Summer 1 week 2

Another busy week in Pre-school!  We have continued to focus our learning on ‘Local heroes’ and we have focused on Doctors/nurses this week and their important role in society.  We read a story called ‘Ness the Nurse’ and practiced counting up to ten using our fingers to show the correct amount.  We also looked at a book called ‘Doctors’ and focused on the key vocabulary such as ‘stethoscope’, ‘medicine’, ‘bandage’.  We shared our own experiences of visiting a doctor and discussed the difference between a doctor’s surgery and the hospital.

An enhancement of a ‘Doctors surgery’ was added to the role play area and the children enjoyed using their imaginations to take on the role of a doctor and patient.  In the construction area the children used the wooden bricks to make towers and buildings and used the emergency vehicles in the small world area to role play.  In the maths area the children continued to practice ‘subitising’ amounts of cubes through adult led games.  In the playdoh the children created ‘faces’ using the loose parts and in the creative area they explored making skeleton bodies using small pieces of pasta and glue.  In the writing area the children have been practicing forming letters in their name.

This week the children continued with their gymnastics lesson.  They showed fantastic listening and practiced skills such as rolls, jumps, running and stretching.  The children also joined in with their French learning with Madame Wardle.  They were introduced to a new song related to body parts and learnt new vocabulary such as Le Gouzi-Gouzi, sautez, la tete, les pieds, le nez.

The children enjoyed making their own snack this week, cutting bananas using a knife correctly and placing them on rice cakes to enjoy.

In the outdoor area the children enjoyed role-playing in the enhanced ‘Hoddlesden shop’.  They took turns to be the shop keeper and the customer and handled money in the till.  We also enjoyed completing the trim trail on the main playground, using our gross motor skills to climb, balance and walk along the course.

Next week we are focusing our learning on ‘Police officers’ and their important role.

Summer 1 week 1

Welcome back from the Easter holidays, the children have shared all the exciting things they have got up to over the half term.  This term we are focusing our learning around ‘Occupational’ texts, looking into all the important people who help us in our local area.  This week our focus learning was based on ‘Dentists’.  We read the story ‘We’re going to the Dentist’ and discussed the key vocabulary and shared our experiences of visiting a dentist.

Our maths focus this week has been to subitise amounts up to 5.  The children joined in a game using cubes and having a fast recognition of the amount without having to count them individually.  During phonics the children re-capped rhyming words and sorted them into groups.  They sang nursery rhymes, recognising the words that have the same ending sound.

In the malleable area, the children used playdoh to make their own teeth and toothbrushes and used the tools and fingers to manipulate.  In the home corner, the children enjoyed role-playing ‘dentists’, dressing up and using the tools to enhance their imagination and use a wider range of vocabulary.  In the construction area the children explored building with the large bricks, using shapes appropriately for their models for example a triangle for the roof.  In the writing area the children explored making marks to represent ‘appointments’ at the dentist surgery.  In the creative area the children made a mouth with teeth, that the children then counted individually.

In the outdoor area the children have explored in the mud kitchen, painted rocks, made obstacle courses and balanced on the bikes.

On Tuesday the children had a special visit from the oral health team from MyDentist surgery.  They talked to the children all about the importance of good oral health and how we should be looking after our teeth and brushing them twice a day.  The children played a game of sorting the good and bad food for our health and then completed a jigsaw and a guessing game.  The children then had a goodie bag to take home!

On Wednesday the whole school joined in a charity event raising money for the East Lancashire Hospice.  The Pre-school children jumped, hopped and skipped around the main playground 8 times!  Fantastic work and wonderful fund raising!

On Thursday the children had their first Gymnastics lesson with Mrs Winward.  The children showed amazing listening, balancing and stretching skills.  Well done Pre-school!

On Friday morning the children continued with their French lesson with Madame Wardle. They listened to the Nounours song and used the pictures to deduce what was happening.  They sang the song together adding actions and gestures.    

Next week we will be focusing our learning on ‘Doctors’ and their important role in society.

Spring 2 week 6 

The final week before the Easter holidays and the children have been very busy! They listened to the story ‘Superworm’ and discussed the different insects that appear.  We looked closely at our five caterpillars using a magnifying glass and noticed how much they have grown!  We re-capped the life cycle of a butterfly with some children re-telling ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ story in sequence and singing our caterpillar song with actions.  We also checked our cress and noticed them growing too. 

In phonics the children have focused on initial sounds in words, playing games such as ‘odd one out’ and ‘Kim’s game’.  They focused on the sounds ‘S’, ‘A’, ‘T’.  In maths the children matched the correct amount of carrots to the numbered bunnies and could use the mathematical language such as ‘more’ and ‘fewer’ to compare amounts. 

This week the children have created wonderful Easter creations.  They have collaged chicks, painted Easter cards and designed their own Easter eggs.  We read an Easter story focusing on the Christian meaning of Easter and the traditions surrounding this special time.  In provision the children made ‘hot cross buns’ with the playdoh linking to the theme of Easter.  We looked at the season of Spring and the things we might see in the environment such as, warmer and lighter days, daffodils growing, trees budding, baby lambs being born etc.  

On Tuesday morning the children were awarded with a behaviour treat and enjoyed exploring on an inflatable assault course with a big slide!  In the afternoon they had a special surprise visit from the Easter bunny!  The children had to collect the chocolate eggs and then we counted how many they found! 

On Thursday the children tasted a hot cross bun.  They used a knife to spread the butter and we talked about the meaning behind the cross on top linking to Jesus and how Easter is a special time for Christians.  The children enjoyed them very much! 

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter break! 

Spring 2 week 5 

This week we introduced the story ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’.  The children listened and discussed the different vegetables that appear in the story.  We compared the vegetables that grow above the ground to the ones that grow underground.  The children shared their favourite vegetable with the group and talked about the importance of healthy eating.  In provision the children sorted vegetables and fruit into groups and questioned the unfamiliar.  In the creative area the children explored printing with peppers, potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower.  They collaged and made different patterns and shapes with the vegetables.  In the maths area the children used hammers to knock the correct amount of sticks into numbered potatoes.  In the malleable area the children explored making caterpillars, vegetables and fruit shapes!  In phonics this week the children have played a variety of games identifying the initial sounds in words.   

On Tuesday we had a special visit from a Great Britain cyclist to meet the children and promote the importance of exercise.  The children joined in an exercise class as part of the fund raising event. 

In the outdoor area this week the children planted their own cress seeds and we are going to watch them grow over the next week!  In the mud kitchen the children enjoyed making mud pies and stews using a variety of utensils. 

During the week the children had a go at chopping up different vegetables to make their own vegetable soup.  On Thursday they tasted the soup and described the smell and taste.  It was delicious! 

The caterpillars have grown bigger this week and the children have enjoyed singing a caterpillar song with actions to remember the life cycle of a butterfly. 

On Friday the children joined in with their weekly French lesson with Madame Wardle. They recalled the colours they have learnt so far- bleu, blanc, rouge (le Tricolore) and then they looked at jaune and vert. They learnt about the tradition of le poisson d’avril and sang the song to practice. 

Next week we will be looking at the story ‘Superworm’ and the Christian celebration of Easter. 

Spring 2 week 4 

This week the children have continued to focus their learning around the story ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’.  The children listened to the story and could re-tell parts of the story independently in the correct order of sequence.  We practiced the ‘Days of the week’ song and used our fingers to count how many fruit the caterpillar ate each day.  We looked at the cycle of a butterfly and focused on key vocabulary such as ‘Egg’, ‘Leaf’, ‘Caterpillar’, ‘Chrysalis’, ‘Cocoon’ and ‘Butterfly’.  The children had a go at drawing the life cycle in the writing area and copying letters from the key vocabulary.  In the malleable area the children created different insects using the playdoh and the loose parts to enhance their imagination.  In the creative area the children explored painting butterflies, mixing colours on one side of the wings and folding it in half to reveal a symmetrical butterfly! 

In maths this week the children explored threading green and red pasta onto pipe cleaners to make ‘caterpillars’.  They compared the length of their caterpillars to others using mathematical language such as ‘more than’ and ‘fewer than’.  They also made patterns and counted the pieces of pasta.  During phonics the children explored initial sounds in words and played ‘I spy’ with items beginning with two different sounds, and sorted items into two groups of the same sound. 

We had a special delivery on Tuesday of five real caterpillars!  We are going to look after them very carefully and watch them grow and change over the next few weeks.  Very exciting! 

During music and movement this week the children practiced their gross motor skills by completing an obstacle course.  The pulled themselves along benches, balanced on beams, hopped through hoops and crawled through tunnels. 

In the outdoor area this week the children enjoyed finding bugs and using the magnifying glasses to look at them closely and rulers to measure the worms. 

On Thursday the children joined in a fruit tasting activity, trying the different fruits that appear in the ‘Very Hungry Caterpillar’ story such as apple, pear, plum, strawberry and orange.  They smelt, touched and tasted them all and discussed their different features such as size, shape and taste. 

On Friday the children raised money for Comic relief and came to Pre-school wearing something red.  In the morning they joined in with their French lesson with Madame Wardle and practiced the three colours of the French flag and sang songs. 

Next week we are looking at the story ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’. 

Spring 2 week 3

This week we introduced the story of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’.  The children listened to the story and could re-call the different fruits that appear, the days of the week and the life cycle of a butterfly.  In the writing area the children used the resources to draw their favourite fruit and to draw caterpillars and butterflies.  In the creative area the children used toilet tubes in paint to print circles for their caterpillars and used brushes to paint the features.  In the malleable area the children used loose parts to enhance their playdoh into caterpillar and butterfly shapes.  During the focus maths groups the children counted and matched the correct amount of fruit to the day of the week and continued the game within provision.  During phonics the children joined in games such as ‘I went to the shop and I bought…’ using the same initial sound for each item, for example ‘pizza’, ‘pig’, ‘pen’, ‘police’.   

The children joined in a music and movement session focusing on songs relating to different bugs.  The children crawled like caterpillars, buzzed like bees, marched like ants to the beat of the music.  During the week the children joined in with a sports session with Mr Robinson.  They practiced listening and movement skills and throwing and catching. 

On Wednesday the children joined in with their Outdoor Adventure Learning with Louise.  The children discovered in the woods a Very Hungry Caterpillar!  They listening to the story and fed the caterpillar some real fruit.  They explored in different areas around the woods, playing instruments, swinging in a hammock, exploring in the mud kitchen, bow and arrows, bug hunting!  They then walked through a stream and climbed up a steep hill to end the adventure around a fire, making garlic bread with garlic leaves that they found in the woods.  Amazing! 

On Friday the children joined in their French lesson with Madame Wardle.  They practiced the three colours of the French flag, bleu, blanc, rouge and sang songs to remember them.  Well done Pre-school!

The children also celebrated World Book Day on Friday and came to Pre-school dressed as their favourite book character.  We had a special visit from the children in Year 3 who came to read stories and we shared our favourite books with them. 

Next week we will continue to focus on ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. 

Spring 2 week 2 

Another busy week in pre-school.  The children continued to focus their learning on the story of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’.  The children listened to the story and used a story map to re-tell the events in their own words and in the correct order of sequence.  The children used their communication and language skills to enhance their imagination in the home corner, role playing the characters from the story.  In the writing area the children enhanced their cutting skills by using scissors correctly to outline circle shapes for the three bears.  In the creative area the children used different sized bear footprint stamps to create their own collages.  The language of ‘big’, ‘medium’, ‘small’ was used to describe and compare the different sized footprints.  In the malleable area the children explored with playdoh and counting the correct number of bowls and spoons for the bears ‘breakfast’.  In the construction area the children used bricks to build the bear’s cottage and the small world figures to enhance role play. 

In the maths area and during group time the children explored with 2D shapes and describing their properties.  The children used sticks to recreate different shapes and explored different sizes.  During phonics the children practiced hearing the initial sounds in words through games such as ‘What’s in the box’ and ‘I spy’. 

During music and movement this week the children used images to re-tell the story of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bear’ and sang a Goldilocks song with actions to help remember parts of the story. 

On Wednesday the children brought their favourite teddy bear from home into Pre-school and shared with the class their favourite thing to do with their teddy.  In the afternoon the children went on an adventure into the woods to find the Bears cottage.  Along the way they found bears hiding in the woods, we counted all the bears and eventually spotted the bears cottage.  It was very exciting! 

This week the children made their own ‘teddy bear’ snack, using knifes to spread jam on rice cakes and slices of banana for two eyes and raisins for one nose and a mouth.  It was delicious! 

On Friday the children continued with their French with Madame Wardle.  The children learnt the colours of the French flag, le bleu, blanc, rouge and practiced a song.

Next week we are focusing on the story 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. 

Spring 2 week 1 

The children have settled back into Pre-school wonderfully and have shared their half term adventures with the class.  This term our core text is ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’ and this week we have read the story and the children have joined in with re-telling the events in order.  The children have repeated lines from the story to enhance their role play as the home corner has been transformed into the bears cottage.  In the malleable area the children have explored making breakfast for the bears using the playdoh and sorting the different sixed bowls into order.  In the maths area the children counted the correct amount of cakes for the bears and found the correct numeral.  The children enjoyed drawing the characters from the story in the writing area using the different tools and making their own bear masks in the creative area, using paints, scissors and glue. In the construction area, children used the bricks to build the bear cottage and the interest led area was busy with children role playing with dinosaurs. 

In the outdoor area the children enjoyed making porridge in the mud kitchen using the tools to mix into bowls and digging in the sand using the spades.  The children enjoyed making obstacle courses and joining in a ‘bear’ hunt, finding the three bears and goldilocks. 

During the week the children joined in a music and movement lesson, following instructions and responding to the music.  The children played a game of corners using the characters of three bears and goldilocks from the core text.  The children joined in a sports lesson with Mr Robinson, practicing their running, skipping, jumping skills during physical games. 

The children this week had a chance to make their own porridge after reading the story of ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’.  The children discussed the different sized bears and bowls in the story and they mixed warm milk with oats and tasted their porridge.  They used describing words such as ‘tasty’, ‘hot’, ‘cold’, ‘warm’ as they ate the porridge. 

On Friday the children continued with their French lesson with Madame Wardle and practiced counting up to 10 with actions.  They then counted les filles et les garcons in our class.  They then met Hugo the snail again and shared the colours he was wearing in French.

Next week we will continue focusing on the story 'Goldilocks and the three bears'.

Spring 1 week 5

A busy final week before the half term holidays.  This week we have celebrated the festival of ‘Chinese New Year’ that is celebrated in China and around the world.  We explored the 12 different animals that appear in the Chinese Zodiac calendar and focused on this year as the ‘Year of the Dragon’.  The children joined in with their own ‘Dragon dance’, moving their bodies in different ways to the sound of traditional Chinese music.  In provision the children used chopsticks to make marks that represented the Chinese numerals 1-5.  They explored counting the correct amount of gold coins to each number.  In the creative area the children made their own lanterns, observing photographs of different types and using the resources to create their own.

This week is also ‘Children’s mental health’ week.  To raise awareness of the importance of our own mental health we read stories based around different emotions and talked about the different feelings and how we can make ourselves feel better.  We had special ‘good friend’ awards every day for children showing kindness towards their friends throughout the day.  In the writing area the children used the pencils to draw themselves with a friend.

On Wednesday afternoon the children explored on the paddock.  They joined in with parachute games, singing songs and turn taking.  On Thursday the children listened to a story about a little boy using chopsticks at his school.  The children then had the chance to explore using chopsticks and to taste some Chinese food.  It was very tricky, but they all tried their best and enjoyed smelling and tasting the different food.

On Friday morning the children continued to practice counting to ten in French with Madame Wardle and in the afternoon, we had our Stay and Play session for the parents/carers.  It was wonderful to see so many parents/carers taking time to join us in our provision.  It was a busy afternoon with the children creating Valentine’s cards, making ‘friendship fruit kebabs’ at the snack table, creating noodles in the malleable area, building towers, reading stories, mixing pancakes in the mud kitchen and much more.

Have a lovely half term holiday and we look forward to hearing about your adventures when you return to Pre-school.

Spring 1 week 4

Pre-school have had another busy week.  This week we have continued with our focus learning of ‘pets’ and explored animals that are found in the wild.  During story time we looked at the book ‘Dear Zoo’ and compared the jungle animals that appear in the story to the animals that we have as pets.  We also explored animals that live in the Arctic, discussing their habitats and features.  The children looked at photographs of the different Arctic animals and in the creative area painted their favourite animal, using the different resources and tools to enhance their creativity and imagination. 

In the malleable area the children made winter patterns using playdoh and loose parts.  The role play area continued with the ‘tea party’ theme with children re-telling parts of the core text ‘The Tiger who came to tea’.  In the enhanced role play provision the children explored in the ‘Veterinary surgery’, taking care of poorly pets, making appointments and answering phone calls. 

During maths this week the children practiced counting the correct amount of buttons for the numbered snowmen and recognising numerals 1-5.  In phonics the children explored environmental and voice sounds and began to recognise initial sounds in CVC words such as ‘p’ for pig, ‘c’ for ‘cat’ and ‘d’ for dog. 

In sports this week the children joined in team challenges and practiced running, skipping and hopping during the session.  In music and movement the children developed their arm strength and balance on the benches and joined in number songs. 

On Wednesday we had our Outdoor Adventure Learning with our incredible forest school leader Louise.  The children walked into the woods to find a tiger who was very hungry!! We had to make some tiger food by finding things in the woods and mixing them together in the mud kitchen. We then went on an adventure to find the baby cubs! We walked through the mud, across stones and around the trees to find them holding a tub of marshmallows! We rescued the cubs and had to travel through a dark tunnel to get back to mummy tiger! The children were so brave! We made it back to the start and relaxed by the fire with a warm hot vimto and marshmallows to toast on the fire.

On Thursday afternoon the children made their own ‘Tiger’ sandwich, using knifes to cut and spread butter and add their favourite sandwich filling of ham or cheese.   On Friday the children practiced their numbers 1-10 in French with Madame Wardle.  We had a special 'Number day' raising money for the NSPCC and all the children came into Pre-school wearing numbers on their clothes.  Throughout the day the children took part in various maths activities indoor and outdoors such as number and shape hunts.

Next week is the last week before the half term and we are focusing on the celebration of 'Chinese New Year' and Children's mental health week.   

Spring 1 week 3

Another busy week in Pre-school.  This week we have introduced the story ‘I’m thinking of a pet’.  The children sent in photographs of their own pets and shared them with the class.  We discussed the different animals we could have as pets and how we would look after them.  The children painted pictures of their favourite pet in the creative area and made marks in the writing area.  In the malleable area the children made dog treats out of playdoh and sorted them equally into bowls.  The role play area has been enhanced into a veterinary surgery where the children have enjoyed role playing doctors and pets.  In the maths area the children have explored with weighing and using the mathematical language such as ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ to compare objects using weighing scales.  

During the week the children used weighing scales to measure ingredients for their cake mixture.  The children made chocolate chip buns just like in the story ‘The Tiger who came to tea’.  They showed excellent turn taking and followed the step-by-step instructions. 

In phonics the children have continued to explore voice sounds and play matching games.  In the small world area, the children have developed their imagination and turn taking skills using the jungle animals to enhance their play.   

During sports this week with Mr Gavin, the children practiced their throwing and catching skills and joined in a stop and go listening game.  In the outdoor area the children explored on the large climbing frames, climbing and balancing to develop their gross motor skills.  They also explored on the bikes and scooters to improve balance and core muscles. 

This week in French with Madame Wardle the children practiced counting up to 10.  They followed an action song to help them re-call the numbers and played a turn taking game whilst counting.

Next week we are continuing with our ‘pet’ theme and comparing animals in different habitats and exploring the season of winter. 

Spring 1 week 2 

Another busy week in Pre-school!  We have continued to focus on the story ‘The Tiger Who Came To Tea’.  The children listened to the story and used a story map to re-tell the events in the correct order.  We focused on key vocabulary and described the characters that appear in the story.  We researched real images of tigers and discussed their features and habitats.  We then discussed other animals that live in similar places to tigers and compared them.  We looked at the different patterns that appear on jungle animals and in the creative area the children painted stripey tigers, zebras, spotty cheetahs, snakes, giraffes.

In the writing area the children practiced their pencil control to copy patterns and used scissors to cut around the shapes.  In the malleable area the children used loose parts in the playdoh to make jungle animals using the tools and resources.  In the home corner the children continued to role-play ‘tea parties’ and re-called parts of the core text in their play.  The construction area was busy with children making ‘dens’ for the tigers using the large building bricks.   

In phonics the children have explored different voice sounds, using different tones and pitches and mouth positioning through a variety of games.  During maths the children explored creating ABAB patterns using loose parts and independently during provision. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday the outdoor area was filled with snow! We used this opportunity to explore building snowmen, digging, rolling snowballs, making patterns in the snow, listening to the crunching sounds from our footprints.  We also explored in the outdoor paddock area, rolling snowballs down the hill, comparing the sizes of the snowmen, and collecting sticks.  The children had a wonderful time! 

During the week the children made their own 'Tiger kebabs' after listening to the story 'The Tiger who came to tea'.  They made their own tiger sticks and placed cheese, sausages, cucumber onto their sticks.  Some children used their knowledge from our maths learning to create ABAB patterns (cheese, sausage, cheese, sausage).

On Friday the children continued with their French lesson with Madame Wardle.  They practiced counting from 1 to 5 in French and used actions to remember the correct pronunciation.

Next week we are focusing on our supplementary text 'I'm thinking of a pet'.

Spring 1 week 1

A fantastic start to the new term!  We have shared our exciting news from the Christmas holidays and the new children that have joined our class have settled in wonderfully and are beginning to form friendships and follow the Pre-school routine.

This week we have introduced our core text for this half term, ‘The Tiger Who Came To Tea’. The children listened to the story and recognised the main characters.  The children used story props to re-tell the story recognising what happens at the beginning, middle and end.  In the writing area the children made party lists and made marks that represented items they would like to have at a tea party.  The role play area has been very busy with children creating their own tea party and using tiger masks to re-tell parts of the core text and expand their play and imagination.  In the small world area the children role-played with the jungle animals and matched the different prints to each animal.  In the maths area the children explored making simple ABAB patterns.  In the creative area the children enjoyed making their own tiger masks using different tools and resources.  The children created tigers using playdoh and loose parts in the malleable area.  In phonics the children continued to explore rhyming words and voice sounds. 

In the outdoor area this week the children enjoyed making their own tiger dens and caves using the large wooden planks and tyres. They have also enjoyed riding the bikes, digging in the sand and making marks on the chalkboard using the large chalks.  On Wednesday the children explored on the trim trail and large climbing frames to develop their gross motor skills, manipulation and control. 

During a music and movement session the children were engaged in using their imaginations to recreate different jungle animals through different ways of moving. 

The children continued with their extra-curricular sessions, sports with Mr Gavin on Tuesday and French with Madame Wardle on Friday.  In sports the children practiced walking, skipping, jumping, jogging around cones and in different directions.  They also practiced their throwing and catching skills with a partner.  In French the children practiced saying 'Happy New Year' in French and counting from 1 to 5.  Well done Pre-school.

Next week we will continue focusing on the story 'The Tiger Who Came To Tea'.

Autumn 2 week 7 

Another busy week for the Pre-school children.  The children re-capped their learning of the story ‘Stick Man’ and used their prior knowledge to re-call the events in the story and re-tell it in their own words.  In the writing area this week the children have written letters to Father Christmas and practiced writing their names in Christmas cards.  In the maths area the children used tweezers to count the correct amount of pom poms to the matching numbered Christmas tree.  The children continued to use their imaginations and build on their communication and language skills in the role play home corner.  They practiced wrapping presents using scissors and cellotape with bows and ribbon to decorate and placed them underneath our tree, counting the amount of presents wrapped up.  In the malleable area the children created snowmen using their hands to manipulate the playdoh into sphere shapes and added lollypop sticks and buttons.  In the creative area this week the children were busy decorating their own Christmas cards.  They also used the resources and tools to create tree decorations and Christmas paintings. 

During the week we created a fact file focusing on interesting facts all about reindeers.  We looked at photographs and discussed the features of a reindeer and the environment they live in.  The children enjoyed drawing pictures and painting reindeers.  The children this week baked gingerbread men biscuits, mixing the ingredients and using the rolling pin and cutters.  They then decorated their biscuits with different coloured icing and sprinkles. 

We celebrated ‘Lucia Day’ a Christian feast day with home-made lussekatter, kindly brought in from a parent for the children to try.  They loved trying the delicious buns and hearing about this Swedish tradition. 

On Wednesday morning we held a stay and play for parents/carers to join the pre-school children.  They joined in with lots of wonderful Christmas activities, wrapping presents, counting baubles on the tree, making snowmen with playdoh, reading stories, creating Christmas decorations, decorating gingerbread men biscuits, writing letters to Father Christmas and much more!  

On Thursday the children came to Pre-school wearing their favourite winter jumper and they all enjoyed a Christmas lunch.  In the afternoon we had a special visitor!  Father Christmas came to visit, and he brought us all a gift to take home, the children were so excited! How magical! 

On Friday the children continued with their French lesson with Madame Wardle.  They have been learning all about how children celebrate Christmas in France.  They also practiced their new French vocabulary, through singing rhymes. "Joyeux Noel".

See you all next week for our final three days before the holidays. 

Autumn 2 week 6

Another busy week for the children in Pre-school!  This week we read the story ‘Stick Man’ and discussed the different characters that appear in the story and sequenced the events in order.  In provision the children enjoyed making their own stick men with the playdoh using the tools and natural resources.  In the maths area we compared different sized sticks and placed them in order from shortest to longest and used other words to describe the length such as ‘smallest’, ‘biggest’, ‘tall’, ‘short’.  In the outdoor area the children enjoyed finding their own sticks and using string and scissors to create their very own stick men.  During phonics this week, we focused on rhyming words and hearing the correct amount of syllables in words, naming different objects and clapping the sounds. 

For the next few weeks we have ‘Buddy’ the elf visiting our classroom, making sure we are making kind choices and trying really hard in our learning.  The children have been busy in the writing area making a list for Father Christmas and practicing writing our names for ‘Buddy’ to tell Father Christmas.  In the creative area the children have made their own ‘Farm animal’ headband for the Christmas Nativity.  They have also been very busy making special ‘Reindeer food’ and ‘Reindeer chocolate lolly pops’ for our Elf Enterprize school mission and they will be available to buy at the school Christmas Fair! 

On Tuesday the children joined in with their sports lesson with Mr Gavin.  The children worked with a partner throwing and catching a bean bag and a game of jogging or skipping around the circle and listening to Mr Gavin’s instructions. 

The children all did an amazing job in the school nativity on Thursday and Friday!  They remembered the songs and actions we have been practicing and they all looked like superstars on the stage!  Well done Pre-school! 

Next week we will continue to focus on the ‘Stick Man’ story and join in with Christmas crafts. 

Autumn 2 week 5 

Another busy week in Pre-school!  This week the children listened to the story ‘Leaf Man’ and discussed all the different environmental changes that we see during the season of Autumn.  The children enjoyed creating their own ‘Leaf Man’ collages.  They found leaves and sticks from the outdoors and used their imaginations for their own ‘Leaf Man’ creation.  We also looked at the names of different trees and how the leaves are different shapes and colours.  In the malleable area the children used the resources to make nocturnal animals such as hedgehogs, foxes and owls.   

During a maths activity the children had to use their fine motor skills to place the correct amount of pegs onto the numbered leaf.  The children counted the pegs individually to check if they had the correct amount.  In phonics this week the children sang nursery rhymes, noticing the rhyming words and joined in with a game of matching words that end in the same sound such as ‘cat’ and ‘bat’ and ‘star’ and ‘car’. 

In the small world area the children enjoyed role-playing with the bears and using the large bricks to build forests and dens.  In the writing area, the children explored drawing pictures of things they might see during Autumn.  In the outdoor area they continued to use clipboards and make marks on tally charts to find and count the hidden nocturnal animals.  During the week the weather began to change and the outdoor area was covered in frost!  The children loved exploring in the icy environment and noticed the ice began to melt in the sunshine. 

The children continued to join in with their sports lesson with Mr Gavin.  This week they continued to practice moving in different ways and listening to instructions during the ‘stop and go’ game.  On Wednesday they joined in with a special inclusive sports lesson which allowed all the children to use their gross motor skills to move and steer wheelchairs around the hall.  They used their skills from last week and the children even played a throwing a catching game whilst using a wheelchair.  They continued to join in with their French lesson with Madame Wardle learning different French words for listening, sitting, standing, being quiet and looking.  Amazing Pre-school! 

During the week the children took part in making their own ‘Leaf’ shaped biscuit.  They measured and mixed the ingredients and used different leaf shaped cutters for their biscuit.  The children tasted their biscuits and thought they were delicious! 

Next week we will be focusing on the story of ‘Stick Man’. 

Autumn 2 week 4

Another busy week in Pre-school!  This week we have continued to focus on the story ‘Owl Babies’.  The children could re-tell the story in their own words and remembered key vocabulary.  We also looked at other nocturnal animals and described their different features.  The children enjoyed painting their own owls, foxes, bats and hedgehogs in the creative area and drawing their favourite nocturnal animal in the writing area.  The children explored making owls with the playdoh using the enhancements such as feathers, sticks and eyes.  In the construction area the children enjoyed making their own ‘dens’ and ‘caves’ and using the bears in the small world area to role-play.  During a music and movement session, the children used their imaginations to move around the space like a nocturnal animal.  We used describing words such as ‘a slow sly fox’ and ‘a fast black bat’. 

During phonics this week the children continued to learn rhyming words and match them correctly during a group activity.  They also explored singing songs and used their bodies to explore rhythm. 

On Tuesday morning the children continued with their sports lesson with Mr Gavin.  They played a ‘stop and go’ game, demonstrating good listening skills and practiced moving in different ways such as running, skipping and jumping.  In the afternoon they joined in a cooking activity, making their own scrambled egg on toast.  Each child had a turn to crack an egg, whisk and butter their own toast. 

During the week the children took part in a special inclusive sports lesson.  Before the activity, we talked about similarities and differences and how some people use wheelchairs to help them move around.  The children all had a chance to sit in their own wheelchair and use their arm muscles to move around the space to music.  A fantastic experience for them all! 

In the outdoor area the children joined in a hunting game using tally charts to find the nocturnal animals hidden outside.  They also explored making mud pies in the outdoor kitchen and digging in the sand.  The children used their gross motor skills to peddle bikes and balance along wooden planks in the construction area. 

On Friday the children continued with their French lesson with Madame Wardle. They continued learning the French words for ‘Happy, sad and ok’ and joined in with a musical statues game.  

Next week we are focusing on the story ‘Leaf Man’ and discussing the season of Autumn. 

Autumn 2 week 3 

What another busy week for the Pre-school children.  This week the children were introduced to the new story ‘Owl Babies’.  They listened to the story and we discussed the key vocabulary.  We looked at real photographs of different types of owls and other nocturnal animals.  During a maths activity the children counted and matched the correct amount of feathers to each owl.  We used mathematical language such as ‘more’, ‘less’, ‘same’ to compare amounts. 

The creative area was very busy with children creating their own owls, using different tools and materials.  In the playdoh area the children used natural materials such as sticks and feathers to enhance their creativity towards making an owl.  In the writing area the children have practiced forming the numbers 1,2 and 3 linking to the three baby owls that appear in the ‘Owl Babies’ story. 

During phonics this week the children joined in with a game called ‘silly soup’ recognising rhyming words.  We focused on words ending in a ‘at’ sound’.  We also played listening games, copying actions and remembering them in sequence. 

On Monday the children wore ‘odd socks’ to support Anti bullying week.  We discussed the ways we can show kindness to others and how to make someone feel special.  The children joined in a music and movement session, holding hands with a friend whilst skipping, jumping, hopping around the space.  As part of Anti bullying week, Pre-school made a ‘kindness tree’ with their handprints.  We discussed how we can all be different but we are all connected as a family within Pre-school.  We talked about the different ways we can show kindness to our friends. 

This week the children made their own pizzas.  They discussed their favourite pizza toppings and created their own pizza with a choice of different toppings.  This was a wonderful activity for developing communication and language and turn taking.  The children continued their sports lesson with Mr Gavin.  They demonstrated their ability to move confidently around the cones, walking, jogging and skipping.  They also took part in a team challenge!  In their French lesson this week the children were introduced to the question ‘Comment ca va?’, meaning ‘How are you?’.  The children repeated the phrases and answers, ‘Ca va bien’, ‘Ca va mal’ and ‘Comme-ci comme-ca’.  

On Wednesday the children joined in with their special Outdoor Learning Adventure.  The children went on a magical ‘Bear hunt’ re-telling parts of the story.  They used binoculars to look for bears and then rescued them from high in the trees.  They then travelled down a steep hill, climbing ‘over’ and ‘under’ branches and found a river that they could ‘splash splosh’ through.  The children then spotted a dark cave with a bear inside!  They then made their way back up the hill for a rest around the fire, toasting marshmallows and making a chocolate biscuit sandwich.  What a fantastic adventure! 

On Friday the children raised money for Children In Need and wore spotty and yellow clothing.  The day was filled with creative Pudsey activities for the children to enjoy! 

Next week we will continue with ‘Owl babies’ as our learning focus. 

Autumn 2 week 2 

The Pre-school children have been very busy this week.  We continued to focus on the story ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’.  The children were able to repeat parts of the story in order and during provision they used props to support their story telling.  In the malleable area the children used playdoh to create ‘long wavy grass’ using their hands to manipulate the playdoh and their communication and language skills to describe the bear hunt story.  In the maths area the children counted sticks in order and then matched the amount to the correct numbered bear footprint.  They then compared amounts using mathematical language such as ‘lots’, ‘more’, ‘same’. 

This week we have also focused our learning on the celebration of ‘Diwali’ and ‘Remembrance Day’.  The children listened to a ‘Diwali’ story based on Hindu’s, Jains and Sikhs celebrating the festival of light.  We looked at the special clothing that people wear, the food they eat, the colourful Rangoli patterns, special lanterns and fireworks.  During our music and movement session we listened to traditional Hindu music and practiced some Indian dancing using coloured scarfs.  The children enjoyed making their own chapati’s, helping to weigh, measure and follow a simple recipe.  They all tasted the chapati and thought they were delicious!  In the creative area the children made their own lanterns using scissors and glitter to decorate and henna patterns in the writing area.   

On Wednesday the children created a poppy wreath and we all had a walk to the War Memorial in the afternoon to pay our respects and lay the wreath.  We talked about the importance of ‘Remembrance Day’ and how we remember all the fallen soldiers.  We made sure to stay safe on our walk and discussed road safety. 

This week the children continued with their sports lesson with Mr Gavin, showing good listening during the ‘jogging through the coloured door’ game.  They also practiced jumping with two feet together and their throwing and catching skills.  On Friday the children joined in with their French lesson with Madame Wardle.  They learnt a new song and practiced singing the words in French.  Well done Pre-school!

In the outdoor area the children used the construction area to go ‘over’ and ‘under’ obstacles using the correct positional language which is heard throughout the bear hunt story.  The children developed their physical skills of balancing and using their large muscle movements. 

Next week we will be focusing on the story ‘Owl Babies’. 

Autumn 2 week 1 

The Pre-school children have had a fantastic first week back after the half term.  It has been wonderful to hear them sharing their adventures.  This week we have introduced our focus story for this term, ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’.  The children listened to the story and throughout the week they have been able to re-tell parts of the story in sequence and re-call the words and phrases.  During our music and movement session we used our imaginations and went on our very own bear hunt!  We walked through the ‘swishy swashy’ grass, splashed in the ‘deep cold river’, stamped in the ‘thick oozy mud’, stumbled through the ‘big dark forest’, swirled in the ‘snowstorm’ and tiptoed through the ‘narrow gloomy cave’. 

In the writing area the children have practiced their pencil control following the straight, wavy, zig zag lines on the bear’s map.  The children have enjoyed drawing their own bears and using scissors to cut around circle shapes and sticking them together to form a bear and creating their own bear masks using a variety of tools.   In the maths area the children have matched the correct number of bears to the numeral.  The children have enjoyed role-playing with the bears in the small world area, looking at photographs and comparing the similarities and differences between brown, black, polar and panda bears and their habitats. 

During the week we have also focused our learning of ‘Bonfire night’.  The children have created their own firework paintings in the creative area and in the outdoor tray they explored making swirls and lines to represent fireworks using their fingers in the coloured rice.  We also talked about the importance of staying safe on Bonfire night.  The children enjoyed decorating their own apple bonfire treat using melted chocolate and sprinkles. 

In the outdoor construction area, the children made their own ‘bonfires’ using the natural resources such as wooden planks, sticks and stones.  On Wednesday afternoon the children explored on the trim trail, using their gross motor skills to crawl, climb and balance.   

The children continued with their Sports lesson with Mr Gavin on Tuesday. They moved in different directions, followed instructions and practiced their jumping and throwing skills. On Friday they continued with their French lesson with Madame Wardle. They listened to a story and the children answered simple questions. They learned the actions and French words for sleeping, walking, eating and house to retell the story. Amazing Pre-school! 

Next week we will continue with our focus story ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ and explore the importance of Remembrance Day and the celebration of Diwali.          

Autumn 1 week 7

The last week before the half term holidays have been very busy.  This week we have read the story ‘Handa’s Surprise’ in celebration of Black History Month.  The children listened to the story and discussed the different fruits and animals that appear.  The children could re-call the correct order of the story, which animal appeared first, next, last.  During the week the children experienced tasting the different fruits that appear in the story.  They held each fruit to feel the shape, weight and texture and with an adult the fruit was cut open for the children to smell and taste and use descriptive words such as ‘smooth’, ‘hard’, ‘soft’, ‘spiky’, ‘rough’.  The children made their own fruit kebabs choosing their favourite fruit and placing them on sticks to eat.    

During maths the children counted the correct number of fruits for Handa’s basket and found the matching numeral. In the creative area the children looked at photographs of their houses, describing what they look like and using brushes and bricks to paint their house.  In the malleable area the children created the different shapes of fruit using playdoh and knifes to cut them into pieces, enabling language such as ‘half’, ‘share’, ‘equal’.   

The children enjoyed a music and movement session.  They listened to instructions and joined in a movement game, expressing different emotions using their body and facial expressions. They developed their gross motor and listening skills.

In the outdoor area the children joined in a hunt for the hidden oranges and used a ten’s frame to count up to 10.  The children also explored with pumpkins in the water, using spoons to scoop the seeds out and explored counting and sorting. 

On Tuesday the children joined in with their sports lesson with Mr Gavin and they re-visited some of the games and physical skills they have been learning this term.  On Wednesday afternoon the children explored on the paddock.  They collected sticks, leaves and conkers.  The children then completed the trim trail developing their gross motor skills, climbing, walking, balancing. 

On Friday the children continued with their French lesson with Madame Wardle.  They re-capped their prior learning from the half term, singing 'Frere Jacques' and joined in a circle game.

I hope you all have a lovely half term holiday and we will see you all next term!

Autumn 1 week 6 

The Pre-school children have had another busy week.  This week we read the story ‘My World, Your World’ and discussed the world around us, looked at different cultures and where we live.  We looked at photographs of what our houses look like and compared them to others around the world.  The children used mark making materials to represent their house and described the features.  In the creative area the children were busy painting self-portraits.  They used a mirror to describe what they looked like and used the paints to express themselves.

During the week the children joined in with a music and movement session.  They developed their gross motor skills through a variety of large muscle movements and moved in time with the music.  We used our imaginations to fly to the moon expressing themselves through the medium of dance.

The children enjoyed a baking activity this week.  They shared, weighed and measured to make chocolate rice crispy cakes.  On Tuesday the children celebrated World Mental Health Day and wore the colour yellow.  We then celebrated all the things that makes us feel happy.  The children joined in with their weekly sports lesson with Mr Gavin.  The children used their skill from last week of throwing and catching a bean bag.  This week they had to practice throwing a bean bag directly into a hoop using under and over arms movements.     

In the outdoor area the children have enjoyed building rockets with the large construction resources.  They have explored dissecting a pumpkin and describing what the inside feels and smells like.  We used words such as ‘seeds’, ‘scoop’, ‘slice, ‘utensils’ whilst exploring. 

On Friday the children joined in with their French lesson.  They practiced saying their names, “Je m’appelle....”.  The children revisited their learning of the song ‘Frere Jacques’ and practiced singing and using actions.  

Next week is our last week before our half term holiday.  We will re-visit our learning from the term and read ‘Handa’s Surprise’ linking to Black History Month.

Autumn 1 week 5

Another busy week in Pre-school.  We have focused this week on the life of ‘Mae Jemison’ the first black women to fly into space in line with Black History Month.  The children listened to a story based on the incredible achievements in her life and discussed the key vocabulary such as astronaut, space, rocket, telescope.  We used our imaginations to become astronauts and we put on our special space suits and helmets and counted down for 5 to blast off into space!  We discussed how we might be feeling in space and what it would be like.

In provision the children enjoyed building their own space rockets using the junk modelling, tools and resources.  In the malleable area the children created rockets using playdoh to manipulate into shapes and the star shaped cutters.  During maths this week the children practiced counting up to five through numbers songs and counting backwards from 5.  They matched the correct number of stars to the numbered rockets and explored this during provision.  During phonics this week we have explored instrumental and environmental sounds and linked them to images and texts.  The children listened to texts such as ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and ‘All Join In’ to link their voice sounds and instruments with core parts of the text. 

In the outdoor area the children have explored building their own rockets using the construction resources and working together as a team and taking turns.  They have accessed the bikes and scooters to improve gross motor skills and used paintbrushes in rainwater to make marks on chalkboard.  Children used the chalks to practice forming the letter ‘s’ after modelling the ‘slip down the slide’ action during the week and discussed words beginning with this sound.  

On Tuesday the children joined in with their sports lesson with Mr Gavin.  The children used their wonderful listening skills and followed instructions.  They moved in different directions, practiced jumping and their throwing and catching skills.  Well done Pre-school!  

On Wednesday morning the children joined in with their Outdoor Learning Adventure with the wonderful Louise from Wild Ones Adventure. The children walked into the woods to find it had been transformed into an amazing obstacle course! Louise linked this week's learning of space and the children had to complete the course to be astronauts! They lifted heavy bags, climbed through ropes and under tunnels. They continued their adventure through the woods, climbing up a steep hill using a rope and sliding down carefully to land safely at the bottom. At the end of the session the children enjoyed a drink and toasting marshmallows on the fire. An amazing experience for all the children! 

On Friday morning we had our French lesson with Madame Wardle and the children were introduced to a new song ‘Frere Jacques’. They listened to the song and then practiced the words and actions. In the afternoon we had our stay and play session. It was wonderful to see the parents/carers spending time with their little ones in their learning environment. The room was busy with children making rockets, emotion faces in the malleable area, reading stories, colouring space and colour monster pictures, building with the construction. The outdoor was very busy in the mud kitchen, mixing coloured water, digging in the sand, balancing on the obstacle course and riding bikes!  

Next week we will be focusing on the story ‘Me and My World’, looking at other cultures houses and comparing them to ours.  

Autumn 1 week 4 

Another busy week in Pre-school.  The children have continued to thrive in their learning and development.  We have continued with ‘The Colour Monster’ as our learning focus.  The children re-called parts of the story in order and recognised the different feelings.  We used mirrors to look at our faces and expressed different emotions through facial expressions.  During the week we also read ‘The Worry Monster’, a monster who likes to eat your worries.  We practiced self-regulation techniques such as breathing exercises to calm ourselves if our emotions are heightened. 

During a focused maths activity, the children used tweezers to sort coloured pom poms into the correct colour monster feelings jar.  They explored counting, sorting, subitising and improving their fine motor skills.  During phonics this week the children have explored environmental and instrumental sounds through listening games and playing sound bingo. 

The children have explored in the creative area, using the resources such as scissors, glue, crate paper to collage their own ‘feelings jar’.  The children have built their own houses in the construction area and built train tracks in the small world.  In the writing area the children have practiced their pencil control, following straight and wavy lines linking to the colour monster. 

In the outdoor area the children have developed their gross motor skills, pedalling bikes, building with the large blocks and creating obstacle courses using the wooden planks and tyres.  Children also collected natural resources and created emotion faces with the playdoh. 

This week the children joined in with their Sports lesson with Mr Gavin.  The children practiced walking, jogging and running around the space during a warmup.  They then practiced throwing and catching from last week with the bean bags.  Throwing with one hand and catching with two.  They then played a game, listening to music and moving around the space exploring jumping, skipping and standing still inside a hoop when the music stopped.  Amazing listening!   

On Friday morning the children joined in with their French lesson with Madame Wardle. They practiced saying ‘Je m’appelle....’ and responding with their name. They played a game of pass ‘Marcel the snail’ around the circle and when the music stopped, they had to hide him, and one pre-schooler had to guess where Marcel had stopped by asking ‘Comment t’appelles-tu?”. 

Next week we are focusing on the story of Mae Jemison, the first black women to travel to space as part of our Black History month throughout school. 

Autumn 1 week 3 

Pre-school have had another busy week. We have continued to focus our learning on ‘The Colour Monster’ story and the children can re-call the colours and the corresponding feeling.  The children shared their feelings and experiences during circle time and are beginning to use the feelings board daily to recognise and share how they feel each day.

The children have explored in the maths area matching coloured cubes to the coloured monster, building towers and counting how many they have used.  In the fine motor area, the children practiced threading using the colour monster templates.  In the malleable area the children used the tools and resources to roll, pat, cut and create shapes.  The children used the scissors in the creative area to cut out their own ‘feelings’ monster and the coloured paints and glue to attach a lollypop stick to make a puppet monster.  The children in the construction area enjoyed re-creating their own buildings and towers and working as a team.  The role-play area has been busy with children forming relationships and building their communication and language skills.

During phonics the children joined in with a listening game using the musical instruments.  They named each instrument and described the sound.  They used the tambourine to clap the syllables in their name and joined in a ‘stop’ and ‘go’ activity. 

This week we have introduced the Christian value for this half term, ‘Generosity’.  We have shared examples of how to show this value during the day, for example, sharing our toys with our friends.  In the outdoor area the children have enjoyed exploring measuring and pouring in the water area.  They have used the playdoh and found natural objects to re-create emotion faces. The children have used the bikes and scooters to develop their gross motor skills.    

On Tuesday the children continued with their sports lesson with Mr Gavin. The children played a listening game, stopping and starting when they heard Mr Gavin blow his whistle. The children explored different ways of moving around the space, walking, marching, jogging.  All the children then practiced throwing and catching skills using bean bags.  

On Friday the children joined in with their French lesson with Madame Wardle. The children re-called their learning from last week, practicing saying their name in French, ‘Je m’appelle....’. The children joined in with actions and songs. 

Next week we are continuing with ‘The Colour Monster’. 

Autumn 1 week 2

What another busy week we have had in Pre-school!  The children have settled into the Pre-school routine amazingly and it is wonderful to see all the new friendships forming and all the children exploring and developing throughout the provision. 

Our focus story ‘The Colour Monster’ has continued this week.  The children could re-call the different feelings that the monster experienced in the story and matched the feelings to the correct colours.  In provision we have made a ‘Colour Monster’ feeling board and each child places their cut-out face inside the monster that corresponds to how they are feeling that day.  This has enabled each child to recognise that their feelings are important and we can share how we are feeling to each other.  During focused time the children practiced calming techniques to self-regulate their own emotions through different breathing exercises. 

Throughout the week we have looked at family photographs and discussed who is in our family and how every family is different, but they are all just as special as each other.  The children have drawn family pictures in the writing area and shared these with the class.  In the creative area some children painted their own colour monster and painted pictures of their family.

The children explored in the malleable area with playdoh, using loose parts to create faces.  In the construction area the children built different houses using the large and small bricks and described where they lived.  The home corner has enabled the children to role-play, building relationships and expanding their communication and language skills.  In the maths area children explored with jigsaws and inset puzzles.  During phonics this week the children have used their listening ears to describe environmental sounds and join in with the focused activities. 

On Monday we had a visit from ‘Life Education’.  The children loved ‘Harold’ the giraffe and he talked to us all about how to look after ourselves and how to keep our bodies healthy.  We need to make sure we are brushing our teeth, exercising and eating fruit and vegetables to stay healthy. 

This week the children had their first ‘Tag sports’ lesson with Mr Gavin.  Mr Gavin introduced himself and gave the children instructions to follow.  The children explored running arounds cones in different directions and speeds.  They played games involving jumping, jogging, running and making patterns around the space.  The children listened very carefully and joined in wonderfully. 

This week the children explored the outdoors finding natural objects to create their transient art collages.  We focused on using the objects to re-create faces with different emotions.  Children also enjoyed mark making in the outdoors using chalks, paints and pencils.  The children explored digging in the sand and mud kitchen and role playing on the pretend stage. 

On Friday we had our French lesson with Madame Wardle and the children practiced the ‘Bonjour’ song.  The children were taking turns to say their name and then they played a name game, following actions and repeating ‘Je m’appelle’. 

Next week we are continuing with ‘The Colour Monster’ and exploring friendships. 

Autumn 1 week 1

Welcome back to all the Pre-School children after the summer holidays and a warm welcome to all the new parents/carers and children starting on their Pre-School journey with us at St Paul’s.  It has been wonderful listening to the children’s exciting adventures over the summer.

This week the children have been settling into their Pre-School routine amazingly, we are so proud of how well the new starters are adapting to the school environment.  The children returning after the summer break have been wonderful and welcoming to their new classmates and new friendships are beginning to form. 

This term the themed focus is ‘Me and My World’ and the core text is ‘The Colour Monster’.  This week we have read ‘The Colour Monster’ and discussed the different feelings that appear in the story and related them to our own feelings.  We focused on the key vocabulary such as happy, sad, angry, calm, worried and shared our experiences with the class. 

The children during provision used loose parts to form faces and discuss the different emotions and how they make us feel.  In the creative area the children have explored painting pictures based on things that make them feel happy.  The children used the different tools and resources in the playdoh to develop their fine motor skills.  In the construction area, the children enjoyed building and using their imagination to form models with a variety of bricks.  In the writing area, the children discussed their favourite experiences during the summer holidays and made marks to represent their ideas.  The role-play area has been enhanced as a large home corner, as a familiar surrounding for the children to develop their communication and language, imagination skills and form new friendships and bonds with their classmates and teachers. 

This week the children have enjoyed exploring the outdoor provision, accessing each area and developing their own interests.  The children enjoyed riding on the bikes and building with the large construction to improve their gross motor skills.  The sand pit, mud kitchen and water area were busy with children exploring with the resources and developing their Understanding of the World. 

On Thursday we went for a walk around the school.  We walked quietly on the corridors and saw the big boys and girls working hard.  We had a visit to Mr Dugdale’s office and then we went onto the big yard and explored on the large climbing frame.  On Friday we had our French lesson and Madame Wardle introduced herself to the new starters. The children learnt the ‘Bonjour’ song and copied the actions. Each child then introduced themselves to Madame Wardle and they played a memory game. 

What a fantastic first week back Pre-School! Next week we are continuing with our focus story, ‘The Colour Monster’ and talking about our families.