Nursery Newsletter - 06.11.26

 Please see vbelow for a potty training workshop, hosted but Havering Child Centre. 

Our Autumn Adventure! 

We wrapped up warm and headed out on an autumn walk around our school grounds to see what changes we could spot in the environment. The children became little explorers, looking closely at the trees, noticing the beautiful autumn colours and discovering how the world around us is changing as the seasons move on.

There was lots of excitement as the children collected interesting autumn treasures along the way, including leaves, sticks and other natural objects. We brought our treasures back to nursery to create our very own Autumn Explore Table, giving the children the opportunity to investigate their finds, look closely at different textures, compare colours, sort objects and share their discoveries with friends. 

These experiences encourage children to develop their curiosity about the natural world, build their observation skills and use new vocabulary as they describe what they can see, feel and discover. It's also a lovely way to develop early scientific thinking as they begin to notice similarities, differences and changes in their environment.

Our sand pit is looking a little emptier than usual as we're waiting for our next delivery of fresh sand next week! But that didn't stop the children from wanting to get stuck in. They were keen to explore what was left, scraping the sand together, scooping it up and investigating its lovely damp texture.

The children really enjoyed feeling the wet sand between their fingers and noticing how it moved and changed as they played. They experimented with scraping, gathering and moving the sand around, developing their fine motor skills, hand strength and coordination.

It's lovely to see how children can find so much enjoyment in exploring everyday materials, using their curiosity and imagination to make the most of the resources around them. Sometimes the simplest play leads to the richest learning!

We've been busy exploring shapes in our maths area, using the tangrams to investigate different shapes and how they fit together. The children enjoyed naming, sorting and matching the shapes, noticing their similarities and differences.

As they played, they were developing their mathematical language, recognising shape properties and thinking carefully about how different pieces could fit together. These activities also encourage problem-solving, spatial awareness and early mathematical thinking.

We've been working on developing our shoulder and wrist pivots through some fun physical activities. The children practised rolling balls up and down the wall, thinking carefully about how they moved their arms and controlled the ball. We also had lots of fun throwing beanbags into hoops, practising our aim and seeing how close we could get!

These activities help children develop their upper body strength, hand-eye coordination and control of their movements. They're also learning to judge distance, adjust their movements and persevere when something doesn't quite go to plan.

Lots of concentration, determination and, of course, plenty of fun!

Reception Learning - W.C 2.11.26

 
Reception: What We Are Learning 

Reception have been working really hard this week. Our focus book was Rama and Sita.

Here is what we have been up to: The children learnt all about the Hindu Festival of Light: Diwali. We read the story of Rama and Sita, made beautiful diya lamps, danced to Hindu music, looked at traditional objects used in a household throughout Diwali and made Rangoli patterns. 

The children have also been working hard in Read, Write, Inc his week. The children have all been assessed and are now working in groups based on this. In Literacy, The children have worked hard to write the initial sounds that they can hear in words. We talked about what sounds fireworks make such as pop, bang and zip. The children worked hard to write sounds they could hear in each word. Please continue to read 5 times a week with your children and work on Set 1 sounds as well as word time words (1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc).

In Maths this week the children learned to compare 2 sets of objects and say which is ‘more than’ or ‘fewer than’. ‘More than’ means a larger amount of objects or a bigger number, while ‘less than’ means a smaller amount or a lower number. We showed this through making two different groups and showing different numbers on our fingers.

Next week, in Topic, we will be learning about Remembrance Day. We will be talking about why we remember those who fought in the wars and learning a little about the history of this important day. We will also be getting creative by making our own handprint poppy wreaths.

In Maths, we will be focusing on counting objects, actions and sounds, making sure we count each one only once. You can support your child at home by finding opportunities to practise counting together. For example, count toys as you put them away, steps as you walk upstairs, claps, jumps or taps. Encourage your child to touch or move each object as they count, helping them to understand that each item should only be counted once.

As always, please continue to practise forming numbers and letters correctly, as well as writing their own names independently. Little and often is best, and practising through everyday activities can make learning fun!

Thank you for your continued support!

Well done Reception for an amazing week - keep up all your brilliant work! 

Reception Learning W.C 19.10.26

Reception learning

Our focus book was Room on the Broom:

Here is what we have been up to:

The children have also been working hard in Read, Write, Inc this week. They revisited the first 16 sounds from Set 1 to reinforce their phonics knowledge. Please continue to read with your children and work on these sounds with them everyday. 

In Topic, we have been reading the story Room on the Broom.  We played Guess who and the children were able to guess what costume their teachers were describing from the clues. They danced to Ghostbusters and moved like the different characters. The children also made fairy wands using a rang of materials including sticks and leaves.

In Maths this week the children have been learning to compose numbers to 4 which means understanding that numbers can be made up of different combinations of smaller numbers. Children explored how 4 can be made in different ways, such as 3 and 1, 2 and 2, or 1 and 1 and 2. Through practical activities, using objects, fingers and pictures, children begin to recognise that the total stays the same even when the parts change. This helps to develop their number sense, counting skills and early addition skills, building a strong foundation for future maths learning.

Our next topic after half term will be Celebrations! 🎉 We will be exploring a range of celebrations, including Diwali, Guy Fawkes Night, birthdays and Christmas.

Over the half term break, please continue to practise reading every day, including 1.1–1.8 word blending, as well as other basic skills such as writing their name, writing numbers to 9 and forming lowercase letters correctly.

Thank you for your continued support. Have a lovely half term, enjoy a well-deserved rest, and we look forward to seeing you all soon! 😊

Nursery Newsleter- 16.10.26

Splish, splash, splosh

 The rain didn’t stop our little explorers from having fun! The children popped on their wetsuits and wellies and headed outside to enjoy some wonderful learning in the rain.

There was lots of splashing, filling containers, pouring and transporting water from one place to another. The children were fascinated by how the water moved and loved experimenting with different containers.

Through these lovely experiences, the children were developing their physical skills as they moved, balanced and carried water, as well as their problem-solving skills as they explored filling, emptying and transporting. They were also building their early mathematical understanding as they discovered which containers held more or less water.

Most importantly, the children were having fun, following their own ideas and learning through hands-on exploration. Sometimes, the best learning happens when we pull on our wellies and embrace the weather! 

Through these lovely experiences, the children were developing their physical skills as they moved, balanced and carried water, as well as their problem-solving skills as they explored filling, emptying and transporting. They were also building their early mathematical understanding as they discovered which containers held more or less water.

Most importantly, the children were having fun, following their own ideas and learning through hands-on exploration. Sometimes, the best learning happens when we pull on our wellies and embrace the weather! 

Little City workshop

We had a fantastic time when Little City came to visit our nursery! The children loved exploring the different areas and becoming completely immersed in their roleplay. There was so much excitement as they moved around the little city, exploring the different spaces, trying out new experiences and using their imaginations to bring their play to life.

The children had opportunities to take on different roles, pretend to be grown-ups and explore familiar experiences from everyday life. Through their play, they could act out their own ideas, copy things they have seen adults do and create little stories with their friends. It was lovely to see them making choices, exploring the resources and finding their own ways to play.

There was so much learning happening along the way! As the children chatted and played together, they were developing their communication and language skills, learning to share ideas and express themselves. Taking on different roles encouraged their imagination and creativity, while playing alongside others helped them practise turn-taking, cooperation and building friendships. They were also developing their confidence and independence as they explored the city at their own pace.

Little City gave the children a wonderful opportunity to make sense of the world around them through hands-on, imaginative play. Most importantly, they had lots of fun, followed their own interests and enjoyed learning together! 

Reception W.C 12.10.2026

 

Year Reception: What We Are Learning 

Our focus book was Elmer:

In Topic, we have been learning about diversity. We have celebrated our differences and understood that we all belong! 

The children have also been working hard in Read, Write, Inc this week. They revisited the first 16 sounds from Set 1 to reinforce their phonics knowledge. Please continue to read with your children and work on these sounds with them. 

In Maths, We have been supporting Teddy to develop his understanding of counting, cardinality and ordinality by helping him count objects one at a time. This means learning to say numbers in the correct order, understanding that the last number counted tells us how many objects there are altogether, and recognising the order of numbers. Through these activities, we are building our early maths skills and confidence with counting.

Celebrating Black History Month

During Black History Month, we celebrated the achievements, contributions and positive impact of Black members of our community. We explored the work of artist Matthew Small and created our own art inspired by his work. Using bottles, we designed and created figures representing the ‘People Who Help Us’, celebrating the important roles people play in keeping our community safe, happy and healthy.

We also learned and performed a poem called ‘We Are the Future’, which helped us to celebrate diversity, recognise the importance of equality and understand that every child has the potential to make a positive difference in the world.

Through our creative activities, discussions and poetry, we celebrated Black history, culture and achievements while learning about respect, inclusion and the importance of valuing everyone in our community.

Next week, our topic focus will be Room on the Broom, where we will explore the story through a range of fun and engaging activities. In maths, we will be learning about number composition, exploring how numbers can be made up of smaller numbers. In Read Write Inc. (RWI), we will be revisiting the sounds we have learnt so far. At home, you can support your child by sharing Room on the Broom together, practising recognising and saying familiar sounds, and exploring how numbers can be made in different ways using everyday objects, such as toys, building blocks or pieces of fruit. 

Well done Reception for an amazing week - keep up all your brilliant work!