Welcome to the Summer Term in Nursery.

We can't believe that we are in our final term of the school year and what a busy year we have had!  We are incredibly proud of the children and all that they have achieved so far this year.

This term, we are encouraging the children to be independent, in readiness for Reception, by being responsible for their possessions, bottles, jumpers, and bags.  

Our unit of work for this term is Traditional Tales. We will be focusing on various tales including The Three Little Pigs, The Gingerbread Man, and Jack and the Beanstalk.  We will challenge ourselves to re-tell and role-play the stories, visiting the Radio Station and using the Green Screen to record ourselves.

We will continue to build on our phonic knowledge and the children are impressing us with the progress that they are making.  Working in small groups they will learn individual sounds, and how to form the letter.  They will begin to blend simple sounds together and begin their reading journey.  The children will also develop their fine motor skills through varied activities in the classroom; both adult led and independently.  The children will be encouraged to use letters and initial sounds in their writing and begin to write from left to right.

Language and Literacy skills are developed throughout all sessions and activities within the day.  Children are encouraged to discuss and describe their feelings, activities and ideas.  Clear speech is modelled and vocabulary is extended through all of our tasks.  Stories and poems will be shared and enjoyed daily.

Mathematics forms part of our daily routine and this term we will be consolidating all of our previous learning.   Children are given opportunities to explore all aspects of mathematics from number to pattern, shape and data.  They will be  encouraged to understand the concept of numbers and extend their mathematical vocabulary.  

We will use numicon to allow the children to explore numbers and counting.  Children practice counting up to 10 and beyond both forwards and backwards using songs and rhymes that they recognise,  They will be encouraged to start counting from various starting points.  When counting they will use one-to-one correspondence to help them count up to ten.  The children will be encouraged to make marks to represent numbers in their play and to record collections.   They will be shown the correct numerals for amounts and encouraged to try and form these numbers.  In their play and activities, the children will use the concept of ‘one more’ and ‘one less’.  Within their role play children will have opportunities to explore money and coins and 'pay' for items. 

This term, as we read our traditional tales we will explore how the various characters are feeling and discuss how we feel. We will investigate materials by building houses for the Three Little Pigs, and begin to explore recipes and ingredients when we make our own gingerbread, measuring and mixing ingredients.  We will also continue to think about how seeds grow by planting and growing flowers and vegetables.  Will our beanstalks be as tall as Jack's? 

We will also continue to develop our physical skills as we prepare for our first Sports Day. The date will be confirmed soon.

During our Careers Week, children will have the opportunity to learn about a wide range of careers and meet various professionals.

The children through role-play activities are given opportunities to express their feelings and emotions.

Please ensure children bring water bottles with their name clearly labelled on every day and that they contain water and not squash.  

Please could all parents ensure that they regularly update their child's spare clothes bag to ensure there are clothes should an accident occur.

We have a number of children in school with a nut allergy.  We strive to be a nut free school so please do not send in nut products in packed lunches. 

PE is on  Thursdays.

Please also ensure that the children's personal effects have their names on, this will prevent them from being lost.

Don't forget to download our School App via the Play or App stores - The School App will provide you with up to date information about activities and events at Oldcastle Primary School.  Please look out for our weekly newsletter issued via The School App and available on our website on a Friday afternoon.  The newsletter contains all forthcoming diary dates for the school.