Headteacher: Anna Moss

0121 445 1622

Nursery

23rd September 2022

Happy Friday All! 

Another week has flown by and you are certainly picking up our daily routine well.  Our visual timetable helps you to see the order we do things – we hope you are able to bring your grownups next Wednesday 28th (6-7pm) to see it for themselves.

In the cabin our Write Dance journey has continued as we have been dancing like penguins to The Penguin Dance.  Enjoy showing your families this weekend - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkiglO98YYo .This week we have introduced a listening game after our morning dance.  We have begun to look at the RED listening rule – Good listening is looking at the person talking.  Mrs Allen kept hiding our faces around the cabin and it was our job to use our eyes in a game of Hide and Seek and find them.  After morning Forest School, our Maths has been all about a familiar sequence – hand washing.  See below for ways you can practise this at home!  After lunch, Mrs Allen has shared her family photograph as part of our Communication and Language (C&L) session.  Thank you for those that emailed them in – please keep them coming for our final week of All About Me.  Outdoors, the patio shed is now open and it has been a huge hit.  The red crates have been used as post-boxes, a train and seats.  The wooden blocks are always a good choice for creating new spaces but it is the ribbons that seem to be popular this year as we have some great weavers!

A message for parents – simple sequences has been our focus in Maths this week and we have used something familiar – hand washing.  The children will come home with the hand wash “poster” in their bags.  Over the weekend, ask them to verbally tell you the sequence and for those that want a little more, chop up the order and put it back together.  You can certainly make some funny combinations.

Have a lovely weekend everyone, let’s hope for some September sunshine like we have had this week.

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen and Mrs Franklin X

16th September 2022

Happy Friday All! 

Our first full week and what a difference we are starting to notice in you coming away from your grown up, your independence with the waterproofs in getting in/out of Forest School and picking up our daily routine (it stays the same!).

Indoors we have begun our Write Dance journey as we have marched, built and zigzagged to our first song “Just Like This”.  We have also begun our Maths journey together with our speckled frogs indoors who got some of you wet when they jumped into the cool pool.  You had fun being frogs in our whole class role play outdoors – how funny was it to watch Mrs Allen leap frogging from the fire circle to our speckled log area.  After lunch, Mrs Allen has been sharing your family pet photographs (thank you for sending/bringing them in – keep them coming) as part of our Communication and Language (C&L) session.  Outdoors, the sand and the mud are officially………..OPEN!  The dinosaurs have been the biggest hit with lots of you enjoying hiding and finding in the sand.  In the mud kitchen, baking chocolate cakes seems to be the biggest hit. I wonder what area Mrs Allen will open next week?

A message for parents – clapping syllables for words is the start of our Literacy journey.  This weekend, can you model (and see if they join in), clapping out their name accurately.  If they are keen – family members too!

Have a lovely weekend all, be it a sad one!  School is open again on Tuesday.

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen and Mrs Franklin X

15th July 2022

Our final blog and what a fun one to finish with.

Computing week has been a huge hit with all of you (and us adults!).  Every day you have brought in a new batch of computer toys that have been shared, talked about and most importantly, played with with friends.  Our objective was to “explore and talk about toys that use technology” and I think it is safe to say, objective achieved.  Many thanks to everyone that brought one in, it has made our week.

Much the same as the weeks before, our days have been mostly spent outdoors enjoying this glorious settled weather.  We are all enjoying the extra-long summer play with friends and on Thursdays, lots of you sailed into the Red class story club – Mrs Webb was blown away by your listening skills.  Mrs Allen has been parked up on the patio with her Art tray and lots of you have chosen to make Superworm leaves to take home as part of our Creepy Crawlies topic.  We have all enjoyed revisiting some old Music songs – Jump Jim Joe and Let us chase the squirrels. 

A message for parents – the children’s learning journeys are ready for the big reveal.  Next week, they will choose an adult to share their journey with through the special book all about them.  We will then send home for you to keep and treasure and pull out when they are teenagers!

 

Have a lovely weekend all!

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen, Mrs Franklin, Mrs Thomas X

8th July 2022

Are you ready for hot weather?

With the sun shining upon us, our days are spent mostly outdoors apart from a lunch break and quiet time.  Thank you for all the sun cream applied in the morning, sun hats and sun cream in the bags. 

Our Creepy Crawly topic officially began this week as we went on a hunt for them at the beginning of the week and discovered their hiding places!  It was fun to try and take each and every one to the Bug Hotel – I wonder if you have one at home in your garden?  We have shared a story about a Lazy Ladybird as part of our Communication and Language session and sang Creepy Crawly songs with Incy Wincy and Little Miss Muffet; changing the name of the bugs that sat next to Miss/Mr Muffet.  In Maths, we have played games with our beanbag ladybirds as we subitised the spots and were able to say its name e.g. I have a 2 3 ladybird, you have a 1 2 ladybird.  We have also all enjoyed a BINGO themed week this week as we have played Summer bingo for our Listening game, met a new character called Bingo (am sure you all know her!) and sang a song about her.  It was fun to replace each of her letter names with a clap as part of our Music session.  Apologies if the song made it home, it really is a hard one to remove from your head.  Outdoors we have enjoyed Theo’s dough disco with a classic S Club 7 track, Reach.  Enjoy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50kP4S0peAs

Next week, alongside our Creepy Crawly topic, we are planning on having a Computing week.  We are learning about “how things work” by using toys with moving parts, technology.  Would you be able to send in one toy from home on one day (we have 26 to get through potentially!) which uses technology to make it move, light up, make sound?  Choose the toy, choose the day and let the Show and Tell fun begin!

Get the paddling pools out this weekend everyone!  Have fun!

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen, Mrs Franklin, Mrs Thomas X

1st July 2022

Happy July!

Three more weeks to go and for the first year ever, we will be saying goodbye to all of you as you head off to big school.  For those of you who are off to Red class in September, story club is on Thursday 7th July 8.35-9.  If you do not usually attend on a Thursday, come and join your friends with a normal drop off and we will take you back to grownups at 9am.

Another non-dough disco week as we have revisited a classic thanks to Aahil and Sammy – Baby Shark.  Enjoy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqZsoesa55w  Our Bear Hunt on Monday was a huge success as we explored all the classrooms in school and found each and every one.  We hope your pictures made it home and you got to share them with your family.  Can you remember the name of them all?  Miss Muddy Boots, Redmond, Olive, George Cadbury, Lionel, Nightingale.  Lunch in the hall completed our morning as we learnt some of the new routines facing lots of you in September and even took some back into the cabin with our own lunch routine.

The rest of the week has mostly been spent outdoors, exploring signs of summer and playing outdoor circle time games.  A favourite circle time game was “Muddy over the ocean” in our Music session as you had to sing and move around the circle to the beat of the song, being ready for if Muddy landed behind you.  Another highlight was a Mrs Allen outdoor craft activity as you talked about and made some jelly fish using some super fine motor skills. 

A message for parents – we hope to see you all at the summer fayre tomorrow on the playground and field between 12:00-2:00.  Please come and find us on the “produce” stall where you are able to purchase something the children (and Mrs Allen) have worked hard to make.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen, Mrs Franklin, Mrs Thomas X

24th June 2022

Happy Friday Everyone!

What a week of glorious sunshine we have had – so much fun outside and am sure you have returned home every day quite messy from all that outdoor fun.

Bobby chose our dough disco this week which led to lots of conversations about the heart and its job.  Enjoy this clip over the weekend – My Heart Goes, Becky Hill.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fseQRnEV9BQ .  Try and teach your family the three different actions to work those fingers, wrists and arms.

With all of the outdoor Play and Explore time, we have also had time to play some circle time games with the ball – Silent Ball and Hot Potato.  In Maths we have been creating the boy/girl pattern and playing against each other to see who could spot the mistake first.

With summer being our topic, Mrs Allen has been busy making a special summer flower ready for you to sell at the Summer Fayre next Saturday (2nd July).  Please do come along between 12pm and 2pm and find the teachers’ stall! 

Summer is always a fun season to explore and we have had a lot of giggles as we have been learning about which parts of our body we can use to explore summer things.  Can you remember the five parts of the body you can use to explore?  Next week, we are going to have some fun with our own senses wheels. 

A message for parents – with the whole school off on their summer trip on Monday, we will be going on a Bear Hunt and following our maps to find all the Blackwell Bears in each of the classes.  Can you remind the children on the weekend of the five different class colours – Red, Green, Purple, Yellow, Blue to support them.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen, Mrs Franklin, Mrs Thomas X

17th June 2022

Happy Summer Everyone!

Welcome back after the final half term and welcome back to our final season – summer.  With the weather being so settled, we have all been enjoying a longer morning session outdoors as we have headed straight into the Forest School as soon as you have arrived.  Thank you to your grownups for putting that sun cream on before you arrive and providing sunhats, sun cream in bags.  Without these, Forest School isn’t quite the same with the small shady space you are safe to play in. 

We have completed two weeks now and are having a final push to strengthen our hands, wrists and arms with our dough disco.  Last week, Eleni chose a classic song by Sister Sledge, We are Family https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMVe_HcyP9Y and this week we have had our silliest song this year chosen by William; What does the Fox say?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE

Without technology in Nursery we aren’t able to watch these video clips so would love you to watch at home over the weekend if you can?  Make sure you teach your families your foxy fingers and am sure they would enjoy hearing some of the sounds a fox makes…..

We have taken all of our other learning outside as we have been creating repeating patterns with natural objects in Maths, talking about and sharing Daddy stories in our C&L outdoors story area and creating sunflowers with Mrs Allen as part of our Art topic.  In Music we have been learning how to move our bodies to the music with our songs Old King Glory and Lost my Partner.

A message for parents – when your pick up times change day by day, please can you ensure that you let us know at drop off in the morning the time you will be collecting and make it clear to the children as well.  Messages from 3 and 4 year olds are not always accurate.

Happy Father’s Day to all of our Daddies.  We hope the card makes it safe and crease free to you!

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen, Mrs Franklin, Mrs Thomas X

27th May 2022

Happy Half Term Everyone!

Didn’t they do a super job at Sports Day today.  Thank you for coming to watch and cheer them on.  After years without an audience, it was fabulous to have everyone back together again.  Long may it continue.  Evie’s dough disco choice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4qrcHyYj4 of Gold by Spandau Ballet certainly inspired us to get to the finish line first!

As part of our C&L, we have enjoyed many discussions about the Queen.  At the beginning of the week we were unsure who the lady was in the photo and we finish the week, with a bank of facts about her.  My funniest moment was Emily’s comment – “she is even older than my mummy”.  We hope you are sharing some of these facts at home and hope you get to take part in the celebrations next weekend.  Look out for those horses Carly!

This half term has flown by and we cannot believe we have only one more half term with the children before they move on to their next chapter.  We hope you all enjoy your holiday and the children recharge ready for the final half term of outdoor fun!

 

Have a lovely break everyone!

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen, Mrs Franklin, Miss Turner X