Nursery Learning- Easter edition! 31.03.23

Nursery Learning- 31.3.23

Important messages

• GRAPES- If you send in grapes for your child's lunch, they must be cut in half length ways. Because of their size and shape, grapes can all too easily slide down a small child’s windpipe, blocking airflow. Thank you 

Today the children were super excited as the Easter Bunny hopped into Nursery to see all the children! The children were so happy and even went to our snack area and got him some carrots to take on his way (a very cute moment!)

Then we headed to the hall for our Easter bonnet parade. The children loved this and as well as showing off all their hard work, they also got to play some Easter games with Mrs Nicholls

At the end of the parade, Mrs Nicholls had the very hard job of picking the winners. Here are the pictures of our winners: 

Well done to Leanor and Aayush!

Congratulations to George and Eden!

Our snack this week followed our egg theme! The children made egg muffins! They really enjoyed cracking the eggs and mixing them all together, We added a bit of milk and some cheese and then they were ready to pour into the cake cases.

As you can see from the photos, they really enjoyed the results! 

The children have enjoyed learning in the outside area this week. They have been creating platforms to jump off of. These began low and as the children practised their jumps, their confidence grew and so did the height. We spoke about how to land safely by bending our knees and stretching out our arms to help us balance. 

They also turned the tree into a construction site and the diggers were involved, moving a lot of soil! 

In the art area the children created some beautiful flower inspired pictures. They were able to carefully control the paintbrushes and start to look carefully at what they could see.

After reading the story 'We are going on an egg hunt' the children worked in small groups to decipher clues and find the hidden wooden eggs! The children had to work as a team and think very carefully, the rhyming clues gave them the perfect opportunity to practice hearing rhyming words. After cracking all the clues the children were able to exchange the wooden eggs for a delicious edible bunny. 

He are some little moments of independent play that we caught...

Super mark making! The children have been using the new writing area to create their own books.

The construction area was too small for this epic train track so it took over the back of the classroom. The clever design made sure that the animals were contained so they would not escape and get hurt. 

What a cozy way to spend an afternoon. It is lovely seeing the children using their imagination like this and getting lost in the world of play.

                     

We love seeing how the children use the home area to support how they want to play. We can see Ibrahim acting out a true life experience and this type of play allows him to make sense of what he has seen.

Have a lovely Easter holiday and we look forward to seeing you all in two weeks! 

Nursery Learning- 10.03.23

 Nursery Learning- 10.03.23

Thank you to those who were able to attend our Stay and Play session on Tuesday. The children loved having you in the environment and showing you what they do each day. Below is the blog that went out, just in case you missed it. 

Parents Stay and Play Blog

This week we have been focusing on the story 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. Each day the children have read the story and taken part in activities based on it. Our first activity was to plant a magic bean, just like Jack did. Each child got their own pot which they filled with cotton wool and a seed. They then put water on it to make the wool wet. We spoke about what we thought might happen to the seed and what that would look like. The conversations were really interesting, some children using their imaginations and linking their answers to the story and some children using their knowledge of the world and what they have seen growing in their environment. 

The children also took part in some arts and crafts, making different scenes from the story... 

And the children even made their own beanstalks using playdough...

They also made the castle that Jack found at the top of the beanstalk.

This week was another fun week in the snack area. The children got a chance to try lots of different fruits. The children were encouraged to talk about what they were tasting. Did they think it was sweet or sour? Delicious or disgusting? What did or didn't they like about it? 

We are also working on the skill of spreading. The children have bagels and chose what they want to put on it. They are getting better and better at spreading the butter, jam and marmalade! 

We have been exploring a range of instruments this week, looking at the different ways we can play them. We have practised playing them LOUDLY and quietly, quickly and slowly and to a beat. 

 

We have just had some new sofas delivered for the children's home corner and they are loving them. We make sure the home corner is set up for the children to explore every day but they children always make it their own and change it around, Sometimes the sofa is a sofa, sometimes it's an 'office', sometimes it's a 'bed'. The list goes on! We love seeing how creative they are and how confident they are in their own environment! 

Green Fingers

Before

After

This week the children have been busy preparing the garden beds for Spring, tidying up, removing leaves, weeds and other debris from the beds. We've been on the hunt for garden pests and relocating them to new homes in the school grounds, making sure we clean our garden tools afterwards too. 

Everyone has been working hard together to ensure that the beds are prepared and all debris collected and removed. This year, we will be developing our garden beds so that the children can grow their own flowers, fruit and vegetables which they will be able to enjoy in the Summer months. 

Providing children with growing and gardening opportunities will enable them to connect with the living environment and give them hands on experiences with plants and insects. This is an essential part of learning and development and one which supports children's emotional and physical health and wellbeing. Gardening and growing encourages the children to explore different types of foods, provides a variety of ways to be physically active, improves the children's social skills and develops confidence making them more aware of the world around them. 

Reception's Surprise!

The Reception children have been reading the text Handas's Surprise this week, if your not familiar with the story it is based in Kenya and is about a girl called Handa who decides to take a selection of fruit to her friend in another village.  The children have been highly engaged with the text and have demonstrated resourcefulness while researching Kenya's key features and making comparisons to this Country.

The children expressed an interest in the exotic fruit, therefore we decided to do some fruit tasting.  All of the children were excited to try the fruit and talk about their likes and dislikes. 

   

                                                

                                               "I like the pineapple because it juicy!" Ameila

                                                         "Yuk, the avocado's salty" Olivia

                                          

                               "The passion fruit looks disgusting but it tasted yummy!" Mimi
                                                   "I liked all of them!" Ife

Aspen's Picnic Adventure

Aspen class were the first to set off on their healthy eating  picnic adventure. The day started with preparing their own healthy snacks. The children all made their own sandwiches for the picnic and were discussing the mathematical concept of 'half' as they cut the bread and chose their choice of filling, jam or cheese. " It's half when you cut into two." explained Shajia.

After lunch the children were eager to get ready to walk to the park. On the way, the children had to pay close attention to the local environment and see if they could find a selection of things in the area. "I can see the bus stop." Said Amelia. The children had so much fun playing in the park and lots of children went on the orange climbing frame and its slide, and the large swing. 

Working up a healthy appetite after playing in the park, the children were ready for the picnic which had been made earlier. Eating their sandwiches and healthy fruit and vegetables, the children discussed the healthy food choices. This week in school the children have been discussing their likes and dislikes and making healthy eating choices during Healthy Eating Week. 

The children had a fantastic afternoon in the park and lots of children said that they wanted to go back! 

Green Fingers in Nursery

The children have spent a long time looking after all of the plants outside. The sunshine over half term meant that they had grown even taller by the time the children came back. The children were amazed to see how tall the sunflowers were and they stood beside them checking to see if they were taller or shorter and checking our height chart to see which was the tallest.

The children helped to water and cut back some of the herbs to ensure they are healthy. They were particularly excited as we discovered the turnips are finally ready to pull! We are all looking forward to re-enacting The Enormous Turnip' story and tasting some delicious turnip soup. 

"Wow it's so so tall!" Chloe 

"It go up and up to the cloud!" Awaal 

Goodbye to our butterfly friends

The children have immensely enjoyed caring for the butterflies over the past few weeks.  As you are all aware our topic has been 'Growing and Changing' which is now coming to an end.  We have read endless related stories including The Hungry Caterpillar, the children have planted seeds and tended vegetables, furthemore they have read non-fiction text and explored life cycles, including a life cycle of a butterfly. We aquired the caterpillars and the children have cared for them and followed the process of their cycle.  They loved watching the hungry caterpillars munch and build their cocoons.  We were all sorry to see them go but understood that we had to set them free.  Danny said "We have to set them free!". Whilst Abdulmalik said "I hope they come back to visit us". 

                                       

A Celebration of Multicultural Dance

We were lucky enough to be involved in a Multi-Cultural Dance workshop today.  Each Reception class had a workshop and we were taught a 'Salsa' dance. The children were superstars and demonstrated excellent listening skills as they intently followed instructions involving several ideas.  The children were split into two groups and watched one another perform giving feedback to the opposite team.  They then took into account what their peers said and praised one another, showing reciprocity.  Furthermore they were interested in the dance from another culture and showed some of the dancing they did at home, noticing the similarities and differences.  Augustas said "I like to dance at home, I like street dance".

                                     

                                         

                                    

Guess who?

As you all know our topic this term is, growing and changing.  This is a fantastic topic which the children are thoroughly enjoying.  They have had the opportunity to explore growth and changes with creatures, plants and of course themselves.  All of the Reception children were asked to bring in a baby photo at the start of this term, as detailed in the newsletter for the last few weeks.  Thank you to all of the parents that have sent them in.  These photos have been a great tool for the children to identify, how they have been affected by change and growth and why this has occurred. Furthermore looking at baby photos has triggered conversations about past and present events.  

Amelia said "I think that is Sophia, she has dark hair"

Livi guessed "That must be Adrian there are two of them!"

You still have time to get the photos in to school.  If you have originals, we can copy them straight away and return them or email them directly to eyfs@broadford.havering.sch.uk.

You will have an opportunity to find out more about our topic during our Sharing Assembly on Wednesday 17th May, we look forward to seeing you there. 

Baby Teddy Visits Broadford's Baby Clinic

This morning, the Nursery children had a special visitor to their Baby Clinic. Baby Teddy came to get weighed, have his weekly check up and to show his Mummy how to bath and feed him. This enrichment experience enabled the children to speak and ask questions about aspects of their own familiar world at home and there experiences of babies.

 Awwal thought that Baby Teddy was far too big for our clinics bath.
"We need a bigger one."
 Maggie took Baby Teddy and his Mum on a tour of the Nursey and they played in the Home Corner together.
"I can make you dinner!"

A big thank you to Mrs Mooney and baby Teddy for taking the time to visit.

Nursery Farm Fun

Both Morning and Afternoon Nursery enjoyed a visit from Wellgate Farm today. The children were lucky enough to be able to pet the goats, cuddle the rabbits and even hold the chicken! They were able to speak about their knowledge of animals and asked some great questions to find out more. We discovered lots of new facts to increase the children's understanding of the world around them.

"He has a bump because it shows he is a special Chinese goose." Zuriel

"Miss Tynan he is a half a lion head rabbit, he has a mane like your rabbit!" Maggie 

"Goats have different shaped eyes,  they are rectangles" Anish 

Toast Station in Nursery

The Nursery children have enjoyed using our new self service toast station this week. The area has been set up so the children can use the resources more independently. They have been taking their slice of bread, putting it in the toaster and patiently waiting for it to pop back up. After they have all remembered to wash their hands and cutlery. The area gives children the chance to develop their self care skills. They have also been enjoying talking to each other as they have munched their toast at the table!

"Scrape on more butter.." Maisie
"I think this brown toast is the best." Nathaniel

John's Enormous Turnip!

The story we have been focusing on in Nursery this week is 'The Enormous Turnip'. John clearly enjoyed the story as he went home and told his Mum all about the enormous turnip the characters had tried to pull out of the ground. The next morning John came to school with a tray of sprouting turnips ready for us to plant in our Nursery flower bed. The children were really excited to see the little plants and wondered how big they would grow. A big thank you to John and his Mum for the plants, what a lovely way to enhance the children's learning!

Nursery Campfire Fun

As the weather was a little brighter last week we decided to gather the Nursery children for a campfire. The children sat on seats around the purpose build fit pit as the fire was lit and then they were able to toast their own marshmallows.  They were all very sensible and were able to explain how we keep ourselves safe around fire. The children were encouraged to feel their marshmallows before and after toasting and noticed how they were very sticky and had changed colour after placing them on the fire. After toasting our gooey treats we sand a variety of camp songs before the children were encouraged to sit still and listen to the crackling fire. A great experience was had by all and we are looking forward to more campfire cooking soon!

"It has stingy bits now.. It sticks to my fingers!" Maddison
"Its yummy in my tummy" Christian

Science Week Wormery

Wow, its been Science week across the school and although we are often developing the children's Knowledge and Understanding of the World, this week we have had a particular focus on  it.

The children were immersed when they created the Wormery's.  They talked about the needs of the worms demonstrating an understanding of growth and changes over time.  They talked about the need for soil and how the worms like the dark, Olivia demonstrated an inquisitive mind when she posed the question " Why do they like the dark?" Danny replied with "They live in the ground where its dark".  Archie made an observation "In my class a worm ate a leaf".  A few days later when observing the wormery the children were able to identify worms and tunnels.  Tiffany excitedly exclaimed "Look there's a tunnel".

Mr Wolf's Pancakes

The children enjoyed listening to the story 'Mr Wolf's Pancakes today'. The story tells the tale of a wolf who fancies some delicious pancakes but doesn't know how to make them. As his neighbours refuse to help the wolf has to work out how to make pancakes himself. The children in Nursery are helping the wolf this week by ordering the pancake recipe for him and following it to make their own tasty creations. 

The children cooking today helped to count and measure the ingredients, followed the recipe and were encouraged to talk about their preferences and own experiences of cooking. After making the mixture and frying the pancakes the children chose from a range of toppings; lemon, sugar, raspberries, cream, blueberries and Nutella. They were encouraged to taste and try different types of pancakes and certainly enjoyed the experience. 

Rubie-Rae "I mixed all this up and now we got to put it in the pan!"

Francesca "My pancake is so yummy!"

Winter Wonderland!

The children in reception were very excited last week by the snow we received. The outdoor area was turned into a white wonderland on Friday morning and we were fortunate enough that the ground was not icy. After phonics more snowflakes started to fall from the sky, the children hurried to get their outside gear on and couldn't wait to get outside to explore. "Look at the snowflakes falling" said Saarah as the children lined the windows gazing out. 

Before the children went outside they discussed the conditions and agreed on some safety precautions. Although the ground was not icy, they agreed they would all walk outside to ensure no one slipped over. "We probably should't run, it could be slippy" Tavia told her friends. The children also discussed snowballs and compromised that they could only throw them at other children (or staff) who wanted to play and that snowballs should only hit the body, no head shots! They then went on to talk about the difference between throwing ice and snow. The snow provided an excellent real life situation for children to manage risks in. 

"Who is making it snow?" said Lilly W, starting off some great discussions about weather and climate. We love learning outdoors in all weathers and the snow provided an exciting stimulus for the children in Reception. "I've caught a snowflake on my tongue" said Abdulmalik as the children tried to catch the cold snowflakes! 

Pet Pictures for Nursery

The children have loved learning about animals and enjoyed their visit from a special tiger this week! We spoke about the mobile farm that will be visiting the school in March. The children have been keen to share information about their own pets, if you have any photos please send them in or email them to eyfs@broadford.havering.sch.uk. Or if you have a special pet who would like to visit the children this term please speak to a member of the Nursery staff so we can arrange this!