Life in Nursery
Summer 2
Week 5 6.7.2023
African Drumming Workshop
Nursery have had a fantastic time this week taking part in an hour long workshop all about African Drumming. They met the wonderful Kay who had a wide variety of drums, which she showed the children. All the children in Nursery were given a drum and used it to play out different beats and rhythms.
The children practised repeating loud and quiet beats, copying patterns and using call and response using different beats and words. We loved singing 'What do you like?... I like jelly!' We were so amazed with how well the children listened and were able to copy and create their own music using the drums. It was so wonderful to see them so engaged playing instruments and having so much fun! Well done to all of Nursery and you can see photos of them enjoying their drumming workshop below.
Week 4 29.6.2023
Trip to the Farm
Nursery had a fantastic trip to the farm on Thursday 29th June to Ash End Farm in Tamworth, as part of their Animals and Babies topic. We went with Reception class and had a wonderful time exploring the park, grounds and adventure playground and saw lots of animals, including pigs, horses, sheep and cows!
The children so loved seeing all the different animals and learning about where they live and what they eat on their farm tour after lunch. It really helped them to see real animals up close and they used amazing words to describe them and what they looked like.
We were so amazed with all the children's behaviour and they were such a credit to the school. They listened so well to the tour guide and teachers and showed such enthusiasm, care and passion for all the different animals. We are so proud of them all and can't wait for our next trip! You can see lots of photos of them enjoying their trip below below and a huge well done to Nursery!
Week 3 22.6.2023
Healthy Living Week
Nursery and all of St Rose have had a fantastic week celebrating Healthy Living Week! They have had a jam-packed well full of different activities all to do with living well, eating healthy and being active.
We began the week with a Healthy Living Day, where everyone took part in different activities such as Dance, Football, Boxing and Boccia. The children had a great day and got really stuck in! We then moved onto Mental Health and learned about different emotions and how we feel. Nursery identified different emotions and explored and discussed what made them feel certain ways such as happy, sad, excited, angry etc.
Nursery then went onto learn about the country of England where we live. They explored where England was on a map and talked about the different types of weather we have. The children looked at the English flag of St George and then made their own. We looked at different English foods and then cooked our very own sausage and mash and Eton mess using English fruit and ingredients. Nursery also learnt about the English sport of Cricket and how it was being played in Birmingham at Edgbaston Stadium with our captain, Ben Stokes. We had great fun practising our throwing and catching skills with velcro balls and nets.
What a fantastic week we have had Nursery- you can see lots of photos of them enjoying Healthy Living Week below and well done to everyone!
Summer 1
Week 4 and 5 17.5.2023
Forest School Sessions
Nursery have been busy once again in Forest School over the last few weeks. They have been making various animal houses for moles, badgers, foxes, birds and even rats and small mice! they have used the environment around them to make these homes using materials such as leaves, twigs, grass etc.
They have also been practising balancing on the trim trail and have been making and playing in dens. The children even saw fire being made using special tools and dry kindling and had hot chocolate to taste- delicious! We even showed the children how to wash up and they all washed up their own cups afterwards. Fantastic outdoor learning everyone! You can see photos of them enjoying their sessions in Forest School this week below.
Week 3 5.5.2023
Celebrating the Coronation
On Friday 5th May Nursery and all of St Rose had a fantastic day celebrating King Charles III Coronation. The children were asked to make their own crowns made from natural and recylable materials- wow they did not disapoint! Nursery took part in a wonderful parade assembly of their crowns to show them off to the rest of the school and they looked truly wonderful.
We had such a wide variety of beautiful and handmade crowns across the whole school and everyone looked fabulous. The children also all wore red, white and blue to celebrate. We had lovely of activities in class such as making crowns, colouring the british flag and dressing up as kings and queens. The children also made a large banner with their handprints on and added pictures of themselves. This will be used for a time capsule which we are going to bury, to be opened again in the future.
The fun then truly began with all of the children having a picnic on the school playground on picnic blankets and then having a good old dance to some of their favourite songs! Nursery had such fun and loved being with the older children too- what a fantastic day for all the children and you can see some lovely photos of them enjoying the day below. Well done Nursery!
Holding the Chicks
Week 3 4.5.2023
Today Nursery had a very special surprise in their class- the chicks from Reception came to visit! This links in well with Our Understanding The World Growing and Changing topic and helps the children to learn about animals grow. We discussed how chicks begin at eggs, hatch as chicks and then eventually grows into chickens and hens.
The children were so gentle and loving with the chicks and showed how they cared and respected for God's creatures and animals. They so enjoyed holding and stroking them and you can see some fantastic photos of them below- well done Nursery!
Week 1 19.4.2023
Forest School Sessions
Nursery have Forest School again this half term- how exciting for them! They have been so excited to get back out in the great outdoors and we had a wonderful first session.
The children refreshed the rules for Forest School and then used this session to explore and become re-familar with the area. They had puppets which they played with and used to make homes for. We had hedgehog houses squirrel houses, and even homes for birds, moles and badgers!
They also used the magnifying glasses to look for bugs and worms and to examine the outdoor stimuli and creatures more closely. What an amazing first session we have had! You can see photos of them enjoying their sessions in Forest School this week below- well done Nursery!
Spring 2 2023
Science Day
28.3.2023- Week 6
On Tuesday 28th March all of St Rose School had a Science Day. We had a whole school assembly where we learnt about scientific and technological advances through time. The children saw how cavemen making fire led to Romans using heating, which then led to electricity and walking on the moon. This helped our pupils to understand how certain Scientific inventions then helped us to progress to new ones.
Nursery then had a special workshop all about Elijah McCoy, a very important scientist who helped to make the steam engine and our trains work. He is so important in how our trains run and are made today. We acted out a train and learnt about some of the fantastic things he did. You can see a picture of him below as well as pictures of Nursery enjoying their fantastic day filled with Science!
Caterpillars in Nursery- 27.3.2023
Week 5 and 6 Spring 2
Something very exciting is happening in Nursery- we have caterpillars changing into butterflies! Aa part of our Life Cycles and Growing and Changing Topic we have been looking after caterpillars for two weeks and watching them change and develop to get bigger and bigger. Now they have attached to the top of the cups and are changing into chrysalises- WOW! They will now stay like this for a few more days until they emerge as... BUTTERFLIES!
Unfortunately this will probably happen over the Easter Holidays but keep your phones to hand because we will upload a photo to you via text once they have become butterflies. I will continue to feed them over Easter and then will bring them back into class after the holiday for the children to feed, observe and look after for a few days. We will then release them into the wild to be free and live in God's beautiful world.
You can see pictures of our caterpillars journey below, from when they came to us as little caterpillars, as they got bigger and then evolving into their chrysalises. We will continue to show you more photos as they emerge into butterflies- what an amazing life cycle and journey!
Nursery Mothering Day Reflection
Week 4 20.3.2023
On Monday 20th March Nursery held their whole school reflection for Mothering Sunday. It was such a success and everyone in the school was so impressed with now well Nursery sat for the assembly, how well they performed their song and their wonderful videos of their mommies.
We had great fun preparing for the assembly, making daffodil flowers and making a giant Mothering Sunday hand print display. The children loved talking to us about why they love their mommies and bringing in photos of their moms to share with us all. You can see photos of Nursery enjoying their assembly below and there is also a link for you to click below to see all of the videos from our reflection.
Click here to access the Video Sharing Platform and the videos of Nursery in their Reflection.
Snow Day in Nursery
Week 2-9.3.2023
Today we had lots of snow at St Rose! Most of our children were not able to get into school, so for those that came in we had a fun-filled day enjoying the weather! We did lots of activities inside in the warm, but also got out in the snow making snowmen, and gently throwing snowballs.
The children so enjoyed being out in the snow but were grateful to get back in the warm classroom after lunchtime! You can see some wonderful photos below of the children enjoying the weather and making their fantastic snowmen.
St Rose Book Fair
Week 1 2.3.2023
This week, Nursery have been exploring the book fair, here in school. On Thursday 2nd March we went round the book fair and looked at all the fantastic books on offer. The children then discussed the books they like and might want to buy, which we then added to their wish list.
We had a busy afternoon after school on Thursday also with lots of children from EYFS coming to the book fair- thank you to everyone who came to buy books and support us. For every book that you buy we raise money for books for our school and truly help our children to become fantastic, fluent readers, who also read for enjoyment and pleasure. You can see photos of Nursery enjoying browsing the book fair below.
World Book Week
Spring 2 Week 1 27.2.2023
Today all of St Rose School celebrated World Book Day and what a fabulous day we had in Nursery! We all dressed up in our pyjamas and began the day with a pyjamas parade and a whole school assembly. We spoke about what books we like to read, and our favourite places to snuggle up with a story.
Nursery then had a fun filled day in class learning all about the Gingerbread Man. We snuggled up with hot chocolate and biscuits to listen to the story, then made our own gingerbread men and watched the story through the use of VR goggles.
The children also used puppets to act out the story and made different characters form the story using playdough and lego. They even had a lovely reading buddy session with Year 2, where the older children sat and read stories with them for half an hour.
What a fantastic day we had celebrating World Book Day and lots of the wonderful stories that we have and share. Please ensure your child continues to read at home as much as they can, to both help their reading skills and for their own pleasure and enjoyment. You can see pictures of the children enjoying World Book Day below- well done Nursery!
Spring 1 2023
Using VR Goggles- Journeys
Week 7 14.2.2023
Today Nursery did something so exciting- they used our school VR goggles for the first time! We used them to help deepen our understanding of our journeys topic and learn more about different transport, identifying and describing the vehicles we could see. The goggles help us to step into virtual reality and see things up close.
The children used the goggles to look at various transport such as coaches, buses, cars, bicycles and aeroplanes. They then even took a ride on a hot air balloon and a boat, using our goggles- they could tell us exactly what they could see from up high or by the water!
Nursery absolutely loved using the goggles to expand their knowledge of our understanding the world topic and we will certainly be using them again over the next few weeks. Make sure you look at the pictures below of Nursery enjoying their VR time today- I am sure you will enjoy them. Well done Nursery!
Online Safety Week 2023 6.2.2023
This week ( Week 6) marks Online Safety Week here at St Rose. This is an extremely important event in our school calendar were each year we aim to raise awareness of online issues and safety online and while using technology. This week, we will focused on the theme of ' Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations online.' We celebrated by putting children's voices at the heart of this week and encouraging them to talk about the online safety knowledge and support they know and receive and how to use technology responsibly and safely.
To mark this event Nursery listened to an an assembly led by The Lighthouse Group all about staying safe online and top tips on how to be a sensible user of technology. The children also had online safety lessons in class and learnt about how as they are only small, they should only be using technology or online devices when around the presence of an adult.
Nursery also listened to the story of Smartie the Penguin and spoke about when using a device( in front of our adults) if we see something we are unsure or confused about we should tell a grown up straight away, rather than trying to fix the problem ourselves. The children have been fantastic online safety superheroes and enjoyed our story very much. They also learnt a fantastic song to go with it which you can see a video o by clicking on the green link below. If you click on the penguin image which is also below you can go to an online website which had two downloadable PDFS of the story so that you can read it yo your children at home. You can also see pictures below of the children enjoying their story- well done Nursery!
Nursery Library Time
Week 6 8.2.2023
Every Wednesday morning Nursery go to the school library for 30 minutes and enjoy a range of stories. As a class, we really value this time to read and listen to books and stories for pleasure. This week we have read the stories of Immi, Six Dinner Sid, The Queen's Hat. Immi was about an innuit who lives in a very cold land of ice and snow, whereas Six Dinner Sid was about a cat who ate six dinners from his six neighbours every night! The queen lost her hat in the last story, due to the wind, and we saw her chasing her hat all around London.
We are so impressed with how well the children sit for Library Time and it is a part of our curriculum that we so enjoy. This is also a great opportunity for us to talk to the children about what we have read, and ask them questions about what they have seen, heard and understood from the story. You can see photos of the children enjoying their session below and I am sure you will be as amazed as us with how well they sit. Super listening and reading for pleasure Nursery!
Nursery Active 15
Week 6
Every day Nursery take part in their Active 15 to keep fit and healthy through movement and exercise. Our children absolutely love this part of the day and re fantastic at keeping moving and listening to instructions.
We have been doing dance this half term with MR Read in our sessions and have been learning how to march, gallop, twirl like a ballerina and jump. The children have also been learning how to freeze and be animal and even pirates in their dances!
Nursery have been fantastic with their dance moves and listening to instructions. We are so proud of them all and you can see photos of the children enjoying their session below and I am sure you will be as amazed as us with how well they sit. Super exercising Nursery!
Week 3 & 4
Forest School Sessions
Nursery have continued to enjoy Forest School over the last few weeks and take great joy in being outside and respecting God's natural world. The children have been creating mud paintings using paint brushes, mud and water, and have continued to explore and enjoy the general forest school area. Nursery have also had great fun looking for bugs and animal life in our area, being curious to look at different creepy crawlies and talk about them, whilst also knowing we need to respect and look after these creatures.
The children have continued to work in groups making sculptures of different animals and outdoor objects from clay. This links to their Art topic of Sculpture for this half term.
We also had a very fun treat where the children got to drink hot chocolate and eat marshmallows by the fire. The children sat in the fire circle and learnt about the importance and dangers of fire, knowing that it can heat things for us, but can also harm us if we get too close! You can see photos of them enjoying their sessions in Forest School below- well done Nursery!
Dough Disco
Week 4- Learning New Moves
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In Dough Disco this week we have been learning new moves to the song ' Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.' The children have been using their fingers to create different moves such as making a ball, rolling the dough and shaping it to make a star. Nursery have also been learning how to pinch the dough, which is fantastic for their fine motor skills, and helps their fingers to get stronger and more ready for writing.
You can see photos of the children enjoying their dough disco below and I have also uploaded the video that we have been practising. If your child has any playdough at home, they can perform this song at home with their dough. Just scroll down to see the online video and click on the link to get practising!
Show and Tell- Week 3
The Past- 20.1.2023
This week, the children have bought in some fantastic photos for Show and Tell. We have had photos from of children's parents the past and were amazed at the resemblances we saw! Children also bought in photos of themselves in the past from their favourite places which was amazing to see and one child bought in superb animal split puppet she hade made. You can see pictures below of our children enjoying showing their show and tell objects- we had a great session this week and well done everyone!
Week 1 and 2
New Forest School Sessions
Nursery have started Forest School again and have been having a great time outdoors over the last two weeks. They have taken part in a range of activities including finding natural collections of different materials ( leaves, rocks, grass etc), litter picking to help our environment, bug hunting and exploring the general forest school area.
The children have also used clay to make sculptures of different animals and outdoor objects. This links to their Art topic of Sculpture for this half term. Nursery so enjoy Forest School and getting stuck into all the wonderful adventures we do. You can see photos of them enjoying their sessions in Forest School below.
Autumn 2 2022
Nursery Trip -The Community
Week 6 6.12.2022
Today was such an exciting day for Nursery-they has their first trip experience of the year! The childeren had a workshop in the parish hall with Little Dots Play Village, where our theme was all about community workers and people who help us. This links in to what we have been learning about in our 'All About Me' Understanding the World topic.
The workshop had different stations set up to reflect our city community such as vets, supermarkets, bakers, police stations, hairdressers, schools, florists and post offices. These were full of a range of amazing resources which the children could play with and use in their roleplay. We were so amazed by how well the children played with toys and they were brilliant sharers- our visits who worked with us said how well behaved they were and couldn't believe they were only Nursery children!
You can see pictures of Nursery enjoying their experience below and well done to all of you! Please ask your child about their fun community workshop at home- I am sure they would love to tell you!
E Safety Workshop Performance
Week 6 1.12.2022
On Thursday 1st November 2022 Nursery went to the hall to watch a special performance by Year Six. Year Six had a whole day workshop all about Online Safety and used this to make a performance to show the rest of the school.
The performance included acting from the children and lots of tips about how to stay safe online such as not meeting up or chatting to people we don't know, keeping our personal information safe and stopping cyberbullying by reporting it and blocking the person involved.
Year Six did so well and it was fantastic for Nursery to learn some tips on how to stay safe online. They love looking at technology in their classrooms and pretending to use iphones, computers, laptops and ipads- all the things they know we all like to use, as adults, in our lives! We reminded Nursery that as they are very little, they should only ever be using technology when their parents or a trusted adult is with them and never on their own. You can see pictures of Year Six's super performance on Online Safety below.
Nursery Progress Assessments
Week 5 and 6 28.11- 5.12.2022
For the last two weeks, Nursery have been completing termly assessments 1: 1 with Mrs Deocades and myself. This included small Literacy and Math tasks, which are related to the 3-4 Development Matters 2020 Statements.
Even though we are still in Autumn and early on in the year we have been astounded by the progress Nursery are making already! They have done so well with their assessments and have all tried so hard- they can tell us about stories we have been learning about in class, draw a picture of themselves, count to 3and recognise some numbers!
This is super progress already from where they started and we are so proud of them all. Well done to everyone in Nursery and you truly deserve your Christmas break, which is coming very soon! Thank you for working so hard and for wowing us with your knowledge- you are all superstars!
Nursery Show and Tell
Week 4 25.11.2022
On Friday Nursery enjoyed another Show and Tell where lots of children bought in homework to show. The focus was all about our families and we listened to lots of children showing us pictures of their families and talking about them.
We so enjoyed looking at the different families in Nursery and talking about them to the class was fantastic for the children's communication skills. Well done for another super show and tell Nursery and enjoy the photos of our children showing their pictures below.
School Retreat Day
Week 4 24.11.2022
Today Nursery has a fantastic day where they took part in a Whole School Retreat Day with Dan and Emily. The theme of our day was 'Let all Creation Sing' and the children learned about the story of Creation and all that God made.
In EYFS, our focus was animals and we spent the day learnt about the different animals that God made. We played games with Dan and Emily and sang different songs and prayers with them in assemblies throughout the day. Nursery also did activities in class such as colouring in their own booklets about animals from Creation and discussing their favourite animal.
The children had such a fantastic day and listened so beautifully to all that Dan and Emily told them about Creation. It was a lot of sitting down for the littles one and they did amazingly and were so reflect. You can see pictures of Nursery enjoying their retreat day below.
Dough Disco
Week 3 16.11.2022
Today Nursery started their first ever dough disco session with Shonette, where we followed a video to get our fingers moving. Each child has their own tub of playdough in class, which we move, mould and sculpt using our fingers. Using Dough Disco is a great way to strengthen our fingers and fine motor skills, getting our hands and fingers ready for Writing. The children absolutely loved it and we were so proud of every one of them! Well be doing Dough Disco every day from now on- maybe the children could show you some moves at home?! You can see pictures of Nursery enjoying Dough Disco below.
PE and Physical Development
Week 3 14.11.2022
This Half Term Nursery have started doing weekly PE lessons to aid their physical development. Our first unit is all about body management, where we have been balancing using beanbags and moving our body through hoops.
The children learnt to balance beanbags on their heads, arms and hands and were so focused and concentrating. We spoke about how we need to keep eyes straight ahead, our heads still and not move too quickly.
They then moved onto moving through hoops, both on their own and with a partner. Nursery were amazing at moving in different ways- they could crawl through hoops, move through a hope forward backwards and sidewards and even step through hoops of the ground!
You can see some pictures of Nursery enjoying their fantastic PE lessons below and developing their co-ordination skills.
Remembrance Day Assembly
Week 2 11.11.2022
Today, the whole school took part in a Remembrance Day assembly, lead by Year 5, to remember those soldiers who have both fought for our country, and those who are still fighting for our freedom and safety.
Nursery listened very intently to the assembly and then took part in a 2 minute silence as a mark of remembrance and respect. We also discussed what Remembrance Day was in class and showed the children an age appropriate video of the devastating effects of War. We were so impressed with how reverent and reflective the children were and we could truly see their kindness and compassion. You can see some pictures of Nursery listening to the assembly below and the Year 5 presenting.
Enjoying our Library Time
Week 2 9.11.2022
Every Wednesday, the Nursery children go and enjoy 30 minutes in the school library with Mrs Deocades and myself. This is an opportunity for both of us to read books to the children, and for them to hear a wide range of stories and discuss new words and vocabulary. Nursery so love going to the library, sitting on the comfy beanbags and listening to these lovely stories- they also enjoy predicting what will happen next and thinking about how characters might be feeling.
We will continue to do this every week for the whole year as it is such a calm and relaxing time for the children. There are also sessions every half term where the Library is open after school for you to come and enjoy with your child. You can read a book with them and even take books home! Keep your eyes peeled on the app for when the library is open after school this half term. Please also ensure you read your child's reading book with them every night, where possible. You can see some pictures of Nursery enjoying their library session below and listening so intently to the stories- well done everyone!
Switch Off Technology Day
Week 1 3.11.2022
Today all of St Rose took part in a ' No Technology Day' where no computers or devices were allowed. All lessons had to be taught with no computers and in the dark, as we turned the lights of too to save energy!
Nursery has a great day and took part in a range of outdoor and creative activities such as making bear caves, using balance equipment, reading books outside and cutting and sticking. It was so nice to know we are looking after God's Earth and trying to help the environment by reducing the amount of energy we use. The World is so precious and it is so important that we all do our bit to help wherever we can, no matter how small our actions may seem. You can see pictures of Nursery enjoying their ' No Technology Day' below.
Autumn 1 2022
Autumn 1- Week 7
20.10.2022- Forest School
Nursery had their final session of Forest School for this half term today and what a wonderful experience it was! The children had a real treat- they got to see real fire being made to warm up their cups of hot chocolate!
The children were taught about the dangers of fire and keeping safe when being around it. Miss Lay showed them how to make fire and how to heat up the kettle on the stove. We then enjoyed a warm mug of hot chocolate and some biscuits. The children were then shown how to wash up their cups using soapy water and rinsing/ drying up. The children were superb at washing up- this was very impressive! We were also amazed with how sensible and how responsible Nursery were around the fire.
They then finished the session with having a play and explore around Forest School. A fantastic final session Nursery and we hope you have enjoyed your Forest School sessions this Half Term. We will come to Forest School again in the Spring Term. Please see photos of them enjoying their session in Forest School this week below.