2024-2025

Spring 2 (2025)

Early Years have had a wonderful Spring 2 term, filled with hands-on learning, creativity, and exploration. The children have enjoyed discovering the world around them in so many exciting ways.

One of the highlights of the term was World Book Day, where the children dressed up as their favourite characters and had a great time reading lots of different stories together. It was a fun day, and the children loved sharing their favourite books with their friends.

For Dydd Gwyl Dewi, we celebrated Welsh culture with a special Eisteddfod. The children sang Welsh songs, wore traditional Welsh costumes, and made daffodil crafts. They also wrote shopping lists for cawl and learned all about the vegetables that go into the soup, giving them a deeper understanding of Welsh traditions.

This term, the children also started woodwork sessions, where they learned how to safely use a hammer and practice joining materials together. It was amazing to see them develop new skills and work with confidence.

As part of our topic on Spring, the children enjoyed exploring the changes that come with the season. They made rain gravity paintings, had fun with windy day activities like making wind socks, blowing bubbles, and creating chimes. They also spent time learning about Spring plants, including planting cress and preparing the ground for vegetables and a herb garden. They loved planting flowers around the classroom and outside, and learned about the different parts of a flower and how to label them. The children also got creative with blossom tree art and flower paintings.

We also focused on Spring animals, where the children matched animals to their young and learned their names. They made lamb and chick crafts and even programmed the BlueBot to visit the Spring animals! They also used wooden blocks to build homes for the baby animals, which was a fun and creative way for them to explore animal habitats.

For Easter, the children made Easter crafts, created Easter cards, and took part in a fun bonnet parade. They also enjoyed an exciting Easter egg hunt, following clues to find their eggs.

Finally, we had a lovely trip to Park Howard, where the children got to see the signs of Spring and explore the park. It was a great way to bring all the learning to life and enjoy the outdoors.

It’s been a fantastic half-term full of exploration and new skills. The enthusiasm and energy the Nursery and Reception children bring to their learning is so inspiring, and we’re looking forward to another exciting term ahead!

Spring 1 (2025)

Nursery and Reception have had an excellent half-term, filled with hands-on learning, discovery, and exploration. Their curiosity has led them on exciting adventures, both inside and outside the classroom, as they have learned about the world through stories, play, and every-day experiences.

One of the highlights of the term was going to Penclacwydd Wetlands Centre, where the children found out all about birds and where they live. They found out what birds eat and how they survive in the cold winter months. A pond-dipping session allowed them to look at what the birds eat close up. They also learned about different feeding techniques and had a blast feeding the ducks themselves! Another highlight was meeting the flamingos and learning why they turn pink depending on what they consume. This trip was a great learning experience for the children to interact with nature and get answers to their questions regarding the world they live in.

Building on this experience, the children explored the question, 'I wonder how we can set the birds free in winter?' By means of science investigations, they experimented with ways of melting ice to free the birds' food, developing their problem-solving abilities in a fun way. They took part in the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch, observing and recording the birds they spotted. They made owl and bird crafts, winter artwork, and pine cone snowy owls. They also worked to care for the birds in their own backyard by making bird feeders, bird nests, and bird baths, so our flying friends had everything they needed to explore the cold winter months.

Along with this, they liked listening to the Owl Babies story and doing number songs like Five Little Ducks, which helped them develop their early maths skill through music and rhyme.

The children also loved the celebration of Chinese New Year, learning about Chinese New Year's traditions. They tasted Chinese cuisine, listened to traditional Chinese music, and learned about the traditions and celebrations that take place. Dressed in red and gold—the lucky colors of Chinese New Year, they learned the reasoning behind these traditions before making their own Chinese lanterns to decorate the classroom. What a wonderful half-term in Early Years, with so lots of learning experiences that have promoted curiosity and new skills. We are absolutely proud of the enthusiasm and energy our Nursery and Reception children bring to their learning, and we can't wait for another half-term of discovery to come!