Nursery Blog
Autumn 1
Week 3
Our first full week in Nursery without our grown ups is complete!
We have been getting to know one another, our environment and learning the rules and routines at school. Despite a few tears, we are all settling in well!
Next week we will be starting our topic - Space! Our first story will be 'Whatever Next' by Jill Murphy,
Perhaps this weekend you could look at pictures of The Moon. Or even better, see if you can spot The Moon in the sky (as long as it's not past your bedtime!)
Star Class' first week at school
Week 4
This week we read the story 'Whatever Next' by Jill Murphy. Baby Bear flew to The Moon in his rocket, along with his space helmet, space boots and food for the journey. We have been acting out the story with props, building rockets and jetting off to space!
See if your child can retell the story at home or sing our new song 'Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to The Moon'.
Week 4 Whatever Next
Week 5
On Monday we came into school and discovered a spaceship had crash landed in our classroom! Attached to the spaceship was a note, explaining that the aliens needed help fixing their broken down ship. We got to work with spanners and screwdrivers and attempted to fix the broken machine. With no luck, we decided to build a new spaceship instead! The aliens flew back to planet Zog and even sent us a video message thanking us for our hard work.
To accompany our learning this week, we read the book 'The way back home' by Oliver Jeffers.
The way back home (Star Class)
Week 6
This week, we read the story 'Aliens love underpants!' We got creative and used our design skills to make our own pants. We practiced talking in longer sentences and used descriptive language to describe different pairs of pants.
In October, the UK celebrates black history month. We have been reading stories with black characters and talking about diversity and different cultural backgrounds.
Next week, we are reading the book 'Handa's Surprise'. If you have any clothes, artifacts, photos or books with African or Caribbean significance, please feel free to bring them to school. Your child can share these special things with their classmates.
Aliens Love Underpants!
Week 7
Our final week of Autumn 1 is complete! The Early Years practitioners here at Mora are so proud of your children's learning and development so far. The past 6 weeks have gone by quick as a flash and we look forward to welcoming you back after half term.
During the half term, please ensure you:
- Complete an activity from your home learning journal.
- Read lots of stories and picture books. Here are some ways to make it more exciting!
- 1 - Read a book in an unusual location e.g. in the park, in a den.
- 2 - ‘Read’ your book to a friend or family member on a video call.
- 3 - Use props to bring the book to life.
- 4 - Act out the story in your own words.
Last week of Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Week 1
We have settled back into school like pros after the half term! This week has been all about story telling! We have introduced a new concept called 'Helicopter stories'. We tell stories to our teachers who write them down, word for word. We then tape out a 'stage' on the carpet and perform our story with our friends. This will help our communication and language, confidence and language grow.
Autumn 2 Week 1
Week 2
This week we celebrated Bonfire Night. We watched videos of fireworks and talked about the different sounds we could hear. We used our voices to create the sounds of fireworks and even did some firework dancing, a pen disco and yoga!
In phonics, we have been tuning into environmental sounds. We went on a listening walk around the school and kept our ears open for any interesting sounds we could hear.
We had great fun with spoons! We each had a spoon, walked around our outdoor environment and hit our spoon on a variety of objects. We talked about the different sounds we discovered and enjoyed running our spoons along the fence and gate. It made a fantastic sound!
Reminders:
Early Writing workshop for parents on Wednesday 20th November 3.00-3.30
Fireworks and Bonfire Night
Week 3
This week has been all about penguins! We have loved reading the story 'Lost and Found', below is a link to a PDF version of the story. https://www.forefieldinfantschool.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Lost-Found.pdf
We had great fun waddling around our environment. We placed a balloon in-between our feet and walked like penguins!
Reminders
In phonics, we have been exploring instruments and the different sounds they make. We took it in turns to hide behind a curtain and make a sound. Our friends had to guess which instrument we were playing. We also had a go at copying noises, beats and syllables.
Early Writing workshop for parents on Wednesday 20th November 3.00-3.30
Penguins - lost and found
Week 4
Miss Hillis discovered an egg! We made guesses as to what could be inside.....a turtle? a snake? a dinosaur? a duckling? It was..... a penguin!
We explored different types of eggs and talked about which animals come from eggs. We also learnt more about penguins and their habitats. Penguins live in the South Pole and have a thick waxy layer on their skin to protect them from cold, wet conditions. We carried out an experiment! We added wax crayons to paper and dripped water on top. The waxy layer protected the paper and the water ran off...it made the paper waterproof, just like a penguins feathers!
In phonics we have been focusing on body percussion. We have been experimenting with different sounds our bodies can make such as clapping, stomping, clicking and using our voice.
This week, we have been practising putting on our coats, hats, scarves and gloves independently. Please continue this at home!
Week 4
Week 5
We're going on a bear hunt, we're going to catch a big one! On Monday, we found some clues in the classroom about which story we could be reading ...some grass, snow, water, mud and some bear-like footprints! We figured out it must be bear hunt!
We loved retelling the story, doing some bear yoga, having an immersive bear hunt experience and creating a story map.
I wonder if you can retell the story at home?
Reminders:
Nursery's winter workshop is on Monday 9th December @ 2pm. If your child attends Nursery in the morning, you are welcomed back to school to take part.
Please book a parents evening slot via parent mail.
Bear Hunt
Week 6 & 7
This week we have been exploring ice and the melting process. We discovered a pool of water in our classroom along with a hat, scarf, sticks & a carrot. We decided it must have been a snowman that had melted! We talked about how and why snow and ice melts and felt ice melting due to the heat of our hands.
We added salt and food colouring to ice and watched as colourful channels were created. Some of our toys got into a spot of bother and had frozen! We rescued them from the ice using salt, warm water and hammers.
In phonics, we have been learning about initial sounds e.g. 'a for apple' 'c for cat'. We have been practising saying the initial sound in our name. I wonder if you could say the initial sound in your mum/dad/brother/sisters name?
Reminders
School will close for the holidays on Friday 20th December @ 2pm
Week 6 & 7
Week 8
The final week of term! We have been doing some festive activities such as wrapping 3D shapes (presents) and lots of fine motor and loose parts play including decorating a tree.
In phonics, we have been segmenting and blending words e.g. c-a-t 'cat'. You could play eye spy with your child using oral segmenting and blending e.g. 'I spy with my little eye a c-l-o-ck'. See if your child can blend the sounds and say 'clock'. If you need any support with phonics or oral segmenting and blending, please see me for tips, tricks and advise!
Have a happy holidays and a restful break!
Reminders:
Term begins on Tuesday 7th January. Our theme will be Traditional Tales and the first story we dive into will be Little Red Riding Hood
Excitingly, forest school will be starting for Star Class in Spring 1.....more info to follow!
Festive fun
Spring
Spring 1 Week 1
And just like that it's 2025 and a new year! We hope you all had a happy holidays and a well deserved break.
This half term, we are learning about Traditional Tales and started things off with Little Red Riding Hood. We watched the adults perform the story which inspired us to role play the tale independently during free flow.
In phonics, we learnt the 's' sound. We learnt a mnemonic to accompany the sound; "down the spaghetti, slip, slop, slurp'. We explored objects the initial sound 's', sorted objects that do/do not begin with 's' and had a go at writing the letter s.
Little Red Riding Hood
Spring 1 Week 2
This week, we read the book Hansel and Gretel. On Tuesday, we received a letter from the old woman, requesting we build her a house made of (halal/vegan) sweets! We got to work and completed a STEM challenge using sweets and toothpicks. It's safe to say, she was very pleased with her new abode!
We have also been practising counting objects to 5 and to 10 using a 5 frame and 10 frame. We are super mathematicians!
In phonics, we learnt the 'a' sound along the with mnemonic "around the ants head and down its body".
How many objects can you spot this weekend that begin with the sound 'a'?
Reminders:
-Forest school will begin for Star Class on Monday 27th Jan. Please read the kit list required for the day and get in touch if you have any questions or need support sourcing appropriate clothing.
Hansel and Gretel
Spring 1 Week 3
This week we read the story Rapunzel. We read different versions of the story from around the world where Rapunzel was depicted with different hair types; from long and blonde to brown and braided. This sparked a discussion about different hair types and hair styles. We compared our own hair to that of our friends and other children from around the school. We used key words like long, short, curly, wavy, afro, texture, plaits and braids.
In phonics, we learnt the 't' sound along with the mnemonic 'down the tigers tail and across the tigers tail.' Can you find any objects beginning with 't' this weekend?
Reminders;
- Forest school will start on Monday 27th Jan. Please ensure you have read the kit list. Please ensure your child is wearing layers, a waterproof coat and appropriate footwear. We will be outside no matter the weather!
Rapunzel
Spring 1 Week 4
Despite the weather, this week we had our first Forest School session in the secret garden! We collected natural resources to build a shelter for some woodland creatures as well as creating a mud kitchen and preparing a feast for the creatures to eat. We also used natural charcoal to do some drawing / mark making.
We also explored and learnt the names of 2D shapes - square, rectangle, triangle, circle, star, diamond, semi circle.
In phonics, we learnt the 'p' sound along with the mnemonic 'head to tail back up and round the parrots head' Can you find any objects beginning with 'p' this weekend?
Reminders;
- Forest school will continue on Monday. Please ensure you have read the kit list. Please ensure your child is wearing layers, a waterproof coat and appropriate footwear. We will be outside no matter the weather!
Forest School and 2D shapes
Spring 1 Week 5
This week in forest school we made nature wands. We went on a scavenger hunt and collected as many natural objects we could find to attach to our wands along with some creative resources. We had great fun casting spells!
In phonics we learnt the 'i' sound along with the mnemonic 'down the itchy insect and a dot for his head'.
In maths we have been exploring length. We have been using key vocab such as long, short, longer, shortest, longest and shortest. We have been comparing the length of our hair as well as measuring objects using non standard units of measure. You could reinforce this at home by comparing toys or objects and putting them in order from longest to shortest.
Reminders:
Please ensure your child brings a pair of shoes to Nursery on Tuesday 11th Feb. They will be sharing their shoes with the class as part of a group discussion. Please ensure they are labelled or in a labelled bag.
Next week is the last week of term. School will resume on Monday 24th February. There will be NO forest school on this day. Forest school will continue on Monday 3rd March.
Forest school and size
Spring 2 Week 1 Toothbrushing
Welcome back! The sun has finally come out and we are in Spring 2! This week, we have been learning how to brush our teeth. We talked about different parts of our mouth, healthy and unhealthy food choices and how they affect our teeth and brushed out teeth every day in school. We are now experts at toothbrushing and have shiny, healthy, gleaming teeth!
(I have included pictures from last term in this section of the blog due to absence during the last week of).
Reminders
Star class have 3 forest school sessions left in Gladstone Park (3rd, 10th and 17th March). Please ensure your child is wearing the appropriate kit. if you need support sourcing kit, please speak to Ms Hillis.
If you would like to volunteer to support the remaining sessions, please speak to a member of the Early Years Team.
Toothbrushing and catch up from last half term
Spring 2 Week 2 Naughty Bus
This week we had a visit from the naughty bus! We enjoyed reading the story, acting it out and talking about what it means to be 'naughty' and how we can rectify things if we are 'naughty'. We also celebrated world book day on Thursday. We enjoyed lots of reading and each chose a book to take home.
We learnt the 'm' sound this week and the mnemonic - "move and mark the mouse's ears". Can you spot anything beginning with 'm' this weekend?
We enjoyed some delicious learning on Tuesday and had pancakes with lemon and sugar - yum!
During forest school, we listened to a story about how the snail got its shell. We then made our own paint using natural chalk, charcoal, paprika and turmeric. We then used our paint to decorate some shells.
Naughty bus and forest school
Spring 2 Week 3 - Buses and Science Week
We continued learning about buses this week. We had a very special visitor - Mr Halli! He is a bus driver and we interviewed him. We asked him what it's like to be a bus driver. It was extremely interesting and insightful!
We also celebrated science week. This years' theme is adaptations. We have been learning about camoflauge. We watched some videos about animals that camoflauge in the wild and created our own camoflauge art.
In phonics we learnt the 'd' sound with the mnemonic "dance around the disco ball, up and down the wire".
Reminders:
Next week is Star Class' last session of forest school for this term. It will take place on Thursday 20th March. Please ensure your child is wearing an appropriate coat and shoes.
Buses and Science Week
Spring 2 Week 4 - Trains
This week was all about trains! We read the story 'The Train Ride' by June Crebbin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHbE8kaBDKU
We joined in with repeated refrains in the book and chatted about what we might see out of a train window. We went on our own 'walking train' adventure around school and talked about what we could see.
Trains and forest school
Spring 2 Week 5 & 6
Last week we learnt about tubes, We discussed tubes in our local area and looked at a tube map. We even had the pivilege of interviewing a tube driver, Terry, Ms Baylis' partner. We drew our own tube maps and discussed where they would travel to.
This week we have bean leaning about boats. Singing 'row row row your boat' has been a firm favourite! We learnt the names of different types of boats such as a ferry, canoe, kayak, speed boat, sail boat and barge, We designed and built our own boats and also explored floating and sinking.
We hope you have a wonderful half term. See you back at school on Tuesday 22nd April for the start of the Summer Term.
Thanks,
Ms Hillis & the Star Class team
Tubes and Boats
