This half term we are continuing with our topic – Will you read me a story? This is so the children continue to develop their understanding of how stories are structured.

We will look closely at characters and begin to describe them, labelling their attributes as well as focusing on problems and solutions to help develop the children in their own story-telling.

We will also learn about important dates and different celebrations during this half term including Remembrance day, Diwali, Children in Need, Bonfire night and Christmas.

Our text for this half term is The 3 Billy Goats Gruff. While we are reading this text we will be learning about problems and solutions. This will help us to develop our own story telling and add exciting parts to our stories.

We had a letter arrive at school, addressed to Bright Blossoms. We were very excited to open it. It was from Bluebells farm. We have adopted 3 Billy Goats for the year and are looking forward to seeing them on our school trip.

We are due to visit Bluebells farm on Wednesday 2nd December to visit the 3 Billy Goats. We will post pictures and more information when we have been.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star. Why are there stars in the sky at night? Does everyone go to bed at the same time? It’s time to find out more about night time.

This half term, we’ll be entering virtual space and talking about what we can see. Snuggling up with comfy cushions and blankets, we’ll listen to bedtime stories and nursery rhymes. Zzz… Wide awake once more, we’ll learn about people and services that work at night, the Hubble Telescope and nocturnal animals. We’ll also find out more about how good bedtime routines can have a positive impact on our health, and take part in a series of bedtime challenges. Ready, steady, brush your teeth! In our mathematics lessons, we’ll play with the shape and size of star patterns, and create moons of different sizes out of sparkly play dough.

This half term we are learning a different story in Nursery and Reception.

In Nursery we are learning Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and looking at repeating language.

In Reception we are learning How to Catch a start by Oliver Jeffers. This text we  look at problems and solutions, this will help us to develop our  own story telling skills.

For our memorable experiences to introduce our topic we had a pyjama day. During the day we had a zoom meeting with the children at home where we went on an adventure. We used a LED star projector on the ceiling to talk about where we were, what we could see and what it would be like in space. 

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We were planning to have a visit from Bob and his owls. Due to Covid this has now been postponed. We are trying to arrange an alternative and will keep you updated.

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Old Macdonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o! Do cows drink milk? What are baby pigs called? It’s time to find out more about life on the farm and the animals that live there.

This half term, we’ll be recounting our trip to Bluebell farm. Talking about the different farm animals, crops and vehicles we saw.

We’ll create songs about the farm to sing as we play music instruments.

In our mathematics lessons, Reception will be learning all about the number 10. We will find one more and one less, begin to explore the number bonds to 10 as well as adding and subtracting with digits to 10.

In our literacy lessons, Reception will be writing instructions linked to our story ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ while Nursery read ‘A squash and a squeeze’ looking at the characters.

We came back to a big surprise in Nursery! We found muddy footprints on the floor and when Mr Ridgley checked the CCTV we saw a cow had visited! The children were very excited to tell Mr Ridgley their ideas about where the cow had come from.

In Reception we returned to a “Mystery box” on Miss Marley’s chair. We looked inside and found some instructions. We followed the instructions which led us outside to the tunnel where we found a bag. We thought it would be a good ideas to make a sandwich with the ingredients. We gave Miss Marley the instructions and she made the sandwich. We found out that our instructions were not very clear.

Incy wincy spider climbed up the waterspout! Why do ladybirds have spots? Why do spiders spin webs? It’s time to find out more about minibeasts and their habitats.
This half term, we’ll look under logs, leaves and stones for creatures that wriggle, crawl or fly. We’ll find out about minibeast habitats, features and
colours, and compare them. Observing caterpillars and some other creepy crawlies too,  we’ll think about how they move. Can we move like that too?

This half term in Nursery we are learning the story of  ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. We are looking at the different fruit within the story and the process the butterfly goes through when growing.

In Reception we are reading the poem ‘I love bugs’. We are learning all about different bugs and their features to help us innovate our poem and talk about our favourite bugs.

For our hook we had some caterpillars delivered in the post. We explored the pot and spoke about what we thought was inside. In the end we decided that they were caterpillars. We read the story ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and spoke about what we thought would happen to the caterpillars. We are very excited to see what happens.

We were very lucky to have some stick insects visit our school. We had the chance to hold the stick insects and we learned how to keep them safe. They were so tickly. We had great fun. 

There’s an exciting world just below the surface of the rock pool. Which creatures live near the sea? Why do crabs have shells? We’ll find out the answers to these questions and more in this project about the seashore.

This half term, we’ll use our imagination to travel to the coast to visit the fascinating world of the British seashore. We’ll explore rock pools and collect ‘treasures’. We’ll use our senses to investigate man-made and natural seashore objects, including litter and pollution.

We’ll listen carefully to stories and poems about the seashore. By reading non-fiction books, we’ll find out lots of interesting facts, discovering which animals live in a rock pool and what they eat.

Using our mathematical skills, we’ll count jellyfish, solve problems and order shells. We’ll also measure handprints and footprints in the sand.

Using our art skills, we’ll make sculptures, create beach art
and decorate shells and pebbles. It might get messy when we explore the texture of sand and create a fantastic sand art display!

In Nursery this half term we are reading ‘Rainbow fish.’ The children will have a go at innovating the characters in this story after learning about different creatures that live in a rock pool and the sea.

In Reception we are reading ‘Billy’s Bucket.’ We will be using our knowledge of rock pools and the sea to innovate and use our imagination of what we might find in our bucket.

On our first day back after half term, we came to school very excited to play in our sand pit. While we were playing we found something very strange. It was a wooden chest. We all sat down together and explored what we found. We had some great ideas about where the ‘treasure’ had come from.

Coming soon!!

Below are a list of useful websites to support your child and their learning at home.