The children entered the classroom one day to find some unusual marks on the floor. Who had made these very strange marks? The children in class rushed to find clues from around the room. Brown fur was discovered scattered over the floor.
"It's the gingerbread man!"
"Brown fur, it's the Gruffalo"
"A bear has been!"
This led us nicely into our key story We're going on a bear hunt, which we retold using a story map and props.
Some children noticed a change in the weather since returning to nursery. They realised that it was very cold when playing out and even found ice in the playground. This observation sparked discussions around how we need to change what we wear when playing out when it is cold. We discussed the purpose of each item of clothing.
"A hat to keep his head from getting cold"
He needs gloves for his hands so they keep nice and warm.
We read the story Shark in the Park by Nick Sharratt. This book inspired us to talk about the features of our village of Mapplewell. We looked at different photographs of Mapplewell showing some key places in the village. The children did recognise most of them but had not yet realised that they were in Mapplewell.
A challenge was then set, the children in nursery made themselves a telescope just like Timothy Pope and set off around Mapplewell with their family to find different places on a treasure hunt list.
The children then continued learning about maps at home. They were set a challenge to follow a map to see where it led them.
Towards the end of the term we moved on to looking at other countries. We read the story of Handa who took fruit to her friend Akeyo as a gift. We discussed how Handa's life may differ from our own in Barnsley.
"They all sleep in one room?, we have 1,2,3 bedrooms"
"There are no lights in that classroom, how do they see?"
"I don't have tea (for breakfast), I have cereal"
"That road is very muddy, but do they have wellies to put on?"
"They have to go outside to the toilet? but what if it's raining, will they need an umbrella?"
Handa was also very kind walking a long way to make her friend smile. This prompted us to discuss kindness, what it looks like and how it makes both us and others feel.
Chinese new year.
The children listened to the story of the Chinese new year. In provision they explored a range of activities.
Looking at Chinese writing inspired us to mark make. This helped us develop our fine motor skills.
Week commencing 30th January marked National Storytelling week.
Children were asked to celebrate their love of reading on SEESAW. Thank you to everybody that posted it was wonderful to see you enjoy reading, telling stories and talking to family members about their favourite books.
Honey Bunny and Lorna Lamb have continued to have wonderful adventures with nursery children. They have heard many magical stories over the past few weeks and been taught how to look after their teeth to keep them nice and healthy.
Spring 2
Maths
In maths we will be:
- Showing finger numbers 3, 4, 5, in a variety of ways. e.g. When representing the number 4 children might show 2 fingers on one hand and two fingers on the other.
- Begin to explore how numbers can be shared.
- Count out the correct number of objects to match a given number to at least 5.
- Recapping 2D shapes and recognising some 3D shapes: sphere, cube, cylinder, cuboid.
- Follow simple instructions to put an object in place.
Communication and Language / Literacy
In Literacy we will be developing the skills of:
• Understand a question or instruction that has two parts, such as: “Get your coat and wait at the door”.
• Understand ‘why’ questions, like: “Why do you think the caterpillar got so fat?”
• Sing a large repertoire of songs. This will be embedded through our Rhyme for Bedtimes that are sent out weekly.
• Use a wider range of vocabulary when discussing familiar stories.
- Naming the different parts of a book. (Front cover, back cover, spine, words, pictures, blurb)
N2 children will continue to practise writing their first names, concentrating on correct letter formation.
Here are some of the books that we will be sharing over the next half term:
Phonics
In phonics the N2 children will continue to learn phonemes alongside the corresponding grapheme. They will also engage in activities that will continue to build on their listening skills, with a particular focus on initial sounds, alliteration, and oral blending and segmenting.
The N1 children will engage in activities to build on their listening and attention skills with a focus on environmental sounds.
Credits:
Created with images by augusta16 - "Female hands in knitted mittens with heart of snow in winter day. Love concept. Valentine day background." • Romolo Tavani - "Underwater Scene - Tropical Seabed With Reef And Sunshine" • Dzha - "Female hands counting from 1,2,3,4,5 isolated on white. Beautiful female fingers show countdown zero, one. two, three, four, five" • WavebreakMediaMicro - "Happy multi-ethnic kids reading a book together" • Soru Epotok - "Common starling singing" • Philip Steury - "Row Of Messy Colorful Paint Brushes And Containers On Isolated White Background - Creativity Concept" • Alexander Raths - "tulips arranged on old wooden background"