Nursery - Computing - Decorating Birthday Cakes
This computing lesson introduced basic digital literacy skills by having the children decorate a birthday cake on Purple Mash. The children successfully used simple controls for digital mark-making, developing foundational coordination on-screen. This activity was also used to encourage communication, as we discussed their chosen toppings and their likes and dislikes. A number of children demonstrated early navigational skills by learning to scroll through the menus and select different decorative elements for their cakes. They did a brilliant job of translating their ideas into digital designs, reinforcing their understanding of basic input.
Nursery - Art - Pinecone Painting
The children explored a new and exciting technique involving pinecones and paint to create abstract autumnal artwork. They began by adding blobs of autumnal colours—brown, red, and yellow—into a flat tray. Next, they placed several pinecones into the paint. Using their gross motor skills, the children were encouraged to wiggle, tip, and shake the trays, which made the pinecones roll through the paint. As the pinecones moved, they left interesting trails and marks on the paper, creating unique patterns. A fantastic extension to this activity was the discovery of a new colour! Some children noticed the red and yellow paints mixing together to create orange.
Nursery - P.E - Balancing Balloons
During our PE lesson, the children worked on developing their hand-eye coordination and perseverance through a fun balancing challenge. They each selected a giant spoon and used it to balance a balloon. This required great care and focused movement, as the balloons easily fell off. This activity was a huge success, and the children continued to explore the balloons in their independent learning, practicing new skills like throwing and catching with a partner, tapping the balloons in the air, and maneuvering them across the floor with their spoons.
Nursery - Maths - Counting In Sequence
During our maths lesson, the children participated in a fun, hands-on activity focusing on sequential counting and early number recognition using our jumbo birthday cake prop. The main task involved counting and placing candles onto the cake in the correct order, which reinforced the principle of one-to-one correspondence. To support their learning, some children successfully used sound buttons to guide their counting and candle placement. For those demonstrating strong sequential counting skills up to ten, we introduced the visual numerals 1, 2, and 3. They used the sound buttons to support this new knowledge before consolidating it by tracing the numbers with their fingers. This engaging, multi-sensory approach provided excellent practice in both oral counting and linking written numerals to quantity.
Nursery - Literacy - Writing Birthday Cards
Our literacy focus this week was on mark making and communication using the Post Office role-play area. The children engaged in the purposeful activity of creating birthday cards for our story character, Lulu. They began by choosing a card and using crayons to color and make various marks. This mark-making is a crucial pre-literacy step, as it builds the muscle control needed for future conventional writing. The lesson concluded with the children posting their finished cards into the postbox. This action helped reinforce narrative sequencing and connected their play to real-world systems, mirroring the postal delivery process just like in our story.
Nursery - Maths - Categorising By Size
In this engaging maths lesson, the children focused on the concept of size by helping our book character, Lulu, with her birthday presents. Their initial excitement involved giving the wrapped gifts a good shake and guessing what might be inside! The main objective of the lesson was categorization by size. The children actively helped Lulu sort all the gifts into two distinct piles: big and small. Taking turns, each child eagerly chose a present and correctly placed it into the appropriate category. To support their learning and vocabulary acquisition, we utilized sound buttons and Widgit visual aids. These resources were instrumental in helping the children differentiate clearly between the terms "big" and "small." The children demonstrated a brilliant understanding of size differentiation and did an excellent job accurately sorting all of Lulu's gifts. This hands-on activity provided a fun, tangible way to reinforce early measurement concepts.
Nursery - Science - Facial Features, Location And Arrangement
In our combined Science and Art lesson, the children participated in a focused activity designed to enhance their self-awareness and understanding of personal identity and facial features. The lesson began with the children receiving blank face outlines and a selection of individual features—eyes, noses, and mouths. The core of the activity involved using a mirror to observe their own faces closely. This encouraged careful self-examination as they noticed the placement and quantity of their features. They had to decide on the appropriate features and then attempt to translate what they saw in the mirror onto their paper. The children demonstrated excellent concentration and observation skills during this task, correctly identifying that they needed two eyes, one nose, and one mouth. They did a fantastic job of placing their chosen features to create unique and accurate representations of themselves, reinforcing the idea that everyone is unique and special.
Nursery - PSHE - Nurturing And Personal Hygiene
This week, our PSHE lesson centered on developing nurturing skills and an early understanding of personal hygiene through focused role-play. The children engaged with the baby dolls in the water area, exploring the vital need to keep them clean and wash away any dirt. This care routine was highly engaging, beginning with placing the babies into a bubbly bath. The children worked diligently, utilizing jugs and cloths to meticulously wash the dolls, demonstrating careful and gentle handling. This encouraged a sense of responsibility and empathy. Once the washing was complete, they carefully wrapped the babies in towels to dry them. Through this activity, the children were able to practice essential life skills, understand the sequence of a cleaning routine, and develop their empathy by caring for another, all within a fun and purposeful context.
Nursery - PSHE - Understanding Emotions
During our PSHE focus, the children began to develop their understanding of two key emotions: happy and sad. We used the resources in our Regulation Station to support their learning and help them identify these feelings. The children had a hands-on experience creating happy and sad faces. They used mirrors to observe their own facial expressions, which helped them with the correct placement of features like a smile or a frown. They also used hand puppets to make comparisons, clearly showing a smiley face on one and a sad face on another. A key part of the lesson was using our Widgit prompts to explore what we can do when we feel these emotions. The children learned that when they feel happy, they can give a "thumbs up" or a "high five." And when they feel sad, they can ask for a cuddle or get a tissue. This activity helped the children not only identify their feelings but also learn healthy, positive ways to respond to them.
Nursery - Maths - Capacity, Full And Empty
In our maths lesson this week, the children engaged in a hands-on and sensory-rich exploration of capacity. Using a variety of different-sized jugs, along with water and pompoms, they had the opportunity to physically investigate a fundamental mathematical concept. The children enthusiastically scooped up both water and pompoms, which allowed them to learn through different textures. They quickly discovered that filling a jug with liquid was different from filling it with solid objects. As they worked, they were continuously testing their knowledge of full and empty. They had to decide when their jug was full and what to do when it was still empty.
Nursery - Literacy - Fine Motor Skills - Threading
During our fine motor activity this week, the children used wooden dowels and large beads to practice threading, which was a bit tricky at first. Many of the children found that the beads kept sliding off the bottom, but they didn't give up. Instead, they found a solution, learning to hold the dowel with one hand and carefully use the other to thread the beads on. This activity not only helped them develop their hand-eye coordination and concentration but also allowed them to use their problem-solving skills.
Nursery - Expressive Art And Design - Imaginative Play
In our Expressive Arts and Design lesson, the children had a wonderful time exploring our dressing-up basket, which was full of different costumes. Each child took a turn to choose an outfit, transforming into a variety of characters and people, from a police officer, firefighter, and builder to a doctor and chef. The children embraced their roles and acted out different scenarios. Some children took great care of the babies, taking their temperature and checking their heart beats, while others worked together to build structures with various resources. We also had a chef who had a wonderful time using their imagination to cook up some yummy dinner in the home corner. This activity provided a wonderful opportunity for the children to develop their creativity and imagination, while also exploring different roles and experiences in the world around them.
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