Tous Ensemble, En Chemin Avec Jesus
Nursery
Kung Hey Fat Choi
We dressed in Chinese clothes to celebrate the Year of the Goat. Fen Fen told us the story of Chinese New Year and taught us a New Year song. In the hall we danced with ribbons to traditional Chinese music. We made vegetable stir fry and ate it for snack with prawn crackers. We had fun using chopsticks! We 'wrote' menus and orders in Our role play Chinese Restaurant.
Celebrating Chinese New Year
Eating Stir Fry, Role Play in the Restaurant and Decorating Our Dragons!
Pancake Tossing for Shrove Tueday
Ready to Write!
We have been doing a shoulder, arm, wrist and finger exercise to help our muscles get ready to mark make and write. The exercise goes like this...
Ready to Write!
Eric Carle, Nursery's Special Author.
We have chosen Eric Carle to be our adopted author. We have really enjoyed looking at Eric Carle books, reading stories together and painting pictures of the animals from 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Can you See?'
We painted clouds using our own ideas about what they looked like, just like in the story 'Little Cloud'.
Eric Carle, Nursery's Special Author
Maths Exploration
Number, pattern, counting, capacity and shape have been explored in Nursery this week through child initiated play, small group activities and whole class input.
Children have been threading beads and matching them with number cards. Children have used one to one correspondence to count bobbins, beads, pegs, play bugs, dinosaurs, transport and animals. Capacity concepts of 'empty', 'half full' and 'full to overflowing' have been introduced through coloured water play. Children have selected the clingy numbers and enjoyed identifying the symbol for their age.
Four friends had the idea to stack up two sand timers: they counted in unison to 20 to determine how long it would take for the sand to pass through. They also predicted which timer would be the quickest to empty, the blue or the yellow. They were jubilant when they were correct! 'The yellow won!' they shouted.
During class input, shape and fractions (whole, half and quarters) were introduced through making vegetable pizzas for snack.
This week we helped to stretch out to 'measure' the heavy sails which will provide shade in the outdoor area later in the year.
Also, Year 6 pupils played number games with Nursery, which they had designed and created during Maths Week. Everybody enjoyed themselves!
Pizza Intro (AM)
Maths Input (AM)
Pizza Input (AM).mp4
Maths Fun!
Maths Input 1 (PM).wmv
Maths Input 2 (PM).mp4
Creating and Designing
The children enjoy accessing the scissors, sellotape and a variety of media to design their own creations. They concentrate for sustained periods and talk about what they have made, taking pride in their achievements!
Using Materials to Cut, Join and Design.
Making a telescope Jan '15.MOV
Sign-A-Long
We have been using 'Sign-A-Long' during our prayers and greetings at the beginning of Nursery sessions, during small groups and whole class story times too. We use signs during the sessions for drinks and snacks, please and thank you, toilet, items of clothing and the names of staff and helpers.
Morning Prayers
Morning Greetings
Afternoon Prayers and Greetings
Child Initiated Literacy Fun
The children decided to match up their names with the photos they use to register for snack. They looked for each other's names, helping one another to search by looking for the initial letter symbols. They were delighted with their success.
Some children selected their name cards and attempted to copy their names on their pictures and mark making.
Literacy Fun!
Interest Led 'Frozen' Role Play
The children have been so excited about 'Frozen', so we created an ice castle for role play, made 'Frozen' cup cakes and explored ice through water balloons. Some of the children decided to use rubber gloves from the kitchen role play to handle the ice, a great idea! Keep a look out for more pictures of the children dressing up too!
Ice Castle Role Play and Singing
Singing 'Let it Go' Video 2
'Let it Go' Video 3
'Let It Go' Video 4
Ice Castle Role Play and Singing Video 5
Exploring the Frozen Theme
The children decorated fabric with glitter, icicle pipe cleaners and snowflakes which they had made. During role play some of the children developed creative ideas around witches; cackling, casting spells and setting traps!
We provided 'Spell Books' for recording their spells through mark making, emergent writing and drawings. This has been a highly motivating way to encourage literacy.
Role Play in the Ice Castle
Mark Making & Emergent Writing Through the Frozen Theme
Mark Making & Emergent Writing 1 (Frozen Theme).wmv
Writing A Frozen Cake Recipe
Mark Making Emergent Writing 2 (Frozen Theme).wmv
Mark Making & Emergent Writing 3 (Frozen Theme).wmv
Extending Role Play Ideas Through Planning and Mark Making
'Frozen' Role Play Photos
Elsa & Anna Visiting the Morning Nursery (video 1)
Elsa & Anna with Morning Nursery (video 2)
Anna & Elsa with the Morning Nursery Singing 'Let it Go!'
'For the First Time in Forever' Sung by Afternoon Nursery, Elsa & Anna (video 4)
Afternoon Nursery Learning to Bow & Curtesy (video 5)
'Let it Go' sung by Anna, Elsa and the Afternoon Nursery.
The Nursery Christmas Parties with Singing from Mike Arrat, Frozen's Elsa & Anna and Meeting Santa too!
Recycled Instruments
We made instruments at Nursery and at home with recycled materials. We had great fun making loud and soft sounds with the instruments, like Stephen Cartwright's book 'Who's Making That Noise?'
Using Recycled Percussion to Accompany French & English Singing
'Joyeux Anniversaire' with the Afternoon Nursery
Reclaimed Modelling for Book Week's 'Make Do and Mend.'
Happy Birthday Jesus!
What wonderful Christmas plays were performed by the Nursery children! All the families were delighted to watch 'Happy Birthday Jesus', with their children dressed up, singing and dancing with their friends. Well done Nursery!
'Mary's Boy Child' by Boney M
'Happy Birthday Jesus' Production
Balloon Launch to Remember WW1 Soldiers
Dylan's Reptiles
We had a very exciting and informative time when Dylan Hicks came to Nursery with his reptiles, baby tarantula, giant African land snails, cockroaches, African bull frog, tortoises and scorpion. Some children were even brave enough to hold the boa constrictor around their shoulders or let the tarantula walk across their hand!
Dylan's Reptiles
Celebrating Diwali
We made clay Diva lamps and ate Indian food to celebrate Diwali. We drew around our hands, cut them out and decorated them with glitter to make Mendhi hands.
We had fun chalking Rangoli patterns on the outdoor play ground and making sand patterns indoors using Rangoli stencils and shakers which Mrs Thacker brought for us.
Dressing up in authentic Indian celebration outfits was very exciting, Mrs Thacker even brought clothes for the teachers to try on!
We had a very happy Diwali time.
Diwali at Emmaus Nursery
The Fire Fighters Visit Early Years
We have had a very exciting day meeting the fire fighters. We tried on a fire fighter's helmet, sat in the fire engine and had a turn using the hose. We have lots to talk about tomorrow when we draw and write in our floor book!
The Fire fighters Visit Nursery
Active Learning and Exploring Through Play
Communication, Language & Literacy...Through I Pads and Floor Books
The children have enjoyed using I pads to play games based around phonics, counting and memory skills, learning to share and take turns using negotiation and sand timers helps the children to develop in their friendships and social skills.
Mark making, drawing and collage have all played a part in the children's interest based floor books. Floor book interests have included so far dental themes, sea creatures, Autumn, families, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Jim and the Beanstalk (a variation on Jack!).
Floor Books and IPads
We were delighted when three tonnes of sand were delivered to our outdoor beach! What an opportunity to explore, experiment, mark make and socialise, not forgetting a chance to practise our physical skills and independence putting on our waterproof trousers and wellington boots.
The beach provides an open ended, creative environment for the children to explore, think critically and problem solve. We have built tents on the beach today, working together to clip on pegs, hold fabric, take turns using the rubber mallet and searching for wood to build a 'camp fire'.
Niamh is going with her family to watch the sunset on the coast. She is bringing shells back to Nursery for our beach.
'Seaside' (The Kooks)
But almost everyone wanted to go in Emmaus Nursery!
The Nursery Beach
Active Learning, Creating and Thinking Critically - Dental Hygiene
Pauline, from Croxteth Children's Centre, came to talk about looking after our teeth. We listened to stories about going to the dentist and learnt about how to brush our teeth, remembering to clean the back teeth properly. We talked about avoiding lots sugary snacks and drinks. We remembered that mainly water and milk help to keep our teeth healthy and strong.
Pauline left her giant toothbrushes, crocodile and dental torches with us to use in our dentist role play. We looked at the stories about the dentist and drew pictures in our floor books. It's been great fun being dentists, dental nurses and patients having teeth checked too!
'Never Smile at a Crocodile'
Playing and Learning with New Friends at Emmaus
The Nursery Children Ready to Learn & Grow!
The children at Nursery have enjoyed exploring the new environment and are beginning to make friends.
They have been developing their gross motor skills and muscles in their shoulders and arms by rolling tyres, 'painting the walls using rollers and brushes, mark making on the floor using bubbly water with giant rollers and mastering the climbing wall! The giant tongs, scissors, sticks, egg chalks, pens, crayons and dough tools all help to develop muscles in the children's wrists and fingers. These gross and fine motor skills are essential for our children to be able to mark make and write with increasing control and expertise.
The children have been developing maths skills and their imagination through role play as builders using tape measures, building with large and small blocks and exploring shape and space through card board box play! Children have played with wooden number boats, shells, fir cones and small sorting figures, counting and making sets according to colour or type...like sets of spiders!
Learning Through Exploration and Play
