S Butler

This week’s stories

By S Butler23rd November 2015

This week we are keeping on with our ‘Weather’ theme for story time. The weather has been so changeable that it is a constant source of fascination for the children. Today we have had lots of chat about the snow some of us saw over the weekend, so our song of the week is a snowy one, and we have been dancing like the snowflakes too.

(To the tune of Frere Jacques)

Snowflakes, snowflakes, dance around,
Snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground
Snowflakes, snowflakes, in the air
Snowflakes, snowflakes, everywhere
Snowflakes, snowflakes, dance around
Snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground.

These are the books we will be reading this week. If you have any favourite weather stories, please let us know!

What’s the weather like today?

By S Butler15th November 2015

This week, we will be having lots of stories about the weather.

Here is a great website with simple games for your child to try. Scroll down to find Dressing Lecky. This simple activity will give you lots to talk about with your child. Ask them to sing you our ‘What’s the weather’ song too!

Here are some of this week’s stories:

Great for exploring rhythm and rhyme.

Lots of great sounds to spot and copy.

A simple idea, but so exciting for the children to try and guess what the shadows in the foggy forest might be!

Our song of the week this week was chosen by Mrs Seeley and it’s all about the wind – very topical after the windy weekend weather we have had!

Wind
(sung to If You’re Happy and You Know It)

If you hear the whistling wind, cup your ears.
If you hear the whistling wind, cup your ears.
If you hear it in the trees making music with the leaves,
If you hear the whistling wind, cup your ears.

If you feel the blustery wind, whirl around
If you feel the blustery wind, whirl around.
If you feel it lift your hair like a kite up in the air,
If you feel the blustery wind, whirl around.

Firework fun

By S Butler12th November 2015

Try this game to help your child recognise and order numbers. We don’t expect everybody to recognise the numbers yet, but it’s a fun activity you can do with your child. Be prepared to help them count aloud to find the next number they need.

5 Little Monkeys – our Song of the Week 9/11/15

By S Butler10th November 2015

We have been enjoying joining in with this counting song in Nursery. Why not let your child share it with you too?

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?bbc=fivelittlemonkeys

We have so many learning opportunities in our outside area.

By S Butler10th November 2015

Painting with sticks and leaves.

Pedaling and pushing with our legs helps to make them strong. We have to take turns on the bikes and scooters so we learn patience and negotiation skills too!

We move to the music, make up dances and join in with familiar songs.

We explore the soil, hunting for worms. We use the soil to cook fantastic soups and cakes in the mud kitchen.

Exploring the water trough. We can mix up mud paint here.

Experimenting with rhythm and volume.

Pressing, pushing, squeezing… All these jobs help to strengthen our fingers and hands.

Having a rest in our cosy reading shed.

Five little speckled frogs! Counting and subtracting along with the song.

We threaded leaves on to sticks…

It took a lot of concentration. Our leaves kept blowing away!

Using sticks, leaves, flowers and stones to make works of art. This is the deep, dark forest.

We loved the feeling of the strong wind. Our ribbons felt like wings or the trails of jet planes. We made huge circles with our arms – lots of exercise!

Poetry Week – 9th November

By S Butler7th November 2015

This week we will be using lots of poetry at Story Time. Listening to poems and rhymes will help your child to develop a sense of rhyme and rhythm and support their listening skills. Poems use words to paint mental pictures so also help to expand children’s imagination. By sharing poems with your child, you help them to learn that play with words can be fun. Let us know if you and your child enjoy any particular poems and rhymes.

Here are some of the poetry collections we will be using this week.

Some of last term’s favourite stories.

By S Butler4th November 2015

These are some of the books we have been sharing at Nursery over the last half term.

It would be great if you could borrow them from the library to share at home too.

Let us know if you have a favourite story your child would like to share with us.

We are so proud of our learning journals!

By S Butler21st October 2015

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“That says me!”

We love to show our friends what we have been up to.

We will be sending our Learning Journals home regularly for your child to share with you. Please feel welcome to add photos or any information about your child’s interests or achievements. We update journals regularly, so it is important that they are returned to Nursery promptly. At the end of your child’s time in Nursery, they will be yours to keep, but meanwhile they are a vital assessment tool for our staff so they are as precious to us as they are to you! We hope you enjoy sharing them as much as your child does.