Autumn Term 1st Half

We started off the school year incorporating the colour monster book into our everyday routine. We talked about feelings and the meanings of the words happy/ sad. Vocabulary cat helped us understand these meanings by saying, acting, clapping, shouting and whispering the word. It was lovely to see children use their words when describing how they were feeling/ labelling their emotions and recognising/ validating other children's feelings.

As we got into our topic 'If you go down to the woods today' we enjoyed looking at the changes that Autumn brings. We went on an Autumn walk to Barkers park, had a listening moment in the woods and collected leaves and conkers to take back to school for our Autumn collage. We finished the day off by going to the park as a treat, where the children were able to develop their fine/ gross motor skills by climbing, sliding, swinging, spinning and jumping, all whilst building the confidence to explore the local environment with their key person.

Oral health is very important and we are proud that our children brush their teeth with us every session. We were lucky enough to have the dentist and dental nurses from Kimberworth Park Dental Practice visit us in school where we learned more about food that is good/ bad for our teeth and how to brush our teeth properly. The children were given a tooth brushing pack to take home.

As part of our commitment to improving children's literacy skills, we follow the Talk for Writing scheme. We want the children in REY to be exposed to high quality texts and rhymes. Our core texts this term are goldilocks and the three bears, owl babies and brown bear, brown bear. We are also introducing a new nursery rhyme each week so by the time children move on to their next stage of learning they will have been exposed to at least 40 rhymes/ songs.

October brought lots of changes in the weather. We enjoyed a downpour by putting on a wellies and puddle suits and splashing in the rain. We sprinkled different coloured powder paint onto the ground and watched what happened as it mixed with water. The children also enjoyed using their whole body by sweeping the puddles away.

The children have had a fantastic start this term and I cannot wait to see them 'sparkle and shine' in our next topic.

Autumn Term 2nd Half

Sparkle and shine started off with a bang as we celebrated bonfire night. We studied the American artist Jackson Pollock. Pollack was a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his dripping technique of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface, enabling him to view his canvass from all angles. We created a whole class 'firework' canvas as well as individual pieces to display/ take home to our families.

We were also lucky to work with a local artist, James Brunt who .......... using natural materials .......... The children first collected yellow leaves and then brown and helped display them on the ground to make a circular pattern.

On Fridy the 11^th November, we marked remembrance day by talking about the importance of people wearing poppies. The children did an observational painting of a poppy and took part in the 2 minutes silence. 

Christmas is a very exciting time of year and our classroom certainly was sparkly and shiny with glitter, lights, trees and decorations to get us ready for the festive period. Earlier in the term the children took part in a sponsored walk to help raise money for a Christmas treat. We were lucky enough as a class to visit 'Tinsel Tots at Gullivers Valley. It was a magical day for our children and families and lots of lovely memories were made.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Next term we will be 'walking in a winter wonderland'.