Favourite Five

Each half term in Nursery we will be introducing children to our 'Favourite Five' stories. We will read these five stories lots of times throughout the half term (alongside lots of others as well) so that the children become really familiar with the language and pattern of the story. By reading these 5 stories regularly, children are exposed to lots of new vocabulary. Our 'Grandpa Fantastic' collects all of the new vocabulary that we have learnt from each story. We revisit this new vocabulary frequently to support children to absorb the language and explore it in a wider context.

Welcome to our Nursery Class page. Nursery is all about learning through play. The children are encouraged to find out new things by exploring the world around them and asking questions. Nursery is a safe, friendly place where children feel happy to take risks and engage in new experiences. All staff strive to build strong relationships with their key children so that they flourish in our setting; children are supported to become "confident communicators" so that they can express themselves effectively to others. We pride ourselves on providing an inviting and engaging learning environment that promotes the Characteristics of Effective Learning and support independent and collaborative learning across all 7 areas of the curriculum.

Please check our page each week to share in our achievements, find out what we have been learning about in school and get ideas for ways in which you can support learning at home.

Class Newsletters

Rhyme Time!

During our phonics sessions, we are currently focusing on 'rhyme' in Nursery. This can be a really tricky concept for children to grasp and they need lots of exposure to hearing rhyme and playing rhyming games in order to be secure in this area of phonics. It would be really beneficial if you could support your child at home with this - whether that's by reading rhyming books, making silly rhyming strings or singing nursery rhymes. Below are some ideas of rhyming activities you could try with your child -  we would love to see any that you have a go at on Tapestry!

When reading rhyming books together, point out the rhyming words to your child and make it explicit e.g. 'hat, rat, hat, rat - they rhyme'. If your child can easily hear the rhyming words, see if they can anticipate the rhyme by finishing the sentence. 

Christmas Stay and Play

Mushrooms

As part of our Wanderlust nature study we have been learning all about mushrooms and have been talking about Fungi. 🍄 We looked at lots of different mushrooms from the supermarket but then looked at some from the woods. We talked about the importance of not picking these.  After we decided to make our own mould garden and added bread, apply and tomato to a mason jar. We are going to watching closely to see the changes in the substances. Later on we practised our chopping skills by cutting up lots of mushrooms.
If you could take your child on a walk into the woods and look for some mushrooms growing in the outdoors. You might find some growing at the base of trees. It would be wonderful to see the ones you find.  

Perfume

Continuing the children’s interest in making perfume we experimented with different fruits to see how they smelt. The children developed their fine motor skills by chopping, squeezing and mixing the lemons, limes and oranges. The perfumes smelt gorgeous!

Remembrance Day

Diwali

This week we have been learning all about Diwali, the Hindu and Sikh festival of light.

This falls during half term and is on 31st October. 

It is a wonderful festival to do with young children as there are so many sensory and creative activities. In Nursery the children were invited to make clay Divas, Rangoli patterns and Mendhi art. The children loved dressing in Asian clothes and dancing using our finger lights. 

We also looked at Diwali cards, dance sticks, jewellery and watched some Diwali celebrations. We hope everyone celebrating Diwali has a wonderful time. 

Autumn Stay and Play

It was wonderful to welcome so many parents and grandparents to our Autumn stay and play. The children particularly enjoyed showing their grown up around.

Autumn 

we have been learning all about the season of Autumn. Our favourite activity was our first ‘Forest School’ session. We went on a nature hunt, enjoyed running in the leaves and shared a yummy snack of hot chocolate, biscuits and marshmallows. 

Pumpkin Fun!

We have had so much fun exploring lots of different pumpkins and squash! The children have developed their gross and fine motor skills whilst: rolling, sitting on, hammering, painting, scooping seeds and chopping up pumpkins. Who knew there were so many things you could do with a pumpkin.

Reading Cafes

This week we had our first reading cafe in nursery. So many parents and grandparents attended and it was lovely to see the children sharing books. Thank you so much to everyone.​​​​​​

Apples

As part of our Wanderlust Nature Study, we are learning about apples (linking with harvest.)

We looked at lots of different varieties and talked about where apples grow. We then made some tasty apple flapjack. The children were really involved in making the flapjack, including peeling the apples, chopping them into small pieces and measuring and mixing the ingredients. The children managed risks using knives and peelers safely. We couldn't wait to eat our yummy treat and everyone agreed it was delicious.

Perfume Making

Following the children’s interests in sunflowers and particularly the smell, which the children said was like “yummy perfume” the children made their own fragrances.

They explored different flowers cutting the petals into tiny pieces. The children then selected some adding them with water into bottles. We can’t wait to see how it smells in a few days! 

Creativity

In Nursery we spend lots of time singing and dancing. This week we enjoyed lots of different dances using our movement scarves. Everyone listened carefully and showed some wonderful moves!

Transient Art

Today we reinforced knowledge about body parts, focusing on the face. The children developed their creativity by using loose parts to make a face picture. Using loose parts enables children to change their picture unlike a painting/drawing. There were some amazing pictures created. 

Story Bus

This week we welcomed the 'Story Bus' from Leeds City Council. The children enjoyed listening to stories, singing, playing with puppets and sharing lots of stories. The children brought a leaflet home explaining about the different local libraries and facilities in the local area.

Funny Faces

We had lots of fun making silly faces using the different glasses, wigs and hats. Everyone really enjoyed this but it also built relationships and confidence in the children.

Sensory play

In Nursery we enhance our provision with lots of different sensory materials. These help to develop the children's sensory awareness, fine motor skills, curiosity, tactile sense and is also a lot of fun!

Wanderlust Nature Study

At Crossgates Primary school we think it's really important to develop the children's understanding of nature, the natural world and the seasons. To begin our Wanderlust study we have learned all about owls. We  watched some videos, read non-fiction books and listened to the story 'Owl Babies' by Martin Waddel. The children also made some wonderful representations of owls using observational skills and some messy hand print pictures. We are sure you'll agree that we have some amazing young artists!

First weeks in Second Steps!

It has been wonderful getting to know all the children over these first few weeks. We are so pleased with how well they have settled and it has been so lovely getting to know all of them.