Nursery Blog

We have had an exciting week learning about wheels. The children had a great time on our Nursery Trip to Stockwood Park. We did a workshop and looked for the biggest and smallest wheel in the gallery. We then had to measure the wheels using a tape measure. There were lots of different wheels - on carriages, cars and bicycles. We listened to the story 'Mrs Armitage on Wheels' and helped stick on the new parts of her bike. We went to the sensory garden and found the prettiest, largest, nicest smelling and softest plant. We then did a trail of the park, finding chickens, a tractor, lion statues, a statue of a tortoise and a honeysuckle bench. The children loved going on the coach and were very well behaved the whole day. Thank you so much to all the parents, grandparents and carers who were able to help. This week we also learnt how to use the Woodwork Area safely. We had a go at banging a nail into some wood using a hammer and talked about the different tools in the area. We ...

The children came back well to Nursery and were keen to share what they had been up to over half term. We were very proud of the way the children performed in our May Dance before the half term break. This week our topic has been Horses and Unicorns. In our Small World Area we have been acting out stories using the Unicorns and Ponies. They went swimming in the sea, sang songs and rescued one of the baby unicorns from the 'bad' unicorn. We have been playing Maths games this week, trying to match the number of spots to the number on the dice. We have also been checking to see if we can find the right numeral to match. This has been great for turn taking. We used the computer to find information on how people travelled before there were cars. Lulu guessed they used ponies and some other children thought they would walk. We also found out that horses have special shoes to wear and that they go to the Blacksmith to have them fitted. We read the story Sugarlump and the Unico...

We have had a busy week in Nursery. The children have been using positional language and following instructions to place people in different parts of a caravan. We have been finding out about Hot Air Balloons and lots of the children could explain they needed fire to work and that this helped them go upwards. We have been making Hot Air Balloons with papier mache, but just need to add the baskets. We had a fun time at Woodlands, testing cars on different surfaces and finding leaves with different numbers of parts. The children did really well recording how many parts the leaves had and used numbers or spots to show how many there were. These children have shown excellent characteristics of learning this week. Blake was like Bee and was good at deciding how to make a bridge for the car in Woodlands. Emily tested her ideas like Fox by testing the cars on different surfaces at Woodlands. Ryan had a go like Blue Tit and recorded his ideas using a whiteboard. Ethan concentrated really...

This week we have been learning about trains. We have been very impressed with how the children have approached making a train using the junk modelling. We have seen lots of characteristics of learning linked to the animals in our learning wood; concentrating, planning and ideas. It was great to see how the children used their knowledge of shape to find objects to make their trains. In Maths we have been learning how a total stays the same when none of the objects are added or taken away. We used trains and put the small people into the carriages. We have been enjoying our school role play and pretending to be teachers. The children have really been able to take on a role and have been doing great impressions of us!!! We started our May Dance in P.E., dancing to 'Daisy, Daisy'. The children all joined in and thought of some moves for the dance. We will be continuing this for our P.E. sessions over the next few weeks. It was lovely that so many of you were able to join...

This week we have been learning about the artist Monet. We found out that he lived a long time ago, had a big beard, lived in a pink house and painted by making splodges. We liked looking at one of his waterlily paintings and read the story Katie and the Waterlily Pond. In the Creative Area we used blue, green and lilac tissue paper to collage a background to look like the pond. We cut out lily pads and folded tissue paper on top to make the lilies. Our tadpoles are continuing to grow and by the end of the week we could see some tiny legs growing out the back of the tadpoles. Sophia watched Mrs Keith clean the tadpoles out and she was very concerned that she didn't frighten them. Our plants have been growing in the greenhouse and we have been making sure we have been looking after them by watering them. Some were getting too big for the yoghurt pots so we replanted them. Freya noticed that the plants had roots at the bottom. Reception have been looking after some eggs this we...

Welcome back to Nursery. We hope you enjoyed the Easter holidays. We were pleased to see so many children bringing in the seeds they have started to grow. We will be keeping them in the Nursery greenhouse so that the children can continue to look after them and watch how they change over the next few weeks. This week the children told us about what they did in the Easter holidays and drew pictures and wrote about what they did. They were very excited to tell us about all the things they had done. We still have the tadpoles in Nursery but they are growing quickly. This week we fed them cucumber and can see their mouths opening to munch it. We did an experiment with daffodils to see what would happen if we put them in boiling water and what would happen if we put them in the fridge. The daffodils in the fridge look the best at the moment and the ones in boiling water are shrivelling up. On Friday the children helped to celebrate the opening of Redbourn Primary School. Jake, the y...

This week we read the Easter Story and handled some objects to do with Easter; a cross, a chick, an Easter Egg and Hot Cross Buns. We learnt about what happened to Jesus when he was a man and lots of the children could remember when they learnt about Jesus as a baby. We could talk about the objects in relation to the Easter story. We have been practising our cutting skills by cutting around an egg shape. We persevered when we found the curved lines tricky. We sat really well when watching the Year 1 performance of Eddie the Penguin. We enjoyed the singing and some of us even joined in with the words. On Friday we did really well completing the obstacle course for Sports Relief. We also had fun doing stop and move to 'Just Dance.' We have some tadpoles in Nursery and have been looking carefully to see how they are changing. It will be interesting to see how they have grown over the weekend. Next week we are going to be looking at all the sounds we have learnt so far in...

This week in Nursery we have been exploring patterns on different animals and used non-fiction books to find information. We looked at pictures of different people and tried to spot any similarities and differences between them. The children were good at talking about their hair and some pointed out how they were the same and different to members of their family. In Maths we were learning how the total number of objects stays the same even when it is moved in different ways. We used ladybird spots to help us. The children have done some wonderful paintings of animal patterns such as tigers, zebras, crocodile skin and peacock feathers. We have been very impressed by how carefully the children looked at the pictures. In Woodlands we made a nest using different natural materials we could find. We loved exploring the muddy kitchen, making soup, cakes and jumping in the puddles. In the afternoon we made mud angels and enjoyed sitting and bathing in the mud. Next week is science week...

We have had a lovely snowy week in Nursery listening to the children talk about the characters and stories in their favourite books. What a wonderful range of stories your children enjoy at home. We loved reading all the different stories and the Nursery children enjoyed listening to them. In Nursery we read the story The Magic Porridge Pot, which was originally from Germany. The children were able to join in with the repeated words in the story 'Boil pot boil' and 'Stop pot stop'. We had great fun acting it out. The children worked really hard with Mrs Earley, concentrating very carefully on drawing their favourite book characters for their story crowns. In P.E. we explored different ways of moving using the apparatus. We rolled over the mats, jumped across the rope, ran around the cones and slid up and down the planks. The children also showed us jumping, hopping and skipping. Next week we will be thinking about animal colours and the similarities and differen...

This week we have had lots of fun finding out and celebrating Chinese New Year. We listened to the story of the 'Great Race' and found out how the Emperor decided which order the animals would represent for different years. We used puppets and masks to act out the story. In Maths we made Chinese Dragons out of different shapes. Lots of us thought the teeth looked like triangles. Noah and Andre made a long dragon using the wooden blocks. They thought carefully about the shapes they were going to use and could explain what the different parts were. We had a go at making a large dragon using the big blocks outside. In P.E. we really enjoyed making up our own dragon dance. We had to move in time to the music and work as a team so that the dragon stayed together. In the graphics area the children created wishes for the Wishing Tree. They wanted a witch, fairies, a unicorn, bunk beds and a rugby ball. Next week is Book Week and the children will have a chance to share their...

We have had such a fun week learning about volcanoes. We mixed water, washing up liquid, red colouring and bicarbonate of soda in a bottle. It went a bit bubbly. When we added some vinegar it 'exploded' and looked like a volcano. We also found out about volcanoes by looking at a book about volcanoes. We thought about the questions we wanted to find the answers to and found some fun facts. We found out that lava comes out of a volcano and that some volcanoes are sleeping. We loved watching a video clip of a volcano erupting and watching the lava move along the ground. It was Internet Safety Week this week so we found out how to keep safe when using technology online. We watched a powerpoint about Smartie the Penguin and learnt this song; Before you click, click, click You need to think, think, think and Tell someone. The children were good at being able to say they need to tell a grown up if they see something they are not sure about online. We went to Woodlands even...

We have had great fun this week trying to make Rainbow patterns. We put some food colouring in milk and watched what happened when we touched them with a little bit of washing up liquid. The colours all moved around making different patterns. We made some pictures using marbling ink. Andre thought his picture looked like "plankton that blue whales eat" and Isabel said hers reminded her of the Starry Night picture. The children were able to predict what they thought would happen to the colour of the water. In P.E. we used the scarves and our bodies to try and make rainbow shapes. The children enjoyed using real money to buy their snack on Number Day. Our Learning Wood Animals went home with some of the children this week. These are given to children who have shown some great learning skills. Freya took home Butterfly because she was so proud of the enclosure she had made. Mason took home Squirrel for his exploring skills in the milk experiment. Jay took home Hedgehog f...

This week we have been continuing with the theme of 'green.' In Maths we sang the song Ten Green Bottles and recorded in different ways how many bottles were left. We used whiteboards to represent numbers as digits or pictures and numicon to explore different ways of making numbers. We also sang Five Green and Speckled Frogs and used our fingers to show how many were left. In Understanding of the World we have been using the computers to draw pictures. The children had to use the mouse to select the colour they wanted by clicking. The children did well remembering to click with  the blue button and they had a good attempt at controlling the mouse. In P.E. we had the benches, tables and planks out. The children explored different ways of travelling over, under and through the apparatus. They enjoyed crawling down the planks, sliding across the benches and jumping like a frog. The children have been showing excellent skills of concentration when drawing kiwis and limes. The...

We have had a lovely week and have been thinking about things that are 'green'. Lots of children brought in green objects to show and were able to talk about them. This week we made green friendship hands, by mixing blue and yellow together. One person had blue on their hand and the other had yellow and they rubbed their hands together. The children thought it was magic seeing the new colour appear. . We made a green fruit salad by chopping cucumber, apple, grapes and kiwi. The children learnt how to hold a knife safely and chop the fruits into small pieces. We learnt the names of new fruits we didn't know and looked carefully at the seeds inside. Lots of the children were keen to try it during snack time. We have been singing 'Ten Green Bottles' and watching what happens as one bottle falls over. The children have been trying to put the numbered bottles in order on the maths table. In P.E. we pretended to be different green animals moving in different ways....

The children have returned to Nursery raring to go with their learning and we have had a lovely week. The children have settled in to their new groups; Emeralds and Sapphires. We have been thinking about our favourite colours this week and the children have been explaining which colours they like and why. Emily said she really likes green because it reminds her of walking in the grass. Andre likes the colour blue because a blue whale is blue. The children drew pictures of objects that were their favourite colours. We have been also drawing and labelling our family members. We have been so impressed with the children's writing and attitude to their learning, there have been many visits to the Star Book this week. In P.E. we had a go at avoiding obstacles while sorting different coloured objects into their colour groups. We worked well as a team trying to get all the colours into our baskets as quickly as possible. Next week we will be focusing on the colour green. If your chil...

We had a lovely week in Nursery and are feeling very proud of how the children performed in their sharing assemblies. They spoke clearly and enjoyed singing the songs. We hope you enjoyed coming to watch. In Learning through Play this week we have been busy trying to wrap 'presents' in the creative area. We painted pictures of Father Christmas and Rudolph. In the water tray we have enjoyed exploring the fake snow. Next week we will be continuing to learn about Christmas and will be doing some maths problem solving. We will be reading 'The Nutcracker'. In Phonics we will be playing some listening games.

This week we have been reading the Christmas Nativity story and using different props to act the story out. The children knew that the special baby in the story was Jesus. The children found it unusual that Mary had a to ride on a donkey to go to Bethlehem. Millie told us that the "chefs were looking after the sheep." Brooke told us that the fairy told Mary she was going to have a baby. The children learnt a new word - manger. Annabel remembered that the Wise Men brought presents to give to the baby. We have been learning lots of songs this week for our sharing assembly. The children have enjoyed Sing a Song of Shepherds, Three Wise Men, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Father Christmas. We have been trying to use our best singing voices and join in with the actions. In P.E. we did the Reindeer Cokey putting our antlers, hooves, noses and tails in and out. Some of the children had a go at making stables using the junk modelling in our creative area. Sophia collected stic...

We have had a lovely week in Nursery. The children have been very busy making decorations to sell at the Christmas Fayre next Saturday. Please come along and buy the decoration your child has made. They are very proud of them. We have also had great fun trying to see which material would be best to keep Humpty Dumpty safe. Unfortunately Humpty Dumpty broke a couple of times!! We enjoyed going down to Woodlands for the first time. The children were great at putting their suits and wellies on and listening carefully to instructions. We met Miele the Badger who helped us with our concentrating while we were down there. We had to find the other animals from Learning Wood and some of us had a go at using natural materials to make a home for them. Annabel, Harry and Rosie all thought their favourite part was finding the animals. We also explored the Muddy Kitchen. Layla made "chocolate milk" and Lilly made a "chocolate cake." The children explored how the mud felt. Th...

This week the children have been learning about different occupations. We have had a fire station role play outside and a fire station in the small world. The children have also enjoyed playing in the restaurant role play. The children talked about the different jobs their grown-ups did and talked a little bit about what they would like to do when they are grown up. The children would like to find out more about what jobs their grown ups do. Afternoon Nursery had a visit from Isabel's Dad who came in to talk about being a firefighter. He showed us his uniform and the children enjoyed trying on his helmet and jacket. In Maths this week we have been thinking about positional language and used objects from the rhyme 'Hey Diddle Diddle' to put in different places as well as give instructions to others. We have enjoyed singing the Nursery Rhyme. We have had cornflour and water in our outside area and the children have been fascinated with it; stirring it, scooping it and m...

This week we have been learning about the artist Van Gogh and the painting Starry Night. The children were very good at describing the painting. Ethan thought he could see "the sea" and "a castle." Lulu could see the "moon". They had a go at painting the picture themselves using oil pastels and crayons for the circles and swirls and then using a blue watercolour painted over the top. We read the story 'Katie and the Starry Night' and the children were able to talk about the characters and what happened in the story. In Philosophy we thought about whether we would like to jump into the picture 'Starry Night.' Charlotte thought she would like to because she wanted to catch all the stars in the painting. Isobel wanted to go into the 'Olive Pickers' painting to pick olives. Blake decided he didn't want to go into the painting because "I'd be worried about my Mummy." Jake didn't want to go in because "it'...