Week 8 - 21st October 

In Nursery we are encouraged to have a love of books and reading.  On a Monday morning we have lots of fun looking at some of our favourite and new picture books.  We look at the pictures and talk about what we think might happen.  We then get to chose a book to take home to share with our grown ups.  What is your favourite story?

In provision we have explored weight using the balancing scales.  We used our collections of autumn materials to compare the weight.  We used comparative language "heavier" and "lighter" to compare the objects.  Mrs Blakemore challenged us to find objects that weighed the same.  

We have been learning all about the importance of brushing our teeth to help us to stay healthy.  We used the giant teeth and toothbrush to practise cleaning the giant teeth.  We added a small amount of toothpaste to the brush to help us to clean them really well.  We learnt that we need to brush your teeth for 2 minutes, twice a day.  Colgate have sent us all a new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste so we can continue to brush our teeth at home.  

On Friday some of our superheroes helped Mrs Pratt make pumpkin soup.  We helped to cut and chop the potatoes, onions and pumpkin into a huge bowl.  We added vegetable stocks, salt and pepper and water before boiling it.  After it had boiled and the vegetables had softened we blended the ingredients and added cream.  We each got to enjoy the soup with a bread roll.  It was delicious. 

Week 7 - 14th October 

Our core story this week is "Whatever Next" by Jill Murphy.  We enjoyed listening to how Little Bear created a rocket and went on an adventure to the moon.  In provision we created our own rockets to recreate this wonderful story. 

In maths this week our focus has been to say number names.  We did this in lots of ways.  Some of our favourite activities were mood counting and singing songs.  This week we learnt two songs all about 5 little monkeys.  We had lots of fun using the props to help us to sing "5 little monkeys teasing Mr Crocodile" and "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed" Click on the link to sing the songs. 

Developing our fine motor skills is a key skill for everyone in Nursery.  We use lots of resources to help us.  Manipulating the play dough helps us to strengthen our finger muscles.  Other activities to help us develop our finger muscles include threading and building with blocks.  This week we have started to practise our handwriting using the letter join app.  First we practised the patterns using our gross motor skills and then we practised on the whiteboard.   

On Friday we participated in TTRS day.  We came to school dressed as Rock Stars.  Throughout the morning we participated in lots of fun math activities to celebrate numbers.  We joined Class 1 and sang lots of our favourite counting songs.  We performed one of our favourites, "5 little monkey's teasing Mr Crocodile".  It was a fun day.

Week 6 - 7th October 

This week in Math we have built and explored with shapes.  We had a collection of blocks to create arrangements.  We created tall towers, animals and buildings.  After we had created our arrangements we discussed what we had made and identified the similarities and differences between the blocks.  

We had lots of fun making our own play dough.  We had to follow the instructions to mix the ingredients.  We added flour and salt to the bowl before adding the cream of tartar.  We mixed two cups of water with the teaspoons of oil.  We decided which food colouring to add to the mixture.  We then had to put it in the microwave to cook.  When it had finished cooking it was very hot so we had to leave it to cool.

In collective worship we gathered together to discuss our school mission statement.  We looked at the part that states, "We love, we believe, we shine, we achieve"  We each took a heart and thought about these important words.  We reflected on how we can show love to each other. We shared how we show we believe in ourselves and how we can shine each day.  We then talked about how we can share and celebrate each others achievements.  

On Friday some of the children had lots of fun baking buns.  We followed the recipe and then once they were baked we each got to decorate a bun to take home.  They tasted delicious!

Week 5 - 30th September

This week we started by sharing a story.  Our story was called Harry and his Bucketful of Dinosaurs.  Harry loved his collection of dinosaurs and he went everywhere with them.  
 

In math we have looked at our own collection of objects.  We have learnt to compare quantities and identify which has more or fewer.  We have even looked at what it means if they are the same. 

In our collective worship this week we looked at our school mission statement. 
 

“One family, growing together in love and faith,

flourishing in a diverse and ever-changing world.  

We love, we believe, we shine, we achieve”

we thought about what it means to “love” each other.  We thought about the people and things we love and then we thought about and shared how we can show we love each other in Nursery.  We decided to show our love by being kind, sharing and helping each other.  

Today we went on an Autumn walk.  We collected lots of natural objects on our walk that showed us it is Autumn.  We found colourful leaves, acorns, pine cones, and sycamore seeds. When we got back to Nursery we emptied our collections and then we sorted then.  We discussed which collection had more and fewer.

Week 4 - 23rd September

This week we have focused on our Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) by getting used to our new daily routines and getting to know our new friends.  
 

On arrival to Nursery we are trying to develop our independence and putting our bags and coats on our peg before self-registering with our photo and name card.  You can help me develop these skills by giving me the same responsibility at home.   After registration we sing our Good Morning song.  You can click on the link below to help me practise this at home.  

We have been practicing to be a “Give me 5 champion”. We sit on the carpet following these expectations;

* leg crossed

* lips quiet

* eyes looking

* ears listening

* minds awake

We are getting really good at this and really impressing Mrs Blakemore and Mrs Pratt.  We have listened to stories, sang nursery rhymes and enjoyed many other fun activities during carpet time.  One of our favourite activities this week has been Music Interaction.  This helps us to develop our understanding of routines and helps us to anticipate events as well as developing our patience and turn taking skills.  It’s lots of fun and we all loved it. Ask me about bouncing the frog on the lycra!

We all participated in our first collective worship.  We gathered in a circle as Mrs Blakemore placed a green cloth on the floor.  As we lit the candles Mrs Blakemore told us that this helps us to remember Jesus is the light of the world. We also placed a cross in the circle to remember the sacrifice Jesus made.  This is the symbol of Christianity.  
 

During the collective workshop we carefully passed the cross around the circle and joined in with the statement, “God knows my name” we each said our name.  Mrs Blakemore explained that we all belong to God’s family and together we belong to the family of Sacred Heart.  As we came to the end of the session Mrs Blakemore gave us the mission to spread love amongst our family by being kind and caring towards our new friends.  

In Maths we started to think about the concept of more and less.  We had many different collections of objects that we sorted and then compared.  We learnt the words “more” and “fewer”. We are beginning to understand which group has more objects and that if you take some objects away from the collection or group, there will be fewer.  

We were very lucky on Monday because one of our Superheroes bought a gift for Nursery.  It was a set of magnetic building tiles.  Mrs Blakemore and Mrs Pratt saw these on a home visit and loved them.  We have had so much fun exploring what we can build with them.  The tiles help us to develop our creative skills and our resilience as they sometimes fall down when we don’t expect it.  Thank you so much to the kind parent for their generosity.

We have been very good artists this week too by creating a self-portrait.  We used a mirror to help us look at and identify our facial features.  We can’t wait for our paintings to dry so that we can display them in Nursery. 

Week 3 - 16th September 

This week we have really enjoyed welcoming our new children to Nursery.  They have settled in and are learning the new routines of school.  Today we had lots of fun getting to know each other and exploring our new surroundings.  

More new friends came to join us on Friday.  We had lots of fun. 

Week 2 - 9th September 

It has been another busy week in Nursery with our friends.  We started the week by visiting Goldthorpe library.  It is just a short walk onto the Main Street. We wore our high visibility vests and kept hold of an adults hand, walking safely all the way there.  When we arrived at the library we looked at and read many books and enjoyed playing with the toys.  We were very lucky because one of the ladies gave us juice and a biscuit for snack.  After reading more books we had to return to school. We can’t wait to visit the library again once it reopens.  

This week we have been learning to count accurately and practiced recognising numerals.  We impressed Mrs Blakemore and Mrs Pratt with our one-to-one counting and recognising of numerals. We even had a go at recording numerals too.  Can you help me to keep practicing these skills at home?

On Friday we were incredibly excited because we were going on a visit to the Build-a-Bear workshop in the Frenchgate Centre.  Before we left school we looked at the route on a map.  We also looked at all the different bears we might be able to build when we arrived.  On the way to Doncaster we played logo spotters. We found many different logos on our way including McDonald’s, B&M and Marks and Spencer’s.  We had to park in a big car park and use the lift to get to the shopping centre. We excitedly found the workshop and looked around to find he right class bear.  We chose a very special bear with a heart patch on his chest.  We carefully stuffed it and added a heart inside.  We were they very surprised to each get a birthday bear to celebrate our 4th birthday’s.  We each stuffed the bear and cuddled it top make sure it felt just right.  
 

After stuffing our bears we looked around the workshop for the perfect outfit.  We even chose some pyjamas for when Patch goes for a sleepover.  Once our bear was dressed we went to the computers and created our birth certificates.  We then took all of our bears to the counter to pay.  
 

just when we thought our adventure was over, we went for snack in the food hall.  We enjoyed sharing our snack with each other talking about our new bears.  After snack we made our way back to the car park and back to school.  We had had such a wonderful time we were exhausted and some of us even fell asleep.  

Week 1 - 2nd September

It has been wonderful welcoming everyone back to Nursery after the summer holidays.  We enjoyed listening to everyone’s holiday news to find out what exciting things they got up to.  We heard about holidays to Wales, visits to the beach and walks to the park.  Lots of fun with family and friends.  

We followed the recipe and made our own play dough.  We enjoyed mixing all the ingredients and choosing which colour to make it.  We hope to have lots of fun playing with it. 

We were very excited to get the opportunity to make our own pizza.  We collected all of the ingredients and went to ask Mrs Green if she would kindly bake our pizza’s once they were made.  Mrs Green kindly agreed and also gave us some peppers to add to our pizza’s.  When we got back to class we washed our hands and then we chopped the tomatoes, peppers and ham into small pieces.  Afterwards, we then rolled out the pizza base and spread the pizza sauce. We used the toppings to create our own pizza’s. They looked amazing and tasted delicious.