We cannot believe it is the last half term of the year. We have had such a great time with all of the Nursery children and we cannot wait to see how they shine in Reception.

This half term we are focussing on that transition into Reception and also practising for our sports day. We will look at the season, Summer and how this impacts the plants and things around us. 

We are enjoying the story ‘Sharing a shell’ which is about a crab who has lost his shell.  We have been talking about being a good friend and about sharing.  
We used modelling plasticine to create creatures that might like to share a shell.  We needed to roll, squeeze and pinch the plasticine to make it warm and soft so that we could shape it into creatures which is great for strengthening our fingers and hands. 
 

We have learnt a poem together and have done a great job at performing it for the camera!  
The poem is a short poem with four lines, called ‘Seashells’.

The children listened to the poem several times and began to join in where they could.  We then had a go at reciting the poem together, using actions to help us remember the words,  it was good fun.  

Our children have different interests and we encourage them to direct their own learning .  
Kites - So much learning took place for a group of children who experimented making kites which started when a child wanted to make a paper aeroplane without much success so decided to attach a piece of string.   

 

Weights- one child made the association with the weights from the weighing scales to weights used in “work outs!” Other children joined in his weight lifting class!  This then led onto  discussions about ‘working out’ we talked about exercise and keeping healthy - some  children shared exercises and stretches with each other and they had their own work out session.  

Boats, pirates and counting

Some children have loved developing play around the book ‘Ten Little Pirates’. We have sailed the seas in boats, sailed to the seaside and found treasure,  collected diamonds and jewels and counted pirates, using numbers in our play. Some children were really interested in different treasure maps  they have found around the classroom and used them to navigate their way to the treasure.  

Planting

Children have been interested in planting pips from oranges, apples and tiny plum seeds that they have found in fruit.  They talked about what was needed to plant them and went off to get started.  We hope they take care of their seeds and will let us know when the begin to grow! 

Little Red Riding Hood

This week we have been reading the classic story, Little Red Riding Hood, which the children have absolutely loved. We have been exploring the colour red and different shades of red on the painting table. We have also played a game, learning how to take turns and wait until it is your go. The children have been brilliant at this and are learning how to manage their emotions. 

The children loved playing with the new balance bikes outside. They were able to balance and move along whilst moving their legs. Well done Nursery. 

The parachute was great fun. 

We looked at the plants in our garden and used scissors to cut them up to use in our provision. We could smell the lavender and mint and loved practising our fine motor skills. 

Take a look at the outdoor learning page for photos of the children exploring water. 

https://www.westwood.leeds.sch.uk/outdoor-learning-4/