Pre-school-Maths-Patterns-Notice Error in Repeated Patterns
Children used different activities to find errors in repeated patterns, some children had to find the error using colour bears some had picture cards and had to identify the error and others used lego bricks to help them find the error in the repeated pattern. Finding errors in repeated patterns is a crucial step in developing early mathematical thinking in Early Years children. It helps them understand the concept of a "unit of repeat" and strengthens their logical reasoning skills. This helps the children with- Pattern Recognition: It reinforces their understanding of what a pattern is and how it repeats. Logical Reasoning: It encourages them to think critically and identify what doesn't fit the established rule. Problem-Solving: It provides a hands-on opportunity to fix mistakes and see the immediate result of their correction.
School Games Gold Award Winners!
We’re proud to announce that Darwen St James has been awarded the GOLD School Games Mark! This brilliant achievement is a reflection of the perseverance, courage, and hope shown by our pupils—and the dedication of our PE and Extra-Curricular Sports Team, who work tirelessly to promote sport and physical activity across our school. This year we have participated in netball, football, cross country and cricket to name a few! The School Games Mark is a national award that celebrates a school’s commitment to PE, school sport, and competition, both within and beyond the school gates. It also supports schools in reviewing and strengthening their provision. A huge thank you and well done to Mrs Cookson and all the staff for making sport such an exciting and important part of life at Darwen St James. We’re incredibly proud of our pupils for stepping up to every challenge with determination and team spirit. Keep going, keep growing! ???? #TeamDSJ #DSJFamily
Pre-School- UTW-Life Cycle Of A Caterpillar
Over the last few weeks the children have been observing caterpillars and watching what happens next. We introduced the eggs to the children and explained what is in the jar. As the weeks went on we started to see the caterpillars pop out of the eggs and start to grow. The caterpillars got bigger and bigger and then needed to go home with Mrs Corbally to be looked after in the holidays. At this time the caterpillars went into their cocoons and we waited and waited to see what happened next. On the first day back into nursery we had butterflies! The children helped to feed the butterflies sugar water and oranges before letting them go.
Pre-School- PSHE- Changing As We Grow
The children have been learning how we change over time and what things we need to make this happen. The children discussed that babies need food and sleep to grow. To help us grow the children talked about looking after our bodies, we spoke about losing our baby teeth and getting our adult teeth and this is a sign of growing up. We talked about the different stages of growing up from a baby to an adult looking at pictures and using each other to measure our growth.
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Online Safety - Violent Content Online
Around 70% of teenagers say they’ve seen real-life violence on social media in the past year. Violent content online isn’t just something young people are occasionally stumbling across – in many cases, it’s becoming a routine part of their digital world. From fights and stabbings to toxic ideologies , disturbing videos are often just a click away on social media or group chats. This week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide highlights the unseen risks this poses to children’s mental health , sense of safety, and social behaviours. With insights from a leading expert , it offers practical ways for parents and educators to respond with empathy and support – not punishment or panic.
Pre-School-Understanding The World-Bug Explorers
This week in Understanding of the world the children have been bug explorers. The children used a range of equipment like magnifying glasses and bug catchers to explore our outdoor area to see what creepy crawlies they could find. The children loved to explore with the different equipment and also enjoyed looking at all the bugs we found such as worms, woodlouse, beetles, flies, spiders, slugs and snails. Bug exploring in EYFS is a fantastic way to engage young children with the natural world and supports a wide range of developmental areas. It fosters curiosity, observation skills, language development, physical skills, and an understanding of living things and their habitats.
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Pre School - Phonics - Sound Hunt
In Preschool the children have started to learn some of the sounds from phase two phonics. Each week the children will learn two new sounds. The sounds we have learnt so far are s,a,t and p. The children love to find objects that begin with the given sound, we play games with these sounds with the flashcards hidden around our nursery. Phase 2 phonics focuses on introducing new letter sounds and building blending and segmenting skills. Children learn how to combine sounds to make words and how to break words down into individual sounds.
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Pre-School-Understanding The World-Bug Explorers
This week in Understanding of the world the children have been bug explorers. The children used a range of equipment like magnifying glasses and bug catchers to explore our outdoor area to see what creepy crawlies they could find. The children loved to explore with the different equipment and also enjoyed looking at all the bugs we found such as worms, woodlouse, beetles, flies, spiders, slugs and snails.
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Pre-School- R.E- Daniel And The Lion
In our R.E lesson today the children have listened to the story of Daniel and the Lion. The children learnt how Daniels trust in God and pray saved him from being eaten by the lions. The children asked questions about the story and then went on to create their own pictures of Daniel and the lions in the den. The children had the opportunity to role play with the lions and a person we named Daniel.
Pre-School- Physical Development- Outdoor Fun
In outdoor learning this week we have been creating potions exploring different textures with natural materials, flowers, herbs, looking at what sinks or floats in the water and making stirring and pouring actions. Mixing potions encourages the children's imaginative play and helps develop their language skills. The children linked to our story adding in magic jelly beans. The children used the balance bikes to develop their gross motor skills and used their skills from P.E to move around children to not bang into each other. The children have been using the tree rope to pull themselves up on the rope and swing on it, it has taken some time to build up their upper arm strength to hold themselves up on the rope. The children enjoyed using different water tools to create marks on the windows and floors and talked about the marks they created.
Online Safety -Minecraft
With its limitless opportunities for building, exploring and collaborating, Minecraft remains a global gaming phenomenon. Its broad appeal lies in how open-ended it is – but this also means it’s not without risk. From chatting with strangers on public servers to the grief of having a beloved creation destroyed, young players can face challenges if left unsupervised. Minecraft can also become a time sink for enthusiastic players, with late nights spent crafting and constructing, potentially impacting school and social lives. We’ve created this free guide to help parents and educators understand how to keep young gamers safe – from choosing age-appropriate game modes to setting boundaries around screen time and spending.
Pre-School- Maths- Counting And Recognising Numbers
This week in Maths the children have been developing their skills in counting to 10. The children engaged in a number game of rolling the dice and counting the dots, then matching them to the numbers on the cards. The children worked together to put the numbers in the number sequence and talked about what number came after.
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