This week in EYFS, we’ve had an exciting time exploring floating and sinking. The children have been curious scientists—predicting, testing, observing, and talking about what they discovered.

We began by sharing ideas about what floating and sinking mean. The children made fantastic predictions about which objects might float on top of the water and which ones might sink to the bottom. Their confidence grew as they realised it’s okay if their predictions didn’t match the results—this is how scientists learn!

We set up a floating and sinking investigation station with a range of objects: wooden blocks, plastic animals, metal spoons, sponges, stones, corks, and even some surprise items like rubber ducks and foil balls. The children carefully placed each object in the water, watching closely to see what happened next.

The best part was listening to the children explain their thinking:

• “It’s heavy, so I think it will sink!”

• “This one is made of wood. Wood floats!”

• “Let’s squash the foil into a ball and try again!”

They were wonderfully engaged in experimenting—changing shapes, swapping materials, and even designing their own mini boats to test out. Many children discovered that size doesn’t always tell us what will float or sink, and that materials play a big part.

Throughout the week, the children developed their scientific vocabulary, collaboration skills, and confidence in exploring the world around them. 

Next week we will continue our investigations by exploring water movement and simple boat building, so stay tuned for more watery adventures!

Have a great weekend.

Ho Ho Ho

 This week the children have been fascinated by the arrival of frost and ice! We’ve spent lots of time outdoors observing the sparkly frost on the grass, touching the icy surfaces, and talking about how everything feels colder in the mornings. The children shared wonderful ideas about where ice comes from and why it melts, and we even explored what happens when we bring little pieces of ice inside. Lots of curious thinking and brilliant language development!

It’s also beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in our classroom. The children have started learning their festive songs—there have been plenty of cheerful voices practising “Ho Ho Ho!” throughout the day. Their excitement is contagious, and we can’t wait to share more of their seasonal activities with you.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Here is an old film that we made during lockdown. I think the children will enjoy this hahahahha.

 

Back in Foundation — Autumn Adventures in Nursery! 

What a lovely few weeks it’s been back in Foundation! After spending some time in Year 3, I’m so happy to be back with our youngest learners — it’s been wonderful to see all those familiar smiling faces and to welcome our new children who have settled in beautifully. The nursery is once again full of curiosity, laughter, and that special early-years buzz of discovery!

This half term, we’ve been making the most of the autumn season and all the wonderful natural treasures it brings. The children have loved exploring conkers, acorns, leaves, pinecones, and even the occasional feather — using them in so many creative and meaningful ways across all areas of learning in the EYFS.

• Communication and Language: We’ve been talking about our autumn finds, describing textures, colours, and shapes, and learning new words like “shiny,” “rough,” and “spiky.” The children have enjoyed sharing their own discoveries from home too!

• Physical Development: Little fingers have been busy threading conkers, scooping acorns, and using tweezers to pick up tiny treasures — all brilliant for building fine motor skills and coordination.

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Working together to collect and sort autumn materials has encouraged turn-taking, sharing, and helping one another — such lovely teamwork on display.

• Literacy: Autumn has inspired our stories and mark-making! We’ve been using leaves for leaf-print writing, forming letters in trays of cinnamon-scented sand, and reading beautiful seasonal stories like Leaf Man and We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt.

• Mathematics: The children have been counting conkers, comparing sizes of pinecones, and making patterns with acorns — wonderful, hands-on learning through play.

• Understanding the World: We’ve talked about why the leaves change colour and fall, looked closely at seeds, and even noticed which animals might be preparing for winter.

• Expressive Arts and Design: Our creative area has been full of colour 

It’s been such a joy to see the children so engaged and full of enthusiasm. The natural world provides endless opportunities for rich, meaningful learning, and autumn has given us the perfect backdrop for curiosity and creativity to flourish.

I’m truly delighted to be back in Foundation — there’s nothing quite like seeing the world through the eyes of our little explorers. Here’s to more exciting learning adventures as we move through this beautiful season together!

 Hello all,

After Bonfire Night, we went outside to our school playground to take a closer look at the ashes left behind from our bonfire. The children were fascinated to see what was left after the flames had gone out. They used lots of great describing words — “grey,” “soft,” “dusty,” — to talk about what they could see and feel. It was a lovely opportunity to explore the changes that happen when things are burned, and to use our senses to observe closely like little scientists!

We also shared our firework experiences from the weekend. The children were very excited to tell us about the fireworks they had seen and heard — “bangs,” “whooshes,” “crackles,” and “sparkles” filled our classroom as we talked! Some children spoke about the colours they liked best, while others described how they watched from their gardens or wrapped up warm with their families.

Our focus story was 'Room on the broom' by Julia Donaldson.

Cyber Safety Presentation

We would like to invite all parents and carers to attend a Cyber Safety Presentation led by the Police team next Wednesday between 2:00pm and 3:00pm. The presentation will offer valuable, practical advice on protecting yourself, your family and your data online. It will also explain how parents can help children make safe and responsible choices when using technology.

Have a great weekend!

Foundation Team