Michaelmas Term in Woodlands

I have been reflecting back on the last term in Nursery and realise that we have done so much and that hopefully the children have learnt a lot of new things too. In September, they were making new friends in their new classes, learning to wash their hands with soap and dry them properly and playing pretend offices using the second hand office equipment. The weather was still lovely and the children were outdoors a lot. As September went on, they had picnics on the hill by the large sandpits, learnt to use dustpan and brushes and became accustomed to working in their various Story and Rhyme Time and Phonics groups. The days moved on further and we worked hard on naming colours and shades of colours, on digging in the sand and on mixing liquids and powders together. As the end of September hit us, we realized how much they had grown in independence and that all our children were keen to learn more about animals. We celebrated European languages day in the last week of September and loved watching your videos from home of your families speaking in different languages. October was suddenly upon us and we focused on cutting skills and more shape work. Then it was time to start practising for our Harvest Assembly. We learnt how to say tiger in French and loads about oats, beans and barley. The children were now well in to the swing of PE lessons, Diversity sessions, Maths and French and had settled well in to Woodlands. The autumn weather was appearing by now and we enjoyed using lots of natural resources in our learning and play. Mr. Balfour, Mr Bullock and Mrs McIntosh were now coming to see the children weekly and the children looked forward to their visits.

They returned after the half term break and we were straight into fireworks as our focus and all our different areas of learning featured pop, bangs and whizzing! We learnt how to say tree in French and started enjoying lots of cooking activities. The children were learning how to rhyme and create patterns. Then suddenly it was time to start learning all about insects and Christmas combined! And thus, our Show which you had the pleasure of witnessing just before the end of term. Where have those 4 months gone to? How much have your children changed and grown? All I can say is..... we have had a ball!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and joy filled Christmas holiday and on behalf of myself, Donna, Catherine, Sophie, Natalie and Emma, thank you for your support over this term. See you in 2023 when we welcome new children and Tracy and Ruth, two additional Woodlands teachers to the team.

Shirley Hayman Head of Woodlands Nursery

This term, Woodlands pupils have explored, created, learnt and experienced across the whole curriculum.

Insects and mini-beasts have played a big part in our learning; early in the term, the children made ladybirds and had a French lesson based on bumble bees - ask any Green Class child what bee is in French and they are sure to be able to tell you! They also have made spider webs, and later in the term, the whole of Woodlands was transformed into a giant spider’s web! A special bug-related treat was the visit from Wild Fangs, with Rosie the tarantula - who was accompanied by a corn-snake, cockroach and beetle! The children all had lots of questions! This “bug” theme followed through the term into our very special Nativity production, “The Insects tell out the Good News” - as you probably now know, every year, Woodlands tries to offer a fresh, creative, innovative show for our families, and we hope this year’s effort did not disappoint! Thank you for all your wonderful efforts with the costumes - our forest full of spiders, butterflies and bees looked fabulous! You can see more photos from the production here. Back in September, the children had their first Forest School of the academic year. Mrs Le Bas, Beechwood’s Forest School Leader, explained all the Forest School “Rules” before the children explored the fairy house, dog logs, mud kitchen and more - all great preparation for their regular Forest School sessions when they move into the Junior Department. Autumn was another fun learning experience for the children, and members of each class showed great interest in the environmental changes happening around Woodlands. Naturally our woodland location lends itself to plenty of outdoor exploration, and the children have explored the school site looking for conkers, acorns and beautifully coloured autumn leaves, creating some wonderful works of art from these natural resources.

As part of their autumn studies, the children also learnt about harvest, and the big excitement was the visit from the local farmer - with his tractor! It was difficult to tell who was more thrilled by this visit, the children, or Mr Balfour! The children all had the opportunity to sit in the tractor’s cabin and they had plenty of questions to ask the farmer! We hope you all enjoyed our special Harvest Assembly too - and a huge thank you for all the Harvest donations. Amongst a lot of outdoor learning, there has been plenty going on in the classroom too this term! In our phonics sessions, we have explored the rhythm of words by clapping, stamping and playing instruments. There are so many different aspects to being an early reader and the Woodlanders are throwing themselves into developing these skills - with their usual confidence and enthusiasm!

We have also been working on upper body strength as this helps children to develop the fine motor skills needed to be successful writers in the future - staff have worked with the children to develop their “bendy bits” - shoulders, elbows and wrist pivots - to help them make marks more effectively.

This is We have also been studying the concept of shape, with all the children getting involved in activities to learn about both 2D and 3D shapes - learning how to say all the shape names, as well as more “hands on” activities such as painting and printing with shapes, wrapping shapes up, and even throwing them around! All these different activities help to embed learning and understanding, helping children to identify objects that are the same and those that are different, and so learning the principles of categorising. an important science skill that will be explored further as the

children move through the School. Throughout the year, we aim to deliver a wide Early Year experience to our Woodlanders, and Computing is a key part of this. Throughout the term, the children have been introduced to some new learning experiences using bee-bots (which have given the children an early taste of programming their toys), iPads etc. You are never too young - or too old! - to learn something new!

As part of the Early Years curriculum in Woodlands, pupils also learn about the world around them and different cultures traditions.

This term, the children had the opportunity to learn about Diwali - what it is, and why and how it is celebrated. Thank you to Amita and Shuchi who visited Woodlands and delivered a fascinating session, made all the more special as Woodlanders were joined by the Reception classes as a whole Early Years Department. We love to welcome back last year’s Woodlanders to let us know how they are getting on in Reception, and it is very beneficial for our older Nursery children to get a taste of what is to come in September, when they move to the Junior Department. During the course of the session, the children learnt about Rama and Sita, engaged in a variety of different craft activities - and sampled some delicious Diwali treats!

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Of course the highlight of the term for many was Christmas and all the associated celebrations! At Woodlands we enjoyed: • The spectacular Woodlands Show (more photos here) • Christmas Carols and Cake • Christmas Movie Afternoon • Whole School Christmas Jumper Day • Christmas Lunch

So after a busy Michaelmas Term, what does Lent Term have in store?! Watch this space!

Turn the page for more photos from this term in Woodlands...