Cascading pipes

The children had great fun investigating with the cascading pipes and following water to race objects. Charlie quickly worked out that the faster the water flowed, the quicker the boats and ducks travelled down the pipes. The children also found natural objects in the garden to race down the pipes. Great team work, Reception.

Mud kitchen

Would you like some squishy chocolate cake or some slimy grimy soup? We have some great chefs in EYFS who create some delicious recipes. yum, yum!

Mmmm.....porridge!

As we were learning about Goldilocks and the 3 Bears last week, the children enjoyed their cookery session making porridge. They discussed the changes that were made as they mixed the ingredients together and when the porridge was cooking. The children described the porridge as sweet, creamy, lumpy, fluffy, smooth, sugary, and gooey. The children worked brilliantly as team.

Beautiful butterflies

Jessica very kindly brought in her beautiful butterflies which she and her sisters Georgia and Holly had hatched.

Jessica told Fern Class that at first they were eggs and then they turned into caterpillars. Next they became chrysalis and then they turned into beautiful butterflies. Jessica has named her butterfly Lilly. 

Fern Class practiced being eggs  turning into caterpillars, hanging upside down like a chrysalis and finally we fluttered around the room like beautiful butterflies.

Thank you for our lovely surprise this morning Jessica! 

Nursery Weekly Newsletter

Term: Autumn 1 Date 30.09.13

The children have continued to settle well and seem happy. We will spend the next few weeks teaching the children about the expectations within the Nursery setting. We usually base all of our activities around a specific theme which has been directed by the children. The children have expressed an interest in fruit and vegetables, so this will be theme for the rest of the term.

Personal, Social and Emotional
Aware of the boundaries set, and of behavioural expectations in the setting.
Plays cooperatively with other children and adults.
Responds to a few appropriate boundaries, with encouragement and support. 

Communication and Language
Listening to and joining in with the story of ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’.
Enjoys rhymes and demonstrates listening by trying to join in with actions or vocalisations.
Beginning to ask simple questions.

Physical Development:
Makes connections between their movement and the marks they make.
Beginning to balance blocks to build a small tower.

Mathematics
Beginning to organise and categorise objects.
Enjoys filling and emptying containers.
Associates a sequence of actions with daily routines.

Understanding of the World
Tasting and describing various fruits.
Remembers where objects belong.
Matches parts of objects that fit together. 

Expressive Arts and Design
Vegetable prints.
Joins in with nursery rhymes.
Expresses self through physical action and sound.

Messages.

Thank you to all of the afternoon parents who are waiting until 3.30pm to come down to the Nursery to collect their children. We appreciate this, and as I’m sure you understand it prevents the children’s learning time from getting disrupted.

We are aware that it can be a little busy around the registration board. You are more than welcome to help your child hang their coat and bag and then place their name in their key group. This may alleviate some of the pressure.

We already have a number of unnamed jumpers and cardigans. If the children’s clothes are not name we are able to find its owner.

Finally, thank you for all of the Wishing leaves we have had returned, there are some lovely ‘wishes’ which we hope to support your children in achieving. Once the wishing tree is complete we will post a photograph of it on the blog.
Thank you for your support

The Nursery Team

Reception Weekly Newsletter

Term: Autumn 1 Week beginning: 30.09.13

Our children have coped brilliantly with their first full week. They have thoroughly enjoyed learning about ‘Goldilocks and the 3 Bears’, especially getting to make porridge. We have decided to continue with traditional stories. This week we will be basing our learning around the book, ‘The 3 Billy Goats Gruff’.
Your child will be taking part in the following activities and routines:

Personal, Social and Emotional
Being encouraged to demonstrate friendly behaviour, initiating conversations and forming good relationships with peers and familiar adults.
Responding to simple instructions and following rules.
Learning to put away activities once they have finished playing with them.

Communication and Language
The police station has proved very popular so we will be doing some more detective work encouraging the children to generate the questions and solve clues as to who broke the bridge? Whose footprints do they belong to? How do you know? How did the bridge break?

Physical Development:
Making trolls out of play dough developing fine manipulative skills.
Hall session: The children will continue to go out in small groups to work with our Sports Coach,
Mr Clark. Please bring in PE kits as soon as possible. 

Literacy:
We will be continuing our daily phonics sessions, learning set 1 letters – p,g,o,c`.
We will be sending home a daily practise sheet for you to complete with your child.
Listening to the story, ‘The 3 Billy Goats Gruff’ and recalling events.
Listening to alternate stories to stimulate thinking skills. Ask what would have happened if… the big Billy Goat Gruff had crossed the bridge first? the troll came back one day? the troll was friendly? the little goat found a boat? If a horse crossed the bridge? Etc… 

Mathematics:
Continuing Ten Town – our number formation scheme. Learning to form numbers 4 and 5 accurately.
Developing an understanding of positional language, such as; across, beside, next to, below, above, under, on top, over, in, on etc…
Reinforcing size activities developing vocabulary. Is the goat tiny or minute, gigantic or enormous, mediocre or average etc… 

Understanding of the World:
Creating small world scenes of ‘The 3 Billy Goats Gruff’.
Using the interactive story maker to tell their own stories. 

Expressive Arts and Design:
Home Corner – The 3 bears, using different sized cups, spoons, bowls etc…
Role play – A Police Station, to solve the crime –Who broke the bridge?

Messages:

The children may bring in something related to our stories for Show and Tell on Friday.
Each child now has a home/school book. This is a book to write their wow moments in and any important messages. If you make a comment in the book, please place it in the tray provided so that we respond to your comment straight away.
Please make sure your child has a spare change of clothes in school just in case they have any little accidents. The spare change of clothes does not have to be school uniform.
We regularly update our EYFS blog. Please like our Broadford Primary Facebook page every time you see an EYFS blog. Feel free to make a comment on the children’s experiences. 

You may not be aware that Free School Meals eligible children attract Pupil Premium funding, which is going to be £1300 per child. This additional money is used to improve achievement for that group but it also impacts on all of our children. For instance, a chunk of it pays for the free after school clubs that everyone benefits from. Our Governing Body have discussed how we can use this money to directly help eligible families. Support we can offer includes: free school trips, support with uniform and help with residential trips. If you think you may be eligible, please apply now. You don’t actually have to eat the school dinners… you just have to sign up! The more children who sign up, the more money we get, the more we can help our children. If you feel you are entitled to free schools meals, please pick up a form from the office. If you need help in completing the form, just ask!

Stay and play session:
Come and see us in action! On Thursday 17th October we are inviting parents to come and watch us teach Read, Write, Inc. See how we teach sounds and get some tips for activities which you can do with your children to support our scheme.
This session will run from 9.05 – 11.00.  More details to follow next week.

Thank you for your continued support.

Nursery Weekly Newsletter

Term: Autumn 1 Date 23.09.13

The children have had an amazing start to Nursery, we are really pleased with how well they have all settled. We will spend the next few weeks teaching the children about the expectations within the Nursery setting.

Personal, Social and Emotional

Aware of the boundaries set, and of behavioural expectations in the setting.
Plays cooperatively with other children and adults.
Responds to a few appropriate boundaries, with encouragement and support. 

Communication and Language

Listening to the story ‘Where’s my Teddy’.
Understands simple sentences.
Beginning to ask simple questions. 

Physical Development:

Makes connections between their movement and the marks they make.
Beginning to balance blocks to build a small tower. 

Mathematics

Beginning to organise and categorise objects.
Enjoys filling and emptying containers.
Associates a sequence of actions with daily routines. 

Understanding of the World

Remembers where objects belong.
Matches parts of objects that fit together. 

Expressive Arts and Design

Joins in with nursery rhymes.
Expresses self through physical action and sound.


Messages.

Thank you to all of the parents that have returned the ‘Wishing Tree Leaf’; we look forward to receiving more of them.
Please ensure your child wears shoes that they can try to put on and off themselves. Laces on shoes are very tricky for the children to do up and the adults are spending a great deal time dealing with this, when they should be interacting with the children.

The afternoon session finishes at 3.30pm. Nursery parents will not be allowed down to the Nursery until this time as it disrupts the children. If you wish for your child to be picked up at 3.15pm from an older siblings class, please advise us in writing.

Thank you

The Nursery Team