Class letter - Summer term 2013

Week beginning 17^th June;

This week our theme is the artist Hundertwasser. He had a lively imagination and plenty of ideas - some of these ideas became pictures and some became buildings!

These are some of the activities and ideas for this week;

• Big Toddle on Monday – don’t forget your costume (Nursery rhymes and Fairy tales theme)
• The Rex on Friday
• Acting as architects as we design our own building in the style of Hundertwasser using 3D shapes - then drawing a plan of the building.

• We will be creating artistic fruity pizzas – talking about healthy eating and Hundertwasser’s creativity!
•  Undertaking ‘Vegetative’ painting in the style of Hundertwasser – looking at how colours change as we add water or little drops of another colour.

Shared reading is on Tuesday 18^th

No show and tell due to Rex visit.

 

Week beginning 10^th June;

This week our theme is the artist / sculptor Andy Goldsworthy

         

Some of the things we are going to be finding out and learning about are;

• PE – running races and preparing for sports day – wearing plimsolls or trainers.
• Using natural materials to create shapes, talking about how many sides, corners etc.
• Painting outlines on the playground and creating labels for these – concentrating on appropriate grip and control.
• Gathering natural materials to create our own colour charts – looking closely at shades of colour.

There is no Nursery on Thursday due to elections

Show and tell ; natural objects

Shared reading is on Friday 14th

Week beginning; 3^rd June

This week our exploration and learning is linked to the artist Mondrian

We will be;

• Talking about and naming shapes and their properties as we decorate cars, dinosaurs and people in the style of Mondrian.
• Working in pairs to use laptops and create Mondrian style pictures – using the ‘click and drag’ technique
• Developing pen control as we represent letter shapes and use mark-making patterns and then fill the spaces created
• Music; exploring rhythms

Show and tell on Friday will be; shapes

Shared reading is on Thursday 6^th June

There will be letters coming home this week about The Big Toddle (17/6/13) and a trip to the Rex (21/6/13) – if you are able to come with us let us know.

Week beginning; 20^th May

This week our theme is ‘sun, moon and shadows’.

These are some of the experiences we will be having …

• PE – jumping and balancing using apparatus
• Visiting St Albans Abbey – Buckets of shape and colour trail!
• Exploring shadows – placing different objects in front of a light source and finding out how to change the length of shadows. Discussing and sharing ideas and discoveries.
• Creating shadow puppets by drawing round a stencil and cutting out the shape . Using tools safely and with control
• Music – exploring loud and quiet sounds linked to day and night time as we learn an Indian lullaby.

Show and tell; something that would create an interesting shadow

Shared reading is on Wednesday 22nd

 

 

Week beginning ; 13th May

Our theme this week is; Planets and rockets

We will be learning, exploring and finding out about:

• PE; using apparatus, balancing and jumping
• creating textured planets, using the papier mache technique and adding other materials to add different textures.
• 'rocket writing'; practising a variety of hand-writing shapes using big and small movements in the air and on whiteboards, also thinking about the initial sounds in words.
• comparing height as we create rockets using speed stacking cups, also counting how many cups we have used.
• Taking part in an alien tea party - parents / carers welcome too (see letter on Monday 13th) - this is instead of show and tell on Friday.

Shared reading; Thurs 16th

 

Week beginning ; 6th May

Our theme this week is - "Welcome to our world!"

We will be learning, exploring and finding out about:

• memories of nursery - what would you tell an alien visitor? We will focus on using different tenses in our descriptions.
• creating a decorated frame for a photo, using pastels.
• talking about what can be seen from space when looking at the earth . Can the Great Wall of China be seen from space? Then we will explore building our own BIG structure using junk, blocks or Weetabix!
• planning and making a healthy ( mathematical) snack. Counting out the correct number of pieces of fruit or vegetable to match a numeral on toast. 
• Music - Alex's mum is coming to run a session!

All week we will be continuing to think about and care for our worms in their composter.

Shared reading: Wednesday 8th

Show and tell : something that keeps you healthy

 

Week beginning; 29^th April.

Our theme this week is – ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’.

 During adult led activities this week we will be learning, exploring and finding out about;

•  PE; using apparatus – travelling over, under and through as well as jumping off and landing safely. 
• Sorting and labelling ‘ rubbish’ ready for recycling – keeping a tally and counting how many of each item we have and finding the correct numeral to represent each group of objects.
• Visiting the Waitrose recycling bins (on Wednesday) to recycle our sorted rubbish – if you are able to come with us it’s not too late to let us know! 
• No Nursery on Thursday.¨      
• Working together to create a worm composter – finding out what and how the worms needs to live. We are going to be thinking about the responsibility we will all have to care for the worms and are going to decorate the area in which it will be kept to remind others that the worms are working for us.

Show and tell; something recycled or reused
Shared reading is on Tuesday 30th

 

Week beginning 22nd April

This week our theme is "5 little men in a flying saucer." (Do you know the song?)

Some of things we are going to be exploring and learning about this week are;

• PE; moving like astronauts in space
• Adapting and acting out our own version of the story 'There was a bold lady who wanted a star,' by Charise Harper
• Using dice and the number rolled to tell us how many aliens we need to put on a flying saucer.
• Describing and photographing our friends to create our own version of the story 'Here come the Aliens' by Colin McNaughton - .
• Music; exploring high and low sounds. Finding out about the story 'Noah and the Ark'.

Show and tell; something we can count.

Shared reading is on Thursday 25th April

Next week we are finding out about recycling - we need boxes, plastic pots, foil containers etc. Thanks in advance for any donations.

 

 

WELCOME BACK!

Week beginning; 15th April

This week our theme is 'Aliens'.

On Tuesday we have a Science Challenge Day. Before Easter the children decided what they they would like to investigate and which groups they would like to work in.

• Group 1; How can we make a rocket/ time machine go up in  the air?
• Group 2; What materials can we use to create stars that we can see in  the dark?
• Group 3; What happens to colours when you add in different materials?

Other activities this week are; 

• designing / decorating underpants by printing with numerals (Linked to the story - Aliens love underpants!)
• creating alien body shapes using fabric and glue, then thinking of an alliterative name fro the alien and creating a name label for it.
• adding to our alien body shapes  - choosing colours to paint them, then selecting resources to represent eyes / legs / arms etc and fixing them on

Shared reading is on Wednesday 17th

Show and tell this week is; something weird or unusual.

 

Week beginning; 25th March

This week we are finding out about 'Easter'

Some of the activities are;

• PE; ball skills - using our feet ( also linked to maths and numeral recognition).
• Creating our own hot cross buns out of clay
• Looking closely at daffodils before drawing them.
• Easter egg hunt - matching numerals to groups of eggs

Shared reading is on Tuesday

No show and tell this week

HAPPY EASTER!

 

Week beginnning; 18th March

This week we are finding out about 'pond / water life'.

Some of the activities are;

• PE; ball skills - using our feet
• Creating thumb-print tadpoles and working with a partner to count how many and record the number.
• Going for a walk along the canal to look at a lock, discover wildlife and spot signs of changing seasons. We are also going to be looking at what is written on signs along the way. Let us know if you are able to come with us.
• looking closley at a real fish, before choosing which materials to use to recreate it.
• Music; exploring high and low sounds - linked to frogs jumping, swimming and diving etc

Shared reading is on Friday this week

Show and tell ; a natural object (also on Friday).

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During the week beginning 11th March we are going to be thinking about;

" water transport"

Some of the things we are going to be playing, learning about and exploring this week are; 

• ball skills - bouncing and catching
• working with a partner to create a boat from 'junk' - and writing name labels
• floating and sinking - counting how many objects we can put in a boat before it sinks
• creating water patterns - using pens
• investigating natural objects - are they living or dead?

Show and tell will be; boats

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During the week beginning 4th March we are going to be thinking about;

"Weather extremes"

Some of the things we are going to be playing with, learning about and exploring this week are;

• Ball skills - throwing and catching
• Shaped bubble blowers - we are going to investigate making our own. (Do you think squares, circles or triangles will work best?) What makes the bubbles travel? What happens if ...?
• What is unique about me? Can I describe a frined?
• Cooking
• Using construction kits to build a dam / flood defense (on a  small scale!)

Show and tell will be; 'my mum'.

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During the week beginnning 25th February we are going to be thinking and learning about;

"What is the weather today?"

Some of the things we are going to be playing with, learning about and exploring this week are;

• investigating which objects in our classroom could be blown away in a strong wind.
• finding out how to give the rainbow it's colours (linked to Elmer and the rainbow).
• shapes - linked to PE.
• creating weather sounds, using body percussion and instruments.

Show and tell will be;

clothes linked to different weather conditions.

If you have any weather related stories or games - please bring them in to show us.

 

Nursery Lunch Club (PAWS)

At Swing Gate our Nursery Lunch Club, called Paws, aims to introduce the experience of eating together with friends. It is a sound preparation for school lunchtimes, enjoying lunch as a social event and therefore easing the transition into a full school day when your child starts in the Reception class.

The Early Years trained staff sit with your child, encouraging healthy eating, manners and a positive playing attitude. The children eat their packed lunch (not provided) in the classroom together with their friends.

Paws operates after Swing Gate First School nursery from 11.50am until 3.20pm. You can stay for lunch (packed lunch not provided) until 1.25pm or join in the fun until 3.20pm on Tuesdays & Thursdays.

 

View more information on the PAWS website