Gallery

AUTUMN 1

FIRST WEEK IN PUDDLES SEPTEMBER 2024

We have loved welcoming our returning and new children to Puddles this week.  They have settled so well and have really enjoyed getting to know some of our Puddles rules and routines.  We have talked lots about good sitting and listening and have learnt our listening song.

We have read lots of different story books this week and have enjoyed singing lots of songs.  The children have enjoyed getting the nursery rhyme puppets out of the nursery rhyme bag and singing along to their favourite tunes.  

The children have enjoyed exploring the provision and playing with our new toys. 

SUMMER 2

MAISY GOES ON HOLIDAY 

As we come to the end of our final term of the year we have enjoyed the story Maisy Goes on Holiday.  Lots of our children have talked to us about holidays they have already been on or ones they are going on.  We have talked about day trips to different places and of course trips to the seaside.  Puddles children have enjoyed talking about the different types of transport that they take to get to their holidays. 

We have enjoyed painting seaside pictures, making flags from art straws and card to add to our sand castles and colouring seaside pictures.  In maths we have been consolidating a range of learning such as composition of number to 5, counting and subitising. 

PIRATES LOVE UNDERPANTS AND SPORTS WEEK

We've had a fantastic week in Puddles this week, we've really enjoyed listening to our story book Pirates Love Underpants.  The children have enjoyed identifying the rhyming words and listening for our word of the week 'glittering'.  We have made paper plate boats, painted boats and discussed boat trips.  We thought about rescue boats and played with boats in the water area.

We have also enjoyed a very busy Sports Week this week.  Our children have had opportunities to access a Flexi Tots session, try obstacle courses, take part in a race afternoon and have a visit from sprinter athlete Joe Ferguson!  A very busy week indeed!

GO GO PIRATE BOAT AND ORCHARD STAY AND PLAY

What an exciting week we've had in Puddles.  Some of our parents were able to join us in our Orchard for our Stay and Play sessions.  The children together with their special grown ups enjoyed taking part in a range of activities which included cheerio bird feeder making, bug hunting, bark rubbings, mud painting, seed planting and much more.  They enjoyed making mud pies in our mud kitchen area, using the magnifying glasses to hunt for bugs and trying to spot frogs in our pond.  A fabulous time was had by all who came!

In Puddles we have also enjoyed reading Go Go Pirate Boat, a sing along book sung in the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat.  We have enjoyed drawing our own boats this week, creating 3D junk model boats and consolidating our number knowledge to 5.

BIG YELLOW DIGGER

We have continued our 'Are We Nearly There Yet' topic with another wonderful book, The Big Yellow Digger.  The children have loved watching digger songs and programmes and finding out how diggers work.  We have printed using different shapes to make our own diggers, coloured in digger and vehicle pictures, made junk model vehicles and thought about what other construction vehicles help us to build things.  We have enjoyed focusing on the rhyming words in the book and have also been thinking about what numbers come before and after any given number to 5.  We have also played what's the missing number game to 5!

BIG BLUE TRAIN AND FOREST SCHOOL WEEK

This week we have enjoyed reading the story The Big Blue Train.  The children have loved continuing to use the crates outside to make trains and have even made their own tickets for their journeys.  We have used shapes to print with and make train pictures.  It has been our Forest School Week this week.  The children have loved exploring our Orchard, playing in the mud kitchen, doing mud painting, bug hunting and bark rubbings. In maths we have thought about what number comes after a given number to 5.  The children have been really secure with this number learning and impressed us with their number knowledge. 

CAR CAR TRUCK JEEP

This week we have started our topic 'Are we nearly there yet?'.  We have listened to the sing along book Car Car Truck Jeep.  This is a lovely rhyming book sung to the tune of Baa Baa Black Sheep.  The children have loved finding out about new types of transport from the book such as a hovercraft.  We watched Geko from Geko's Garage visit the RNLI and found out all about how hovercrafts are used and what for.  The children have loved making trains outside using crates and have painted some super car pictures.  We have cut out paper vehicles and also played with our new small world vehicles. 

SUMMER 1

TWIST AND HOP MINIBEAST BOP!

This week we have finished our topic of Our World Around Us by reading the story Twist and Hop Minibeast Bop!  The children have loved listening out for the rhyming words in the book and enjoyed learning about all the different types of minibeasts.  This week we have painted yellow and black bumblebees on paper plates, practiced our cutting skills by cutting along different sized lines and enjoyed exploring non-fiction books about minibeasts.  The boys and girls have spent this week consolidating different maths learning such as 2D and 3D shapes, numbers and one more and one less. 

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK AND THE CRUNCHING MUNCHING CATERPILLAR 

This week we have taken part in Mental Health Awareness Week alongside the rest of the school. We have focused on movement to keep our minds and body healthy.  We have really enjoyed playing parachute games outside, doing some calming breathing exercises, yoga poses and mindfulness finger tracing and colouring.

This week we have also continued our minibeast learning and have read the book The Crunching Munching Caterpillar.  The children have printed with circle shapes onto paper to make painted caterpillar pictures and they have threaded wool onto leaves.  We have also been looking at non-fiction books about minibeasts and discussing the difference between fiction and non-fiction books.  Outdoors we have been bug hunting and using circles to draw large caterpillars on the ground.   In maths we have continued to consolidate our 2D and 3D shape learning.  

NORMAN THE SLUG WITH THE SILLY SHELL

We have really loved our story of Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell this week in Puddles.  The children have made spiral snail designs in the craft area and in the play dough area.  We have used cotton buds to add paint to snail pictures and used tweezers to add pom poms to snail shapes.  In maths we have thought about 2D shapes and introduced some 3D shapes (cube, cuboid, cylinder and sphere).  We have used 3D shapes to create models and structures such as buildings and bridges.  Spring has finally sprung and we have loved having sunny days in our outdoor area with lots of sand and water play. 

THE GRUMPY GOAT

This week we have continued our learning about farms and farm animals.  We have read the story The Grumpy Goat and talked about the word grumpy and what that means.  We have loved the sunshine this week and enjoyed lots of outdoor activities such as bug hunting and water play.  We have focused on colour mixing and mixed black and white to make grey whilst printing with corks onto our sheep.  We have also been developing our cutting skills by cutting out our own sheep and tissue paper.   In maths we have focused on 2D shapes and have used 2D shapes to create pictures. 

THE NOISY NOISY FARM

This week we have thought about farming and farm animals.  We have talked about what animals we would find on a farm and made the noises those animals make.  We have listened to the story book The Noisy Noisy Farm.  We have thought about what foods are grown on the farm and have enjoyed watching Down on the Farm on Cebeebies to help us to understand what jobs happen on a farm.

This week we have mixed red and white paint to make pink and paint our very own pigs.  In maths we have thought about more and fewer and we have also been practising our cutting skills in the workshop area. 

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK 

This week we have continued to think about growing and have been watching our runner bean pot very closely.  We can't see any shoots yet but the children were able to retell what we did to plant them and could say what they need to grow.

This week we have read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.  The children have enjoyed acting as the giant saying 'fee fi fo fum' and have enjoyed stretching up high to show how tall the beanstalk is.  In maths this week we have focused on positional language.  We have used the words in, on, under, out, in front and behind.  The children have drawn and painted their own beanstalks and we have started colour mixing in our creative area. 

JASPER'S BEANSTALK 

We have enjoyed welcoming our returning and new children to Puddles this week.  We have talked lots about our Puddles rules and routines to help us to know what to do when we are in Puddles.  We have really enjoyed the start to our new topic Our World Around Us.  We have read the story of Jasper's Beanstalk and started planting our very own runner beans.   We have talked about what plants need to grow and have really liked thinking about what things grow that we can eat. The children have drawn some super beanstalk pictures and have also been drawing pictures of themselves.   

Outside we have enjoyed the milder weather and have liked looking at all our colourful spring flowers.  In maths we have been sequencing events such as stories and nursery rhymes. 

We have also enjoyed walking around the grounds of school for our Sponsored Walk. 

SPRING 2

EASTER AND THE RHYMING RABBIT

This week in Puddles we have been celebrating Easter.  We have listened to Easter stories, learnt that we celebrate Easter to remind us of new life, talked about spring animals and spring flowers.  We have also talked about what seasonal changes we can see as we move into spring.  The children have all made chocolate Easter crispy buns, painted and decorated card Easter eggs and learnt about different animal eggs and rabbits.  We have watched how chocolate Easter eggs are made and talked about what we are going to do on the Easter break.  We have also listened to the story of The Rhyming Rabbit and discussed lots of rhyming words.

In maths we have looked at capacity and talked about the words full, empty, nearly full and nearly empty.

SAFETY FIRST AND COMIC RELIEF

This week we have read Topsy and Tim Safety first.  We were really impressed with the children's knowledge of staying safe, they could tell us lots of ways to stay safe such as wearing seatbelts in the car, holding hands to cross the road, using traffic lights, not putting things in your mouth and not playing with doors.  We were also really lucky this week to have a visit from Lauren at Finkle Hill Dental Care.  Lauren talked to the children about good dental hygiene, why it's important to visit the dentist and how to brush our teeth correctly.  

In maths this week we have been thinking about heavy and light.  The children have had lots of practical fun with our balance scales both indoors and out and are really good at knowing when something is heavy or light.

At the end of the week we joined in with wearing non-school uniform for Comic Relief.  The boys and girls came in their own clothes to raise money and we also took part in a bun sale.

PEPPA'S DENTIST TRIP AND WORLD BOOK DAY

This week we have been thinking about how we keep our teeth healthy and clean.  We have listened to the story Peppa's Dentist Trip and have watched Topsy and Tim go to the Dentist.  We have talked about the importance of brushing our teeth, looked at how stripy toothpaste is made and discussed what happens when we visit the dentist.  The children have enjoyed cleaning dirty teeth and looking at a range of images to do with teeth and good oral health.

In maths this week we have been looking at length and height, we have been cutting long and short lines, comparing tall and short and long and short objects.

On Thursday we celebrated World Book Day! The children came into Puddles dressed as their favourite book character and had a wonderful time. 

HANDA'S SURPRISE

This week we have continued to think about healthy foods.  We have listened to the story of Handa's Surprise and discussed the setting of the book.  We have listened to African Drumming Music and moved to the music in class.  Puddles children have all painted a pineapple and looked closely at it's spiky outer peel.  Puddles have enjoyed retelling the story of Handa's Surprise and done really well at remembering the fruits and animals from the book.

We have also had our outdoor learning week this week,  the children have all enjoyed trips to the orchard to look for hidden animal and fruit cards from the story.

OLIVER'S FRUIT SALAD

This week we have really enjoyed reading the story of Oliver's Fruit Salad.  We have looked at lots of fruits from the story and made and eaten our own fruit salads.  We are thinking all about Staying Safe and Keeping Healthy for our new topic and the children have enjoyed talking about healthy foods.  We have modelled writing fruit salad recipes, looked closely at a pineapple and used descriptive words to describe what a pineapples looks like and we have even learnt how marmalade is made.  Outside the children have used play fruits to cook with and make lovely dishes of fruit salad and in our number learning we have consolidated our number 4 knowledge. 

SPRING 1

NIGHT MONKEY DAY MONKEY 

This week we have loved our story Night Monkey Day Monkey.  The children have really enjoyed listening to the rhyming words and we have spent lots of time modelling writing the rhyming words, writing lists of the animals in the book and modelling our describing words to describe a monkey.  The children have been practising their cutting skills this week and have cut colourful feathers out of paper to decorate a parrot.  They have enjoyed watching Andy's Safari Adventures and learning about the Capuchin monkey.  The children have really liked our jungle small world area and have used role play masks to role play animals from the story.

This week we were lucky enough to see some snow falling. The boys and girls in Puddles got wrapped up warm and went for a snowy walk around our playground, listening to the crunchy snow and feeling it fall on their faces.  Lots of fun was had by all!

GIRAFFES CAN'T DANCE

This week we have loved reading and listening to the story Giraffes Can't Dance.  The children have really engaged with this story and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about somersaults, as this is what Gerald the giraffe does in the book.  We watched Olympic gymnastic somersaults so the children could see what it looked like, they were fascinated!

The children have coloured in and painted their very own giraffes, listened to lots of lovely rhyming words and continued to think about the number 4, learning what numbers can go together to make 4.  The children have also really enjoyed continuing their Squiggle Whilst You Wiggle movements and this week we have used the same movement to draw marks on paper with. 

TEN MINUTES TO BED LITTLE DINOSAUR

What a wonderful week we have had in Puddles.  The children have loved the story book Ten Minutes to Bed Little Dinosaur!  They liked listening to the rhyming words, learning about volcanoes and looking at the map of the Land of Nod.  We talked lots about maps and drew our own maps of Sherburn village.  The children really enjoyed making their marks and showing where they live in the village.  We also started Squiggle Whilst You Wiggle, this sees the children moving their arms and bodies in different directions to help to develop their gross motor skills.  We have also continued our Dough Disco sessions which help to develop our fine motor skills.

DINOSAURS LOVE UNDERPANTS

This week we have loved our story, Dinosaurs Love Underpants! The children have really liked the rhyming words in the book and loved looking at the patterned pants in the book.  We have used tissue paper and felt tips to create our own pattern pants and painted pants too!  In maths we have learnt all about the number 3 and even looked at triangles which are three sided. We have practised our pencil grip this week and drawn pictures of ourselves.

TEN LITTLE DINOSAURS

This week we have welcomed back our returning children and our new starter children. What a fantastic week they have all had.  The children have settled really well in Puddles and are beginning to learn our routines of the day.

This week we have started our new topic, Down in the Jungle.  We are thinking about dinosaurs for the first part of our topic and have listened to the book Ten Little Dinosaurs.  The children have really enjoyed joining in with this story.  We have been listening out for our word of the week 'stretching' and spotting rhyming words too!

In maths we have been learning all about the number 3 and have enjoyed spotting 3 as a numeral and subitising with 3 objects.  

The children have really liked playing with our dinosaur small world toys, painting and exploring the outdoors. 

AUTUMN 2

CHRISTMAS 

What a fabulous two weeks of Christmas we've had! We've made our cards, calendars, and decorated snowman biscuits! We've danced, sang Christmas songs and used lots of glitter.  We've recapped our maths learning from this half term, read lots of lovely Christmas stories and watched a fabulous Cebeebies Panto!  We've ended our Christmas celebrations with a fabulous party and even had a visit from Father Christmas himself!

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS

Well what an exciting week we've had in Puddles.  We have decorated our classroom, put up our trees and started our Christmas craft activities.  The boys and girls have loved exploring all of our Christmas small world toys, Christmas dress up clothes and listening to Christmas books.  We have listened to the story of The First Christmas this week and we have talked about why we celebrate Christmas.  

We also had a fantastic visit from Moo Music, Farmer Tammy came with lots of Christmas songs, instruments and enthusiasm! The children had a wonderful time!

OWL BABIES

Wow what a busy week we've had this week.  The children in Puddles have really enjoyed listening to the story Owl Babies.  They have painted fork print owls, made play dough owls, role played owl babies with the owl teddies and created tissue paper collage owls.  In maths we have concentrated on repeating patterns.  We have looked at making a repeating pattern with two colours and with natural objects. 

We have also started thinking about Christmas and have begun decorating the classroom.  We have some very excited children, especially as school have had a visit from an elf!!

WORLD NURSERY RHYME WEEK NUMBER

This week we have focused on number nursery rhymes.  The children have enjoyed singing Wind the Bobbin Up, 1,2,3,4,5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive, 5 Current Buns, 5 Little Speckled Frogs and Baa Baa Black Sheep,

The children have learnt about where wool comes from and looks at the life cycle of a frog, they have painted frogs in ponds and collaged frogs using tissue paper.

We have also had lots of parents join us for our after school Stay and Play session which was lovely and the children really loved showing off their classroom and outdoor area.

WORLD NURSERY RHYME WEEK

 This week the children have enjoyed listening to nursery rhymes.  We have focused on the five World Nursery Rhyme Week songs: Jack and Jill, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Hickory, Dickory, Dock and The Wheels on the Bus.  The children have enjoyed taking part in a range of creative tasks around these songs, such as, printing with buses and boats, making boats and collaging mice.  We have used instrument when singing the songs and have enjoyed using actions too.

On Monday we celebrated Odd Socks Day as part of Anti-Bullying Week and on Friday we came dressed in spots to raise money for Children in Need.

THE VERY HELPFUL HEDGEHOG

Puddles are settling back after half term. We have started our new topic, Celebration Time.  On Monday the children discussed Bonfire Night.  They created firework chalk pictures and looked at firework pictures.  This week we have read the story The Very Helpful Hedgehog.  The children have enjoyed making spiky playdough hedgehogs and have used forks and paint to create spiky paint hedgehogs.  They have been practicing their pencil skills this week and learning all about the number 1 in maths.

AUTUMN 1 

SPOT'S PUMPKIN SURPRISE

This week we have had a fabulous week taking part in Outdoor Learning Week.  The children have enjoyed exploring our orchard area, winding wool onto card leaves, sticking autumn objects onto an autumn collage card and playing in our mud kitchen.  They also had a lovely treat of hot chocolate and a biscuit in the orchard!  We have read Spot's Pumpkin Surprise, scooped pumpkins and compare shapes and sizes of pumpkins.  The children have printed with orange onto pumpkin shapes and continued to match and sort in maths. 

FOX'S FAVOURITE AUTUMN

This week we have read the lovely story of Fox's Favourite Autumn.  This books tells the story of Fox who doesn't want autumn to end and he tries to think of ways to stop it.  The children have loved exploring natural autumn objects throughout the week both indoors and out.  We have painted autumn trees and looked at autumn leaves.  In maths we have continued sorting by colour, size and shape.  

OLIVER'S VEGETABLES

This week we have had a wonderful time exploring the feel, smell and taste of some different vegetables.  We have listened to the story of Oliver's Vegetables and really liked looking at the vegetables throughout the week.  Outdoors we have been digging in mud with potatoes and onions.  The children have enjoyed vegetable printing with carrots and potatoes and have used vegetable colours to decorate paper with in our workshop area.  In maths this week we have been matching shapes, size and colours.

THE LITTLE RED HEN

This week we have thought all about friendship, kindness and sharing.  We have listened to the story of The Little Red Hen, in the story the Little Red Hen's friends won't help her to make bread.  The children have enjoyed tasting bread at snack time and exploring the feel of bread dough. We have painted and collaged lovely red hens this week.  In maths we have been matching with bingo games and colours. 

SUPER DUPER YOU

This week we have celebrated our differences and our feelings.  We have read the story Super Duper You and talked about how we are all special and unique.  We have also thought about our feelings and emotions and acted out feelings such as happy, sad and cross.  The children have enjoyed learning how to draw a face.  They have used mirrors to look at their own faces and made feelings faces with different face parts.  They have also continued to explore colour and have painted with purple and green.

INTERNATIONAL DOT DAY

This week we have celebrated International Dot Day.  The children have listened to a story about Vashti, a little girl who believed she could not draw.  With a little encouragement from her teacher, Vashti learns that making marks on paper can be a wonderful thing.  We have thoroughly enjoyed making marks this week, we've explored circle shapes and baked buns with circle chocolate buttons on top.  We have also enjoyed singing the Dot Day song and copying the actions. 

COLOURS AND PETE THE CAT

We have had a wonderful start to Puddles.  The children are beginning to settle really well and are enjoying exploring our Puddles provision.

Over the last two weeks we have been thinking about different colours, we have been painting with different colours, using colours to draw with and learning to recognise colours.

We have also listened to the story Pete the Cat.  The children have really enjoyed joining in with the story and singing the catchy song.

SUMMER 2 

PIRATES LOVE UNDERPANTS AND TEN LITTLE PIRATES

Over the past two weeks we have enjoyed listening to Pirates Love Underpants and Ten Little Pirates.  We have really enjoyed our pirate theme! The children have loved playing with small world pirate ships and making their own boats using junk model materials.  They have explored with water play outside, using guttering and water to send things down.  We have enjoyed stories and snack outside under the shady tree on the hotter days and have enjoyed listening to new pirate themed songs. 

BRIGHT STANLEY 

This week we have read Bright Stanley.  We have learnt what a shoal of fish is and we have enjoyed listening to a sensory music version of the story online.  The children have worked on their cutting skills this week by cutting out shiny paper to collage a large fish together. We have also enjoyed the sunshine this week, we have kept cool with water play and enjoyed stories in the shade!

BARRY THE FISH WITH FINGERS

This week we have welcome everyone back for the last half term of the year.  Our topic this half term is Splish, Splash, Splosh!  This week we have read the story of Barry the Fish with Fingers.  The children have found the story really funny and have really enjoyed listening and retelling the story.  This week we have used bright coloured paints to paint patters on fish.  In Puddles 1 they have been thinking about sequencing nursery rhymes and their daily routines.  In Puddles 2, they have been thinking about pattern and looking at different patterns on fish. 

SUMMER 1

MAISY GOES ON A NATURE WALK

This week we have finished our Down at the Bottom of the Garden topic with our book, Maisy Goes on a Nature Walk.  The children have enjoyed remembering their trip to the orchard last week when they had a nature walk of their own.  This week we have learnt about bees.  We have listened to bee fact files and learnt about how bees make honey.  We have collaged bee pictures using yellow and black tissue paper.  In Puddles 1 we have consolidated our 3D shape learning in maths and in Puddles 2 we have thought about positions and directions. 

TEN TINY TADPOLES

What fun we've had this week! We have read the story 'Ten Tiny Tadpoles' and have visited the school orchard to see our very own tadpoles in the pond.  We have learnt all about the life cycle of a frog and have enjoyed listening to facts about frogs.  The children in Puddles 2 have been painting frogs and in Puddles 1 they have been colour mixing to create light and dark shades for their frog paintings. 

THE KING'S CROWN

This week we have continued to think about the Coronation weekend.  The children have told us about the party's and celebrations they were involved in. 

We have listened to a lovely rhyming story called The King's Crown.  We have enjoyed lifting the flaps to find the different hats in the book.  We have enjoyed using paint and sequins to decorate our own crowns.  In maths Puddles 1 have explored 2D shapes and Puddles 2 have thought about lots and more. 

THE KINGS CORONATION 

Wow what a busy week we've had in Puddles!  The children have enjoyed learning about the Coronation celebrations that are about to happen.   We have watched clips of the Queen's Coronation to show them what they might expect to see.  We have also read the story The Kings Coronation and have talked about how we are all celebrating.  The children have painted flags, carried out Coronation themed funky finger activities and for those that come on a Friday they have enjoyed a non-school uniform day and a Coronation picnic lunch. We have also enjoyed developing our balancing skills this week in Puddles. 

SUPERWORM AND CRUNCHING MUNCHING CATERPILLAR 

This week in Puddles, Puddles 1 have continued reading Superworm.  Puddles 2 children have enjoyed listening to The Crunching, Munching Caterpillar. All children have really enjoyed looking for minibeasts outside, creating butterfly paint pictures and drawing different minibeasts in a variety of ways.

This week we have also enjoyed going on our sponsored walk.  Some children have walked around the large school field and others have walked around the orchard.  We have all enjoyed walking to raise money for our school. 

SUPERWORM

We have really enjoyed welcoming our new children into Puddles this week.  Everyone is settling really well and are beginning to get used to some of our routines. 

This week we have enjoyed listening to the story of Superworm.  The children in Puddles 2 have also been listening to There's a Worm at the Bottom of the Garden.  They have really enjoyed listening to the song and copying the actions. 

We have all enjoyed colouring in worms, hunting for worms and other insects in our outdoor area and drawing insects with chalks outside.

SPRING 2

WE'RE GOING ON AN EGG HUNT AND STAY AND PLAY 

This week we have talked about what we are looking forward to about Easter.  The children are very excited about a visit from the Easter Bunny and chocolate eggs! We discussed how Easter is about celebrating new life and how we can see lots of lovely baby animals at Easter time.  We have listened to the story of We're Going on an Egg Hunt.  The children have all made a delicious Easter nest bun to take home and painted a salt dough bunny.   They have also made finger print chicks as a piece of Easter artwork.  This week we have enjoyed the second of our Stay and Play sessions.  It has been wonderful to see so many parents come into Puddles over the last two weeks and explore our classrooms with their child. 

We wish all our families a wonderful Easter break!

COCK A MOO MOO AND STAY AND PLAY

This week we have read the story of Cock a Moo Moo, in the story the cockerel can't remember how to crow.  The children in Puddles have really enjoyed listening to this story, they have found it really funny and have liked comparing it to our non-fiction book from last week.  The children have loved playing outside this week, they have enjoyed our small world Peppa Pig play and have liked looking at the daffodils which have grown near our mud kitchen. 

We have also spend some time this week thinking about healthy living.  We have thought about healthy foods, how exercising can keep our bodies healthy and about brushing our teeth. 

This week has been the first of our Stay and Play sessions.  Some children have had their special grown ups in Puddles and they have loved showing them around and playing with them inside and out at Puddles. 

A VISIT TO THE FARM

This week we listened to a non-fiction books, A visit to the Farm.  We talked about the differences between non-fiction and fiction and we enjoyed looking at features such as the index page, glossary and real photographs. We were also really lucky to have a real farm visit in school on Thursday.  Ian's Mobile Farm came with some beautiful farm animals that the children could stroke and look at. We looked at a pig, alpacas, sheep, goats, ducks and a cockerel. We also got to meet Meg the most amazing sheep dog. We all had a wonderful time.  At the end of this very busy week was Comic Relief! The children donated money to come to school dressed in their own clothes and we held a bun sale too.

A SPRING SURPRISE 

What a lovely surprise we've had this week, whilst reading A Spring Surprise to help us begin to think about the signs of spring, we had a lovely day of snow!

The children who attended Puddles at the end of the week loved exploring the snow.  We collected it, made a snowman, made marks in it and watched it melt.  It was very cold but great fun!

We are really enjoying spotting the daffodils growing from our bulbs planted last year.  We hope they didn't mind the snow covering them and are looking forward to checking on them next week.

We have also enjoyed painting and colouring pictures of Peter Rabbit, using tweezers to move small pieces of fruit for funky fingers and completing farm yard jigsaws. 

FARMER DUCK

Wow what a busy week we've had in Puddles.  The children have really enjoyed listening to the story of Farmer Duck.  The children really know the story well and have joined in with the words throughout the week.  Outside this week we have been looking at daffodil bulbs and discussing the life cycle of a daffodil.  We have also created obstacle courses using tires, hoops and balls which the children have had to think of different ways of moving through them.  Inside we have been developing our rolling skills in the playdough area and learning to press objects onto paper to print with. On Thursday this week the children and staff came into Puddles dressed in our pyjamas to celebrate World Book Day.  A super week was had by all!

TOPSY AND TIM AT THE FARM

Welcome back to Puddles after our half term holiday.  This half term our topic is Fun on the Farm.  This week we have really enjoyed listening to Topsy and Tim at the Farm. The children have painted sheep using sponges and black and white paint, they have collaged tube chicks with yellow tissue paper and explored a range of farm books.  Outside we have been looking for any signs of spring that we can find and we have been role playing farm animals using our role play masks.  The children have been encouraged to make their own tractors using Mobilo in our construction area and have enjoyed mark making and crafting with our large cardboard box. 

SPRING 1

DINOSAUR POEMS

This was the last week in our Dinosaur topic. The children have thoroughly enjoyed this topic and have loved listening to the range of dinosaur books we have read.  This week we listened to Dinosaur Poems. Mr Osborne came into Puddles and read one of his favourite dinosaur books and shared a fun active dinosaur poem with the children.  The children have enjoyed listening to the rhyming poems in the book.  We have discussed how poems can be funny, sad, long, short, we have talked about how poems can express how people feel and also how they don't always make sense.  We have also enjoyed watching what happens when you mix bicarbonate of soda with vinegar, it looked like an erupting volcano. 

TEN MINUTES TO BED LITTLE DINOSAUR

What a super week we've had in Puddles.  We have really loved reading our number book, Ten Minutes to Bed Little Dinosaur.  The children have really enjoyed looking at the map in the book of The Land of Nod and have been creating their own maps of where they live.  We have created some super volcano art work using paints and have also enjoyed using sponges to print with to see what different affect it gives our paintings.  We have continued to explore the number 5 in maths and are able to identify the numeral 5 and count 5 objects accurately.  The children are really enjoying exploring a range of fiction and non fiction books and are looking forward to listening to dinosaur poetry next week. 

DINOSAURS LOVE UNDERPANTS

Puddles have loved reading the story of Dinosaurs Love Underpants.  They have found the book really fun and have really enjoyed looking at all of the different patterned pants in the book.  They have designed their own pants and painted pants for their creative tasks.  We have also been thinking about dinosaur fossils and have created our very own.  We used salt dough and have pushed patterns onto the dough and small dinosaurs to leave an imprint.  We have also been thinking about Chinese New Year, we have watched how some people choose to celebrate Chinese New Year and have enjoyed making marks using mud sticks and copying Chinese symbols. 

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT DINOSAURS

This week we have really loved exploring Questions and Answers a fact book all about Dinosaurs.  We have looked at the different questions in the book and discussed possible answers before reading the correct answer.  We have enjoyed comparing a non fiction book to a fiction book and learning more information about dinosaurs.  The children have really enjoyed playing with dinosaurs in our dinosaur cave area.  They have made dinosaur puppets and decorated them, painted dinosaurs and made large marks on big sheets of paper.  We have also really loved exploring the wintery weather this week.  We have spent lots of time in our mud kitchen area looking and playing with ice, frosty leaves and very cold mud. 

DINOSAUR RAP

This week we have continued reading the story Dinosaur Rap.  The children have really enjoyed the story and are beginning to join in with the repeated rhymes.  We copied the actions in the book, we have swooped, swished, tapped and roared!

We have also really enjoyed collaging some large dinosaurs using different materials such as tissue and shiny paper.

Outside we have liked using chalks to draw our very own spikey dinosaurs, we have enjoyed having the balance bikes out and are using ramps and guttering to send balls down.

In maths we have thought all about the number 3, we have learnt to count 3 objects, recognise the numeral 3 and subitise 3. 

WELCOME TO PUDDLES AND DINOSAUR RAP 

This week in Puddles we have welcomed back our children from their Christmas breaks and welcomed our new starter children.  The children have enjoyed exploring their new Puddles classrooms and we have started establishing our Puddles rules and routines for our new children.  The children have all enjoyed the start to our Roar, Roar, Roar Go The Dinosaurs topic.  We have listened to the story Dinosaur Rap.  The children have enjoyed stomping, swaying and tapping to the beat of the rap and listening to the rhyming words.  We have painted dinosaurs, listened to dinosaur facts and completed dinosaur jigsaws.  In maths we have focused on the number 3.  The children have looked at the 3 numeral, counted 3 objects and used subitising to see 3.  

AUTUMN 2022

CHRISTMAS 2022

We have had a fun filled Christmas time in Puddles.  The children have completed many Christmas crafts, enjoyed lots of Christmas stories and we have sung our favourite Christmas songs.  This week we have had our Christmas party, had a very special visit from Santa and on Thursday we had a very Christmassy Moo Music session.  The children have really enjoyed their Christmas time in Puddles. 

CHRISTMAS STORIES

This week we are really enjoying listening to a range of Christmas story books.  We are sharing our own Christmas traditions and what we are looking forward to about Christmas.  We have continued making our Christmas cards and calendars and have also started decorating baubles and making stockings with our favourite toys stuck to them, this activity has also allowed us to practice our cutting skills.  Children who attended on Friday enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner and came to school in their Christmas jumpers. 

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS

This week Christmas has landed in Puddles.  We have some very excited children, and we are all enjoying our decorated classroom. We have really enjoyed learning about the story of The First Christmas.  The children have liked listening to the story and we have used the story to discuss kindness and explain that people have different beliefs.  We have also started making our Christmas cards, we have decorated Christmas trees, threaded with ribbons and added the correct amount of pom pom marshmallows to pictures of hot chocolate. 

FERDIE AND THE FALLING LEAVES AND STAY AND PLAY 

This week we have listened to the lovely story, Ferdie and the Falling Leaves. The children have enjoyed exploring natural objects such as pumpkins and leaves.  We have created leaf collage pictures, painted trees and made trees with glitter play dough.  The children have also been learning about pattern in maths, we have made patterns with leaves and conkers, discussed patterns with mistakes and how we correct them.  We have also had ice painting outside in our tuff tray which the children have really enjoyed. 

We have continued our Stay and Play sessions this week, it has been really lovely to see so many mums and dads in Puddles.  We will hold another Stay and Play session in the spring term. 

WORLD NURSERY RHYME WEEK AND STAY AND PLAY 

This week in Puddles we have joined in with World Nursery Rhyme week.  We have enjoyed listening to and learning the following songs:

* The Big Ship Sails on the Alley Alley Oh

* 12345 Once I Caught a Fish Alive

*5 Little Speckled Frogs

*Bingo 

*Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

We have enjoyed taking part in nursery rhyme crafts, exploring our provision areas and using our musical instruments to create a beat or tune for our songs. 

This week has also been the start of our Stay and Play sessions.  We have really enjoyed seeing mums and dads come into school and spend time in our provision with their child.