Autumn 1 week 7 

The Pre-School children have had a busy and exciting week! 

We explored the story Handa’s Surprise as part of our learning for Black History Month. We focused on the culture of the main character, discussing similarities and differences with our own lives. The children were able to name all seven delicious fruits in Handa’s basket and thoroughly enjoyed feeling, smelling, and tasting the different fruits.  In the creative area, the children took part in observational paintings of the fruit basket, and in the writing area, they drew their favourite fruit with great enthusiasm. 

In phonics, we continued our focus on instrumental sounds. The children played a sound bingo game, where they confidently recognised the sounds of various instruments including the tambourine, triangle, bells, agogo, and maracas. 

In maths, we linked our story of the week to our counting activities. The children played a game where they counted the correct number of fruits into Handa’s basket, supporting their understanding of numbers and quantities. 

On Monday morning, we took part in a wonderful Outdoor Adventure, focusing on the beautiful season of Autumn.  We began by listening to a story all about the different seasons, and we had a great discussion about the changes that happen in our environment during this time of year.  Pre-School made some fantastic observations—especially noticing that in Autumn, the leaves begin to fall from the trees and change colour to yellow, red, and brown.  We then went on an exciting autumn scavenger hunt to find natural treasures such as conkers, pine cones, leaves, and sticks. Everyone did a fantastic job searching and collecting!  Using the objects we found, we created our own autumnal portraits. Pre-School showed amazing creativity—the results were absolutely wonderful!  To finish our adventure, we went on a lovely nature walk through the woods and ended the day with a yummy biscuit treat. What a fantastic day exploring the signs of Autumn! 

Gymnastics with Mrs Winward continued this week, with the children practising their balancing skills on beams and following multi-step instructions.  In French, the children listened to a story, singing along with actions and growing in confidence. 

To end the week, we had a special visit from a librarian who shared a lovely story with the class. The children listened beautifully and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

Next week is our final week before the half-term break. We’ll be focusing on the story 'My World, Your World' and learning about the festival of Diwali. 

Autumn 1 week 6

A Busy Week in Preschool – Celebrating Black History Month

This week in Preschool, we have been learning all about Floella Benjamin, a celebrated author and actress, as part of our Black History Month celebrations. We read her inspiring story “Coming to England”, which tells the true tale of Floella and her family’s journey from the Caribbean island of Trinidad to England.

As part of this, we explored Caribbean culture, focusing on the vibrant music and traditions of the region. The children enjoyed listening to calypso and reggae music and even made their own maracas in the creative area! During music and movement sessions, we danced to the sounds of steel pan drums, using different instruments and ribbons to move in time with the rhythm.

In cooking, the children took part in a baking activity, making delicious baked bananas. We discussed how bananas grow in hot countries like those in the Caribbean, linking it back to our learning about Trinidad.

In phonics, our focus was on instrumental sounds. The children took part in a fun "stop and go" game, responding to instructions and moving their bodies in time with various sounds.

In maths, we worked on counting and sorting, matching the correct number of coconuts to palm trees. Over in the writing area, the children practised recognising and forming the letters in their names, making great progress.

On Thursday, the children continued with their gymnastics lesson, developing their physical skills and coordination.

To end the week, on Friday, we took part in Children’s Mental Health Day. The children came to school dressed in yellow, helping to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and wellbeing in young children.  In the morning, Madame Wardle continued with our French learning.

Next week we will continue to focus on celebrating Black History Month and look at the story Handa's Surprise.

Autumn 1 week 5

This week, we focused on the theme of Autumn. We read the story Leaf Man and explored the different colours and shapes of leaves, learning how they fall from the trees during the Autumn season. The children enjoyed creating leaf collages and had great fun rolling conkers in paint to make autumn-themed artwork. 

In provision, the children explored threading using Autumn-themed photographs of conkers, leaves, pumpkins, and pinecones. During our music and movement session, they joined in a leaf counting game and sang number songs, developing both their maths and listening skills in a fun and active way. 

In our maths session, we continued developing our counting skills by counting pinecones and matching them to the correct numeral. During phonics, we played sound bingo and read the story All Join In, where the children participated by making a variety of environmental sounds. 

We had a special visit from the company Dance Syndrome, who led a fun and energetic dance class. The children pretended to be different animals using expressive movements and had lots of fun playing musical statues. 

On Thursday, we continued with our gymnastics lessons, where the children worked on their balance, coordination, and movement skills.  In the afternoon, we celebrated a whole school theme for Spirituality Day. We reflected on our school’s vision: 
“As God’s family, together we achieve.” 
We talked about the special gifts we share every day—such as kindness, sharing, good manners, and helping others. As part of our celebrations, the children took part in a special baking activity, making bread and sharing it with their friends. 

On Friday, we continued with our French learning. This week, we learnt the story of Frere Jacques and copied actions with a song.

Next week we will be focusing on a story by Floella Benjamin, in celebration of Black History month.

Autumn 1 week 4  

We've had another busy and exciting week in pre-school! 

The children thoroughly enjoyed listening to The Colour Monster and other stories about feelings. In the creative area, they made their own “feelings jars,” using a variety of coloured materials to represent different emotions and talking about the feelings they had chosen. In the writing area, the children coloured in their favourite colour monster using crayons, proudly sharing which feeling it represented for them. 

In phonics this week, we continued exploring environmental sounds. The children took part in an outdoor listening game where they tuned in to sounds such as birds tweeting, aeroplanes, cars, and leaves crunching. They also had great fun playing an environmental sound bingo game. 

In maths, we focused on number songs. The children joined in enthusiastically, using their fingers to count and singing along to familiar tunes. 

Our R.E. focus this week was about understanding how special and unique we all are, and the importance of our names. We talked about how Christians believe that everyone’s name is written on the palm of God’s hand. In provision, the children enjoyed creating their own handprints and practising writing their names. 

Outdoors, the children had a wonderful time in the mud kitchen, mixing flour and water to make mud pies and cakes! In the water area, they explored pouring and measuring, experimenting with different containers and volumes. 

The children also continued their gymnastics lessons, building on gross motor skills with activities like walking, jumping, balancing on one leg, and practising clear start and finish positions on the gym mats. 

On Friday, the children had their French lesson with Madame Wardle. They learnt a new song, Comment tu t'appelles, and used it to play a simple and fun game to help remember each other’s names. 

Also on Friday, we took part in a special coffee and cake morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The children loved choosing a cake and sharing the experience with their friends. 

Next week, we’ll be focusing on the season of Autumn, exploring the story Leaf Man and enjoying lots of seasonal activities. 

Autumn 1 Week 3 
 

It’s been another busy and exciting week in Pre-School! 

We have continued to explore our core text, The Colour Monster. The children have enjoyed recalling parts of the story and were able to correctly name and describe each feeling. In our Music and Movement session, we played a "Stop and Go" listening game, where the children chose a different colour monster to stand on when the music stopped. 

In our Writing and Creative Area, the children have been drawing and painting pictures of their families. They enjoyed looking at the photographs on our wall and sharing the names of the special people in their lives with their classmates. 

Phonics this week focused on listening skills, with the children exploring environmental and animal sounds through a fun listening game. 

In Maths, we have been singing number songs and joining in with finger rhymes to support number recognition and counting skills.  For our R.E. focus, we discussed how special and unique each person is, and celebrated the ways in which we are all different. 

During our baking activity, the children made their own ‘Fruit Faces’. They used tools to cut their fruit independently and talked about different emotions such as happy, sad, angry, and worried. 

In Gymnastics with Mrs. Winward, the children continued to develop their movement skills, practicing the tuck, straddle, and pike positions – well done, everyone! 

In French this week, the children practiced greeting each other with “Bonjour” and saying “Je m’appelle...”. They also learned to say “oui” and “non”. 

Next week, we will be continuing with our focused story, The Colour Monster, as we build on our learning around feelings and emotions. 

Autumn 1 week 2

What a Fantastic First Full Week in Pre-School!  The children have settled in wonderfully and are beginning to follow our routines and rules with growing confidence. It has been lovely to see new friendships blossoming already!

This week, our focus has been on our core text ‘The Colour Monster’. The children really enjoyed listening to the story and could recognise the different colours and emotions that the monster experiences. We had some fantastic discussions where the children shared their own experiences of feeling happy, sad, angry, and more. It’s been a great way to help them begin understanding and talking about their feelings.

On Wednesday, we had a special visit from Life Education. Steven brought along Harold the Giraffe to talk to the children about the importance of keeping ourselves healthy and clean. They learned about brushing teeth, washing hands, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables. The session included lots of fun songs and actions, which the children really enjoyed!

In phonics this week, we focused on recognising environmental sounds. The children took part in a listening game and are becoming more aware of the different sounds around them.

In maths, the children enjoyed singing number songs during circle time and joining in with number-based finger rhymes.

During provision time, the children:

• Explored their creativity by collaging different Colour Monsters and talking about their feelings.
• Completed jigsaws in the maths area.
• Built friendships and engaged in imaginative play in the role play area.
• Explored textures and shapes with playdough in the malleable area.
• Created stories and scenarios in the small world area with the dollhouse.

We also had our very first gymnastics lesson with Mrs Winward! The children learned how to run on the spot, jump, and sit in a straddle and pike position. They also practiced balancing beanbags – fantastic listening and movement skills, Pre-School!

To finish the week, the children continued their French learning with Madame Wardle. They practiced saying “Bonjour Madame” and learned to say each other’s names in a turn-taking game. They also sang a hello song in French, complete with actions.

Next week we continue exploring ‘The Colour Monster’ and build on further on our understanding of feelings.

Autumn 1 week 1

A Wonderful First Week in Pre-School!

Our new Pre-School starters have had a fantastic first week, settling in beautifully and embracing the fun and routines of their new environment.

They've enjoyed exploring a variety of activities, including painting self-portraits, building creatively in the construction area, and joining in with our lively music and movement sessions. It's been heartwarming to see new friendships blossoming as the children confidently engage with one another and with their new surroundings.

We’re so proud of how quickly they’ve adapted to the rules and routines of Pre-School — what a great start to the year!