fine motor skills popping bubbles with our fingers and catching the balloons when they went up into the air. We enjoyed sharing the celebration with the Pre School children.
Nursery - Maths - Link Octopus
This week the children in Nursery class have been using their fine motor skills to assist them with our maths challenge. Using their knowledge of colour, the little ones were able to select different links and join them to the corresponding coloured tentacle on our octopus. This was very fiddly and needed a lot of perseverance! The children were encouraged to name or repeat the colour of the link they had chosen and some children also correctly identified which tentacle was the longest and which was the shortest. Great work, Nursery!
Nursery - Computing - Can You Draw A Sea Animal?
The children in Nursery class have accessed the interactive board to create a picture of a sea animal. They each chose their favorite sea animal from the basket, we discussed what it was called and what characteristics we could see on the animal. The children then selected a colour or texture for their picture and began to make marks on the board to represent their sea animal. They made some fabulous masterpieces and were very proud of their work!
Nursery - Geography - Exploring Sea And Land Animals
This week we have been looking at different animals and the places where they live. The children did really well in distinguishing between the land animals and sea animals and were able to place them in the correct habitat.
Nursery - Maths - Sorting By Size
In Nursery class, the children have been using the shells in the sand pit to explore size. We used the target language 'big' and 'small' to describe each shell and also grouped the shells together with others that matched in size.
Nursery - Literacy - Remembering Parts of A Story
In Nursery class this week we have really enjoyed reading 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' together. The children have been encouraged to join in at story time, helping to read the story and using our story props to support their understanding. Some of the children recalled the beginning middle and end of the story and could order our story props to represent this.
Pre School-R.E- Noah and the Ark
Noah and the Ark In our R.E lesson the children have been learning about the story of Noah and how God sent a big flood. Noah and his family saved two of each animal from the flood. They waited 40 days before seeing land again. The children enjoyed role playing with the different animals and adding them into the Ark. The children also created their favourite animal from the story.
Nursery - PE - Throwing Skills
Following on from our PE lesson the children continued to develop their throwing skills. They enjoyed throwing balls into our sticky spider web and persevered with their aim, celebrating with each other when they succeeded to get their ball stuck in the web.
Nursery - Maths - Capacity
During independent learning this week we have focused on capacity. The children have explored our water area and the mud kitchen outdoors and used the pots, pans and pouring apparatus to explore full and empty. The children have been encouraged to use the language 'full' and 'empty' to describe what they could see.
Pre School- Physical Development- Cutting skills
On our fine motor table this week, we have been developing our cutting skills. Learning how to hold the scissors correctly and move along the lines that are on the paper. The children worked really hard cutting out and making cuts into the paper.
Nursery - Art - Colour Mixing
Nursery class have been working on colour recognition and also exploring color mixing with paint. The children used the three prime colours, red, blue and yellow, to create their pictures and were encouraged to talk about the colours they could see in their work.
Nursery - Maths - Science - Using Magnets To Create A Caterpillar
The children in Nursery class have really enjoyed using the magnets to create their own caterpillars. During this activity some children noticed that their caterpillar wasn't sticking together, with perseverance and problem solving skills being used, they were able to adjust the magnets accordingly so they would link together. We also discussed the colours used, identified big and small caterpillars and some children joined in with counting the links on their caterpillars.
Nursery - PSED - Understanding Feelings
The children in Nursery class have been exploring facial expressions and feelings this week. During story time we have discussed the different characters and how they might be feeling, some children were also able to give a reason why the pirates were sad. The children were able to group together pictures of sad and happy expressions and displayed these in our emotions area.
Nursery - Maths. PE. - Building and Throwing
In Nursery class we have been following a pirate theme, linking with this the children used their construction skills to build walls out of our jumbo lego bricks. We discussed the colour and size of the bricks and the children also persevered to get them linked together. They then selected a 'cannon ball' and used a throwing skill to knock over the walls that they had built. The children really enjoyed this activity!
Nursery Class - PSED - Can You Dress The Pirates?
Nursery Class have been exploring all about pirates this week. The children were tasked with choosing some clothing and dressing the pirates. We spoke about the name of the item of clothing and where on the body it would go.
Ordering School Meals Via ParentPay
We have listened to your feedback regarding wanting to know what your child eats in school and we have now activated ParentPay meal ordering so that you can order what your child will eat in school (please note thaat this will be compulsory form September). Please familiarise yourself with this by logging on to your ParentPay account and selecting your child's meals with them at home. Dinners need to be ordered before 9am. Please message Miss Greenwood if you have any problems logging on, thank you.
Nursery Class - Physical Development, PE - 'The Floor Is Water' Balancing Obstacle Course.
The children in Nursery Class have been working really hard on their balancing skills. An obstacle course was set up in our garden for the children to try and navigate around. We named this 'The floor is water' and the aim was to complete the obstacle course and not get eaten by the sharks! They have shown a great growth mindset and have not given up when they have fallen off. Brilliant Perseverance Nursery Class!
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.