Nursery

Nursery Staff: 

Mrs Dowling, Mrs Houldsworth, Miss Peate, Mrs Cullen and Miss Stevenson.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to speak to a member or our team!

In Nursery, we offer a broad and balanced curriculum to prepare our children for a life in modern Britain. If you would like to view the curriculum map for the whole year, or for previous half term topics, please click on the link below:

WELCOME TO NURSERY!

The Nursery staff want to start by saying a big well done to all the children who have started in our Nursery over the past few weeks! All the children have settled in so well and are quickly learning the rules and routines of our school!

Curiosity Cat

Curiosity is our Nursery cat. Every day we look in Curiosity's basket to see what special item she has for us. The item she brings introduces the topic for the day and gives us lots to talk about!

Say Hello to Curiosity...

Spring 1 - Week 5

Goldilocks the the Three Bears

Reading

This week, we read the story of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. After listening to the story, the children enjoyed acting it out with their friends using the story props. They retold the story using the familiar phrases such as “who’s been eating my porridge!” The children also thought about how the different characters were feeling in the story and used expression when pretending to be Goldilocks and the bears.

Food Tasting

After reading the story of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears,' we decided to make Baby Bear some more porridge. The children mixed oats and milk together to make the porridge and then they chose which topping they would like, honey or jam. All the children had a taste of the porridge, it was delicious!

We then explored the porridge oats in the investigation area and enjoyed making marks and copying writing patterns. We even had a go at forming some letters!

Art and DT

We have created some lovely art work this week!

The children have painted pictures of the three bears and made bear hats. They have also practised their cutting skills by cutting out pictures of the story characters and sticking them onto paper.

Maths - Size

This week in maths, we explored ‘size’. The children sorted the objects into ‘large’, ‘medium’ and ‘small’ and practised using this language of size to describe the objects and also the characters from this week's story.

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
• Old Bear
• Postman Bear

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• Them Bears
• When Goldilocks went to the House of the Bears
• Tiny Turtle
• 5 Marching Ants
• A range of nursery rhymes

Spring 1 - Week 4

Music and Musicians

 This week we have been learning all about music, we have loved using and learning about instruments, making our own instruments and even listening to a real musician! What an amazing week in Nursery!

Here are the children exploring the percussion instuments we have in Nursery.

Art and DT

 The children used junk modelling resources to make their own instruments. They chose whether to make a string instrument or a percussion instument - a shaker and those chose the resources they need! They then decorated their instruments and loved playing them. 

The children also painted their own guitars like Miguel's from the film Coco!

Role Play

 The children love playing in our home corner, this week they enjoyed making a picnic and pretending to eat their lunch sat on the blanket with their friends!

Special Visitor

The highlight of our week was when Miss Thompson came down from big school with her guitar! The children loved listening to her play and singing along! Thank you Miss Thompson!

Spring 1 - Week 3

Splash of Colour

 This week we have continued the theme from last week about art and have explored colour in more depth!

We have explored what happens when we add white and black to colours and have learnt some key vocabulary such as shades, lighter and darker. 

Art

 In Art we have used colour to create some lovely work. We have explored colour mixing using our hands and we also used other techniques such as marble rolling and watercolours. 

Personal Skills

 As part of using our hands to paint... we had to learn how to wash our hands properly and independently. The children can get soap, wash their hands and dry them independently, well done guys!

Science

While exploring colour mixing, we have encouraged the children to practise many scientific skills such as making predictions, explaining methods and discussing results. The children enjoyed using pipettes to squirt coloured water onto the cotton balls to see what colour it could make. 

PE

This week in PE the children loved singing and playing ring games! Next week we are going to practise taking our socks and shoes off, so please can you also practise this at home. The children need to be able to do this independently. 

Spring 1 - Week 2

Snow Day!

On Tuesday we woke up to snow and we had such a fun day at Nursery, exploring and playing in the snow!

Art and DT

 This week our topic has been 'Art and Artists'. We have loved looking at a range of art work and some famour artists, especially Van Gogh. The children have used a range of media to create art work this week and they even had a go at recreating Van Gogh's sunflowers. Great work everybody!

Maths

 We have been looking at capacity this week in Maths. We explored this concept using water in the tray and worked together to fill the tubes. We had to use good hand eye coordination to use the pipettes to squirt the water into the tiny tubes. We then used vocabulary such as empty, full and half full.

Construction (DT)

The children used their design skills this week to build veichles out of mobilo. They had to attach the peices together and add wheels. The children then used the bricks to build a garage, a bumpy road and a prison for their veichles. I was so impressed with their design skills!

Role Play

We love role play in Nursery! It is a really good way of developing our vocabulary and language skills. Here are some children enjoying our home corner. 

Spring 1 - Week 1

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to everyone, it has been lovely to all be back in school this week! 

This week our theme was 'Winter'. We have been learning all about Winter and Snowy Animals. We have had so much fun looking at the artic animals and learning how to stay warm in Winter. 

Science - Ice Cube Experiment

As part of this week’s theme, we enjoyed exploring ice! First, we talked about how we made the ice and then we watched it carefully as it melted. We talked about what was making it melt and what it looked like before and after. We also had a think of other things that could melt in the same way such as ice cream, chocolate and snow.

Art and DT

We enjoyed doing lots of Winter art and crafts this week! On the painting table, we painted pictures using Winter colours such as blue and purple. We also enjoyed printing snowflakes. On the collage table, we made snowflakes using cotton buds. After talking about what items of clothing we wear in the Winter, we had a go at collaging a scarf using different coloured paper. We also practised our cutting skills by cutting old Christmas cards!

Writing Activities

After reading the story, ‘Say Hello to the Snowy Animals’, the children had a go at drawing some of the artic animals from the book and forming the initial letters. We were so impressed with their work!

The children also practised their mark making skills independently by copying the writing patterns in the sand and also on the whiteboards.

The children are continuing to build their finger muscles in the finger gym to get their hands ready for writing. This week, they practised their threading skills by threading the small beads onto the pipe cleaner snowflakes.  

Maths - Pattern

In Maths this week, the children have been practising the skill of creating a two-colour repeating pattern. Firstly, the children had to continue the pattern on the scarves using the multilink cubes, before having a go at creating their own repeating pattern. The children are getting much better at this skill! :) 

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• Kipper’s Snowy Day
• Say Hello to the Snowy Animals
• One Snowy Day
• Snow

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• 5 Little Snowmen  
• I’m a Little Snowman
• Do You Want to Build a Snowman
• 1 Elephant Came Out to Play
• A range of nursery rhymes

Autumn 2 - Week 8

This week our theme was 'Christmas'. 

RE – The Nativity Story

This week, we have been celebrating and learning all about Christmas! We talked again about how Christmas is a Christian celebration that celebrates the birth of Baby Jesus. We read the Nativity story and enjoyed acting out the story with the characters.

Christmas Jumper Day

Today it was Christmas Jumper Day! Take a look at all of our fabulous Christmas jumpers.

Christmas Party!

Today it was Christmas Party Day! We all came to nursery wearing our party clothes and we had such a fun day. We played party games including pass the parcel and musical statues, we had a dancing competition and we enjoyed some delicious party food. We all had so much fun.

Christmas Activities

The children have enjoyed doing lots of fun Christmas activities this week! Take a look at the pictures below.

Maths - Length

 The children created Christmas trees using strips of paper. The children had to order the strips of paper from the longest to the shortest to create their tree. They then practised using this language of size in the maths area when playing with the measuring worms. 

Here is some of the key vocabulary that you can reinforce with your child at home: 

long, short, longer, shorter, longest, shortest, big small.

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• The Nativity Story
• Santa Claus comes to Manchester
• The Best Christmas Ever! 
• Mog's Christmas

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• 5 Little Elves
• 5 Little Snowmen 
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• It Was on a Starry Night
• Rat-a-Tat-Tat
• Jingle Bells
• Away in a Manger

Autumn 2 - Week 7

This week our theme was 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas'. 

On Monday, we noticed that our nursery Christmas tree had been put outside in the rain! It was… The Grinch! We spent all week trying to cheer The Grinch up and make him like Christmas again! We wrote him Christmas cards, painted pictures for him and sang him lots of Christmas songs. By the end of the week, the Grinch was so happy and said he loved Christmas again! He even brought our Christmas tree back for us. 

EYFS NATIVITY!

The nursery children made us so proud this week after their performance in our EYFS Nativity show. You were all amazing, well done!

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
• Is It Christmas Yet?
• The Gruffalo's Child

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• 5 Little Elves
• 5 Little Snowmen 
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• It Was on a Starry Night
• Rat-a-Tat-Tat
• Jingle Bells
• Away in a Manger

Autumn 2 - Week 6

 This week our theme was 'The Little Red Hen'. 

Reading - The Little Red Hen

This week, we read the story ‘The Little Red Hen’. This story is about a hen who asks her friends to help her make some bread. However, her friends are unkind and chose not to help, so the Little Red Hen has to do all of the work herself! We talked about why it is important to be helpful to our friends and the different ways we can do this at nursery. The children loved listening to this story and joining in with all of the repeated phrases!

After reading the story, we also pretended to make our own bread! We poured the ingredients into a bowl, stirred the mixture and then we 'baked' the bread. We enjoyed tasting some bread with different toppings including butter and jam. It was delicious! 

Reading

 The children have enjoyed some independent reading this week. We are encouraging the children to enjoy looking at a range of different books independently, practise turning the pages and pay attention to the words and pictures.  

The children have also enjoyed playing 'teacher's' in this area. They love pretending to be the nursery teachers and read stories to their 'class'. They sing the 'Story Time' song and remind the children to sit smartly on the carpet.

The children have had a fantastic week at nursery!

Take a look at all of the fun we have had... 

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• The Little Red Hen
• Hooray for Bread

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• It Was on a Starry Night
• Rat-a-Tat-Tat
• Jingle Bells
• Away in a Manger

Autumn 2 - Week 5

This week our theme was ‘Yum, Yum Nutrition’.

Reading - Handa’s Surprise

We enjoyed listening to the story, ‘Handa’s Surprise’. We used the props and puppets to act out the story. We then had a go at re-telling the story in the reading area with our friends. We had so much fun playing the different characters from the book!

Fruit Tasting

After reading the story, ‘Handa’s Surprise’, Curiosity brought the children some of the fruit from Handa’s basket to try! She brought pineapple, bananas, oranges and mango. The children really enjoyed tasting these different fruits. They used words like ‘juicy’, ‘sour’ and ‘delicious’ to describe their taste.

The children also enjoyed exploring these different fruits in the investigation area.

PSHE - Healthy / Unhealthy

As part of this week’s theme, we read the story ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. We looked at all the different foods the caterpillar ate and talked about which ones were ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’. We then played a sorting game with our friends and fed the healthy foods to the Hungry Caterpillar! It was so much fun.

Finger Gym - Bear Rescue!

The children have been practising their fine motor control this week in the Finger Gym. For today’s activity, ‘Bear Rescue’ the children had to use the spoons to carefully scoop the bears out of the water and put them into the correct colour pot.

Maths – 5 Little Men

In Maths this week, we enjoyed singing the song ‘5 Little Men in a Flying Saucer’. This song helped us to find 1 less than a number using the multilink cubes. Each time ‘one man flew away,’ we took one multilink cube away and counted how many were left. Click on the link below to practise this at home.

5 Little Men in a Flying Saucer | Songs You Need to sing in the Classroom | Twinkl - YouTube

RE - Christmas

On Friday 1st December, we decorated the nursery Christmas tree! Each child chose a bauble and put it onto the tree. We talked about how Christmas is a Christian celebration which celebrates the birth of Baby Jesus. 

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• Handa’s Surprise
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Going Shopping
• Oliver’s Fruit Salad
• Oliver’s Vegetables
• A Balanced Diet

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• 5 Little Men in a Flying Saucer
• Little Miss Muffet
• Humpty Dumpty
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• It Was on a Starry Night
• Rat-a-Tat-Tat
• Jingle Bells
• Away in a Manger

Autumn 2 - Week 4

This week our theme was 'Body Talk'. We looked at our body parts and learnt all about what our bodies can do. We also talked about how we can take care of our bodies. 

Art and DT

We enjoyed painting with our different body parts this week. We painted our hands to make handprints and we also painted our feet to make footprints. The paint felt cold and tickly on our feet – we had so much fun!

We also enjoyed learning about our bones this week. We looked at pictures of a skeleton and had a go at making our own skeletons using straws and black paper. We had a go at painting skeletons too! 

PE 

 As part of our theme this week, we talked about why it important to be active and to exercise to keep our bodies healthy. We enjoyed dancing to some of our favourite songs. We noticed that after we exercised, our hearts were beating faster and our breathing was quicker! We also talked about how we can help our bodies to feel calm and relaxed and why this is important to help us learn. We enjoyed doing some yoga and breathing activities. 

Science

We enjoyed learning about our teeth this week! We talked about how drinking milk is important to keep our teeth healthy and strong. We also talked about why it is important to brush your teeth twice every day to keep them clean. We loved using the toothbrushes and toothpaste to clean the dirty teeth in our investigation area. It was so much fun!

Maths

In maths this week we have been focusing on shape. The children have been learning the names of 2D shapes and talking about what they look like. Here are some pictures of the children sorting some 2D shapes during a focused activity. 

Writing

For this activity, we used the mirrors to look carefully at our faces. We then drew our features onto the paper. We talked about how we are the same and different to our friends. We enjoyed using different writing materials such as pencil crayons for this activity.

Phonics

Every morning, Curiosity has a new letter in her basket! We talk about what the letter looks like and what sound it makes. We also learn a rhyme for each letter which helps us to form it correctly. Here are some photos of the children practising their letter formation in the sand...

(Although we haven’t started our phonics sessions yet, we practise phonemic awareness daily. We encourage children to think about the sounds that words begin with, including their name. This is something that you could practise with your child at home).

 Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• All About Me
• My Body
• Doctor
• ‘Dem Bones’

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
• Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
• ‘Dem  Bones’

Autumn 2 - Week 3

Diwali

 Everyone in Nursery had so much fun celebrating Diwali this week! We learnt all about this special festival and sang a lovely Diwali song. We dyed some rice in the morning and then had lots of fun in the afternoon, creating beautiful rangoli patterns with the colourful rice. We also designed some Mendi and other rangoli patterns using paint, collage and colouring pens. The children also enjoyed playing with the colourful sand and making lots of patterns.

Maths

In maths this week we have been focussing on pattern. The children have been learning how to create a two colour repeating pattern. Here are some of the children practising this skill!

INTERFAITH WEEK

 For Interfaith week we have been looking at Christianity and the role light plays in this faith. We talked about how the light represents Jesus and hope. The children really enjoyed learning this hymn and performing it!

Anti-Bullying Week

The Nursery children have enjoyed celebrating ‘Anti-Bullying Week’ this week. We talked about what makes a good friend and why it is important to share, take turns and be kind to others. Here are some pictures of the Nursery children being great friends!

Odd Socks Day

As part of anti-bullying week, the children came to school wearing odd socks for ‘Odd Socks Day!’ This is to celebrate what makes us all different and unique. We had so much fun looking at each other’s socks! Have a look at some of the other fun activities we did.

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• Diwali
• Lost and Found
• Giraffes Can’t Dance
• Simon Sock

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• It’s Diwali
• This Little Light of Mine

Autumn 2 - Week 2

Science

Our topic this week has been Autumn, so we have learnt all out the season of Autumn and discussed what happens during this time. We went on a lovely Autumn walk around the school grounds to look for signs of Autumn and to collect things. We found fallen leaves of all different Autumn colours, sycamore seeds and apples! All the things we collected we put in a tuff tray to investigate! 

We also made pictures with the dried up leaves we collected. 

PE

We had so much fun this week in PE! We went over to the main school and used the parachute altogether. We had to listen carefully to instructions and work together as a team to keep the balloons on top of the parachute. We also had to understand the vocabulary 'up' and 'down' to make sure we were going the same way as our friends. We can't wait to play this again next week!

Soon we will be practising taking our shoes and socks off for PE, so if you could get your child to practise doing this at home independently it would be really helpful!

Art and DT

At the beginning of the week we learnt all about bonfire night. The children talked about what they had seen over the weekend and we watched some videos of fireworks. The children then created some excellent art work. They used cardboard tubes that were cut at the edges to make firework prints and then sprinkled them with glitter. 

They also used art straws and cellophane to make sparklers. 

The children in nursery are very creative and I am so impressed with their work!

Maths

 In maths this week we have been singing a range of number songs. We have used props to sing songs like '5 little speckled frogs' and '5 little ducks'. The children really enjoy number songs and it is good way for them to learn number order and concepts like subtraction and addition. 

Remembrance Day

 Today we have spent the day learning about Remembrance day and why we wear poppies. The children have learnt about the history of Remembrance Day and created some art work liked to poppies to display in the Nursery. 

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• Mole's Harvest Feast
• Squirrells Autumn Search
• Brown Bear
• Autumn
• Leaves
• Seasons
• Pumpkin Soup

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• Autumn Leaves are Falling Down
• 5 Little Speckled Frogs
• 5 Little Ducks
• 10 in the Bed

Autumn 2 - Week 1

 This week our topic is 'Apples and Pumpkins'. We have been learning all about harvest and how pumpkins and apples are picked.

Science

We had so much fun exploring pumpkins and investigating the pulp and seeds!

Science

We then had lots of fun learning about planting and growing fruits and vegetables. We enjoyed pretending to plant the pumpkin seeds and discussing how to look after them to help them grow. 

Writing

Although this doesn't look like writing practise this weej we have been working on strengthening our fine motor skills! We have been using tools to screw and unscrew bolts and this will help improve our pencil control!

Art

For our art work this week we have used the fruit we had cut up to explore printing with a range of Autumn colours! The art work looked amazing!

Mathematics

This week in Maths we have been practising our counting skills by playing a number game! The children had to roll the dice and then try to find the matching number on the mat. We then all practised counting to that number.

Playing games is a great way to practise maths with your child as it is fun and also teaches your child turn taking skills.

Music

This week in music we have been playing ring games. The children love playing ring games and really enjoy getting a turn to come into the middle. This week we have sang 'Sandy girl', 'The Farmers in his Den' and 'Ring a Ring a Roses'. 

Week 7

 This week our topic was 'Fun with Families'. We spent lots of time talking about how our families are all different and why our families are special to us. We talked about who live with and who our relatives are. 

Music

In music we played a really fun listening game! We looked at some instruments and learnt their names - tambourine, maracas, drum, symbols, bells and rainmaker. Mrs Dowling then hid the instruments under a cloth and we had to use our listening skills to guess which instrument it was. We had so much fun!

Mathematics

This week in maths we have been learning the vocabulary of capacity. We have been focussing on full, empty and half full. We then practised using this vocabulary when in the sand pit with our friends!

Week 6

 Our topic this week has been 'Fun with Friends'. We have been learning all about how to be a good friend, sharing and being kind. The children have completed lots of team work and partner work to encourage turn taking and sharing experiences with their peers. It has been a lovely week!

Art

 This week we have created lots of Art work in pairs to encourage working together. The children made marble rolling paintings in pairs, finger paintings in pairs and they also worked together to colour in a huge picture! Fabulous art work everybody!

PSHE

 This week Curiosity brought us some special cards to give to our friends when they are kind to us. The children really enjoyed giving their friends a card from Curiosity's basket when they had shared with them, helped them or been kind to them. It has been lovely to see the children working together and enjoying their new friendships.

Science Investigation

 This week we have been investigating what happens when we mix two primary colours together. We painted one hand one colour and the other a different colour, then we rubbed them together to see the result. It was so much fun and we learn that red + blue = purple, red + yellow = orange and blue + yellow = green! 

Lunchtimes

 For our lunch we go over to the dinner hall at main school. We have been teaching the children good table manners such as sitting at the table until they are finished, saying please and thank you and using a knife and fork. We have even been practising this in our continuous provision this week, especially using a knife. This would be something really great to practise at home as being independent at meal times and having good table manners is very important. 

Writing 

We have begun practising writing our names in Nursery. We are teaching the children how to hold their pens properly, how to use their pens with good control and to begin to form some letter shapes. 

Any drawing, writing or colouring activities at home are a great way to help your child with their pencil control. 

Music

 We had our first music lesson this week. Mrs Dowling taught us the names of a range of instruments and we had a go at playing them and listening to the different sounds they make. We also learnt about using a red card for stop and a green card for play during music lessons. You can see from our faces how much fun we had!

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• The Rainbow Fish
• Rosie's Walk
• Little Red Hen
• Elmer
• Giraffe's Can't Dance

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• The Hello song
• Baa baa black sheep

Week 5

 Our topic this week has been 'How do you feel?'. The children have loved reading the story 'The Colour Monster' and discussing all different emotions! 

We have had so many fun activities out this week in our Nursery and have been super busy!

PSHE

 As we have been learning about the 'Colour Monster' this week, we have loved talking about all the different emotions he feels. We used the teddies to explore different emotions and had lots of fun role playing different situations!

Art and DT

The children have loved making emotion jars this week with a range of collage materials, they look fabulous!

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• The Colour Monster
• I am the happiest
• Silly Billy
• The Deep Dark Wood
• My Feelings

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• If you're happy and you know it...
• Rain, rain go away

Week 4

This week we have been learning all about our senses! We have had so much fun using our senses to explore different textures, sounds, colours, tastes and scents. 

We have also been continuing to practise the rules and routines of the setting and getting used to school life!

Science

 In science this week we have learnt all about our senses and lots of key vovabulary to describe different textures, smells, tastes and sounds. Every day Curiosity Cat has brought us something to explore in her basket and each day we have had to use a different sense to do so. On Monday she brought us a feely bag with different textures, on Tuesday some different herbs and spices to smell, on Wednesday we played I spy using our sight, on Thursday we played 'Old Macdonald' listening to animal sounds and on Friday we tasted some fruits!

What a fun week!

Art and DT

 In Art this week the children explored textured paints as we are learning about senses. We have also been painting beautiful self-portraits! In Design Technology this week we have been exploring many different textures to make textured collages. 

Stories and Songs

Some books we have enjoyed this week are...

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear
• Anna's Amazing Glasses
• I spy
• Our Senses

Some songs we have enjoyed this week are...

• Music Man
• Old Macdonald
• The Wheels on the Bus

Weeks 1 and 2

During the first few weeks we have focussed on teaching the children about all the different areas of learning in our Nursery. The staff have been teaching the children the rules of our nursery such as, wearing an apron to paint and where to put their pictures to dry, tidying up and looking after our toys and how to sit smartly on the carpet during learning time.

We especially enjoyed playing with lots of different sized boxes outside in the sunshine. The children made rockets, trains and we even painted the boxes to decorate them. Here are some of our children having fun exploring our Nursery...

Week 3

This week the children have been learning all about themselves in our topic 'Marvellous Me'!

We have been using mirrors to look closely at ourselves and describe the way we look and how we are different to our friends. The children have made self portraits using a range of media such as pencils, paints and collage materials.