Hello all,

Christmas has arrived in foundation and this week we have created a Christmas card factory. The children have enjoyed writing cards, putting them in envelopes and posting them in our post box. We have learnt about the Christmas nativity story and have continued to practice our songs for the show.

The children are looking forward to performing for you but please do not be surprised if your child doesn't sing or gets upset if they see you, this is completely normal, and we will make sure that they are ok. It can be a little overwhelming to be in the hall with lots of adults. Hopefully they will all be ok.

We have been looking at shapes this week and the children have enjoyed using geometric shapes with the play dough. The teachers supported the children with learning the names of the shapes. 

We decided to collect some natural resources, we put them in water to see if they would freeze outside during the night. The photographs show the results. The children were amazed.

Not long to go now before we have our break. I think the children and the adults are ready for a few relaxing days. 

DATE REMINDERS

11th Dec performance to the school        Christmas clothes required

12th Dec Morning performance              Christmas clothes required

13th Dec Afternoon performance            Christmas clothes required

15th Christmas lunch day.                        Christmas jumpers

18th Dec pm Christmas party                  Party clothes

Have a good weekend :)

LET IT SNOW

  This week we have decorated the unit and it is looking very festive. The children have enjoyed helping arrange the room, with lots of snowy areas and Christmas trees. We have continued to practice our songs so there is definitely a Christmas buzz in the air.  We cant believe how well the children are  established with the Foundation environment and routines, it is always a good time to reflect on learning and what progress the children have made since September which is quite evident from observing their interactions and learning on a daily basis. It is a pleasure to see.

 We will be having a busy couple of weeks and some of their normal routines will change due to Christmas activities. Sometimes this unsettles them a bit as it becomes overwhelming. Please be reassured that we  will support the children if this happens as it a normal emotion for them to have. Please speak to me if you have any concerns about it.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

❆❆❆❆❆❆❆

Regards

Mrs Robinson:)

The children created art in the style of Andy Goldsworthy using natural resources from our environment.

Xmas is coming fast.

 This week we have been practicing our songs for the Christmas concert. The children are very enthusiastic, and I am sure they will have been singing the songs at home. They are looking forward to performing for you on the 12th and 13th of December. Please can you dress your child in Christmas clothes on Monday 11th, Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th December as we will be performing the concert for the school on the Monday. This can comprise of any Christmas festive clothes that you have at home. Please do not go out and buy new clothes for this. Red, green and/or white will do.

We do one performance in the morning and one in the afternoon to allow families who need the flexibility to attend. We will provide more information about tickets next week.

Unfortunately its that time of year again when we all get the winter bugs. If you feel your child is not well enough to come to school please keep them off. This also helps reduce the spread of illness to others.

Have a great weekend.

Diwali

  This week we have celebrated Diwali with the children, which is the Hindu festival of light. 

The world Diwali means 'rows of lighted lamps' because houses, shops and public places are decorated with small oil lamps called 'diyas'. Diwali always falls sometime between October and November, but the exact date varies each year as the Hindu calendar is based on the Moon. This year Diwali was on 12th November. The children really enjoyed learning about this festival, and we created our own Rangoli patterns and diva's.

This week we focused on Anti Bullying Week in school. We wore odd socks on Monday to symbolise how we accept and celebrate that we are all different. On Friday we  dressed up in spotty clothes for Children in Need. We have discussed with the children the idea of charity and the importance of helping one another. The children had fun making spots on the giant Pudsey Bear.

We have introduced some more new bikes that the children are enjoying. We have been whizzing around on the top playground. The children have been negotiating the space around them and have taken turns to have a go. I did feel like I needed a slow down sign as they were like rockets. We will be making some stop start signs next week to support and extend the learning.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Mrs Robinson 👀

 We have had a very busy week in Foundation with lots of learning. Our focus story was 'The Enourmous Turnip' . The children enjoyed acting out the story and sequencing the characters.  On Thursday the children chopped the vegetables and we made a pot of soup. Most children tried it and some even had seconds. 

 We  finally said goodbye for now to our aeroplane and we have introduced an Autumn area which has been a great hit with the children and the adults.

On Friday we talked about Remembrance Day. We listened to a story called "Poppy's Day" on CBeebies. This is a child friendly story all about remembering. The children were excellent at understanding elements of this story, and it was a good example of how we should remember others. We also closed our eyes for a minute to remember people who help us and keep us safe. The children made their own poppies using paper, scissors, glue and tape.

REMINDERS

• Can I please ask that the children don't bring  bags into school as we are having problems hanging them all on pegs with winter coats etc. Your child should not need to bring anything into the unit unless they are nappies. If your child is wet we will use the spare clothes that we have in the setting to change them.
• Children are not allowed to wear jewellery or nail polish.
• Please do not send your child in with toys from home. 

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Mrs Robinson👍

Home made poppies

This week the children have been looking at shape in their environment. We have played lots of games that have helped the children identify shapes and we have looked at the shapes that they can see around them. Please can you support your child at home by looking around the house and when you are out. It is amazing what they notice when they focus on specific things.

 We have started to talk and look at vegetables that grow in the ground. We looked at how they grow and what they look like when they are taken out of the ground. We are going to be focusing on the story of the Enormous Turnip. We will end the week with the children making vegetable soup.

  In Foundation we often read a story called Vegetable Glue by Susan Chandler. It is really funny story about the benefits of eating vegetables and a must read for anyone who is having problems getting their children to eat.

I hope you are all looking forward to bonfire night this weekend. I hope to see some of you on Saturday night.

Be safe

Mrs Robinson:)🔥

 

 Autumn has arrived in force and we are all feeling the change in temperature. We are fortunate that this has not stopped the children wanting to be outside and we always ensure that the doors are open regardless of the weather. Can you please make sure your child has wellies after half term as the rain makes the garden very wet and we don't want this to stop learning opportunities.

It was good to speak to you all during parent consultations and I hope this has reassured you that your children are settled, happy and engaged in their learning. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have concerns throughout the year as it is always better to resolve things at the earliest opportunity.

The children have enjoyed learning about owls and have listened to the story called Owl Babies. After the holidays we will be looking a baby animals in more detail.

I think the children are ready for a break and we hope that you all have an amazing half term. 

We look forward to seeing you all on Monday 30th October.

Mrs Robinson

Spiders

We have been lucky again with the weather and had a great outdoor week, lets hope we get one more before half term.

 We have been looking at seasonal changes and collecting things that have fallen from the trees in our wildlife area. The children have been bringing things in for our Autumn table and it has become a hive of activity with lots of learning through communication and language. The children have used all these resources for maths, creating patterns, sorting with shape, colour and size. Please continue to bring things in from the environment as we will always use these resources in the setting.

We have had a week of spiders and webs, the children have been learning songs and creating lots of webs and spiders. They have learnt interesting facts about spiders and some have even stopped screaming when they see them.

Next week the children will  be learning about Stephen Wiltshire to celebrate Black History Month. I will included some of the art work next week for you to see. Please ask them what they know about the artist as they will be able to tell you about his life.

If you have not already sent a family photo in could you please send one to me. This can be by email if that helps.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Mrs Robinson

This photograph shows all the children wearing glasses. We have a selection of glasses donated from an opticians and I have removed the lenses  so that the children can enjoy wearing glasses just like us.

Harvest

  Its was lovely to see some of you at the Harvest coffee morning today. The children have enjoyed practicing the songs throughout  the week and I think you will agree they performed really well.

We have  been observing the changes in the trees as they start to change colour. The children will continue to observe and record changes in the environment. We will be focusing on cobwebs and spiderweb's over the next couple of weeks.

The children have enjoyed junk modelling using recyclable boxes. Could you please bring in your recycle stuff so that the children can be creative with them. They have made robots and have used scissors, tape, paper and string to create all sorts of amazing things. 

On the 5th October it was  National Poetry Day. We celebrated this day by writing a poem about a spider,  we read lots of rhyming books that the children really enjoyed as they could join in with the verses.

Please send in your family photo if you have not already done so.

Have a great

weekend.

Mrs Robinson

CONKERS

 Another busy week in foundation and the children have been learning poems about Autumn. We have used the conkers that they have been bringing to school for maths activities and they are really enjoying using natural resources in this way. 

 During our circle time the children have been counting the children in the group using different methods. They have counted how many girls and boys separately then all together. We have also continued to identify our own name. They are finding this a bit difficult so please continue to show your child their name written down as often as possible so that they can identify with it. They are really good during these sessions and are excellent at listening and focusing when others are talking. This is an important part of your child's development. Being able to have two way communication and be able to sit amongst others and participate in a group all seems very easy but it is a huge thing to ask of a 3/4 year old.

We have created a family board and would like you to send in a photo of your family for us to display. Please can you only send one that is not precious as the display is at their height and the pictures will be touched continually. If you would prefer you can email your photo and I will print it.

I hope you all have a great weekend.