Nursery have enjoyed finding out about 'Living Things' in the first half of this Summer Term. On Thursday they presented their 'Fantastic Finish' assembly to their parents and carers... They told the audience how we had planted (sunflowers, tomatoes, potatoes and bean) seeds; acted out the story of 'Jasper's Beanstalk'; sang a counting song about frogs (we had looked at frogspawn & found out about the lifecycle of frogs); told the rhyme about '5 caterpillars' that turn into butterflies (just like our caterpillars in class); sang the song 'Chook, chook... Good morning Mrs Hen' counting how many of our chicks hatched (3 boys / 6 girls); and finished with a dance to the 'birdy song'. At the end of their performance the children (and audience) left with butterfly biscuits that the children had decorated (with symmetrical patterns) and a beautiful 'Living Eggs' / Chick booklet that they had made.

A quick update:

• The plants are continuing to grow taller & stronger - we will continue to tend to these next half term in our undercover role play garden centre
• The tadpoles were returned to their pond to change into frogs
• The caterpillars had cocooned and have turned into butterflies that have now been released 
• The chicks have been returned - 4 back to the farm... and Mrs Beard has kept 4 of the girl chicks (see in the picture above: Sparkles, Rose, Chicky & Bella) - they will grow up with Mrs Beard's remaining 2 hens (from previous 'Living Eggs' chicks) in her garden... Nursery children will follow their progress and await to hear when they start laying eggs!

On Wednesday afternoon, we had one more chick hatch in nursery. This takes the total to 9 so far - three boys (yellow) and six girls (brown). We have spent lots of time watching and finding out how to care for our chicks. They are now fluffy and today we moved them to their new home, a brooder box. They eat chick crumbs and have fresh water, lots more room to play in and a light that gives them a warm environment. We are really enjoying looking after our chicks - we will look after them for one more week and see how much they grow.

This morning Nursery had a special delivery - 10 living eggs with baby chicks growing inside them. We are looking after them in an incubator where it is warm and dry. We are waiting to see what will happen next... Please come and take a look if in school - but please remember to only look - don't bang or touch the incubator as something very special is growing inside.

In the last couple of weeks, Nursery class have been finding out about Spring. We looked at what happens during the season of spring - plants and flowers starting to grow, warmer weather and signs of new life (our frog spawn has changed into tadpoles!)

Lana's Mummy came in last week and told us all about their Persian New Year which celebrates new life and spring - it was really interesting. We made Persian New Year cards, grew cress heads and tried smelling and guessing different spices. This week we have started to find out about the spring celebration, Easter. We are busy finding out about Easter customs, making our Easter cards and looking at patterns on eggs. We are looking forward (later on this week) to some Easter cooking and tasting too!

Nursery class  went on a walk to Shephalbury Park on Friday 10th February. This snowy walk aptly marked the end of their learning last half term on the 'Weather'! They looked at how their environment has changed with this wintery season (and even saw snowdrops starting to appear)... then they came back to school and enjoyed a treat - a gingerbread man and hot chocolate! Thank you to all the parents who helped us on this occasion.

Nursery performed their Nativity show to parents, friends and family on Thursday 8th December. The looked great in their costumes, sang, spoke and performed beautifully. They have really enjoyed learning about and showing their rendition of the story of 'The First Christmas'. 

In addition to their performance, the children have all painted the character they were in the show and drawn a picture / talked about their role. This week they are making booklets about the first christmas.