Nursery School Newsletter 18

03.02.2023

Dear Parents

This week’s Nursery School highlights:

  • Snack/Cooking – This week the children have been helping to prepare their snacks – cutting the fruit and having discussions about likes, dislikes and healthy eating. There have also been lots of learning opportunities linked to maths such as measuring, weight, counting, and looking at more, less and the same quantity.
  • Outside – The focus for outside this week has been developing gross motor and fine motor skills. By supporting the children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility we will help them in developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor opportunities help with hand-eye co-ordination, which is later linked to literacy. We have been painting with rollers and large brushes, doing exercises, drawing on upright surfaces, sweeping, drawing on a large scale, climbing, throwing and catching, dabbing with brushes, drawing on smaller pieces of paper and cutting etc.
  • Inside – We have continued the snake theme; the children have been curious and have continued to ask questions and find out facts about different types of snakes. This week some of the children have been keen to mark make and write the sounds in their names which has been great to see within provision. We have rhymes to help with letter formation, please ask if you would like a copy of these for when your child shows an interest in formation. At this age and stage, the most important aspect of writing is supporting gross and fine motor skills though activities to help them to build and coordinate their muscles, in their shoulders, elbows and wrists which is essential in helping them to become successful writers.
  • Forest School – The children this week made fishing rods, they experimented with tying knots and catching leaves. Lexy could see the children’s resilience levels had improved, they stayed outside for longer this week. They were engaged in play-based scenarios and they also enjoyed having a fire, with Lexy reminding them of the fire rules to keep safe.

Our core book – The Three Billy Goats Gruff – The children have enjoyed sharing this traditional tale. The children have joined in with the repeating phrases in this story, re-told and acted the story out and made up their own versions. We have also had fun exploring new vocabulary in this book. Here is an online link to the version we have been reading in school. Please be aware of online safety and only let your child watch when you are with them. Perhaps if you have a different version at home, you could compare stories and discuss any similarities and differences.

Phonics – This week’s sound is ‘l’. Here is a link to the song. Please be aware of online safety and only let your child watch when you are with them. We have also been recapping on other sounds we have learnt so far and experimenting with instrumental sounds.

Maths – Our maths focus for this week has continued to be linked to measure, we have enjoyed making caterpillars/worms out of playdough and measuring them with tape and objects, then comparing them to one another’s and discussing similarities/differences. This led on to some of the children wanting to measure in a range of ways – chalking around themselves, measuring one another with tape, making a height chart etc. We have also measured time using a sand timer and the children have enjoyed seeing what they can do in one minute.

Our poem this week has been:

Furry, Furry Squirrel

Furry, furry squirrel,

Hurry, hurry, hop.

Scurry up the tree trunk,

To the very top.

When you reach the branches,

Hurry, turn around.

Furry, furry squirrel,

Scurry to the ground

This week’s song has been ’10 Green Bottles’, the children have had some fun singing along and doing the actions. Here is a link to the song if you would like to share it with your child. The only difference being that we sang ‘standing’ on the wall not ‘hanging’ on the wall.

To help with clear communication here are a few reminders (helpful information):

  • We have been informed of case of threadworm at Nursery School, please do not be alarmed they are common in children. Here is the link to the NHS guidance where you can find out more information. You can treat threadworms without seeing a GP.

I hope you all have a great weekend. See you next week.

Best wishes,

Zoe Wakefield.