Welcome to Saplings Class
In Sapling’s Class we have welcomed eight new children into nursery in the Spring Term. Superheroes is the topic for Spring, the children are enjoying the different opportunities of learning and there is a lot of emphasis to support the children to develop their speech and language, gross and fine motor skills, self-confidence and social skills.
Our Staff
Mrs Tatterton Teacher
Mrs Southern Nursery Nurse
Mrs Morgan Support Assistant
Newsletter
As part of the Superheroes topic, we are looking at professions in our community that provide us with people who are like our superheroes. We have been very fortunate in that we have had a number of visitors that have come into school. A Paramedic came in and talked about his role, the children tried on uniform, they were bandaged and they were able to go into the ambulance. A Play Therapist came in and spoke about her role as she looks after children who have to stay in hospital for treatment, the children tried on her different themed uniforms and we all agreed that she would make children feel safe. The Traffic Police came with three vehicles, the children enjoyed sitting in the cars and sounding the sirens, we enjoyed running across the playground as we were tracked by the speed guns. The children have thoroughly enjoyed these visits into school.
In the first half-term the children have looked at the art work of Wassily Kandinsky, we used Google Earth and a globe to find Russia and we learnt that his art was focussed on colours and shapes; in maths we discussed shapes and their properties. As part of our morning routine, to support the children’s fine motor skills we drew shapes on big sheets. There was a Light Box that the children could use to put on different shaped tissue paper to create their own design and the children were encouraged to mix colours on pallets and draw different shapes.
In maths we focused on shapes that connected to the Kandinsky topic. We also had snowmen with different shape bodies and heads the children were asked to match the shapes and also choose different ones. The children were asked to name the shapes and describe them, as straight or curved and count how many corners and sides the shapes had. We have also covered the numbers 1 to 5 and the children were asked to match the same number of objects. We used the Superhero topic, as numbered monsters had to be defeated by the same number of superheroes.
We have looked the season Winter this term, the children went on a hunt in the forestry area, they had a check list and looked for the signs of Winter. In the outdoor provision, the children were able to explore the ice as water had frozen in the tuft tray with our utensils in them. There were also blocks of ice with plants and toys in that the children could investigate. The children enjoyed seeing the ice melt and chipping at the ice to free the objects. We discussed that the weather was so cold, it had frozen the water. We read the Winters Day book, this told us the story of a hedgehog that had been blown out of his nest in Winter. We re-read the story a few times, concentrating on putting actions to the verbs and talking about how the hedgehog would have felt. We used an electric fan, and saw children’s long hair blow up into the air. We used the polystyrene balls and the pretend snow and we watched them blow across the room. The children enjoyed their hands-on investigations. The children made Wind Wands for windy days.
In the topic we have looked at Winter and ice and discussed when the temperature is very cold, things freeze. We made an orange flavoured ice-cream with the children on the Thursday and we ate it on Friday for snack. The children really enjoyed seeing the ingredients whisked together, they suggested that it had go into the freezer. The snack table was very popular on the Friday!
In RE we have looked at the story of Hanukkah and why it is celebrated by the Jewish people. The children learnt the story and they acted it out and they looked at the different traditions that are celebrated today, including eating donuts, playing with dreidels, giving gifts and lighting eight candles on a candle stick. At snack time we ate donuts together.
This week we have been looking at babies, we read the Peepo book and talked about that the baby was not able to walk or crawl. The children were asked if they could remember being a baby. We discussed what a baby was able to do, the equipment that was needed and how much help that a baby needed. The children enjoyed looking after the dolls and showed great understanding of the babies’ needs. Throughout the week, we watched film clips of a baby called Evangeline and saw her develop from being 6 weeks old through to her first birthday. We discussed the things that she could do as she developed. Baby photos of the children were brought in and the children enjoyed looking at themselves and each other. It was an opportunity for the children to see how they had changed and grown over time.
In our Jigsaw Jenie time we have been looking at Dreams and Goals in the first half-term. We have looked at stories that remind us to keep on trying and don’t give up when we are trying to do something. In one lesson, the teacher told the children that she wanted to challenge herself to build a tall tower that was taller than herself. At first, she could not do it and she wanted to give up, the children supported her and told her not to give up and that she needed some help. Together a tower was built and the message that we have to keep trying and we can help one-another was made. The children enjoyed building towers together and they worked as a team.