🌟 What a Wonderful First Half Term! 🌟

We can’t believe our first half term is already over! The time has flown by, and it has been so lovely to see how much the children have grown in confidence and developed over the past few weeks. 

It has been wonderful watching the children settle into nursery life, build relationships with their friends and familiarising themselves with their routines. We have seen such a huge change in their development, independence and confidence.

The weather certainly hasn’t stopped us from enjoying our time outdoors!  We have continued to explore, play, learn and have lots of fun outside, whatever the weather. Outdoor play is such an important part of our learning, and the children have loved making the most of our outdoor space.

We would like to say a big thank you to all our families for your continued support during this first half term. We hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing half-term holiday and enjoy some special time together. 

We look forward to welcoming everyone back for another exciting half term full of learning, exploring and making memories!

 Hello all,

This week in Foundation, we have been exploring the wonderful world of nursery rhymes and rhyming words! The children have enjoyed singing familiar nursery rhymes, joining in with repeated phrases and using actions to bring the rhymes to life.

We have been learning to listen carefully to the sounds in words and identify words that rhyme, such as cat, hat and dog, log. The children have enjoyed spotting rhyming words and thinking of their own rhyming pairs. We have also played fun games to help us recognise words that sound the same at the end.

Nursery rhymes are a fantastic way to develop children’s listening skills, phonological awareness and early reading skills. Through singing, repetition and playful activities, the children are building confidence in hearing and recognising sounds in words.

Recycling Request

If you have any recycling items such as small boxes, clean containers, or plastic bottles at home, we would really appreciate them for our creative modelling area. Please do not send in any packaging that has contained nuts or sesame products, as we have children with allergies. 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs Robinson

 This week in Foundation, we have been exploring repeating patterns in both Maths and handwriting. The children have been developing their understanding of how patterns are made by noticing what repeats and predicting what might come next.

Our focus story this week has been Simon Sock. The children enjoyed exploring the colourful socks in the story and used them as inspiration to create their own repeating patterns. We have been talking about patterns using mathematical language such as repeat, next, same, different and pattern.

The children have also been getting creative by drawing patterned pictures, carefully choosing colours, shapes and marks that repeat. It has been wonderful to see them explain their patterns to their friends and describe what comes next.

 

It was lovely to see some of you at our Harvest coffee morning today. The children have really enjoyed practising the songs throughout the week, and I think you will agree that they performed beautifully!

We have been observing the changes in the trees as they begin to change colour. The children will continue to observe and record the changes they notice in our environment.

The children have also been enjoying junk modelling using recyclable materials. If you have any clean, recyclable boxes or other materials at home, we would be very grateful if you could bring them in for the children to use. They have been incredibly creative, making robots and all sorts of wonderful creations using scissors, tape, paper and string. It has been lovely to see their imaginations at work!

Next week, our focus will be minibeasts, and we are looking forward to lots of exploring, learning and creating!

Have a great weekend

Mrs Robinson

  As autumn begins to make its presence known, we’ve been noticing the beautiful changes happening all around us — the leaves turning golden, cooler mornings, and plenty of seasonal treasures to explore! We look forward to observing these changes over the next few weeks.

During our adult-directed time this week, the children have been practicing counting in lots of fun ways. We started by counting how many children were in the group, then explored sorting and counting how many boys and girls there were separately before adding them together. This has been a great way to build their early maths skills and understanding of numbers.

We’ve also begun working on name recognition, encouraging the children to start identifying their own names. This can be a tricky skill to develop at first, so it would be really helpful if you could show your child their name written down at home as often as possible — for example, on drawings, lunch boxes, or coat pegs — to help them make a strong connection.

Another key focus has been learning to sit together as a group. While this might seem simple, it’s actually a big developmental milestone for 3- and 4-year-olds. Sitting with others, listening, sharing ideas, and engaging in two-way communication takes a lot of concentration and social awareness. We are so pleased with the progress they are making as they begin to participate more confidently in group activities.

Have a great weekend

Mrs Robinson

  What an amazing week we’ve had! The children have been fully engaged in all our activities, showing such enthusiasm and curiosity in their learning. It’s wonderful to see their social interactions developing so beautifully — it really feels like we already have a very established and supportive learning environment.

Today, the sun is shining, so we’ve been making the most of the glorious weather by spending lots of time outside, soaking up the last of the summer sunshine.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!

Mrs Robinson

 What a wonderful week we've had in Nursery!

This week our focus has been on settling into our daily routines and learning our school rules. The children have done a fantastic job getting to know the Nursery environment and are becoming more confident and independent each day.

We were also excited to meet some of our specialist teachers. The children enjoyed meeting Mr Mills, our PE teacher, and Mrs Lawrence, our music teacher. 

This week we have been enjoying lots of nursery rhymes together. Singing and music making activities have helped the children build confidence, join in with actions, and have lots of fun together.

We are so proud of how well the children are settling into Nursery and can't wait for another exciting week of learning together!

Have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Robinson

WELCOME

   WELCOME

What a fantastic start we have had in nursery this week. The children have settled well and have enjoyed all the new experiences on offer in the setting. I hope it has not been too stressful for you all as I know how it feels to leave your child for the first time. Please be reassured that if your child is upset we will endeavour to sort it and comfort them. We will also contact you if they do not settle as we are happy for you to adjust their hours until they do.

Please can you make sure that jumpers and lunch boxes are clearly labelled with your child's name, as all the children wear the same jumpers and are not always the best at looking after their belongings at this age.

Mrs Robinson

 Wow, we have reached the end and we are always sad to say goodbye. We hope you all have an amazing Summer and we look forward to new beginnings. 

Thanks for all the wonderful presents we shall eat, drink and spend.

From all the Foundation team.

  This week, we made the most of the beautiful weather by spending lots of time learning and playing outdoors. The children had a wonderful time exploring, creating and working together in our outdoor environment.

It was lovely to see their imaginations flourish as they mixed and created magical potions using natural materials. In the mud kitchen, the children enjoyed cooking up delicious pretend meals, sharing ideas and taking turns as they played together. They also worked collaboratively to design and build exciting obstacle courses, thinking carefully about how to make them fun and challenging for their friends.

The tree swing was a firm favourite this week, providing plenty of laughter and excitement, while climbing trees helped the children develop their confidence, balance and coordination. The sand pit was another busy area, where children dug, built and created together, developing their fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities.

Outdoor play offers so many valuable learning opportunities, most importantly, it gives children the freedom to investigate, take appropriate risks, build resilience and grow in confidence while having lots of fun.

This week, we also focused on the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The children thoroughly enjoyed listening to and retelling the story in a variety of ways. Inspired by the tale, they worked together to design a bridge for the goats to cross the river, carefully thinking about how to make it strong and sturdy. They used small-world figures to act out the story, helping to develop their storytelling skills, language and understanding of story sequence. The children also created posters based on the story. These activities encouraged teamwork, problem-solving, imaginative play and early literacy skills while bringing the story to life.

We also loved using our new dance area this week. It was wonderful to see the children confidently expressing themselves through movement as they explored a variety of dance styles.

Have a great weekend! 

Keeping Cool in the Summer Sunshine!

This week we have been making the most of the lovely weather while ensuring everyone stays safe and comfortable in the summer heat.

To help us keep cool, we had lots of fun playing with the hose pipe and water sprays, which provided plenty of refreshing opportunities for water play and lots of smiles! The children loved running through the gentle sprays and cooling off together.

We also enjoyed taking our shoes off and feeling the cool grass beneath our feet, giving the children a wonderful sensory experience while helping them stay comfortable in the warm weather.

During the hottest part of the day, we moved our activities indoors where it was much cooler. The children continued their learning through a range of engaging activities, including creative play, construction, stories, and small world play, ensuring they could enjoy their day while staying safe from the strongest sunshine.

Alongside these activities, we encouraged the children to drink plenty of water throughout the day and take regular breaks in the shade whenever we were outside.

We are so proud of how well the children have adapted to the warm weather while continuing to explore, play, and learn together. Thank you for supporting us by sending children in with sun hats, appropriate clothing, and ensuring sun cream is applied before nursery each morning.

As we head towards the end of another wonderful school year, there's a real buzz of excitement around Foundation! With only a few more weeks to go until the summer holidays, our classrooms are still full of laughter, curiosity, and lots of fantastic learning. The children continue to amaze us every day with their enthusiasm, creativity, and eagerness to explore the world around them.

This time of year is always a lovely opportunity to reflect on just how much the children have grown. Looking back to the start of the year, it's incredible to see the progress they have made. They have become more confident, independent, resilient, and kind, and we are so proud of each and every one of them. It has been a privilege to watch their personalities shine and to celebrate all of their achievements, both big and small.

One of the things we feel especially lucky about in Foundation is that we don't have to say goodbye just yet! Unlike many other year groups, our children remain within the Foundation Stage, so there isn't the same transition to a completely new environment. Instead, we can enjoy these last few weeks together, making special memories, celebrating all they have achieved, and looking forward to seeing their familiar smiling faces continue to flourish.

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support and for being such an important part of our Foundation family. We hope you all enjoy a wonderful, relaxing summer break when it arrives, and we look forward to making the most of these final few weeks together.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs Robinson