What a busy week we have had in Foundation. We had our sports day which the children really enjoyed. They have been practising some of the activities during their PE lessons and I think one of the favourites was the skateboard swimming. I was surprised how easily they managed to pull themselves along at some speed especially when Mr Mills was shooting them with water.
We have also had our induction evening for our new families. It always makes me a little sad at this event as it make me realise that our older children will be moving on. Having the children for 2 years has really allowed us to see them grow and develop and I know that they are going to have a fantastic time in year 1. Our transition process has allowed Miss Davis to spend time with us each week in the unit so that she can see what the children do and how they interact with each other. Miss Davis has also been observing them during carpet time with Mrs Sheehan. They are all excited about moving into year 1 and are ready and raring to go.
On Tuesday 2nd July we are going to have a picnic in the garden. You are all welcome to come along at 2.15pm. Please do not bring along any food for the children as we will be making things for them to eat in school.
This weekend is our summer festival. I hope to see lots of you there. Sun hats and cream are a definite as I think its going to be a very hot one!

Have a great weekend
Mrs Robinson

It has been a strange week this week as I have been on the main gate in the mornings as Mrs Custis has been with year 6 to the Isle of Wight. What I really liked was that all the foundation children said good morning to me as they happily skipped down to the unit. At this time of year we are writing reports and reflecting on the children's learning and maturity. We are always overwhelmed at how much they have changed which we noticed when we looked at photographs of them at the beginning of the year. They are all telling me that they are going in year 1 as if it is tomorrow. I always reply "not Yet" as we still have lots more learning to do.
I am sorry I had to cancel the trip but the coach cost was very high and then the entrance fee on top would have made it a very expensive day so we have decided to have a picnic in the grounds, weather permitting. This will be held on the same day in the afternoon so you are all welcome to join us.
The children will be making their own food so please do not bring anything in for them. This also eliminates any risk for children with food allergies.
Next week we are having our sports day, weather permitting. I hear it may be a hot one so please make sure your child has a sun hat and sun cream on. You are welcome to come and support your child during the morning. The children are grouped with 2 children from each year group to do the activities. You can follow your child's group around and cheer them on. We organise the groups in the main sports hall then bring them into the playground. If you wait in that area you will see your child's group which you can then follow. It sounds complicated but it generally runs smoothly. If you cant find your child's group find me and I will point you in the right direction.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Mrs Robinson.

We have spent some time in our new wildlife area so I have put a few photographs for you to see.

We have been looking at minibeasts this week and  the life cycle of the butterfly.  The children are very good at caring for our wildlife and know that they must return them to nature when they pick them up. Worms and snails seem to be their favourite this week because of the weather.
Hopefully next week will be brighter and bring new wildlife to our garden.
On Tuesday we went to see Mary Poppins which was fantastic. Our children behaved incredibly well and Manor Lodge also commented on how well they sat. Since then we have been singing all the favourites from the show. They struggled with Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious but their version were far better.
We will try and go to the woods next week so please come along if you get the chance.
Have a great weekend.
Mrs Robinson:)

It was wonderful to have the children back and full of energy.  They were all so happy to see each other and got straight back into their routines. We are happy to say that we have no giants and no dinosaurs visiting us any more. I think they have all gone to sunnier places.
This week the children noticed a bee's nest in our side garden. We have monitored and watched the bees going in and out and this has prompted lots of discussion. We are going to be focusing on bees next week and we are going to be tasting honey. The children have spent a lot of time outside and on Thursday they crested an amazing water way using pipes. It was an brilliant piece of engineering.
This weekend is the Potters Bar Carnival and I will be there with Mrs Custis. We hope to see some of you along the way if you are not joining in.
 If you have not already replied about our trip can you do so ASAP as I need to find out numbers.
Have a great weekend, I think the weather is going to be poor so wrap up.
I have sent home a letter asking for the children to create a diary of a day at home. The letter explains what we would like you to do. Please return these next week so that we can stick them in their Learning Journals.

Mrs Robinson

We have had a busy week with a dinosaur running around the garden and a giant who climbs down the beanstalk at night to play with all our toys. The children's imagination's are exploding and we have had some amazing discussions and creative writing happening throughout the week. It is great to see so much enthusiasm to write letters to the giant. The children have been having  two way letter writing for the last week and the giant keeps responding which is encouraging them to write more.
Even our reluctant writers have been engaged in these activities.
After the holidays we are going to be writing some shopping lists for a picnic. We are going to be looking at how much things cost and calculating how much we need to spend. We are also going to be walking to the woods so if you can spare some time please come along.
Have a great week.
Mrs Robinson:)

Mrs Robinson is on a school trip with year 5 so I am writing the blog this week.
Over the week we have been continuing the story of Jack and the Bean Stalk.
The children came in on Monday and found that the Bean Stalk had started to grow.
They were very excited to see if it would grow tall enough to reach the giant. They have been busy drawing pictures of the Bean Stalk and have stuck them next to it. When the Bean Stalk reached the roof we wrote a letter to the Giant asking him to come and be our friend. He replied he would love to be friends but was too big for our land.  At story time we read the story and used puppets. Then the children became the characters including a narrator.
When Mrs Robinson is back next week we will carry on the story and show her the letter from the giant!

On Friday we watched Reception class performing during their assembly. The children were excited to see their friends on the stage.

A couple of notes to finish off:
As the weather is getting warmer and the children will be taking off their jumpers and cardigans off please remember to name all clothing.
We are running low on spare clothes (especially girls underwear.) Please can you return items to school.
Thank you for the named hats and sun cream provided so far.
Have a great weekend.
Mrs Howe

This week we have been reading the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. We decided to plant some magic beans to see if we could grow our own beanstalk. We have watered the compost with some magic water and on Friday morning we noticed that it has started to grow. Hopefully on Monday it will have grown some more. We are going to be monitoring what happens over the next couple of weeks and hopefully we will end up with a beanstalk that we can use to create stories.
On Wednesday we made sandwiches with the cress that we had grown. The children are so independent with this task as we have always encouraged them to prepare their own toast when we have it in the setting. They can butter and cut the toast into halves and quarters without any support. They are also very good at eating it all too.
In the unit we have a discovery box and this week we have had an egg in it. The children have been observing the changes that have taken place and we now have a hatched dinosaur. This activity has motivated the children to record in many different ways what they have seen. They have also discussed the changes.
Next week we will be continuing to develop our beanstalk adventure and we are looking forward to watching reception perform their assembly. I will be out on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with year 5 on a residential trip. Mrs Sheehan will be in charge of the unit so please speak to her if you have any problems. Have a great weekend.
Mrs Robinson:)

We have been very busy this week investigating and learning lots of things about our world. The children have enjoyed digging and have unearthed dinosaur bones and volcanic lava. We have researched using books and the internet to find out more information. The children have made volcano's in the sand pit and  have made an erupting volcano using bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.
We have created a group of archaeologists.
 In our investigation box we have a dinosaur egg which the children are observing and recording the hatching process. Finally we have planted some cress and lettuce and hopefully we will be able to make some sandwiches next week.
It is a fantastic time of the year as the children are thriving in the unit and are understanding that learning has no limits. We are amazed at the potential to extend learning through our observations. A simple dig in the soil has allowed us to create an exciting learning adventure for all the children.

Hope fully the weekend will bring some nice weather.
Have a great time.
Mrs Robinson:)

Welcome back to a very short week. The children were very keen to be back and it has been a pleasure to watch  them fit back into their routines and relationships. We have decided to change our fruit and milk system and we now have a café. The children take it in turns to be shopkeepers who take money for the fruit and milk and then serve the children. At the end of the day we  have 2 accountants that count the money and record the amount then and take the money to the banker who writes out a receipt. This is a brilliant way to engage the children with money and allows them to practise using it  in a purposeful way. When we discussed money with the children and asked them how we pay for things they all said with a card. We sometimes forget that children don't often come into contact with cash so this activity will give them a hands on experience in a fun way.
Next week we would like to continue with our wood walk. Please come along if you can spare the time. I hope that the weather continues to improve and the children can enjoy the outside without coats.
Have a great weekend.
Mrs Robinson:)