Autumn 1

Our Learning

This half term is all about settling in and becoming familiar with the daily routines such as finding pegs, names and finding pictures for milk. We will be getting to know all about each other and learning about our favourite colours, foods and toys. We will also be doing lots of fine motor activities to get our hands strong for writing, this will include lots of playdough, threading, using big tweezers, big pom poms and giant chalk! How exciting! Our role play area is set up as a home corner and I am sure the children will love replicating what they see in their own kitchen at home!

We have had a fantastic first week in nursery. Although it can take a little time to settle in, the children are doing a great job. Don't forget to check out our class gallery to see the photographs from our first week. 

Week Beginning 7th October

Now we have all settled in we are beginning to establish some structure and routine in nursery. Here is a little insight into our day.

Morning

• We start the day with the children coming into nursery all by themselves. This is great for promoting independence and gives them a sense of trust and responsibility. 
• The children then have a small period of time to settle and have a nosey at the new activities that we have set for the day. 
• We then have carpet time where we sing a 'days of week' song and take part in some morning exercise to prepare our brains for a busy day of learning. We are now starting our Phases lessons which is very exciting as it gives us an opportunity to listen to lots of different sounds. The children are becoming more confident in identifying different sounds and they love to take part in our 'listening moments.' This is where Mrs Slattery makes lots of noise and we have to try and guess what we have heard!
• This is followed by 'COOL' (choose your own learning) time. The children are able to play and explore all of the areas in nursery, including our outdoor area. 
• Before lunch, we love to practise our counting and recognising numerals. 

Afternoon

• After lunch, we split into 2 groups for some more 'COOL' time. Half of the children stay indoors, with the other half exploring our outdoor area. 
• We come back together for carpet time before preparing for hometime.

Autumn 2

Week Beginning 28th October

Toast Time

We have had major developments in our 'toast time' this week in nursery. We have provided children with their own order form so that they can order their own toast with their favourite topping! This was a huge success and the children were extremely excited about ordering their own toast. We then took it a step further and gave the children the repsonsibility of putting their own topping on their toast. The children were very careful when using the knives to spread their topping and they did a great job of sharing. We are very proud of how far they have come in a matter of weeks, especially in terms of their communication and language skills. Toast time is such a fantastic opportunity to sit around the table and talk. We are now practising our speaking and listening, turn taking and physical devleopment on a daily basis, without even realising it!

'Wake Up, Shake up!' 

We start our day in nursery with 'wake up, shake up!' The idea is to get the children 'moving and a groovin' and our brains warmed up set for a day full of learning. The children thoroughly enjoy dancing along and copying the actions and I am sure over time our dancing will get even better!