Welcome to the Nursery webpage. We will use this page to keep you informed about events and learning in Nursery!

Spring 2 half term learning

We started the half term with a very exciting Book Week, learning about ‘Space’, wearing pyjamas for a bedtime story and dressing up as book characters. The children also had fun buddy reading with Year 3 classes from the Junior school!  Our topic this past half term was ‘Eggtastic’! Our first key text ‘Handa’s Hen’ was very popular and many of the children now know it by heart! We loved learning to find Africa on a world map and about the different animals. It has also helped us become very good at recognising the numbers 1 to 10 and matching the right number of objects to the numeral. The children have been fascinated by our second text, ‘Chickens Aren’t The Only Ones’ learning about the different creatures that lay eggs (oviparous) including dinosaurs, birds, amphibians and reptiles.  Celebrating Holi, Eid, Mothers day and Easter have been highlights of the term but the most exciting event was our chicks. We watched the chicks hatch out of eggs and have been able to care for and handle them! It has been great for the children to see the bulbs you kindly sent in last October flower into beautiful snowdrops, hyacinths, tulips and daffodils! In PSHE we learnt all about keeping healthy by eating and sleeping well as well as doing exercise. Thank you for sending in the fruit for the fruit kebabs, it was so exciting to touch, smell and taste such a wonderful variety! Finally thank you for coming to our Rhyme Time concerts, we were very proud of how enthusiastically the children sang. We hope you liked the Mother’s day cards (in the style of Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama ) the children made at Nursery and are impressed that they are trying to write their own names. We had a fun final week of term making chocolate nests and the Easter Egg competition!

Overview of next half term

Our topic is ‘Plantastic’’. The table above gives you an overview of the learning and activities we will be focussing on in the 3 year old Nursery. The 2yos will focus on a simplified version of this plan. 

Our focus is growing fruit and vegetables, and we have a special ‘bring a plant to school week’ when we ask you send in vegetable or fruit seedlings such as strawberries, tomatoes, peppers,  beans, peas, broccoli, kale, etc. for the children to care for and watch grow at school.

Dates for your Diary 

Exciting news in Nursery! On Wednesday we watched 9 chicks hatch! We have been watching them grow and taking care of them. Next week when they are a bit bigger we will be able to hold them!

Nursery children have been very busy this week finding out about healthy eating as part of their PSHE learning. A HUGE thank you to nursery parents who donated all the above fruit so that the children could look at the colours, shapes and textures of lots of different fruit as well as smelling them. The children recognised lots of the fruit from the book Handa's Surprise which they have been reading together. Afterwards the children got to make their own kebabs and taste all the yummy fruit. 

Spring 1 half term learning

Our topic this past half term was ‘Marvellous Making’ and the children enjoyed making all sorts of things! Making music and tapping out rhythms along to our key text ‘Tanka Tanka Skunk’ was great fun. We made binoculars from junk, we made gingerbread men, made Chinese crafts, made bird food for the Big Garden Birdwatch and made towers from construction. We learnt how to paint and have all the children’s wonderful pictures hanging in our Nursery gallery. Thank you to the parents who came in to help us celebrate Chinese New Year. It is great to have so many parents sharing their culture with us. We all enjoyed the Chinese workshop with Earthsong, playing the drums and watching the dancing lion! Our big focus in maths has been counting. Thank you for coming to the Phonics and early writing parent workshop in January. If you could not come please take a moment to look at the slides on the website. We have been learning the phonemes s,a,t,p,i,n,m,d,g and o and using the Little Wandle Rhymes to learn phonemic skills such as alliteration, rhyming, syllables and recognising sounds around us. Please remember you can practise the rhymes at home on this link. https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/#tabnametabNurseryRhymes-Videos

This term we also completed an obstacle course, have been observing the weather every day and watching the bulbs we planted start to come through as Spring arrives. Science Day and the Parent Reading sessions were huge successes and it was great that you could join us for all the activities. Finally, thank you for joining us for the Parent Consultations, it was good to talk to you all about how much progress your child has made so far.

Overview of next half term

Our topic is ‘Eggtastic’’. The table above gives you an overview of the learning and activities we will be focussing on in the 3 year old Nursery. The 2yos will focus on a simplified version of this plan.  Term begins on Tuesday 20th February with an action packed ‘Book Week’. Please remember to send your child in wearing pyjamas on the Tuesday and dressing up as a book character on the Friday. The highlight this half term will definitely be on when 10 eggs arrive in an incubator and hatch into chicks in our Nursery. One of our key texts is  ‘Chicken’s Aren’t the Only Ones’, our first information text where we learn about all the different animals that lay eggs. Our other text is ‘Handa’s Hen’ which is set in Africa and helps us learn about the map of the world, different animalsE

and counting. In maths we are focussing on counting, comparing quantities, shapes and subitising. In Phonics we will introduce the next set of phonemes (c,k,ck, e, u, r & h), In Science we are investigating ice, wind and the signs of Spring.  In art and DT we will be making Mothers’s Day cards, Easter art and cards, musical instruments and improving our painting skills.

Rhyme Time Challenge

Our Rhyme Time Challenge concerts are on Friday 15th March. Thank you for helping us practise the songs at home.

Dates for your Diary 

Autumn 2 half term learning

Our topic this past half term was ‘Journeys’ and the children enjoyed learning what a journey is through books and out and about sessions. Our two key texts, ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ and ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ were very popular and lots of the children now know both books off by heart! The children have started to learn and use lots of new vocabulary for geographical features such as hills, rivers, fields, caves, sea and have been introduced to maps. Learning all about and playing with farm animals has been very popular too. In phonics we have started the new Little Wandle Foundations scheme for Nursery and introduced the sounds s,a,t,p,i and n and focussed on learning to write our names.  The children have been introduced to one number every week, we have been practising counting, understanding ‘same and different’ and learning the names of basic 2D shapes.

We have also been learning all about the seasons and the signs of Autumn and winter. We noticed the colours of the leaves change then fall off the trees on our out and about walks. Thank you for bringing in bulbs. We have planted them in our Forest School and we cannot wait to see them grow into beautiful flowers in the Spring.  Art was also our focus to help us learn about Bonfire night and Remembrance Day as we painted fireworks and poppies as well as making clay ladybirds. Thank you to the parents who came in to help us celebrate multi-cultural day and the different festivals including Christmas, Hanukkah and Diwali.  Finally, we have been celebrating Christmas by singing, making cards and crafts and learning about how Christians celebrate it as well as practising the songs for the Christmas concerts.

Overview of next half term

Term begins on 9th anuary. Our topic is ‘Marvellous Making’. The table above gives you an overview of the learning and activities we will be focussing on in the 3 year old Nursery. The 2yos will focus on a simplified version of this plan.  We will be making music, making dens, making a picnic, making Chinese arts and crafts and making wintery art! In addition to this all children have a Music session with Mrs Williamson every week, an Out and About session, maths, circle time and phonics session. Our phonics focus is to continue with learning the phonemes with the Little Wandle scheme. We also have story time every day and learn songs, rhymes and dances every week. The children learn a new Makaton sign each week, a number of the week and we will focus on counting and understanding number. The children of course have the opportunity to do Forest School once a week and choose their own learning and play inside and outside throughout the term.

Rhyme Time Challenge

Next term we also start our Rhyme Time Challenge! This is when we send home a weekly Nursery rhyme for the children to learn with their families! We also practise it in Nursery but it would be great to see videos and pictures of you singing it at home on Tapestry! At the end of term there will be a concert in the Nursery before the Easter holidays.

Dates for your Diary 

Autumn 1 half term learning

Thank you for welcoming us into your homes in July and September! It has been wonderful to get to know you and your children over the half term. We are delighted with how quickly and how well they have settled in.  We have had so much fun this half term exploring, learning and making friends inside and outside. Our topic has been ‘our families’ and the children have loved talking about their family pictures. We have also been enjoying traditional tales such as Goldilocks, The Three Little Pigs and Jack and the Beanstalk. The children had fun joining in with the Black History Storytelling workshops and making our celebration tree look amazing. It has been fantastic to get Forest School started and see the children exploring nature. Thank you for all the donations of logs, leaves, conkers etc.  Finally, the Nursery is looking wonderfully green inside and outside because of the plants you donated. Thank you very much!

Overview of next half term

Term begins on Monday 30th October and ends on Friday 21st December. Our topic is ‘Journeys’.  Every Friday we send you a summary of what is coming up in the week ahead in Nursery. It is very beneficial and helpful if you take a little time with your child to talk about it to help them learn vocabulary and get them excited about what they will be learning. Below is a summary of the learning in Green, Yellow and Blue Nursery.

Dates for your Diary

Thank you to everyone who attended the Nursery Curriculum talk last Friday 22 September.  For those of you who missed it, please find below a copy of the presentation.

Nursery Curriculum talk Sept 2023: presentation for parents

Dear Reception and Nursery Parents/Carers, 

Please find attached a letter from the director of Public Health regarding a rise in cases of measles and information about vaccination. 

Measles Update Letter September 2023

Thank you and best wishes 

Burlington Infant & Nursery School