Headteacher: Anna Moss

0121 445 1622

Nursery News ~ 15th November 2019

Happy Friday Everyone! Can you believe we have been back for two weeks already?

In the cabin, we have been playing/learning:

Listening Games. We have moved on to our second Listening Rule which is “Good Listening is Sitting Still”. Sitting still during circle time, meal times and around the log circle is important to “show” that you are listening and learning. Your sitting skills are being put to the test with bubbles, disco music and having to wait to play an instrument only when a visual cue is given.

Phonics. We have moved on to our new Topic “Instrumental Sounds” and the musical instrument basket has made an appearance! Last week we explored the sounds an instrument can make – loud/quiet and we created a Musical Nursery Band to find items around the nursery – when the band played loud, you were close to the object. This week we have matched the musical instruments to ways we can move our body e.g. maraca = footstep, drum = march. Your favourite game was “Grandmother’s Footsteps” where the unseen instrument was played and you had to make it to Grandma (or even Grandad today!) – definitely the hardest part was freezing when the instrument stopped.

Number. We have been learning a new song “In a Week” to help us with our days of the week – I wonder if you can remember which day of the week we rub our tummy, which is the naughty day and which is our friendly day? We have been comparing lengths of different things – sticks, ourselves and ripped paper to help us create our very own Christmas cards (order forms for these have now come out). This week we have added the Number 3 to our Number Line and played lots of 3 games including seeing whose letter shape we can create with 3 sticks.

Nursery Rhyme. We have added to our Nursery Rhyme collection with the “Grand Old Duke of York” and “Row Row Row the Boat”. We enjoyed making our own soldiers to follow the Duke up and down the hill and then used these at 11am on the 11th November to complete our very first minute’s silence. This week we have been rowing our boat and learning the signs for boat, crocodile, polar bear and lion. We enjoyed Ariana’s story about her holiday on a boat where she told us there were little boats on the big boat in case of an emergency. This leads us beautifully into next week’s Nursery Rhyme about a sailing ship that sinks.

Write Dance. We finished off our mark making element with the song “The Rainbow” where we colour mixed two rainbow colours with our hands to create a new rainbow colour. Can you remember what colour yellow and red make when mixed? This week we have moved on to a new song/dance with “Down at the Station” - a popular song for lots of you as you enjoyed picking up the hose and putting out the fire. We definitely have a team of future firefighters this year!

Dough Disco. New dough = new dance moves. We have enjoyed Sophie’s choice with a song from Moana. Creating water drops and an island for Moana to live on helped us with our ball and pinching skills. We have returned to a Rory favourite from last year of “I Like to Move, Move It”. This song has had us passing from one hand to the next, taking the dough around our body; let’s not forget the wiggles/jiggles that this song makes us all do. J

Outdoors, in Forest School, we have been playing/learning with:

Firework fun. We enjoyed watching a clip of fireworks on the balcony and then we tried to create the sounds ourselves with musical instruments. Can you remember an instrument that made the best firework sound? Mrs Allen also showed you how you could use the coloured chalks and paint with water on the patio to create a firework pattern/picture.

Magnifying glasses/Binoculars. To put our looking skills to the test, Mrs Allen created some photocards of things you could hunt for in Forest School. Using the magnifying glasses, you all had a lot of fun finding and sometimes collecting (!) the smaller bugs/leaves and the binoculars helped you with your bird spotting. A designated area in Forest School for all those budding bird watchers definitely needs thinking about.

The Swing. On Tuesday, Mrs Allen and a team of carpenters managed to get the tree swing back into action. Hurrah! You helped to cut the rope with a hacksaw, found a perfect length stick to sit on and even had to help a very short Mrs Allen, get the rope over the tree branch. Taking turns on the swing is the next challenge as it is a popular choice with both Nursery and Red class!

Stick Shakers. To link in with our Phonic “Instrumental Sounds” theme, Mrs Allen helped you to create your own musical instruments using a Y stick, some string and pasta. This was a popular choice as we are all keen to create some tracks for the Nursery Music Band this term. These threading skills are excellent to support your fine motor control – have a go at home with some string/dried pasta.

Obstacle Courses. Using ropes, tarpaulin and cargo netting, you helped to create an excellent obstacle course to match up to the “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” story. You enjoyed stepping over ropes, balancing on wooden beams and crawling on those hands and knees to go under the cargo netting (definitely the hardest part of the course).

Dens. Following on from the obstacle equipment coming out, you took on your own play ideas and used them to create a den and didn’t we need it!!! Thank you for creating a dry space for us all to hide under when that rain came on Thursday!

I am really looking forward to seeing you all at the Parent Consultations this week. At your given time, please come to the main Reception. On the main table there will be a Nursery photobook of our learning for the first half term for you to look through whilst you are waiting.

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen, Mrs Franklin, Mrs Lewis, Mrs Barrett and Mrs Flynn.