As we continue our exciting learning journey in Nursery, the children have once again amazed us with their enthusiasm, creativity and growing confidence. This week has built beautifully on recent learning, with lots of opportunities for the children to explore new ideas, share their thoughts and take pride in what they can do. It has been a pleasure to see them so engaged across all areas of the provision.
In our role play area, the children worked very hard to transform our dinosaur cave into an animal jungle. Together, they thought carefully about the animals we might find living there and shared some fantastic ideas. The children were full of enthusiasm as they made paper chain snakes and vibrant multi coloured parrots to decorate the space. Their creations have helped bring the jungle to life, and the children are thoroughly enjoying exploring the area through imaginative play.
Our animal theme continued in Literacy, where we shared a wide range of stories about animals and their adventures. The children listened attentively and enjoyed talking about how the characters might have felt at different points in the stories. They also thought about how they would like the stories to end, which encouraged thoughtful discussion and creative thinking.
To give the children more time to revisit and explore the stories, we introduced story baskets for each one. These baskets included toys and props linked to the characters and events. The children have loved retelling the stories during their play, and some even created their own alternative endings. This clearly shows how well they have been listening and how confident they are becoming when sharing their ideas.
We also had a very special visit from the Year 2 children this week, who came to Nursery to share the stories they have been writing in class. The Nursery children listened attentively and showed what a wonderful audience they can be. It was lovely to see the older and younger children learning together, and the visit helped to inspire even more excitement about stories and storytelling.
In maths, we have been playing lots of games using dice. The children are now becoming confident at recognising dice patterns and are beginning to subitise numbers to three. This means they can say how many objects they can see without counting them one by one, which is an important early maths skill.
The children have also worked very hard during phonics sessions. This week, they learned to recognise the letter “t” and practised how to write it using our letter formation rhyme: Down her body and cross her shoulders. The children showed great focus and effort as they practised both recognising and forming the letter. Here is a short video showing the pure sounds we use to support phonics learning. https://youtu.be/nBFnAcXHOUQ
How you can help at home:
Create a small jungle scene using toys, drawings or household items. Talk with your child about the animals that might live there, what they eat and where they sleep. This supports language development, imagination and understanding of the world.
Share a familiar story together and ask your child to retell it using toys or objects as props. Encourage them to change the ending or add a new character. This helps develop listening skills, memory and confidence in speaking.
Roll a dice and ask your child how many spots they can see without counting. Then count together to check. This supports number recognition and early subitising skills in a fun and relaxed way.
We have loved seeing the children’s excitement and curiosity grow as the week has unfolded, and it has been wonderful to watch them take ownership of their learning through play, discussion and creativity.
Have a lovely weekend,
The Nursery team xxx