Welcome to Bluebell Nursery Class!
We are very pleased to be able to share the virtual tour of our Early years Foundation Stage with you.
Please click on the link to watch
Meet the Bluebells team…
From left to right we have Bethan (nursery teacher), Emma (EYFS Support staff), Lucy (EYFS Support staff), Laura (cover teacher) and Mobeen (EYFS Support staff).
Email Bethan: bethan.baldwin@stnicholasprimaryschool.org.uk
We have a child-friendly photo book about Bluebells which you may like to share with your child:
Welcome to Bluebells photo book
What do we do in Bluebell Class?
To find out what we are going to be learning in nursery this term, please click on the ‘Learning Web’ link below…
Bluebells class learning web Spring 1 2022
We love reading! We share lots of stories, inside and outside:
Recently the children made beautiful transient art images with natural materials:
The children enjoy exploring a wide range of media to make marks:
Storytelling
We follow the ‘Talk4Writing‘ approach in our adult-led literacy curriculum.
Spring term 2022
In the first half-term we will be reading and retelling ‘Tanka Tanka Skunk’.
In the book we will meet Tanka the elephant and his friend Skunka. Say their names together and they SOUND LIKE DRUMS! There are lots of friends for us to meet, so say their names to the Tanka Skunka beat! Lemurs, llamas, zebras, badgers, caterpillars, big GORILLAS and yakety yakety yaks. The book will take us on a veritable roller-coaster ride of sights and sounds as animals leap and dance across the brightly coloured pages.
Autumn term 2021
In the second half of the autumn term we focused on ‘Whatever Next!’, a classic picture book by the much-loved author Jill Murphy. The moon and back before bathtime? Whatever next! Baby Bear finds a rocket, makes friends with an owl and has a picnic on the moon!
We started off the first half of the autumn term by sharing ‘Owl Babies’ by Martin Waddell. This lovely picture book tells the story of three owlets that wake up one night to find their mother gone, worry about her absence, but are then elated when she inevitably returns from her night flight.
Look at our gorgeous owls!
Our other core story for the first half of the Autumn term was the traditional tale ‘Goldilocks’.
We read and re-read the story, learning to tell it from memory using actions and movement. We sang the song of the story and explored the characters, setting and themes through the children’s play. We compared different versions of the story. We cooked and ate some porridge and decided if it was too hot, too cold or just right!
Zones of Regulation
In our school we talk about ‘Zones of Regulation’ to help us understand and regulate our feelings and behaviour. Feelings can be thought of as colours. In Bluebell class we enjoy reading ‘The Colour Monster’ as this book helps us to be aware of how we are feeling. We follow the Jigsaw PSHE programme and enjoy using the ‘Calm Me’ time to practise our special breathing and mindfulness techniques.
This week in our Jigsaw PSHE session we read ‘The Family Book’ by Todd Parr. We talked about how every family is different and the children drew pictures of their families.
Philosophy for Children (P4C)
We teach and encourage the children to ask questions, show curiosity and listen to each others’ ideas:
‘Values’ in our school
We are a values-based school.
Our value for this term is Teamwork. We often talk in Bluebells about children being part of a team in which every member looks after everyone else. We also think about teamwork in terms of everyone working together, for example to tidy up our toys.
Communication
I am usually available at the beginning and end of the day if you want a brief chat. For anything else we can arrange a meeting at a convenient time or alternatively you can use the ‘Email Bethan’ button at the top of this page.
Lunches
Your child can bring a packed lunch to school or you can order a cooked school lunch made on site for £2.10.
Here is the menu:
Please use Scopay to order your child’s cooked lunch in advance:
https://www.scopay.com/login.html
Please ask or email the school administrative team if you are experiencing any difficulties with this.
The children eat their school lunch in the main hall at 11.35, along with the other children from EYFS.
Children eating a packed lunch will also eat their lunch in the hall. When preparing your child’s packed lunch, please remember to cut grapes in half (or smaller) as whole grapes are a dangerous choking hazard.
We are a ‘nut free’ school – please do not include any foods containing nuts in your child’s packed lunch.
Nursery Rhymes
We sing familiar nursery rhymes daily and teach new songs and rhymes that tie in with seasonal or other activities and celebrations. The children are learning lots of traditional rhymes such as:
Incy Wincy SpiderHickory Dickory DockOld MacDonald Had a FarmBaa Baa Black SheepHumpty DumptyIf you are unsure about the words or tunes you could have a look at Mr Tumble on Youtube:
Online Learning Journal
We use an online learning journal app called Tapestry for every child, which we use to track, record, assess and share with you significant learning experiences that your child has had, using comments, photographs and short film clips.
We really appreciate your comments and feedback on the observations that we share with you. Don’t forget that you can upload media to share with nursery staff too.
Parents/carers are able to access their own child’s journal using a secure password. Please contact me if you are having any difficulties in accessing your child’s journal.
We will use Tapestry as the primary means of communicating and supporting home learning should we need to move to remote learning due to Covid19 so please make sure that you check Tapestry frequently.
We also use Tapestry to share our rhymes, stories and other Bluebell learning opportunities with parents so that you feel informed about what is happening in nursery.
How Young Children Learn
Children in our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) unit learn through a balance of adult-led and child-initiated experiences. Young children learn best when they explore and investigate things first hand through play-based experiences. Our staff team are experienced in supporting children to make the most of learning opportunities. We will be putting your child’s emotional and physical well-being at the heart of all that we do.
Curriculum
The EYFS is a distinct phase of education with its own curriculum from birth to the end of the Reception year.
What does ‘EYFS’ mean?
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old. All schools and Ofsted-registered early years providers must follow the EYFS, including childminders, preschools, nurseries and school reception classes.
Click on the link below to find out more:
NEW DfE EYFS STATUTORY FRAMEWORK FROM SEPT 2021
Wishing Tree Appeals
Please keep an eye on our virtual wishing tree appeals. Your donations of items are much appreciated and are used directly for activities with the children (craft items, cooking ingredients etc). They really do help to enhance your children’s experiences at school. We would be especially grateful for donations of tissues during the winter months!
Things that your child needs to bring to school
- A small plastic bag (with your child’s name clearly visible) containing spare clothes etc
- A named water bottle
- A named warm coat (ideally waterproof/water resistant) as we use the outdoor area in all weathers.
- A named pair of wellies that can be left in school (we have some spare pairs in school so don’t worry if you don’t have any)
Donations
If you have any puzzles, games or old toys that are in good condition, we would be happy to give them a new home! We are particularly in need of battery operated ‘technology’ toys with buttons to press (e.g. VTech/remote controlled cars). Large pieces of material that can be used for our role play areas would also be welcomed!
With warmest wishes from the Bluebells team.