Nursery Newsletter 13.11.26

Look at our busy week in nursery this week...

We rolled out a lovely big sheet of paper on the floor and let the children get creative! They loved having so much space to draw, making big sweeping movements with their arms and filling the paper with their wonderful marks and pictures. It was a great opportunity to explore their creativity, experiment with different lines and shapes, and develop their early mark-making skills. There was plenty of room for everyone to join in, share ideas and see where their imaginations took them!

The colder weather has brought lots of exciting things for us to explore! This week, the children discovered that the water in our garden had frozen into sheets of ice. They were fascinated by the changes and loved picking up the ice, feeling how cold and hard it was, and breaking it into smaller pieces. There was lots of curiosity as they explored the different textures and watched the ice crack and crumble. A wonderful little bit of hands-on science, exploring how water changes when the temperature drops!

The children have been getting creative making their own beautiful Rangoli patterns! Using colourful sequins and pipe cleaners, they enjoyed arranging, twisting and moving the materials to create their own unique designs. There was lots of lovely experimenting with colours, shapes and patterns, with the children carefully choosing where to place each piece. As well as exploring their creativity, they were developing their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and early mathematical understanding as they noticed patterns, shapes and colours.

Our mud kitchen has been a very busy place this week! The children have loved getting stuck in, mixing mud, bark and water to create their very own special soups and potions. There was lots of scooping, pouring, stirring and experimenting as they decided what ingredients to add next. We had some wonderful imaginative creations, with the children using their own ideas and getting wonderfully messy along the way! Mud kitchen play is fantastic for developing creativity, language, teamwork and early mathematical skills as the children explore quantities, textures and mixtures.

We have been practising our independence this week, and the children are becoming such little helpers! From putting on their own coats and getting dressed up in our role-play clothes, to pouring their own milk at snack time and having a go at peeling their fruit. There is so much pride in doing things for ourselves! These everyday little moments are really important for building confidence, developing coordination and learning valuable self-care skills. We love seeing the children becoming more independent and saying, "I can do it myself!"

The children have been busy little builders outside this week! They enjoyed using the crates to build their very own houses and structures, working together to move, stack and arrange the crates until they were happy with their creations. There was lots of teamwork, problem-solving and sharing of ideas. The tyres also proved very popular, with the children carefully rolling them around and thinking about how to control where they went. All this outdoor construction is fantastic for developing physical strength, coordination, spatial awareness and confidence. We love seeing what they come up with when they put their heads together!

In PE this week, we had lots of fun dancing and moving to music! We used colourful ribbons to swish, swirl and create different shapes and patterns in the air. The children explored making big movements, stretching their arms high, swooping down low and moving their ribbons in all sorts of directions. These lovely, energetic movements help to strengthen our shoulder and arm muscles, building the foundations we need for developing good control when writing. Who knew getting our dance moves on could be such good exercise for our writing skills too!

The children had a brilliant idea this week – to see just how long they could make their train track! They worked together to collect the pieces and decided to move their construction to a different area of the room so they could spread the track out even further. There was lots of joining, rearranging and problem-solving as they worked out how to connect the pieces and keep their track going. The children were fascinated to see how far they could make it stretch! This kind of play is wonderful for developing teamwork, communication, spatial awareness and early mathematical thinking. We wonder just how long their track will get next time

The children have been enjoying getting creative outdoors with paint rollers and brushes! They loved experimenting with different ways to spread the paint, making big sweeping strokes and exploring the marks they could create. Using the larger rollers encouraged lots of lovely, big arm movements, helping to build shoulder and arm strength. These movements are really important for developing the physical control needed for early writing. It's been lovely seeing the children experimenting, expressing their ideas and getting creative on a much bigger scale!

The rainy weather hasn't stopped our outdoor adventures! The children have been popping on their puddle suits and wellies and heading outside to enjoy the wonderful opportunities that wet weather brings. From splashing in puddles to exploring the changes in our outdoor environment, there's always something exciting to discover, whatever the weather! 

A little reminder for parents: Please make sure your child has a named puddle suit and pair of wellies in school so we're ready for all our outdoor adventures. It would also be really helpful if children have coats and shoes that they can practise putting on and taking off themselves, to the best of their ability. This is a lovely way to encourage independence and build confidence with everyday self-care skills. Thank you!