Hello all,

This week in Nursery, we have been busy celebrating Chinese New Year and exploring lots of exciting traditions and cultural experiences.

We began by learning about how families prepare for the celebration. The children discovered how homes are decorated with red and gold, how families share special meals together, and how people wish each other good luck for the year ahead.

One of our favourite activities was performing our very own dragon dance! The children worked together brilliantly, moving carefully and rhythmically to bring our dragon to life. It was wonderful to see such fantastic teamwork and enthusiasm.

In our creative area, we made beautiful dragon crafts and explored Chinese-inspired art. The children showed great care and creativity in their designs.

We also practised using chopsticks, which was quite a challenge! The children showed amazing perseverance as they learned how to pick up small objects. To make our learning even more memorable, we tasted some delicious noodles. 

Our focus story was Chinese Zodiac. The children loved learning about the Great Race and how the animals crossed the river. They worked together to sequence the animals in the correct order, carefully listing each one:

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

A big thank you to Hope and Faith’s mum for coming into Reception to talk to us about Chinese New Year. She shared a lovely presentation about how the festival is celebrated and brought in beautiful traditional costumes for us to see.

The children really enjoyed learning about this special celebration and were very excited to see the colourful outfits. Thank you for making our learning so special! 

It has been a week full of curiosity, creativity and cultural learning.

We are also very happy to welcome some warmer weather and sunshine! With brighter days ahead, we are looking forward to enjoying even more outdoor learning, exploring and discovering together.

 

Our Olympic Adventure Continues! 

Our Olympic learning journey has continued this week and the children have been just as excited as real athletes! Building on last week’s activities, we have been exploring more Olympic sports through play, movement, teamwork and creative learning opportunities. The children have shown fantastic enthusiasm, confidence and determination, and it has been wonderful to see them developing so many important skills while having fun.

The Olympics theme has been a brilliant way to encourage active learning and support the children’s physical development, communication and language, and personal, social and emotional growth.

On Tuesday, we celebrated Safer Internet Day. We talked about how to use screens safely and what we can do to stay safe online. The children learned that if they ever see something on a screen that worries or upsets them, they should always tell a trusted adult. We discussed the importance of being kind online and making good choices when using technology.

It has also been Mental Health Week in school. We spent time talking about different emotions and how we feel at different times. The children shared their ideas about what makes them happy, sad, excited, or worried. We also enjoyed some lovely mindfulness sessions, where we practised calming our bodies and minds through breathing and quiet time.

We are now all read for a lovely break. I hope you all have a good time and we look forward to seeing you on 23rd Feb.

WINTER OLYMPICS

This week in our setting, we have continued to adapt the environment to meet the children’s needs and interests. We have been closely observing the children’s play and listening carefully to their ideas, allowing their curiosity to guide our learning experiences.

This week, the children showed a strong interest in the Winter Olympics, and they were fascinated by the different sports, especially ice skating. To build on this excitement, we decided to bring this learning to life by creating our very own ice rink within the setting!

To create the rink, we used shiny plastic and lights to give the area a realistic icy effect. The children were amazed by how it sparkled and reflected the light, and this instantly encouraged them to explore the space in new and imaginative ways.

Once the rink was ready, the children took off their shoes and danced and glided across the rink in their socks, pretending to be Olympic skaters. They loved moving carefully across the surface, practising their balance and coordination while also building confidence in their physical abilities.

To make the experience even more exciting, we played music for the children to skate to, which encouraged them to move rhythmically, express themselves creatively, and enjoy the experience together. The children worked cooperatively, took turns, and cheered each other on as they performed their own skating routines.

This activity supported the children’s development in many areas, including physical development, communication and language, and personal, social and emotional development, as they shared ideas, played together, and explored movement in a fun and meaningful way.

It has been wonderful to see how the children’s interest in the Winter Olympics has inspired such imaginative play and active learning this week.

Next Week

Next week, we will continue to build on the children’s interest in winter sports by adding new resources to our ice rink area. We will encourage the children to create their own skating routines, explore different types of music, and take part in simple group games that promote teamwork and turn-taking. We will also introduce more winter-themed creative activities and stories to support their imagination and language development.