Nursery classes have been practising for Sports Day; they are getting faster week by week and, oh joy, they seem to be staying within the track rather than running across the field! The children have been busy learning about trees and have created some wonderful paintings and leaf printing. On Monday they all watched the tree surgeons who were working on a diseased tree across the road from the Nursery and were amazed to see and hear the work done but we will all miss that large old cedar!

Transition children have had a very busy week looking at a whole range of minibeasts. They have observed their caterpillars turn into chrysalises and are eagerly awaiting the next stage of development. They have made minibeasts using cardboard fruit trays and also continued practising for Sports Day, running at great speeds and following instructions extremely well. You are going to be so impressed with them!

During the week commencing 1 July the Nursery children will be learning about the weather, the colour blue, the number 9 and the letter t. Any small toys incorporating any of these would be ideal as their “Show and Tell” item this week. Transition children will continue learning about minibeasts and the letter g.

With the topic of “planting and growing” continuing this week Nursery classes have observed how the seedlings are growing, planting some outdoors. We are looking forward to some crops later in the year. Certainly the rain will be helping the plants though not quite so good for practising for our Sports Day!

Transition children have been busy exploring different life cycles, and the caterpillars, which arrived last week, have grown considerably so we are really looking forward to their development and being able to release painted lady butterflies into the environment. To support the topic the children have been learning about symmetry and metamorphosis.

All the children have been busy making Father’s Day cards for Sunday which I’m sure you will love and we send our best wishes for a lovely time with your children on that special day for all fathers.

POLITE REMINDER - PLEASE BOLT THE NURSERY GATE BEHIND YOU

I am aware that some parents and carers are forgetting to push the bolt across to secure the Nursery gate. Whenever you enter or leave it is imperative that you slide the bolt to secure the gate for the safety of your child and other children. This applies to all hours including Breakfast Club and After School Care times.

The children in the Nursery classes, Transition and Reception were able to hold the chicks this week and have been amazed by the growth and change in a few days. As I sit in my office I will miss the sound of chirping as they are being rehomed by a family of one of our Sixth Formers. They have promised to send pictures as the chicks develop into hens and I will share these with you.

The topic on minibeasts has been really enjoyed by the Nursery children this week and they have made their own minibeast models with clay and a variety of resources! They have also been out with their clipboards searching and recording the minibeasts they found in the garden, under logs and watering cans; and have created some wonderful pictures.

Transition children have had a busy week talking about and deciding on their favourite weather and have created weather wheels, bar charts and symbols. They talked about appropriate clothing for different types of weather.

In the three nursery rooms the children have been looking at the life cycle of frogs and have created some lovely pictures using bubble wrap to represent the frogspawn, and frog stampers to print the stages of development. They have also practised their scissor skills by cutting out and then sequencing pictures of the life cycle. Frog masks and puppets have also been made. They have hopped around the rooms pretending to be these jumpy creatures so have used many different learning opportunities this week. The pond is alive with water life and the children are fascinated by all the movement and development of the tadpoles, newts, water boatmen and dragonfly nymphs, to name but a few.

Transition children have continued learning about the different parts of a plant and the uses of these. They set up an experiment with carnations and coloured water and observed how the plants changed colour. Pictures of flowers were created using a variety of shapes and materials, and they have cut out pictures of different sized flowers to put into size order, so it has been a very busy week.

The week commencing Monday 13 May the nursery children will be learning about the life cycle of a chick, the colour yellow, the number 3 and the letter n. Any small toys incorporating an egg or yellow would be ideal as their “Show and Tell” item this week. We are all very excited about “Hatch Watch” taking place in the Nursery hall with the 10 live eggs arriving on Monday.

Transition children will be learning about the weather and the letter t.

The term’s topic of “Seasons – Spring and Summer, and The Great Outdoors” could not have had a better start with the wonderful weather and the children all outside enjoying the garden, pond and playground areas. The pots are ready for our planting and growing this term. The sound of laughter and having fun has been lovely these last three days and the new children seem to be adapting to their new environment very well.

Miss Green tells me that the Transition group have been observing the growth of the tadpoles in their room, talking about what they can see outside in our garden area and about the outdoors environment at home. The children all bounced back into the room and have had a very good start to the term.

The week commencing 29 April the Nursery children will still be settling in and Transition children will be learning about the plants and growing and the letter i.

What a great day our superheroes one turned out to be. The children looked amazing and had so much fun so thank you for getting them dressed up and supporting 'The Link Foundation' charity for which we raised £111.00.

Transition and nursery children have started talking and learning about Easter. They have been cutting out and printing related things as well as starting their Easter baskets, cards, headbands and enjoying a range of related stories. They have also been busy creating surprises for you for Sunday 31^st!

I had a lovely evening at CCJB this week listening to the Years 5 and 6 boys perform musically. Seeing so many who had been in the Nursery perform so incredibly well was an absolute joy. Seeing how they have changed and developed since those days on the stage for their Nursery Christmas production is wonderful!