Image of Nursery/Pre-School-Physical Development-Tuesday Trails
15 Sep

Nursery/Pre-School-Physical Development-Tuesday Trails

Nursery and Preschool really enjoyed their first Tuesday Trails with Mrs Corbally. The children practised putting on their wellies and coats independently and then went in our outdoor environment to explore the world outside. The children made leaf water and mixed it with the different size sticks that we found together. The children developed their gross and fine motor skills jumping in the muddy puddles and picking up the different size leaves from the fallen trees.

Image of Reception-Phonics-S
15 Sep

Reception-Phonics-S

Our Reception children have taken their exciting first step into phonics learning by exploring the 's' sound! Through fun, hands-on activities, we have enjoyed discovering objects starting with 's', practising saying the sound clearly, and tracing its shape.

Image of Reception-Maths-Counting
9 Sep

Reception-Maths-Counting

Reception have had fun this week playing an engaging maths game where they practised identifying numbers and counting colorful fish to find the correct match. The children counted each fish one by one, showing brilliant focus as they matched the quantities to the corresponding written numbers. They also worked well learning how to take turns to use the spinner and choose a number.

Image of Nursery And Pre-School - Maths - Categorising Objects
8 Sep

Nursery And Pre-School - Maths - Categorising Objects

Our nursery and preschool children have been diving into early mathematical concepts this week with a vibrant, hands-on activity at the light table! The illuminated setting provided a captivating backdrop for multi-layered learning as the children explored colour, size, and counting. The children began by categorising glowing coloured blocks and translucent splats by colour, matching and grouping similar shades. From there, they put their counting skills to work by building colorful rainbow towers, carefully counting each block as they built higher. As the towers grew, the children explored height and spatial vocabulary, working together to identify which structures were the shortest and which were the tallest. To solidify their understanding, we supported the children in using this new mathematical language in short, complete sentences—such as "This red tower is the tallest!"—helping them connect physical play directly to clear mathematical thinking.

Image of Reception-Literacy-Name Writing
8 Sep

Reception-Literacy-Name Writing

Our Reception children have been busy making their mark as they practise writing their names this week. We have been forming letters in the sand and carefully writing them into our Literacy books. We are very proud of how hard they have been trying.

Image of Nursery And Pre-School - Literacy - Wiggle Me Into Squiggle
7 Sep

Nursery And Pre-School - Literacy - Wiggle Me Into Squiggle

Our Nursery and Pre-school children have made a fantastic start to our new 'Wiggle Me into Squiggle' intervention this week! This programme focuses on developing large, gross motor movements, which form the essential physical foundation needed for fine motor control and early writing. This week, our focus was all about mastering 'UP' movements. The children began in a group setting using ribbons in each hand, lifting their arms high and watching the fabric flow through the air as they tracked their physical movements. To refine these big movements into early mark-making, the children then moved over to the easels holding two paintbrushes at once. Working with both hands simultaneously helped strengthen their bilateral coordination while turning those large arm sweeps into controlled, painted strokes on paper. It has been brilliant to see their confidence grow as they connect active movement directly to writing skills!

Image of Nursery And Pre-School - PSHE - Outdoor Exploration
3 Sep

Nursery And Pre-School - PSHE - Outdoor Exploration

What a fantastic first week back! We have loved welcoming our nursery and preschool children back into the setting as they jump into exploring our new environment. The outdoor area has been a huge hit, with the children eager to try out the new resources and enjoy learning in the fresh air. It has been wonderful to watch them dive into independent play with so much curiosity, making new friends and settling into their routines with big smiles.

Image of Reception- Continuous Provision- Settling In
3 Sep

Reception- Continuous Provision- Settling In

In Reception this week we have had a wonderful time settling in. The children have explored the classroom and outdoors. We have been making new friends, learning new routines and rules and how we go about our daily tasks. The children enjoyed music time learning new songs and have been introduced to new stories.

Image of Nursery/Pre-School-P.S.H.E-Welcome Back
3 Sep

Nursery/Pre-School-P.S.H.E-Welcome Back

Nursery /Preschool would like to welcome back our children and welcome all our new starters that will be starting with Darwen St James Nursery over the next couple of weeks. We are super excited to meet you all and start our learning journey in Nursery/Preschool.

Image of Reception- Music- Expressing Ourselves
8 Jul

Reception- Music- Expressing Ourselves

In Reception this week the children have been putting their learning of music into practice. Using the different instruments to make a beat and then develop it into a song that they know. We then took it to the next level and used the role play outfits to put on a music show. Singing our favourite songs and making up lots of different actions. We had so much fun!

Image of Reception- EAD- Exploring Billy's Bucket
8 Jul

Reception- EAD- Exploring Billy's Bucket

The children have had a thoroughly magical week exploring our focus story, Billy's Bucket! It has been wonderful to see them using their imaginations to look beyond the ordinary and wonder what spectacular things might be hidden inside their very own buckets. From marvellous sea creatures to giant mythical beasts, their ideas have been absolutely amazing. The children then worked with fantastic enthusiasm to bring these creations to life, using a wonderful mix of crafting materials, loose parts, and storytelling. It has been a joy to watch their imaginative worlds come alive in the classroom, and they have done a brilliant job sharing their ideas with one another!

Image of Nursery/Pre-School-R.E-Noah's Ark
6 Jul

Nursery/Pre-School-R.E-Noah's Ark

In our R.E. lessons, we have been learning all about Noah's Ark. The children loved listening to Noah's story and understanding why he had to build an ark for himself, his family, and all the animals. They learned that God asked him to save the good so that the bad could be washed away. The children then got creative and made their very own Noah's arks, drawing the animals onto them. To finish off, the children drew lovely rainbows to put across their arks to represent God's promise never to flood the earth again.