Nursery

Welcome to the Nursery Class Page

Nursery Assistant: Miss Weeks

Nursery Nurses: Ms Paul and Mrs Smith

​​​​​​Room Leader: Miss Pendleton

EYFS Lead: Miss Parker

​

Contact details: nursery@callingtonprimary.co.uk

Welcome to our Nursery Page              

for 2022/2023                                    

 Please keep scrolling to see what we did in nursery in 2021/2022                                                                                                

Jubilee Celebrations

This week alongside our continuous provision and our adventures following the children's interests we have been celebrating the The Queens Platinum Jubilee. Our children have made bunting, flags, red white and blue snacks, we learnt the National Anthem with Makaton signing and the children created wonderful artworks, creations, playdoh cakes, even obstacle courses and sand castles for the queen! 

Here are some of the children's thoughts on the celebrations:

"It's a celebrate and a big party for the Queen"

"I liked seeing the Queen and maybe I will ask mummy to take me to the real Queen"

"I liked the song and when we went to wave our flags"

"I like our paint flags" (the bunting we made)

"I want to see the Queen in London with a rose on her hat"

"The Queen got two birthday"

"The Queen has a reeeeeeeeeeeeealy big house with lots of rectangle windows"

"I saw the queen and my sister!"

This week has been all about 'What The Ladybird Heard' by Julia Donaldson. The children have created such wonderful maps, built and played in our small world farm, shown incredible teamwork like the animals in the story and absolutely blown us away with their own ideas for changes to the story.

It has been fabulous to get outside in the sunshine and we are noticing the signs of Spring throughout school, especially whilst foraging for ingredients for the mud kitchen. The team have been treated to a feast of mud creations and we can't wait to see what is on the menu next week.

Here are just a few pictures, please do check your Tapestry account too, share the pictures with your children and ask them to talk you through what we were up to.

This week in nursery the children have continued to show an interest in insects - they have been building homes, bug hunting on our forest school day (see the next photo reel down), we have used insects to develop our understanding of the numbers 1-4 and the children loved this weeks focus book 'Mad About Minibeasts' by Giles Andreae, with facts, rime and wonderful illustrations inspiring fabulous conversations and vocabulary development opportunities! 

Here are a few pictures of our week: 

What a fantastic week it has been in Nursery. Our core story this week was 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury - we have retold the story, in our small world, in the outdoor area, in the forest school, during lunch time! Today (Friday) we got to play on the "real playground" and had a visit from a Great Dane called Odin - he was bigger than our children!

We have made our own snacks, baked biscuits, painted, climbed, cut, stuck, built, explored, laughed, danced, sung, signed and so much more... take a look at these photos and check your child's Tapestry, share them with your child and ask them about their time at nursery.

Have a lovely weekend - we cant wait to see everyone next week. 

Welcome to the Spring Term 2022!

It has been wonderful to see the children return to nursery after Christmas and very exciting to welcome all of our new starters to our Nursery! 

Starting nursery, or returning after a break, is a big transition for your children, so over the next few weeks we will be spending lots of time getting to know the children though child led play opportunities, we will be learning our routines, exploring our provision, visiting other areas of the school and of course, enjoying lots of snacks too.

We will update our webpage frequently and keep you posted on your child's learning journey though the Tapestry App. If you would like any more information or support on using the app - please do ask us or get in touch on nursery@callingtonprimary.co.uk.

For an overview of our curriculum this term please visit our curriculum overview page here.

Thank you for your ongoing support and patience as we settle your children into nursery.

Mysterious bowls of porridge are found in the woods!

The children have been learning the core story 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. After a visit to the outdoor garden, they were very surprised to find 3 bowls of different sized porridge. After some investigations, the children found some bears hiding in the trees. What a great ways to get hooked into a book! 

Settling into Nursery

During the first month of Nursery the children have spent lots of time settling into their new setting. They have also had time to develop their special relationship with their key people. Already we can see their curiosity, wonder and interests forming and we love how they explore so many resources! We have so many learning adventures to have together. 

Summer Term - Outdoor Explorers

Week Ten - The Snail and the Whale 

Our new story this week is 'The Snail and the Whale'. The children have loved reading this story and can already recognise that it is a rhyming story. They have looked carefully at a piece of art by Matisse called “The snail” and have stuck pieces of colourful paper onto a snail shape in order to recreate the artwork. In the sand tray, they have been retelling the story using small world toys. They have loved using the numicon to count, match and create their own snails. They have also been practicing their pencil control and tracing over a picture of a snail and then having a go at their names too. Outside, the children have been exploring the water tray, where there are Artic animals and icebergs, like in part of the story. Check out the photos below to see more of what they have been up to…      

Week Nine - Sally and the Limpet

We have enjoyed reading ‘Sally and the Limpet’ this week. The children have enjoyed listening to the story and joining in with the parts they remember. We have been very creative in our learning and have being using clay to make shell imprints, which we will paint later on, and have also painted beach landscapes using different textured paint. We have had lots of discussions about how we can keep safe at the beach and the things we would take to the beach to keep us safe.

Take a look at some photographs of the fun we’ve had below:

Week Eight - Billy Goats Gruff

We started off the week by letting our beautiful butterflies fly away - the children were extremely excited about letting them free and watching them fly away. One of them even took fondly to a child's colourful dress and didn't wanted to leave. It was great for the children to observe the life cycle: starting as a caterpillar, growing a cacoon and then growing into a beautiful butterfly and flying away. Our tadpoles are still growing away nicely in the nursery too! 

Our book this week has been 'Billy Goats Gruff' where the children have enjoyed retelling the story and repeating common words and phrases. The children have been using the small world table to retell the story as well as creating their own bridges to allow the 3 goats to get over the river safely. 

We have had lots of fun outside, playing with the parachute, splashing in water and making fathers day cards. 

Check out some photographs of our learning below: 

Week Seven - Sharing a Shell

It has been great welcoming all the children back after the half term break and hearing all about the fun things they have been up to. This week, the children have enjoyed reading the story 'Sharing a Shell' and were great at discussing the word sharing and what it meant.

"Share means when you let some one play with the same toy as you" Josephine

"You can share by giving someone else your toy when you've finished" Aniyah 

The children have been observing and recording the weather each day and have added their findings to the nursery weather chart as well as creating their own rockpools, 3D fish and having lots of fun in the sunshine. 

In PE, the children finished off their under the sea dances and were all superb at becoming different sea creatures! Super proud at their effort! Well done to all of you!

Take a look at some photographs of the fun we've had this week: 

Week Six - How to Grow Cress

The children have had lots of fun this week following a set of instructions on how to grow cress. The children have been great at following the steps to create their own cress heads:

“You have to get the cotton wool damp” Aniyah

“We need two bits of cotton wool” Casey

“Then we sprinkle the seeds on” Alfie. S

“It needs to go in the window… in the sun” William W

The children have enjoyed observing the seeds each morning and are excited to see how they change over the coming week.

As well as growing cress, the children have enjoyed observing the caterpillars grow and our new addition of tadpoles! We have been reading and learning lots about caterpillars, butterflies, tadpoles and frogs. 

Take a look at some photographs of the fun we've had this week: 

Week Five - Owl Babies

The story we have been reading this week in Nursery is 'Owl Babies'. The children have enjoyed retelling this story using the owl teddies. They have been great at remembering key events and phrases:

" I want my Mummy said Bill" Aniyah

"Owl Mummy is going to get mices for the babies" Alfie.W. 

The children have also been very creative at creating their own owl pictures from leaves and owl nests from straw and sticks. 

Last week, the children were introduced to some caterpillars to the nursery, which we are very excited about watching them each day and observing them grow! 

"They'll grow into butterflies" Casey

"They will build a cacoon and then be a butterfly" Josephine

Week Four - The Little Red Hen 

The children have enjoyed retelling the story of 'The Little Red Hen' this week through puppets/props and other small world items. They were great at remembering the key events and key phrases. 

During PE this week, the children were super dancers and were great at moving their bodies in different ways. We all became: fish, octopus', sharks and star fish. 

We also had great fun in completing 'Squiggle Write' where the children created different marks whilst listening to different music. We had great fun!

Check out some photographs of the fun we've had below:

Week Three - Handa's Surprise

In the Nursery we have been reading and learning all about the story 'Handa's Surprise'. The children have enjoyed retelling the story and telling us which animals stole which fruits from Handa's basket using animal masks and creating stick puppets. The children have also been able to look at and tastes some of the fruits from the story: bananas, oranges, pineapple, avacados and mangos during our morning snack. Some of the children thought it was easy for Handa to carry a basket full of fruit on her head so we gave them the challenge of walking along a bumpy pathway whilst balancing a basket on their heads. In PE this week, we started some dance and the children were great at becoming fish and moving in different ways around the hall. 

Week Two - The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This week the children have enjoyed reading the classic children's book - The Very Hungry Caterpillar, where we have had a great discussion about the life cycle of a caterpillar. The children enjoyed collaging their own butterflies and painting and creating their own caterpillars. We have had lots of fun outside, making the most of the beautiful weather and our new renovated outdoor space. On Tuesday, we were able to go over to the hall for our weekly PE session. The children had lots of fun practicing their balances and jumps and were superstars at taking their socks and shoes on and off! Check out some photographs below: 

Week One - We're Going on a Bear Hunt

We've had a great week welcoming everyone back after the Easter break. The children have really enjoyed playing in our new renovated outdoor area - the nursery bus, bug hotel, music area and water area has been a huge hit!

We have been reading 'We're going on a bear hunt' this week which the children have really enjoyed and have joined in with the repetitive parts. We also had a surprise visit from Barnaby Bear each morning, where he had left us a postcard of somewhere he had visited in our school. Each morning, the children have been excited to find the postcard and read about where he has been. The children have been creating their own binoculars, visiting the forest school area and retelling the class story in our small world.

Check out some photographs below: 

Easter Bonnet Competition 

Over the Easter holidays the children had the opportunity to create their own Easter Bonnet. Every child that took part would recieve a prize and the winner would win an easter egg. We asked the children to be as creative as they would like, take a look at the the entries below. Winner to be announced this week. 

--- 2020/2021 ---

Spring Term - What Makes Me a Me?

The Easter Story 

This week we have been reading the Easter story, the children have been very good at recalling what happened to Jesus and are aware that Easter isn't just about chocolate! 

Here are some of the comments they have made:

Casey "He died on the cross."

Aniyah "They couldn't see any of his bones, he didn't have any bones left (Jesus)."

Flynn "Jesus died on the cross."

Evie "Baby Jesus died on the cross."

Ellie "It was baby Jesus when he growed up."

They children have had a lovely week creating Easter chicks, painting with carrots, taking part in an Easter egg hunt and exploring the outdoor area.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

This week the children's learning has been based around the traditional tale, 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. The children have enjoyed joining in with the story, repeating well know phrases and have been able to retell a lot of the story in detail. They have had lots fun and have been really busy bees playing and exploring with all the fun activities set out for them. 

This week, we also had the chance to get back in the hall and complete some PE. All the children were superstars at listening to instructions and were great independent learners at trying to put their own socks and shoes back on at the end of the session. As well as learning indoors, we have had the opportunity to spend some time outside because of the nice weather! Check out some of our learning and exploring in the photographs below: 

My Grandparents Love Me

It has been lovely to welcome all nursery children back to the nursery this week! It has been lovely to see their smiley faces and excitement to see their friends and join in with the activities. 

This week, we have been reading the story 'My Grandparents Love Me' and have discussed with the children the different things they love to do with their grandparents. The children have loved getting stuck back into playing and learning. Check out some photographs below: 

World Book Day

We have spent all week celebrating 'World Book Day'. We have focused on the story 'The Gruffalo' as we knew it was strong favourite for the children. The children have spent the week labelling parts of the Gruffalo's body, creating animal characters out of different shapes, going on a hunt for the characters from the story, retelling the story and creating characters from the story using a potato. We have also talked about and shared some of the children's favourite stories. Have a look at the photos below:   

The World Made a Rainbow

Our class story this week has been a lovely story to share with the children as it is all about the world we live in at the minute. It has been lovely to discuss the children's thoughts and feelings in these uncertain times. The story has a lovely message of: "All rainstorms must end, and this rainstorm will, too". 

The children have got stuck into a range of different activities: painting their own rainbows to display in the school, discussing and exploring the 4 seasons, creating boats out of junk and also getting messy in slime! We have had the chance to play outdoors this week too, which the children are really enjoyed! Check out some photographs below: 

The Family Book

Our book this week has been all about different families. The book celebrates all kinds of families and shows how each is special in it's own way. The children have made a house which included their own family tree, they have discussed and drawn their favourite meal to share with their family and have been busy learning about the different lengths of objects and using the words 'longest' and 'shortest'. They have also had a lovely time creating a valentines card for loved ones. Take a look at some of their learning below: 

Freddie and the Fairy 

This week the children have read the story, 'Freddie and the Fairy'. The story is all about a fairy who grants Freddie wishes but this fairy can't hear very well and all Freddie's wishes come out wrong. We spoke about how we can communicate clearly as well as our 5 senses. The children were able to name the 5 senses and describe their uses - we also sang along to a great song to help us remember.  Some of our activities also linked to our senses too: we created our own scented playdoh, created our own musical instruments. We even used 2D shapes to create our own fairy wands. 

The children really enjoyed our science investigation today, where we described and discussed ice and watched it melt throughout the day. We even added salt on top of the ice and used our senses to hear and see what happened. 

See some photographs of our learning below: 

A Hug for Humphrey 

This week, the children have read the story 'A Hug for Humphrey' which is all about a toy that doesn't quite know what toy he is and what he is good at. The other toys help Humphrey out to find out what he is good at. We find out that Humphrey is a good friend and is good at hugging, especially when his friends are hurt. 

The children have then been completing some fun activities based around the book: creating hug cards for people they can't hug at the minute, rainbows all about themselves and what they are good at. We have also been great explorers in finding numbers in our everyday environment. Check out the photos of our learning below: 

Christmas at CPS Nursery

The children have had a fun, filled few weeks in the run up to Christmas. The children have enjoyed creating lots of Christmas crafts to take home including: Christmas cards, Christmas decorations, Diva lamps and many other bits. 

The children also wrote letters to Santa and were all extremely excited to receive a card back from him! Santa also sent a video of his reindeers dancing in our outdoor area which many of the children found hilarious!

The children enjoyed reading and learning all about Christmas through Christmas stories.

We have read 'The Jolly Christmas Postman', 'When I dream of Christmas' and 'The Nativity'. The children have loved dressing up as different people/animals from the nativity. Below you can find a range of photographs from the children over the weeks as well as a video created by some of the children to retell 'The Christmas Story'. 

We all wish you a very Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the new year!

Week Thirteen

When the children came into Nursery this week, they were delighted to see that Ms Paul had worked her magic and changed our role play area into Santa's workshop! They have been having a fantastic time role playing the Christmas elves, making toys for Santa and wrapping presents.  

As part of the children's 'Fantastic Finish' for their topic this term, we made a film of all their learning and experiences throughout the term. Each day the children have watched the film and had popcorn as a snack. They've really enjoyed seeing themselves on the TV and have been talking about what they were doing and what they had learnt through our topic 'My jolly journey'.   

Week Twelve

This week the children have enjoyed the story 'Duck in the Truck'. The children noticed there were lots of rhyming words throughout the story and were able to match some of them up.

"Duck, Truck, Muck" Casey 

"Goat and Boat" Ruan

"Jeep and Sheep" William. W. 

The children have also been super stars at creating maps of where they live and discussing and recognising different places in Callington. In PE, the children worked on their balance and were great at using different parts of their bodies to balance, stretch and move. 

We've also had some visits from the cheeky elves - Boris and Sky. See if you can spot them in the photographs below: 

Week Eleven 

We have had an intruder into our nursery this week! Someone has sneaked in and left lots of mess! On Monday, they had left our quiet reading room in such a state with our books thrown around. On Tuesday, they had thrown the children’s wellies around outside. They did leave numerous clues: small footprints, glitter, candy canes and golden coins. The children then became police officers to solve the crime and tried to work out who it was. The children enjoyed using an iPad to take photographs of the evidence, they created wanted posters and compared and discussed the size of the footprints left behind. We have had a great week so far and the children are excited to see if the intruders will visit again this week.

The mystery is solved!

Please welcome Boris and Sky (named by the children!), our new class elves. They have been the ones causing all the mess in our nursery. The children came in this morning to find a letter, box of decorations, the Christmas tree and two cheeky elves sitting on our interactive board. They had a great time decorating the tree and were even sent on a candy cane hunt by the elves. 

Week Ten 

This week we have focused our learning around doctors and nurses and how they help us. The children have really enjoyed becoming doctors and nurses in our role play area where they have had the opportunity to make their friends and toys better. Lots of stickers and bandages have been used! They have also had the opportunity to use cotton buds to represent the bones in their hands within our creative area, have lots of fun in the water tray with different coloured water and pipettes and use scales to weight different items in the sand tray. They have worked great in pairs to label the different parts of their bodies and discuss how they work. 

The children have also shown they are great with their numbers as they have been able to represent the numbers 1 to 5 in various ways using various different objects. 

Check out some photos below:

**Stars of the week**

Our Stars of the week, over the last few weeks have been; Alfie for super turn taking and sharing with his friends, Lukas for making new friendships and playing with lots of different children and Casey for always following the nursery's 'Golden rules' and being super helpful. A massive well done to all of these children!    

Forest School

The children had a lovely day outside in the Forest school area today. They made pictures using the natural resources in the area, built a den/house for a teddy bear, made leaf crowns and stickmen. They have also enjoyed playing on the tyres and exploring the Forest school area with their friends. 

Remembrance Day

For Remembrance Day the children watched a video and an animation to explain to them what it is all about. They then discussed it as a group and made these comments: 

"Because it died" Aniyah 

"More poppies, lots of poppies" William

"Mum said Great Grandad goed out in the field and died" "To remember everyone who died" Josephine 

"Many boxes" Evelyn

"And they died" Matilda 

They also enjoyed decorating poppies, have a look at the pictures below. 

Week Nine

“Neee Noorr…Neee Noorr”

This week the children have been learning all about fire fighters and the fire service. We have read the story ‘Fred the Fighter’ and have learnt all about his uniform, his job and the fire engine that he drives. The children have been really engaged in learning about the fire service and have really enjoyed completing a range of activities based around it. They have loved playing with different fire engines in the sand pit and water trays, drawing their own fire engines, dressing up as firefighters and sorting objects into hot and not hot. Outside, the children have enjoyed being firefighters, climbing ladders, spraying laminated flames to put the flames out and using a range of construction materials to build our own nursery fire engine. We also had lots of fun using a real hose to put the flames out, the children enjoyed running around after the water and learnt how to reel the hose back in.

Check out the fun we've had below: 

Week Eight

This week the children have been completing a range of exciting activities based around the story, ‘The Train Ride’. The children have been great story tellers and have been able to retell the story by ordering pictures and describe the events, characters and different settings within it. They have also had the opportunity to create their own trains out of a range of 2D shapes, build their own train tracks and use the wheels of the trains to create wonderful tracks using coloured paint.

Our role play areas have changed this half term, into a Doctors surgery (indoors) and a home corner (outside). All the children have really enjoyed playing with their friends within these new environments.

During PE this week, the children have lots of fun building upon their throwing and jumping skills. The children also the added extra of ribbons this week – they loved twirling and whirling around to making different shapes and patterns.
Check out the photographs below: