Nursery Learning 03.10.25

 This week, our focus story has been These Are My Hands. The children have really enjoyed exploring the different things we can do with our hands—clapping, waving, helping, and creating!

Art Area 

In the art area, we continued to embrace the beauty of autumn. The children have been practicing their scissor skills by snipping and cutting to create beautiful autumn leaf collages. They are learning to hold scissors correctly and to cut with increasing control and confidence.

✂️ Support at home: Practising snipping small strips of paper or cutting around simple shapes can really help strengthen those little hand muscles and build coordination.

We’ve also had lots of thoughtful conversations about autumn colours, textures, and the changes we see in nature this time of year.

Malleable Area 

Our autumn theme continues here too! The children used playdough to make their own hedgehogs and showed brilliant creative thinking as they chose what to use for spikes—pasta, sticks, and matchsticks all featured.

They carefully rolled, squashed, and moulded the dough to shape the hedgehog bodies, using their fine motor skills and exploring how different materials feel and behave. These kinds of hands-on tasks are great for developing strength and control in small hands, while also encouraging imaginative thinking.

Finger Gym Focus 

This week, our fine motor challenge was adding pegs to a hedgehog template to represent its spikes! This was a brilliant activity for developing finger strength and coordination.

The children showed great determination as they pinched and placed the pegs, and it led to lots of great conversations about hedgehogs, their bodies, and where they live.

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Song of the week 

Our focus song this week has been the well-loved rhyme "Tommy Thumb." The children have loved singing along with the actions, and it’s been a great way to strengthen their finger awareness and coordination while also encouraging confidence in group singing.

Tommy Thumb

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Personal, Social & Emotional Development

As we continue settling in, we’ve been focusing on learning each other’s names and practising sharing and taking turns with our toys and resources. It’s been heart-warming to see the children remembering their new friends’ names, inviting others to join their play, and showing kindness as they play alongside each other.

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Moments from the Week

We’ve captured more lovely moments of the children working, playing, and making memories together—whether they’re snipping leaves, singing with friends, building with the wooden blocks or proudly showing off their hedgehog creations!

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The children are continuing to grow in confidence and independence each day. Thank you for your support at home—it makes such a difference in helping them feel happy and settled. We’re looking forward to more exciting adventures next week! 

Calling all Reception Royal Jubilee Readers!

 

Reception Children 

The last day for submitting your  Platinum Jubilee Reading Challenge is tomorrow (Wednesday 8th June). 

Please return your competed challenge forms to your child's class teacher. 

HRH Queen Elizabeth: "One hopes that Reception win with the most number of challenges completed"

Nursery: Short stay sessions 20th-24th September 2021

 

Nursery: Short stay sessions

This blog shows some highlights from this week including:

• Short stay sessions

• School uniform

• Packed lunch ideas

• Hello song

• Reminders

• Key Information

Quote of the week:

“Miss Ellender, Miss Ellender. I’m a lamborghini! A white one, a lambo! Listen… brrrruuuuuummmmm. Say it, say it” 

Ryan says to Miss St Louis as he waits for her to say “123, GO”, making realistic lamborghini sounds running around the garden.

Reminder:

Can Parents please bring in a CUP, Wellington boots and a drawstring bag with spare clothes ASAP. Please LABEL  all your children's belongings, including both shoes. Please ensure your child knows what their cup and wellies look like.

Thank you

Short stay session

 

This week the children had their short stay sessions at nursery. It was an opportunity to explore their nursery environment, play with their new teachers and find out about the nursery routines including lunch. The children were very excited to see all the toys, play with the activities and engage with the free flow access to the garden. 

“I made a castle” said Daisy	Wow challenge:  The children have been mastering how to take off and put on their own shoes and socks independently.
Ashlean counted her steps aloud as she walked along the chalk snake	We have been trying hard to build new relationships with our friends and teachers.
We have been developing our physical skills: catching, throwing, jumping and coordination. But most importantly sharing with friends.	The sand pit has clearly been the children's favourite activity this week.

Nursery School uniform

PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING

GIrls winter uniform: Tops: Navy jumper or cardigan White polo top Bottoms: Black/navy leggings Navy/grey skirt  Navy/grey pinafore dress Navy/black/grey jogging bottoms Footwear: Trainers with velcro straps (any colour) Shoes with velcro straps with suitable grip on the sole	Boys winter uniform: Tops: Navy jumper or cardigan White polo top Bottoms: Navy/black/grey jogging bottoms Footwear: Trainers with velcro straps (any colour)

Lunch time

For great tips and tricks for packed lunches we recommend looking at the Change for life website. They offer many suggestions and recipes to help parents with ideas 

https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes

Hello song

Everyday the children will sing the hello song during circle time. Sing helps children with their speech and language skills and confidence. The hello song helps children learn the name of their new friends, as well as their teachers. 

We have written the song lyrics if parents wish to learn the song with their children at home:

Hello Song:

Hello, child’s name

Hello, child’s name

Hello, child’s name

And how are you today?

Child then answers the question, key worker may prompt with feeling cards.

Yay! It's time for our normal session times

 

From monday 27th September the children will start their full time sessions:

AM: 8.30am to 11.30am

PM: 12.15pm to 3.15pm

30 hours: 8.30am to 3.15pm

 

From monday all parents are to say goodbye before the doors open at 8.30am, ready for the children to walk into nursery independently. No parents will be allowed within the nursery. We politely ask all parents to respect our decision and not enter the nursery doors, which allows teachers to support children as they enter.

We understand many of our pupils have siblings and advise parents to drop nursery children first in the morning. The nursery doors will open at 8.30am until 8.40am. If your child arrives after 8.45am you will be required to enter through the main school office. 

 

 

Session attendance Routine:

 

1. Please stand on a coloured spot and wait to be called forward by a teacher who will greet your child.

 

2. Your child should leave you at the nursery door. Please say goodbye and reassure them you will be back to collect them at the end of the session before nursery opens.  Please speak to your child about the nursery in a positive way and remind them they will stay and play with their friends and you will always come back to collect them.

 

3. Upon collection doors will open five minutes before the end of the session (11.25am for morning dismissal and 3.10pm for afternoon dismissal). At the end of the session, the main doors will open. Please do not crowd the nursery door as this may delay the children being released and can scare the young children. 

 

 

We can not wait to start this new chapter with you.

 

 

Key Information

Important dates: 27th September: Full time sessions commence 25th October: Havering Half Term (Nursery closed) 2nd November: Nursery reopens Christmas Holidays (Nursery closed):  20th Dec (Back 4th Jan 22)   INSET Days; Nursery closed to children: 1st November 2021 4th January 2022 21st February 2022 6th May 2022

 

If you have any questions please contact nursery@broadford.havering.sch.uk or for more urgent messages speak to a member of staff or contact the school office: 01708 342880 or office@broadford.havering.sch.uk

The Nursery Team

Nursery: Play Dough Fun!

This week the children have been making play dough cakes! The fun started on Monday when one child rolled and decorated a play dough birthday cake using small pipe cleaners as the candles. The children sang Happy Birthday and cut the play dough cakes into halves and then quarters. Since then many children have wanted to roll and decorate their own play dough cakes!

Here are some photos of us having fun!

Reception Newsletter Autumn 1 19.09.16

Term: Autumn 1                      Date: 19.09.16

Dear Parents,

      The children have had a fantastic start to their school life.  Most of the children have settled in well and we are enjoying taking this opportunity to get to know them.

     Personal, Social and Emotional:

     Confident to talk to other children when playing, and will communicate freely about own home and community.

      Aware of own feelings, and knows that some actions and words can hurt others' feelings.

      Initiates play, offering cues to peers to join them.

Communication and Language:

Listens to others one to one or in small groups, when conversation interests them.

Responds to simple instructions,

Can retell a simple past event in correct order

Physical Development:

Uses one-handed tools and equipment.

Draws lines and circles using gross motor movements.

Puts on own coat or jumper.

   

      This newsletter will be made available in the outdoor area, in a blue tray labelled ‘Weekly Newsletter’, however we appreciate that many of you wish to be ‘paperless’ so a copy will also be posted on our EYFS blog and facebook page at the beginning of each week.

Messages.

      

     Reading at home with your child is vital if they are to become confident and fluid readers. In Reception children will bring home reading books to read with you and it is a school expectation that parents or carers read with their child every night. It is important your child continues to practice the skills they have learnt in school at home. A great way to foster your child’s love for reading and extend their vocabulary is to share bedtime stories with your child.

    Your child will partake in daily phonics lessons and will also have a set reading day when they will read their reading book to a member of the Reception team. Your child should have their reading book and reading record in school on this day.

    We will be happy to change reading books on a daily basis. Each class will have a box in the entrance. If your child’s reading book needs changing, please help them take their reading record and book from their book bag and place it in this box.

    Please be aware that to start with your child will receive a picture book that does not contain words. These book are to encourage the children to talk about the pictures, describe what they think is going on and create their own verbal dialogue for the story. This is a vital development reading stage.

     If you have any questions about reading expectations or routines in Reception, please speak to your class teacher.

     If you are collect your child at 3.05pm, you will need to follow the way way system, which we have had to put in place because of the limitations of the building work.  Please note this means you are unable to walk back up the slope at afternoon collection time.

      Thank you to all of the parents who have already sent in the spare clothes and wellington boots.

      If you would like to contact a member of the EYFS team via email the address is eyfs@broadford.havering.sch.uk

    

Kind regards

The Reception Team