Nursery And Pre-School - Maths - Categorising Objects
Our nursery and preschool children have been diving into early mathematical concepts this week with a vibrant, hands-on activity at the light table! The illuminated setting provided a captivating backdrop for multi-layered learning as the children explored colour, size, and counting. The children began by categorising glowing coloured blocks and translucent splats by colour, matching and grouping similar shades. From there, they put their counting skills to work by building colorful rainbow towers, carefully counting each block as they built higher. As the towers grew, the children explored height and spatial vocabulary, working together to identify which structures were the shortest and which were the tallest. To solidify their understanding, we supported the children in using this new mathematical language in short, complete sentences—such as "This red tower is the tallest!"—helping them connect physical play directly to clear mathematical thinking.
Nursery And Pre-School - Literacy - Wiggle Me Into Squiggle
Our Nursery and Pre-school children have made a fantastic start to our new 'Wiggle Me into Squiggle' intervention this week! This programme focuses on developing large, gross motor movements, which form the essential physical foundation needed for fine motor control and early writing. This week, our focus was all about mastering 'UP' movements. The children began in a group setting using ribbons in each hand, lifting their arms high and watching the fabric flow through the air as they tracked their physical movements. To refine these big movements into early mark-making, the children then moved over to the easels holding two paintbrushes at once. Working with both hands simultaneously helped strengthen their bilateral coordination while turning those large arm sweeps into controlled, painted strokes on paper. It has been brilliant to see their confidence grow as they connect active movement directly to writing skills!
Nursery And Pre-School - PSHE - Outdoor Exploration
What a fantastic first week back! We have loved welcoming our nursery and preschool children back into the setting as they jump into exploring our new environment. The outdoor area has been a huge hit, with the children eager to try out the new resources and enjoy learning in the fresh air. It has been wonderful to watch them dive into independent play with so much curiosity, making new friends and settling into their routines with big smiles.
Nursery/Pre-School-P.S.H.E-Welcome Back
Nursery /Preschool would like to welcome back our children and welcome all our new starters that will be starting with Darwen St James Nursery over the next couple of weeks. We are super excited to meet you all and start our learning journey in Nursery/Preschool.
Nursery/Pre-School-R.E-Noah's Ark
In our R.E. lessons, we have been learning all about Noah's Ark. The children loved listening to Noah's story and understanding why he had to build an ark for himself, his family, and all the animals. They learned that God asked him to save the good so that the bad could be washed away. The children then got creative and made their very own Noah's arks, drawing the animals onto them. To finish off, the children drew lovely rainbows to put across their arks to represent God's promise never to flood the earth again.
Pre-School-P.S.H.E-Transition Day
Last week, all our preschoolers enjoyed their transition taster day in their new Reception classroom with their new teacher, Mrs Jennison. Although this was a little scary for some, they were all super brave and gave it their all. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and are now very much looking forward to this next step in their school life.
Nursery And Pre-School - Science - Exploring Textures
This week, our Nursery and Pre-School children became young scientists as they explored how the texture of a familiar object can change when it is manipulated in different ways. Using bread as their subject, the children participated in a sensory experiment to observe three distinct states of texture. The investigation began with plates of fresh bread being passed around the circle. This first state sparked excellent descriptive vocabulary, with the children identifying the texture as "soft" and "spongy." Next, the children were introduced to bread that looked identical to the first sample but had been frozen. They immediately noticed a significant change in its physical properties, observing that it was now "hard" and "rough." The children delighted in discovering that they could tap the frozen bread firmly against their plates—an action that was impossible with the soft, fresh bread. Finally, the class explored what would happen when water was added to the bread. The children watched in fascination as the poured water instantly disappeared. This led to an engaging group discussion about where the water had gone, with several children accurately concluding that the bread had "soaked it up." When this final state was passed around the circle, the children used their senses to describe the completely transformed texture, labeling it as "squidgy," "slimy," and "wet." This hands-on experiment provided a fantastic introduction to material properties, absorption, and scientific observation.
Nursery-Pre-School-Outdoor Environment-Splashing In The Sun
Last week in Nursery and Pre-School, the children absolutely loved our splash zone! They were so excited to get into the water trays and have a great splash in the cool water, which was the perfect way to keep them cool during the hot weather. There was so much fun and laughter as they splashed, sat, paddled, and explored with the water toys.
Nursery/Pre-School-Continuous Provision-Independent Learning
This week in Nursery and Pre-School, the children have been super excited exploring our learning environment. We have added some new areas in the nursery; we now have a 'baby station' where children can wash the babies, dry them, and get them dressed. On our Funky Fingers table, we have a World Cup football match! The children use their fine motor skills to flick their player to the ball and score goals. They have absolutely loved playing as England footballers.
Nursery And Pre-School - Geography - Our Holiday To Bora Bora
This week, our Nursery and Pre-School children launched a brilliant child-led adventure by building their own role-play aeroplane. From issuing tickets and serving refreshments to piloting the flight, they had fantastic fun exploring transport, teamwork, and global environments!
Nursery And Pre-School - Geography - Where Did I Go On Holiday?
This week, our Nursery and Pre-School children have been exploring different holiday destinations around the world to build their understanding of global geography. To support this topic, families kindly sent in photographs of the children on their own holidays. The children thoroughly enjoyed showcasing these pictures to their peers, proudly sharing stories about their personal holiday experiences, the things they saw, and how they traveled. Following these discussions, the classes gathered around our giant globe. Together, the children helped pinpoint exactly where each holiday destination was located in relation to where we live. This interactive lesson provided a wonderful, personal way for our youngest learners to begin understanding world maps, distance, and the diverse world around them.
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Nursery And Pre-School - R.E - The Story Of Baby Moses
This week, our Nursery and Pre-School children have been exploring the biblical story of Moses, focusing on how his mother floated him to safety down the river Nile to be rescued by the Egyptian princess. The lesson began with the children watching an animated retelling of the story to build their foundational understanding of the narrative and its key characters. This visual introduction captured their imagination and prepared them for the hands-on learning that followed. Afterward, the children visited the dedicated R.E. table, which was set up with themed props. They used these storytelling pieces to collaboratively retell the journey of baby Moses, practice sequencing the events, and discuss the story with their peers. Alongside this interactive play, the children accessed the creative craft area to design their own scenes of Moses floating safely down the river. This blended approach successfully encouraged both spiritual reflection and creative expression across the early years classes.
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