Reception - Class Worship - Meeting Jack
This week Reception took part in their very first class worship. We were introduced to Jack through Roots and Fruits and met Hack the puppet, who will be helping us on our journey. We learned about creation and talked about the many wonderful things in our world. The children thought about how we can show thankfulness for these gifts and how we worship together in school. This was also a chance to begin exploring spirituality – noticing the beauty around us, feeling a sense of awe and wonder, and learning that worship is about more than words; it’s about how we connect with God and each other.
Pre-School-Continuous Provision-Exploring Our Environment
The Pre-school children have enjoyed getting to explore our environment around our nursery, exploring all areas inside and outdoors. We have also enjoyed playing and being creative with all our new friends that have joined us at Darwen st James.
Pre-School-Phonics-Singing With What's In The Bag
Pre-School have started our phonics this week while singing what's in the bag. Each child is given an opportunity to pick out a nursery rhyme from the bag for all to sing. Children loved to sit in a circle singing what's in the bag before a child is chosen to pick out one object for all to sing.
Nursery - PSHE - Looking After Our Teeth!
Our PSHE lesson this week focused on the importance of good dental hygiene. The children learned how to look after their teeth, with a particular emphasis on the introduction of toothbrushes and the correct way to brush. To help them understand the concept, we used a giant toothbrush and giant teeth to practice wiping away the germs. This hands-on activity helped the children develop a basic understanding before they tried brushing their own teeth. The children had a fantastic time brushing their own teeth while following along with the Hey Duggee Brush Your Teeth song. They enthusiastically copied the characters' movements, which made the activity both fun and educational. To promote good oral hygiene practices, Nursery class will be brushing their teeth together every day. This routine will reinforce what they've learned and help them establish a healthy habit for the future.
This week in Reception – Phonics
This week in Reception – Phonics This week your little one will be starting their phonics journey. Phonics is the way we teach children to read and write by helping them recognise the sounds that letters make. We begin with the very basics and build up step by step so children can blend sounds together to read words and segment words to spell. Some key things to know: • Sounds, not letter names – At this stage, we focus on the sounds letters make (e.g. s = “sss”) rather than their names (“ess”). • Blending – Children learn to push sounds together to read simple words (for example, s-a-t becomes sat). • Segmenting – The opposite skill: breaking words into sounds to help with spelling (dog = d-o-g). • Daily practice – We revisit sounds regularly, and lots of repetition helps them stick. You can support at home by listening for sounds in words when you’re out and about, pointing out letters in books or signs, and encouraging your child to enjoy sharing stories with you. Please do let me know if you have any questions about phonics—I’m always happy to chat about how best to support your child.
Pre-School- Physical Development- Wake and Shake
The children take part in wake and shake everyday. It is a good way to wake up our bodies and get ourselves ready for the day. The children move to different sounds and actions and our favourite is the wriggle dance. The children have been independent selecting the videos on the board and starting them for all of us to join.
Nursery And Pre-School - Imaginative Play, Pirates!
The nursery and preschool children have loved the pirate theme this week, quickly selecting dress-up items to transform into swashbuckling pirates. A significant highlight was the children's collaborative effort in constructing a pirate ship using the jumbo building bricks. They worked together, demonstrating emerging cooperation and negotiation skills as they discussed where to place bricks or how to make the ship bigger. Once their magnificent ship was constructed, the children climbed aboard, steering their vessel and actively sailing their ship across the imaginary seas. They eagerly engaged in target practice, throwing 'cannonballs' at 'enemy ships' in the distance. This action-packed segment refined their gross motor skills, including throwing and aiming, and further fueled their imaginative narrative.The rich vocabulary used by adults (e.g., "Ahoy, matey!", "Walk the plank!") was frequently echoed by the children, showcasing developing communication and language skills within their play.
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Nursery - Art And Design - Sensory Play Ice-Creams
The children showed delight and engagement with the shaving foam. Their initial response was tactile, poking, squishing, and spreading the foam, exploring its texture directly. The activity quickly transitioned into imaginative play as children began making "ice creams." They demonstrated developing hand-eye coordination and fine motor control by actively scooping foam into cones and cups. Using shakers to add "sprinkles" further refined their fine motor skills through precise grasp and release. Rich imaginative role-play emerged, with children offering their foam creations to peers and adults, exclaiming "Yummy!" or "Ice cream!" This showed budding communication and language skills and engagement in pretend scenarios.
Pre-School - Expressive Art And Design - Creative Play - Making Rockpools
In Pre-school this week our story is- Sharing a Shell, the children have really enjoyed this story especially learning about rockpools. The children created their own rockpool in our sand tray, selecting different materials such as rocks, wood, shells, twigs and pinecones. They created a circle shape in the sand and built a wall around their shape using these materials and then I poured water into their rockpool to see if their wall would hold the water or would the water pour out. This type of hands-on, imaginative play directly supports several EYFS learning areas: Understanding the World: Children explore a miniature ecosystem, learning about marine life, natural habitats, and different materials. They might discuss where rockpools are found, what creatures live in them, and the characteristics of various natural elements. Communication and Language: As children create and interact with their rockpool, they naturally engage in conversations. They might describe what they are doing, ask questions, explain their choices of materials, and even create stories about the creatures living in their rockpool. This enhances their vocabulary, listening skills, and ability to express ideas. Physical Development (Fine Motor Skills): Manipulating different materials like sand, pebbles, shells, and water helps to develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and dexterity. Scooping, pouring, arranging, and picking up small objects strengthens the muscles in their hands and fingers. Expressive Arts and Design: Children are using their imagination and creativity to design and construct their rockpool. They are making choices about materials, textures, and arrangements, essentially creating a miniature world. This also allows for sensory exploration as they touch and feel different elements. Personal, Social and Emotional Development: If children are working together, they develop social skills like sharing, taking turns, and collaborating. The open-ended nature of the activity also allows for emotional expression and can be a calming, sensory experience. Mathematics: Children might engage in early mathematical concepts by sorting materials (e.g., by size, type), counting shells or pebbles, or discussing quantities of sand and water. Problem-Solving Skills: Children might encounter small "problems" to solve, such as how to make the water stay in a certain area or how to arrange the rocks to create a sheltered spot.
Reception - Art and Design - Creating Bikes!
This week, Reception have been using their artist’s eyes to create something extra special! Inspired by Mrs Armitage on Wheels by Quentin Blake, we designed and made our own spectacular bikes – each one bursting with colour, creativity and imagination. We paid close attention to shape, texture and detail, using a wide range of materials like buttons, sequins, fabric and pipe cleaners. It was all about looking carefully, making thoughtful choices and expressing our own ideas – just like real artists do. Developing our observational skills helps us in so many areas of learning, from early writing and drawing to science and maths. It’s amazing what you notice when you really stop and look! And just like Mrs Armitage, we’re always thinking about how we can add that little bit extra.
Reception - Maths - Making Maps
This week in maths, Reception have been exploring maps – using our maths eyes to spot shapes, patterns and position as part of our White Rose learning. We looked carefully at a simple story map and then worked together to create our own, using big paper, bold colours and brilliant teamwork! The children talked about where things were, using mathematical language like next to, behind, and in front of. They thought about directions and routes, and even explained their maps to others – practising reasoning skills along the way. White Rose encourages us to see maths in the world around us, and map-making is a great way to build those early spatial and positional skills. Plus, it gets us thinking visually and creatively – perfect for young mathematicians with curious eyes!
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Nursery - Geography - Exploring Familiar Landmarks From our Community
The children have been exploring the miniature town setup, demonstrating a strong connection to their immediate world. They eagerly selected toy cars and began to drive them around the roads, navigating between the familiar buildings and landmarks. There was clear recognition of the nursery building and the school, with many children pointing and making excited sounds or simple comments like "My nursery!" or "School!" As they drove, children frequently paused their cars at the images of local shops and statues, initiating conversations or responding to adult prompts about their experiences. They used simple words and gestures to indicate where they had seen these places, showing a developing understanding of familiar geographical features in their community. The activity fostered rich opportunities for communication and language, as children shared their personal connections to the landmarks, such as "I go there!" for a shop, or pointing to a statue and looking for adult affirmation. The interactive nature of driving the cars around the 'town' facilitated active exploration and helped children make tangible links between the models and their real-world experiences.
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