In the garden we are noticing signs of spring and the changes as plants and trees grow buds and leaves, and flowers and blossom start to appear. We will be planting a selection of fruit and veg seeds and caring for them in our nursery garden. This video shows how they will grow.

We will also be looking at baby photos and noticing how we have grown and changed. If you haven’t already sent your child’s baby photo, please email them to [email protected]

We Are Learning… To Listen To and Re-Tell the Story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Linked to our activities around growing and changing , our core book this term is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We will be learning to tell the story in lots of different ways, using props and acting it out. You can watch it here.

We’ve even got some real, live caterpillars to watch as they grow and change into cocoons and then butterflies.

We Are Learning… To Learn and Use Vocabulary to Describe the Shape of Things we Find and Begin to Learn the Names of Shapes

Our maths focus this term is around SHAPES. We will be exploring and noticing shapes and pattern through placing and arranging activities, puzzles, loose parts play and building with construction resources. 

We will also be watching our seeds grow, and using mathematical language (such as big, bigger, biggest) to compare size and shape. We might even have a go at measuring them to find out how tall they get.

Some Exciting Learning Opportunities Coming up This Term

We will continue to have regular visits from Elie who comes to make wonderful music with us each week.

The Children’s Kitchen will be returning for 3 sessions to work with the children around growing and exploring fresh food.

And we will be lucky enough to have a workshop with Travelling Light Theatre Company, helping to learn more about telling stories of our own.

You can find out more about them here.

The post In Wren Room We Are Learning… (April 2025) appeared first on Little Hayes and Speedwell Nursery Schools.

We will be using patterns of actions in songs and stories, as well as thinking about the pattern of the daily routine, with language such as first, now, next, after, and later.

Linked to our core book we will be learning the vocabulary of size (small, medium and large), height (short, shorter, shortest, tall, taller, tallest) numbers 1,2,3 and ordering (first, second, third).

We Are Learning… To Be Independent

We will continue to explore the outdoors in all weathers. The children will be learning to be independent by changing their shoes and putting on their own coats and waterproofs.

We are teaching them the coat flip method. Watch and learn together here. It really helps their independence if they wear shoes that are easy to put on and do up.

Please remember to name their shoes and clothes, so that they can find them at the end of the day, and provide spare clothes each day in case they get wet or muddy. Thank you.

We Are Learning… To Take Part in Shared Reading and Tales Toolkit activities, and Respond to the Features of Stories

Our core book is the traditional tale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. We are using props and story maps to re-tell the story and creating different voices for the characters—a deep, gruff voice for the big Billy Goat Gruff, a tiny voice for the little Billy Goat Gruff and a scary troll voice.

We will be learning to talk about characters, settings, problems and solutions in our Tales Toolkit story sessions and using the story props in our play.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Once upon a time there were three Billy Goats Gruff

Little Billy Goat, Middle-Sized Billy Goat and Big Billy Goat.

They lived on a hill by a river, but they had a problem.

There was no grass on their hill so they needed to go over the bridge to eat the green grass BUT under the bridge there lived a big, scary Troll

First the little goat went to the bridge

‘WHO’S THAT TRIP TRAPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?’ shouted the Troll

‘It’s me, Little Billy Goat Gruff’.

‘I’M GOING TO EAT YOU UP!’ said the Troll

‘Don’t eat me, I’m only little, wait for my brother, he’s much bigger than me’.

‘Alright’ said the Troll, and the Little Billy Goat Gruff went trip, trap, trip, trap over the bridge to eat the green grass.

Next came the 2nd billy goat, Middle-Sized Billy Goat Gruff.

‘WHO’S THAT TRIP TRAPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?’ shouted the Troll

‘It’s me, Middle-Sized Billy Goat Gruff’.

‘I’M GOING TO EAT YOU UP!’ said the Troll

‘Don’t eat me, I’m only middle-sized, wait for my brother, he’s much bigger than me’.

‘Alright’ said the Troll, and the Middle-Sized Billy Goat Gruff went trip, trap, trip, trap over the bridge to eat the sweet, green grass.

Next came the 3rd billy goat, Big Billy Goat Gruff.

‘WHO’S THAT TRIP TRAPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?’ shouted the Troll

‘It’s me, Big Billy Goat Gruff’.

‘I’M GOING TO EAT YOU UP!’ said the Troll

‘OH NO YOU’RE NOT!’ said Big Billy Goat Gruff and he put down his head and butted the Troll with his horns.

The troll flew in the air and fell into the river with a SPLASH and was never seen again.

Big Billy Goat Gruff went TRIP, TRAP, TRIP, TRAP over the bridge and joined his brothers eating the green grass, and they lived happily ever after.

Download the Story Map below.

Home Learning Links

While children are moulding play dough into different shapes, they are building up strength in their tiny hands. The act of manipulating, squishing, rolling, and flattening helps the children to develop muscles in their hands that they need for fine motor movements, such as holding a pencil or using scissors.

This term, as well as exploring playdough, we will be using clay and other malleable materials.

You can create your own playdough to explore together at home with this easy recipe.

What will you create?

The post In Wren Room We Are Learning… (January 2025) appeared first on Little Hayes and Speedwell Nursery Schools.

We have been learning new songs, playing instruments together and dancing in lots of different ways, as well as listening to live music being played on the flute and ukulele. We’ve also had a go at mark making along to musical sounds, illustrating what we think the sound looks like.

We have learned about moving and stopping, whilst singing ‘we walk and we walk and we walk and we stop, and then we dance around’.

The children thought of different ways to move – dancing, flying, stomping and moving like different animals.
We learned the song ‘I Like the Flowers’, and then changed the words to all the things the children like, including the beach, the sun, Hulk and Spiderman! Some of the words were a bit tricky to fit into the tune.

For one session families were invited along and it was lovely to be able to share some of our songs with parents and carers.

We’ve also practised our listening skills, sharing lots of different types of sounds and music and thinking about how they make us want to move. We used pens and paint dabbers to draw what different instruments sound like to us, then listened to some pieces of classical music and drew those- one sounded like a kangaroo and another was floaty like fish in an aquarium. Then we got up and danced to some of the music, moving however it made us feel.

Ellie is going to continue joining us once a week next term and help us to learn lots more about music and songs.
We are planning to make a play list of all the music the children enjoy listening to, at home as well as in nursery. What music do you share as a family? What do you listen to in the car, or the kitchen or anywhere else? Look out for our Tapestry message about this.

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We learned that they like to eat frogs and mice and lots of other small animals. We listened to a recording of the sound they make and found out that Barn Owls don’t go “Twit twoo”, their call is more like a long screech.

Dave has looked after Loki since he was two weeks old and showed us lots of pictures of him as he grew up. He showed us an owl wing and talked about how Loki has a special type of feather that is silent when he flaps his wings so that his prey doesn’t hear him coming.

Some of the adults got to hold Loki on their arms. They had to wear a thick, strong leather glove because Loki has sharp talons on his feet. When it was time to return to the classroom the children made owl masks and pretended to flap their wings and swoop like an owl.

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We used all the physical skills which we practice in the nursery garden to climb, swing, slide and balance on all the different play equipment there. We stayed as long as we could but then we had to return to nursery for our lunch. We had a fabulous time and can’t wait for another chance to go.

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We will be focusing on developing number confidence, in particular knowledge around number and counting. We will be exploring maths resources, singing number songs, and looking at number stories.

Some children are interested in numbers, particularly those that are significant to them, such as their age and can join in with counting animals in their favourite songs.

We will be noticing that numbers are all around us. You might like to play a number spotting game with your child and encourage them to

keep an eye out for any numbers in the environment (house numbers, car registrations, speed signs etc). Get spotting!

We Are Learning… To Actively Cooperate with Nappy Changing, Dressing, and Undressing

This term we will be encouraging the children to learn how to put on their own boots and coats.

We will also be supporting those children who are ready to begin independent toileting and working together with parents to support this.

ERIC is a very useful website providing a handy How to guide to potty training.

REMINDER—for those children in nappies, please can you supply wet wipes, nappies and spare clothes everyday. Thank you.

We Are Learning… To Develop an Awareness of Number Names Through Our Enjoyment of Action Rhymes and Songs

We will be reading a variety of number books and using props and actions to support our learning. We are starting with Ten in the Bed, by Penny Dale You can watch the story together on YouTube.

We will also be reading One Mole Digging a Hole and singing lots of number songs. 5 Little Ducks, 5 Little Monkeys and Old Mr Fox are our some of our favourites.

We Are Learning… To Join in with Actions and Sounds in Songs and Books

We will be re-introducing Tales Toolkit (see details over) and continuing to offer daily story times. The children can access books throughout the day and we offer a variety of fiction, non-fiction, familiar and new stories.

Please continue to support their reading at home by bringing in their book bags every Wednesday. If your child doesn’t have a book bag yet, please let their key person know.

We will be reading 1,2,3 Do the Dinosaur by Michelle Robinson . Why not watch the video and join in the actions together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73GZx4aeMOs

Find out more about sharing stories and supporting your child’s reading at www.wordsforlife.org.uk/

Tales Toolkit

This term we will be re-introducing the children to Tales Toolkit – a Toolkit for creating Tales.

Story has been shown to improve all types of learning and increase engagement and memory capacity.

All of the resources are labelled with easily recognised symbols for Character, Setting, Problem and Solution giving the children a tool to independently weave magical tales.

We will start by introducing labelled bags for each elements of the story (character, setting, problem, solution) and modelling how to create stories using the props hidden inside.

Soon the children will be creating their very own stories.

Find out more https://talestoolkit.com/

The post In Wren Room We Are Learning… (November 2024) appeared first on Little Hayes and Speedwell Nursery Schools.

We have been busy re-settling returning children as well as welcoming new children and their families.

We have been finding out which groups we are in and where we meet. We are using visual registers, songs, and games to learn the names of the children and adults in our class.

We are creating family boards and the children have enjoyed sharing their family photos and talking about them.

If you haven’t yet supplied a family photo, please email one to [email protected]
It has been amazing to see how well the children are settling, exploring our learning environments, and finding out where everything belongs.

We Are Learning… To Notice and Talk About Things that We Observe in The Natural World.

The children have been exploring the garden and noticing seasonal changes as autumn arrives.
Don’t forget, the children will be outdoors in all weathers and need a warm coat everyday throughout autumn and winter.

Welly boots can be left on their outside peg and waterproof trousers will be very useful on rainy days. Please name all items. Thank you.

We Are Learning… To listen to and Join in with Stories, Rhymes and Poems.

At the start of term we are revisiting traditional and sometimes familiar nursery rhymes using books, puppets and props.

Our core books this term focus on personal, social, and emotional development (PSED) and the topics of feelings, separation, making friends and starting nursery.

We have a daily story time and the children will be learning to retell some of the stories using pictures and props.

We Are Learning… To Enjoy a Range of Books, Both Fiction and Non-Fiction.

We know how much children enjoy a story, particularly at bedtime, and how important it is for their language development and love of reading. To support this, we have given each child a book bag and the opportunity to borrow books every Tuesday or Thursday to share at home.

Please remember to return the book, in the named book bag, each Wednesday ready to swap it for a new one.

We would also really love your feedback on which stories the children enjoy.

Find out more about sharing stories and supporting your child’s reading at www.wordsforlife.org.uk

Getting Ready for Potty Training

Are you planning on potty training your child soon, or have you already started your journey?

Please come and talk to your child’s key person and we can work together to support this.

The ERIC website’s Potty Training Section has lots of helpful tips. Why not sign up for their Toilet Train campaign to support you with getting your child toilet-ready.

Important Dates for Your Diary

Term dates 2024-2025

• ​Term 1: 2 September 2024 to 25 October 2024 
• (There will be staggered start dates and times for all returning and new children due to home visits and settling in sessions)
• Term 2: 4 November 2024 to 20 December 2024
• Term 3: 6 January 2025 to 14 February 2025
• Term 4: 24 February 2025 – 4 April 2025
• Term 5: 22 April 2025 to 23 May 2025
• Term 6: 2 June 2025 to 22 July 2025

Inset Days 2024-2025
Nursery will be closed for staff training (Inset) sessions on the following days.

• Term 1 – Wednesday 2nd October – Whole day
• Term 2 – Wednesday 4th December – Morning (8.30am – 12.30pm)
• Term 3 – Wednesday 5th February – Whole day
• Term 4 – Wed 5th March -Afternoon (11.30am – 3.30pm)
• Term 5 – Wednesday 4th June – Morning (8.30am – 12.30pm)
• Term 5 – Wednesday 18th June – Afternoon (11.30am – 3.30pm)
• Term 6 – Wednesday 2nd July – Whole Day         

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Inside we’ve been really interested in Superheroes and practiced flying and jumping like a superhero. We have been making our hand muscles stronger in lots of different ways, from using the tongs in the home corner to mark making in a tray of shaving foam. We were lucky to welcome Ellie to our circle time.

We sang lots of new songs and played some new music and movement games. She also taught us about some musical instruments and demonstrated playing the flute.

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According to The Chief Medical Officer, children under five need 180 minutes of physical activity each day. See www.bit.ly/startactive

This term we are getting active. We will be building and attempting our own obstacle course and imitating and creating movements through joining in with action songs and rhymes. We will also practice throwing and catching and playing ball games.

We will be joining in with yoga, music and movement activities and dancing to different types of music. We will be learning and using new words to describe our movements.

We Are Learning… To Retell and Change a Familiar Story and to Create Stories of Our Own

Our core book this term is Walking Through the Jungle by Julie Lacome. It’s a story that lots of the children already know really well.

We will be learning to join in with retelling this story in lots of different ways around the nursery, practising moving in different ways to represent the animals.

Have a watch of this video which has a lovely drum rhythm to accompany the story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a-_Y7zyiuM

We will be reading other books about movement too– From Head to Toe by Eric Carle and the Baby Yoga book. Lots of opportunities to get up and move!

We Are Learning… To Listen and Respond to Music in a Variety of Different Ways

We are lucky enough to be joined by Ellie for some sessions this term.

Ellie is a music specialist and is coming to make music and sing with the children. They will have opportunities to find out about and play a range of different instruments and join in with songs– both familiar and new.

Hopefully we’ll all get up and dance a bit too! Here’s a few dance videos to have a look at for inspiration;
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/68269106745
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/68269106745
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/sadeck-waff-paralympics-tokyo-2020-paris-2024

End of Year Family Picnic

Come and join the fun for a stay and play family picnic on;

Wednesday 17th July 2024 from 11am to 2pm.
 There will be no nursery sessions that day.

Other Important Dates
Our last day of term will be;
Option B Friday 19th July
Option A and 30hrs Tuesday 23rd July

Weds 3rd July– Nursery closed for Inset Day.

The post In Wrens Room We Are Learning… (Term 6, 2024) appeared first on Little Hayes and Speedwell Nursery Schools.

Linked to our activities around growing and changing , our core book this term is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We will be learning to tell the story in lots of different ways, using props and acting it out.

You can watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NQK-Sm1YY

We’ve even got some real, live caterpillars to watch as they grow and change into cocoons and then butterflies.

We Are Learning… To Prepare, Compare and Taste a Range of Different Foods

We are lucky enough to have weekly visits from The Children’s Kitchen volunteer Claudia this term.

She is going to work with groups of children to explore lots of different healthy foods, learning to use utensils safely and try foods they might not have had before.

We will also be working on our vegetable beds to grow our own.

Claudia will also be running some sessions for parents on Mondays at 2:30pm. Come along with your child at the end of the nursery day and make a tasty snack together.

You can book in at Reception.

We Are Learning… To Notice and Make Sense of Similarities, Differences and Changes in Nature and the Wider World

In the garden we are noticing signs of spring and the changes as plants and trees grow buds and leaves, and flowers and blossom start to appear.

We will be planting a selection of fruit and veg seeds and caring for them in our nursery garden.

This video shows how they will grow.
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/kidney-bean-and-spinach-plants-soil-cross-section-time-lapses

We will also be looking at baby photos and noticing how we have grown and changed.

If you haven’t already sent your child’s baby photo, please email them to [email protected]

We Are Learning… To Learn and Use Vocabulary to Describe the Shape, Size and Position of Objects

Our maths focus is spatial reasoning which involves how we understand location (where things are positioned and where they are in relation to other things), dimensions (for example, how long something is or how big something is, and the properties of objects (such as spiky or flat).

We will be practising using words such as over, under and next to, big, bigger, biggest , straight, curved and pointed to describe what we see.

There’s an interesting poster here to explain it further: https://earlymaths.org/spatial-reasoning-toolkit-posters/

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