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Nursery / Pre-School - Computing - Creating Butterflies
This week, the children in Nursery and Preschool used the computers and touchscreens to create their own colorful butterflies using Purple Mash. The activity began with the children exploring the digital tools, picking their favorite colors, and making marks on the screen to see how their movements left bright trails on the wings. As the children became more confident, we looked at real-life photos of butterflies to identify different patterns. The children then worked on making conscious marks, such as lines and spots, to mimic the characteristics they could see in the reference images. This was a fantastic way for them to practice digital control and intentional design, moving from simple scribbles to purposeful patterns. An exciting moment occurred when our older learners noticed that the program was "mirroring" their marks on the opposite wing. This sparked a meaningful conversation about symmetry, as the children looked back at their reference images and realized that butterflies always have the same patterns on both wings. They were fascinated to see their designs appear on both sides at once, helping them to understand that nature often creates matching patterns.
Nursery/Pre-school-Literacy-Handwriting-Pencil Control
In Literacy we have focused on Handwriting and pencil control this week, This is a great way to get all our preschoolers ready for their next step moving forward to their school journey even with the little ones starting their journey into preschool this was a lovely way to see their pencil control and grip. Developing handwriting in the Early Years is all about building the physical strength and coordination required to use a pencil through fine and gross motor activities.
Online Safety - App and Play Stores
With millions of apps available and children accessing them from an increasingly young age, app stores can present a range of risks. From malware and copycat apps to inappropriate content and persuasive in-app purchases, this Wake Up Wednesday guide highlights how easily young users can encounter issues – even when using official platforms. It also offers clear, practical advice to help parents and educators manage these risks. From setting up parental controls and checking app credibility to having open conversations about safe usage, the guide supports adults in building children’s awareness, encouraging safer choices and promoting more balanced, responsible app use
Nursery/Pre-school- P.S.H.E-Me And My Friends
This week in P.S.H.E: Me and my friends Our focus this week has been all about "Me and My Friends," and we’ve had a lovely time exploring what makes us unique. We started by sharing the story of Elmer the Elephant. The children really connected with the idea that Elmer looks different from the rest of the herd and enjoyed chatting about how being different is something to celebrate. It was great to hear them discussing their favourite colours with one another and finding out what they have in common with their peers. Getting stuck into provision The children had plenty of chances to get creative with the theme during their play: Colouring: Lots of brilliant patchwork Elmers were brought to life using the children’s favourite colours. Playdough: We saw some fantastic fine motor skills in action as the children sculpted their very own versions of Elmer. It has been a brilliant week of building friendships and learning that our differences are what make our class such a vibrant place to be.
Nursery / Pre-School - R.E - Palm Sunday, Walking In Jesus' Steps
This week, the children in Nursery and Preschool continued their exploration of the Easter story by focusing on the events of Palm Sunday. To help the children understand the journey Jesus made into Jerusalem, we participated in a sensory barefoot nature walk. The children were encouraged to take off their shoes and socks to experience the different textures of the ground, just as Jesus would have done on his biblical journey. They showed great bravery and curiosity as they stepped over crunchy leaves, prickly sticks, soft grass, and bumpy pebbles. This hands-on sensory experience allowed the children to connect physically with the story, prompting discussions about how the ground felt and how tired Jesus’ feet might have been. As the children navigated the path, we retold the story of Palm Sunday together. We spoke about the crowds cheering and the people laying down palm leaves to make a path. This active retelling while walking helped to solidify the children's knowledge of the sequence of events, making the story feel "real" to them through their own physical actions. It was a wonderful way to combine physical development with a deeper understanding of kindness, journeys, and the significance of the Easter season.
Nursery - Maths - Number Hunt
This week, the children in Pre-school have been sharpening their number recognition skills through a high-energy "number hunt" around the classroom. We hid twelve little chicks, each marked with a number from 0 to 11, in various spots for the children to discover during their play. The activity began during independent learning time, where the children enjoyed spotting the chicks at random. This initial phase allowed them to practice recognizing different numerals in a relaxed and exploratory way. During our focused lesson, the challenge was increased as the children were tasked with finding the chicks in the correct numerical order. This required the children to think carefully about the counting sequence, identifying which number would come next before scouring the room to find the matching chick. There was a wonderful sense of excitement throughout the lesson, and it was lovely to see the children's joy as they successfully located the next number in the sequence. This hands-on approach effectively combined physical movement with sequential thinking and purposeful number recognition.
Nursery/Pre-school- Art And Design-Workshop-Making Flower Perfume
Little perfumers at work! Our workshop table was buzzing last week as the children created their very own custom flower scents. From sniping and pulling to pinching and squeezing, they put those fine and gross motor skills to the test! By exploring their five senses, every child mixed up a unique, flowery potion that was perfectly them.
Nursery/Pre-School - Maths - Can You Place An Accurate Number Of Bugs On The Flower
This week, the children took part in a fun, bug-themed counting challenge. The activity focused on their ability to listen to a specific number and accurately represent that quantity by placing bugs onto a giant flower. When asked a question like "Can you place three bugs on the flower?", we made sure to give the children plenty of "thinking time." This allowed them to process the instruction and reflect on the number they heard before beginning the task. The children then practiced their one-to-one correspondence, carefully picking up and placing each bug one at a time until they reached the target number. To finish the task, the children were encouraged to count the bugs already on the flower to check their own work. This helped them reflect on whether the amount they had placed matched the number they were originally asked for. This hands-on approach was a fantastic way to build their confidence in counting and their understanding of how numbers relate to a physical group of objects.
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Nurser/Pre-School-Geography-Understanding The World-Little Gardeners
The children had a fabulous week in the sunshine! They truly enjoyed getting muddy as they transformed into little gardeners. After choosing a special spot in our outdoor space, the children planted a variety of blooms, seeds, and bulbs. They have since loved watering their plants and sitting quietly in their new garden, watching and waiting for them to grow.
Nursery/Pre-School-Continuous Provision-Independent Learning
There has been lots of exciting independent learning happening in our Nursery/Pre-school this week! Our story of the week is Jasper’s Beanstalk. The children have enjoyed becoming 'little gardeners' and exploring different ways of planting flowers, creating beanstalks at the play dough table, and using their maths skills to measure beanstalks of different sizes.
Nursery/Pre-School - R.E - Kind Hands And Caring Hearts
This week, the children in Nursery and Preschool have been exploring the Easter story. We focused on the scene before the Last Supper, where Jesus washed his disciples' feet. To help the children understand this story, we watched a short cartoon video that showed how Jesus cared for his friends. Inspired by the video, the children had the opportunity to act out this act of service themselves. After taking off their shoes and socks, they used wet wipes to carefully clean their own feet, just as they had seen in the story. Following the activity, we sat together to talk about the meaning behind this story. We discussed how even though Jesus was a very special man, he still chose to help people and treat others with kindness. We linked this back to our own classroom values, reminding the children that at nursery, we always use our kind hands and kind words. We spoke about our mantra, sharing is caring, and how we look after all of our friends to make sure everyone is happy and included in our play.
Nursery / Pre-School - Maths - Hungry Hippos
This week, Nursery and Preschool engaged in an exciting, large-scale game of "Hungry Hippos" to support their mathematical development. The activity was adapted to meet different learning focuses, allowing all children to explore concepts of quantity and comparison through active play. Exploring Full and Empty For some children, the focus was on the concepts of "full" and "empty." As they moved around the classroom to collect the scattered balls, they closely observed how their baskets changed. They practiced identifying when their basket was "empty" at the start and the satisfying moment it became "full" once all the balls were gathered. Comparison and Equal Quantities Other children used the game to develop their understanding of comparison. Working in teams, they aimed to collect the "same" number of balls in each basket. This required great focus and teamwork as they counted their hauls and compared them to the other team's basket to see if the quantities were "equal" or "different." Matching and Sorting To add an extra challenge, some children focused on the properties of the balls as well as the quantity. They worked to ensure that both baskets were "identical" by matching the colors of the balls they collected. This encouraged high-level observation and sorting skills, as they had to find the exact color matches to make their sets the same. This energetic activity successfully combined physical movement with key mathematical language, helping the children visualize and describe the groups they were creating.
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