Headteacher: Anna Moss

Forest School Activity

Snowflakes

We have certainly experienced the Winter weather this week but yet to see any snowflakes so we just made our own.  Mrs Allen has been showing you how to weave them with wool on the weaving boards and Mrs Franklin has been “crafting” them with you with cotton buds.  Fingers crossed the real things arrive soon!

Write Dance

(Gross Motor)

Just Like This

One messy table is all it takes to make this circle time fun.  You have been marching, zigzagging and creating pizza/pancake shapes on the tables in paint.  Being able to see the shapes your hands can make is always fascinating – wait until we add two different colours to the messy table.

Rhyme Time

Baa Baa Black Sheep

A new year, a new circle time – rhyme time!  We select a nursery rhyme for the week and have fun with it – this week “Baa Baa Black Sheep”.  We sing it loud, quiet, fast, slow.  We have enjoyed listening/naming the sounds of the sheep, a farm gate shutting and somebody knitting.  We then used the “three in a row” picture cards to help us hear which two sound the same.  It is very early days for rhyming but by the summer, we will be experts ready for school.

Phonics

The mouse sound /m/

Our alliteration work is back as we enjoyed a return to the game – What is in the box?  This week, two familiar faces were hiding in there – Mrs Mander and Mrs Moss.  I can let you know, we were fine though as Mrs Allen had popped a marshmallow in there and we had some milk to drink!  Can you remember what else we found in there?

Listening

Hiding under the Blanket

To ensure our listening skills do not leave us, we will keep playing our listening games this term to help us learn to listen.  This week we had to follow all four of the rules as we took it in turns to try and work out which friend was hiding under the blanket.  Always a popular game – you could play at home with your toys this weekend!

Maths

Subitising Ladybirds

The Number 4

As we all joined one by one following our VERY cold Forest School, we enjoyed joining in the dice game of ladybirds.  We took it in turns to roll the dice, spot the same pattern and subitised how many ladybirds were on the leaf.  Once we were all settled, we discovered our numicon 4 makes a wonderful piece of bread and we used pegs to create the toppings and the world’s tallest sandwich.  Collecting four pieces of lettuce, cheese and ice-cream (!) from the basket of pegs helped us understand what four is in so many different ways – subitising, counting as we collect, making a four-square pattern.

Communication and Language

The Gruffalo’s Child, Julia Donaldson

A classic winter story!  Mrs Allen has enjoyed playing her Gruffalo matching pairs game as you joined her for your story time in the Quiet Area after lunch.  You enjoyed keeping the Gruffalo toys warm too as you shared and explored the story.  Can you hear which character in the story begins with our sound /m/?

Dough Disco

(Fine Motor)

When will my life begin, Rapunzel

Evie White – thank you!  A great song and a new flag that we haven’t had before – Germany.  Evie has enjoyed sharing the story of Rapunzel and we have enjoyed making her long hair with the dough and finishing with those floating lanterns (dough balls).

A message for parents – thank you for the front of house photos following the request on the Nursery Newsletter.  The children are enjoying spotting their houses on our display.  Keep them coming in – “we are going on a house hunt” when our Special Places topic begins – I wonder if we will spot some familiar ones?

Mrs Mander, Mrs Allen and Mrs Franklin X