Nursery School Newsletter 9

11.11.2022

Dear Parents

We have had a busy week here in Nursery School and this, along with finishing our Christmas card creations and having Heather our photographer in yesterday, has made this week fly by!

This week’s Nursery School highlights:

  • Snack/Cooking – This week the children made pizza pinwheels to have for snack. Some children liked them and others were not so keen, but after trying them many of them decided they were quite nice. Here is the recipe if you would like to make some at home.
  • Outside – The children have been busy making an outside gallery with Marlena, which has stemmed from the book ‘The Dot’ by Peter. H Reynolds. They also enjoyed mixing different colours to create new colours, for this they used the primary colours. See if they can remember which two colours they mixed to create a new colour! The children have also been loving sweeping the leaves with rakes and making up songs to go with their movements. Marlena has also been modelling and encouraging the use of prepositions within play.

The children have also been using their imagination and creativity, one day they made the most fantastic train and went on a journey to London to the train village before returning to Oxford. This involved the children making tickets and discussing the cost and the journey.

  • Inside – The children have created a veterinary surgery with Issy, they have liked looking after the animals and finding out more about the kind of jobs vets do to look after and help our pets. Lots of mark making was done when discussing pets.
  • Woodwork – Some children have had the chance to do some tinkering in the woodwork station this week. We introduced the hot glue gun and the Sellotape dispenser which has a sharp edge, so they had to be careful when using them. The children were imaginative and had some great ideas – their creations are getting better and better.
  • Forest School – The children in Yellow & Green groups had their first fire at Forest School today. They were encouraged to independently put on their own waterproofs and coats. They learnt the rules to keep safe round
  • the fire and enjoyed having their first fire.

Our core book – Oi Frog – This is a rhyming book we have shared this week, where cats sit on mats, hares sit on chairs, mules sit on stools and gophers sit on sofas, but Frog does not want to sit on a log. We read, discussed, and thought of more rhyming words and enjoyed exploring new words such as mules, gophers, and fleas.

Phonic sounds – We have been focusing on the sound ‘p’ this week, the children once again enjoyed making some ‘silly soup’ which consisted of objects, animals, and pictures that all begin with a ‘p’. See if they can remember any ingredients they put in the soup! We have also been working on rhyming words this week by recognising them in books, songs, and discussions. Some of the children were able to go on and add more real and nonsense words to the rhyming string.

Maths – We have continued to look at 2D shapes and properties, some of the children even went to the ‘shape shop’ to buy a shape this week. Some of the children have been interested in the 3D shapes, we have been modelling and encouraging related vocabulary to name and describe the properties of these shapes.

Our song this week has been – We went to the animal fair, here is the link to video and lyrics if you would like to share it with your child.

To help with clear communication here are a few reminders (helpful information):

  • Photographs – Heather came in and took studio photos yesterday. She will be coming back in the spring to take individual black and white natural photographs while the children play. Then hopefully in the spring/summer she will do a whole Nursery School group photo. Heather will send proofs back to us asap and as soon as she does, we will pass them on to you so you can place your order if you would like to.
  • Can I ask you to please send in/e-mail in a family photo and also one of any pets. This is so we can display them around the Nursery School to link home and prompt communication and language by connecting to family. If you would rather send in a photo of your child’s special toy/collection that is also fine. Thank you.
  • Xmas 4 schools project – I have sent all the artwork back and as soon as they receive it and process it, they will send you a unique order code where you can view products to purchase if you wish to do so from the online portal. The online portal will stay open for 5 days and they will send you a reminder email when 24 hours remain. Once all orders have been placed, I can track what stage the order is at and update you on delivery dates etc.
  • Friends of the ACE Centre meeting – We would like to invite you to a meeting on Monday the 21st of November at 9am in the Rainbow Room. If you are interested in finding out about becoming part of the ‘Friends’, please come along for a hot drink and a chat. If you cannot make it but are keen to learn more, please do let me know.
  • Illness – It can be tricky deciding whether to keep your child off nursery when they are unwell. Here is the NHS link to – Is my child too ill for school?
  • Another reminder about registering your child for primary school if they are due to start next year. Please apply online at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/primaryadmissions – it’s quick, easy, and secure. The deadline is the 15th of January 2023.
  • The Friends of the ACE Centre will be running a Christmas raffle. If you think you can add to this through work or family connections, then please let me know.

Have a lovely weekend

Best wishes

Zoe Wakefield