More fun with Santa's sleigh
The children's interest in sleigh building has continued. This time they chose to use our outdoor equipment to create a sleigh. We introduced bells and had some festive music for the children to play along to.
N3 Christmas Sleigh
We used our large construction blocks to build Santa's sleigh. The children then became Santa's elves and wrapped and packed the presents. We even had Rudolph joining our play.
Fox Group Stay and Play
Thank you to all the parents who came for their child's stay and play. Parents observed Attention Autism Bucket Time and then spent time with their child's key worker to see strategies being delivered.
A Christmas Tales Toolkit Story
The children really enjoyed creating a special festive Tales Toolkit story. The character bag contained a Santa hat and so the children took the opportunity tower the hat and take on the character role. We had a polar bear in the problem bag and the children decided that the problem was that he was cold. In our solution bag there was a reindeer so we solved the problem by the reindeer hugging the polar bear to keep him warm.
Our Fabulous Wooden Christmas Tree
As you know, in our woodwork area, we have been using saws and hammers to decorate pieces of wood. This week, we used all of our wooden pieces to make 2 amazing Christmas Trees.
Clay Snowmen
Unfortunately the real snow had melted before we were able to build a snowman, however we used clay to build snowmen instead. We had lots of objects to choose from to decorate our snowmen.
Investigating Ice
When we returned to Nursery after a very cold weekend we discovered lots of ice. The children enjoyed collecting the ice from all over the playground and putting it into a big tray. They then had lots of fun using different tools to smash it up. They used lots of fabulous descriptive vocabulary as they investigated too.
Woodwork
N3 have been using a hammer and nails to attach objects (pom poms, corks and buttons) to their pieces of wood. We will be arranging all the pieces of wood into a Christmas Tree shape.
Look at the amazing hand eye coordination the children are demonstrating whilst holding the nails and hitting it with the hammer!
Tales Toolkit - Pig, Fox and Dinosaur
Different groups of children used the story props in different combinations to see what different stories we could come up with. In one story the pig was the character and in another the pig was the solution.
Making Gingerbread
After hearing the story of 'The Gingerbread Man', the children in N3 followed a recipe to make their own gingerbread man. This time, we won't be eating the gingerbread though, we will be hanging them on the Nursery Christmas Tree.
A Cheeky Monkey Tales Toolkit Story
A group of N3 children helped Kathryn to make a fantastic story about a cheeky monkey at a party. There was a big spider which was a problem as he was spoiling the party. Luckily the solution bag contained a net, which the children used to catch the spider and carry him away from the party.
Story Wow - The Gingerbread Man
The children from N3 discovered some unusual items in our community room - flour, ginger, milk, butter, a cookie cutter and lots of floury gingerbread shapes. We also found a treasure box with a timer inside.
After lots of investigating using our senses, Jen read us the story of 'The Gingerbread Man'.
World Nursery Rhyme Week - The Big Ship Sailed
As part of World Nursery Rhyme Week, we have been singing The Big Ship Sails whilst building our own ship, looking through our telescope and walking the plank. Shiver me timbers!
World Nursery Rhyme Week - Old MacDonald
As part of World Nursery Rhyme Week, we have been singing Old MacDonald whilst building our own farmyard in the outdoor area. We enjoyed making all of the different animal sounds.
World Nursery Rhyme Week - 5 Currant Buns
As part of World Nursery Rhyme Week, we have been singing 5 Currant Buns whilst making our own buns in the mud kitchen and making playdough cakes.
World Nursery Rhyme Week - Incy Wincy Spider
As part of World Nursery Rhyme Week, we have been singing Incy Wincy whilst exploring spiders, drains and webs. We even found a REAL spider that came to watch all of our activities.
Story Time with Betty
This week Betty joined Owl group and Hedgehog group for their story sessions. The children were really pleased to have her as part of their group. They also loved giving her a 'well done' stroke after the story had finished.
An owl themed Tales Toolkit story
Suzanne, our Forest School Leader, has been teaching the children about nocturnal animals. We created an owl themed Tales Toolkit this week, to reinforce our new 'wow word' in a meaningful and memorable way. We had lots of fun creating this story about our character the owl that found a problem which was a poisonous toadstool. Luckily our solution bag contained a magic star which saved the day.
Spooky Day
We had lots of exciting spooky things planned for spooky day in Nursery 3. We decorated our room and reception area. All the children and staff wore spooky outfits. We painted spiders webs, played with our black playdough, investigated the jelly, felt the gooey slime and made spooky masks. We even went trick or treating to Lesley and Rachel. It really was a spooktacular day!
Making Porridge
After having lots of opportunities to hear the story of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' and lots of opportunities to retell the story using the props, the children have been making their own porridge. They followed the recipe card and counted out all of the ingredients. Whilst making the porridge the children were using lots of mathematical language. As you can see from our pictures, the best bit was eating the yummy porridge at the end.
Foxes Group - Our First Tales Toolkit Story
The children in Foxes group used the big bags and props inside to make a story. The character was a dog (the children also each had a dog character to use). The setting was the leaves, which the dogs were playing in and jumping in. The problem (der! der! der!) was the rain. The rain wet the dogs and made them sad. The solution was a cloth which dried the dogs and made them happy.
Well Done Foxes! Your story looks great fun!
World Animal Day 2024
Meeting Betty - Hoyle's Dog Mentor
Now that Betty, Katy and Lesley have completed their Dog Mentor training, Betty is now able to work more closely with our children. This week we began some gentle first introductions. Some children preferred to look at and wave to Betty through the glass. Other children were happy to sit beside Betty and give her a stroke, a brush or a treat. We are all looking forward to spending more time with Betty.
Tooth Brush Bus
We have started our tooth brushing time in Nursery 3 now. The children have been helping to brush the big teeth and using their own brushes to brush their teeth. Well done! We love your healthy smiles.
Story Wow - Goldilocks and the Three Bears
The children have been using lots of exciting props to explore the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Please talk to your children about our story wow and see if they can remember what happened in the story.
Creating stories using our Tales Toolkit bags
We have been busy introducing Tales Toolkit to our new cohort of Nursery 3 children. They have been using the 4 big bags (character, setting, problem and solution bags) to create their own story from the props. As you can see from their faces they are really enjoying the excitement of discovering what is inside the bags.
Our Climbing Wall
We have had a new climbing wall installed in Nursery 3. The children have really enjoyed using their problem solving skills to negotiate their way across the traverse.
Our First Week
We have had a fantastic first week of the new school year. Both our returning children and our new children have settled in wonderfully. We have had so much fun exploring our indoor classroom, our outdoor classroom and our lovely forest school.
Fruit Smoothie Making
The children in foxes group have been making delicious fruit smoothies. They investigated the fruit using their sense of sight, smell, touch and taste. Then they used a knife to chop up the banana and strawberries. They used a spoon to scoop the fruit into the blender and observed the change in texture of the fruit when the flavoured water was added and the blender was turned on. The children then got to taste their yummy smoothie.
A Space themed mark making TTK Story
Our children in foxes have been creating an exciting TTK story which involved lots of fabulous mark making. The character was a bear who was on a star (setting). The problem was a monster was frightening the bear. He got in his rocket (solution) and zoomed away!
Look at all the lovely mark making the children did. They drew the circular marks to represent the moon, lots of twinkling star shapes, stomping dots for the monster and some bog whooshing marks for the rocket taking off.
Our Story Wow - Jack and the Beanstalk
This half term we are reading the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Jen read the book to us and used lots of exciting props to bring her story to life. We have been using our small world area to recreate and retell the story to our friends.
Fi Fi Fo Fum!
A sea life Tales Toolkit story
In this story, our characters were some sea creatures. The setting was the sea. The problem .....der! der! der! was the fish wanted to play in the mud. The solution was the water spray to clean them.
A lion Tales Toolkit story
The characters in the story were a pack of lions. The setting was a jungle. The problem ....der! der! der! was that they got stuck! The solution was that Mummy Lion set them free.
Making our own playdough by following a recipe
The children have really enjoyed measuring out their own ingredients in order to create their own dough.
Rope Challenge
The children have been really enjoying the physical challenge of a rope obstacle set up in our outdoor area. They have been investigating balancing, swinging, climbing and using lots of positional language.
Planting
After reading our Wow story of 'Jack and the Beanstalk', the children have been busy doing lots of planting in our outdoor area. We are now taking care of our seeds and are very excited about watching them grow.
Sensory Food Play
The children have been investigating lots of interesting textures, tastes and using tools. They have explored jam with bread, syrup, noodles, soy sauce, spices and melon.
Attention Autism Stage 3
Mark Making Stories
Children in Nursery 2 and Nursery 3 have been doing some fabulous mark making as part of their Tales Toolkit story making. We have been using pens, shaving foam and water to record our movements alongside telling the stories.
An Easter Tales Toolkit Story
The Foxes group created a special story with rabbits in for Easter.
The characters were rabbits.
The setting was grass with eggs on it.
The problem was a rain cloud and lots of rain water.
The solution was an umbrella and lots of little umbrellas for the children to hold.
I think Jen may have got a bit wet creating this story!
Easter Nests
The children have enjoyed making chocolate nests at Nursery. They looked at the chocolate and how it changed when it melted. It smelt delicious!
Story Wow - The Three Little Pigs
This half term we have been reading 'The Three Little Pigs'. We have been signing the story, retelling the story using props and even built a big brick house in our outdoor area.
Tie Dye and Sewing
The children have been using fabric dyes to create some wonderful effects on some plain white fabric. They have then used the fabric to sew some stiches onto. Look how carefully they are threading the needle!
Clay Pots and Sunflower Seeds
Here are N3 using clay to create their plant pot for Mother's Day, then planting their sunflower seeds. We also drew some fabulous pictures of our Mummies.
Tales Toolkit - Toadstool Story
The morning children worked with Katy to create a story and the afternoon children worked with Kirsty. It was so interesting to hear how the children created such different stories using the same props.
Tales Toolkit - The Three Little Pigs (with a difference!)
Our Foxes group enjoyed creating a story about the Three Little Pigs (Character), in the setting of the straw house. The problem (der! der! der!) was the wolf and a fan which blew the straw house down. Luckily, we had a solution bag which contained a lion. The lion chased the big bad wolf away.
Tales Toolkit - A Frog Story
The character was a frog, the setting was a pond, the problem (der! der! der!) was no water for the frogs luckily in the solution bag there was water.
Our Foxes group loved creating this story and especially exploring the water in the pond.
Tales Toolkit - A story in the dark!
In our latest sensory Tales Toolkit story created by our Foxes group, the character was a little star. The setting was a very twinkly night sky. The problem (der! der! der!) was a spaceship which the children are familiar with and are aware usually lights up and plays music, was not lighting up. The solution was a torch for each of the children to light the way for the spaceship.
Exploring Clay
Our Foxes group have been using clay this week and had lots of fun exploring and investigating this new texture.
Chapati Making
After reading the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood' and seeing the bread that she had made for Grandma, we decided to make some Chapatis. We followed the recipe, counted out all of our ingredients and used our 'kneading skills' to work the dough. We had a taste of our chapatis at Nursery and took some home to share with our families. We thought they tasted delicious!
Our Story Wow - Little Red Riding Hood
Throughout this half term we have been reading the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood'. We have used props to enhance the story and also acted out the story on a large scale using role play and giant construction. We even did some fantastic mark making about what we thought the wolf might like to eat (if he didn't eat Red Riding Hood).
Tales Toolkit Small Bags
Following lots of storytelling using our big bags in group stories, we have now introduced a Tales Toolkit small bag which the children can use to create their own stories in the classroom.
The children have loved using this new resource.
Look at this fabulous story -
Character - Mummy
Setting - Her house
Problem - Hammer - it breaks her house
Solution - A bear - he fixes the house.
We are so excited to see what stories our children create using the small bag.
Tales Toolkit Outdoor Apron
Following lots of storytelling using our big bags in group stories, we have now introduced a Tales Toolkit apron which the children can use to create their own stories in the outdoor environment.
The children have loved using this new resource. Look at this fabulous story -
Character - Bee
Setting - Forest (the children collected sticks and pine cones for the bag)
Problem - A piece of bark - the bee ate it and it was too big and heavy so now he can't fly
Solution - Green leaves - the bee ate the healthy food so now he can fly again.
We are so excited to see what stories our children create using the new apron.
Tales Toolkit Sensory Story - Little Red Riding Hood
Our Foxes Group have been busy creating another fantastic sensory story using our Tales Toolkit big bags and symbols.
This time it was a Red Riding Hood Story.
Character - Red Riding Hood
Setting - Kitchen (frying pan and tongs)
Problem - no bread/no food (empty bread basket)
Solution - The children made their own bread whilst joining in with the singing " This is the way we mix the bread, mix the bread, mix the bread, this is the way we mix the bread"
"This is the way we pat the bread"
Well Done Foxes. This looks lots of fun!
A very windy week!
We are certainly getting to experience some extreme weather conditions at Nursery. First the snow and then the winds. We took advantage of the wind and did some kite building and kite flying.
A very snowy week!
The children have loved exploring in the snow in our outdoor area this week. We have been sledging, making a snow lady, rolling snowballs, investigating ice and creating snow angels.
A Goldilocks sensory Tales Toolkit Story
The children in Foxes Group have been using our Tales Toolkit bags to retell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. There were lots of opportunities for the children to join in with the story including some porridge tasting and some hammering to help fix baby bears chair.
Bird themed Tales Toolkit Story
As part of our RSPB Big School's Bird watch week, the children have been creating their own Tales Toolkit bird stories. We had a robin in the character bag, a nest as our setting, some eggs were in the problem bag and a blue tit was the solution. What story do you think you could make using these props?
Woodwork - Making Bird Feeders
To coincide with the RSPB Big School's Birdwatch, we have been making wooden bird feeders. This involved the children sawing their wood and drilling holes into it. They then painted their finished pieces ready for bird food to be added and for them to be hung in the trees.
Christmas Tales Toolkit
We used some Christmas characters and props to create a seasonal Tales Toolkit story.
Snowman Art
As we didn't have any 'real' snow this week, we used flour to create some fabulous snowman art work in our outdoor area.
Tales Toolkit
The children in our Foxes group created a fabulous Tales Toolkit sensory story using the characters from the Gingerbread Man story and trays of water as the problem.
Gingerbread Man Experiment
After reading the Gingerbread Man story, acting it out and making our own Gingerbread Men for the Nursery Christmas tree, we then did a Gingerbread Man experiment. We put our Gingerbread Man biscuits into four different liquids to see what would happen. We tried the biscuits in milk, vinegar, oil and warm water. The children enjoyed making their predictions and then carrying out the testing to see what happened. Can you guess what happened to the Gingerbread Man in each liquid?
Woodwork - Sawing Skills
The children have now been introduced to saws in our woodwork area. They have been learning to cut pieces of wood, which is building their hand strength, developing their hand-eye coordination and improving their concentration skills. .
Making Gingerbread
After reading the story of 'The Gingerbread Man', the children followed a recipe to make a salt dough gingerbread man to hang on the Nursery Christmas tree. They counted out and measured all of their own ingredients before using a cookie cutter and then decorating their gingerbread man.
Story Wow! - The Gingerbread Man
This half term we are reading the traditional story of 'The Gingerbread Man'. We have explored different objects from the story and read the story at group time. We thought the ginger smelt very spicy! We have been using our story tray to retell the story using the props.
Betty the Bulldog
We had the pleasure of another adorable puppy visiting at Hoyle today. The beautiful Betty, owned by a member of staff, came to brighten up a cold wet morning. As you can see she put big smiles onto our faces. We loved our cuddles and hope Betty comes to visit again soon.
Tales Toolkit - Road Safety Week
We used our big bags to create a Tales Toolkit story which encouraged the children to think about how to cross the road safely.
Puppy Visit
The children in Nursery 3 had a wonderful surprise visit today from a beautiful French Bulldog Puppy called Nevada. Nevada belongs to one of our Nursery children. The children were very excited to meet her and loved the opportunity to give her a stroke or a cuddle. We would love her to come and visit us again so that we can watch her as she grows bigger. As you can see the Nursery staff loved her too!
A bonfire themed Tales Toolkit story
This week our Tales Toolkit big bags contained a firework picture and a bonfire picture. The children enjoyed using these as part of their story making.
Woodwork Area
The children are really enjoying using our woodwork area. They have been shown how to use the equipment safely and have been developing their skills in using a hammer and nails. Some children also painted their wooden models.
A balloon themed Tales Toolkit story
This week we created a story about a jumping frog. The frog went to a party, where he ate candy, carrots and cake! There was a big problem. The frog was playing with a balloon and it blew away. Luckily we had a solution, a big bear came to the rescue and he found the balloon and gave it back to the frog.
The frog lived happily ever after.
Black History Month
October is Black History Month. Hoyle Nursery have been taking part in this national event which includes elements of celebration, recognition and reflection. We have been listening to some of Bob Marley's fabulous music and joining in with some singing, dancing and drumming.
Achievosaur Dinosaurs
To help the children understand the 'Characteristics of Effective Learning' and the different ways that they and their friends play, we have introduced our 'Achievosaur Gang'. These are a set of dinosaurs which each reflect a different characteristic. There are 9 dinosaurs that the children will be introduced to throughout the year. The children were very excited when our first dinosaur, the 'Explorasaur Dinosaur' hatched from the egg. The children were awarded Explorasaur stickers if they were seen exploring activities and resources in our indoor or outdoor areas during play.
Tales Toolkit
We have introduced 'Tales Toolkit' in both N2 and N3. It is a fabulous resource which supports the children in creating their own stories. We used our 4 big bags to introduce the children to the 'Character', 'Setting', 'Problem' and 'Solution'. As you can see from our photographs the stories are lots of fun! There are songs, actions, silly voices and exciting resources to engage and motivate the children.
Roald Dahl Day
To celebrate the work of one of the most cherished storytellers, we held a 'Roald Dahl Day'. We made delicious chocolate crispy cakes, before using our Wonka Golden Ticket, to watch the chocolate room scene from the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Fine Motor Development
Weaving, threading and sewing requires strong finger muscles and good co-ordination. In support of their fine motor development, our children first strengthen their gross motor systems, building core muscles and shoulder strength to be able to keep their arms stable. For example, climbing, throwing balls, weaving and mixing. This helps build the muscles children need to pinch a needle or use a pencil for writing. Practising using our finger muscles like this helps children to pick up and move small objects, take things apart and put things together, and later it will help them grip and move a pencil well when they write.
Maths
Learning about mathematical concepts and number is all around us. This week in Forest School the children have been using lots of different language associated with maths - heavy, light, more, less, in, on, and under. The children also made a fruit salad for their snack and counted the pieces as they cut the fruits.
Forest School
The children have enjoyed their sessions in Forest School this week. They have been making natural flower pictures, used their senses to explore, worked as a team helping friends, used different tools, extended their interests - (the children enjoyed watching the horses during the King's Coronation and wanted to recreate the experience by making horses), problem solving, making dens, balancing on the wood and overall having lots of fun.
Woodwork
We have been learning how to use all the equipment in our Woodwork Area. We can now use the drill, saw, vice and hammers safely and we have enjoyed designing, making and painting our models.
Spring Term 1
What a wonderful half term we have had! We have been learning how to use the different tools in the woodwork area and we made our own Christmas tree. We have been mark making, measuring, making shapes, baking, counting, exploring outside and making memories with our friends.
What a fabulous half term we have had and we have learnt so much!
Our children love going on the 'Woodland Walk' every week. They explore the woods and nature, find exciting bits and pieces and experience the different seasons. We are so lucky to have this on our doorstep.
Autumn Term
Welcome back to all our Nursery 3 children who have had a lovely week.
They have enjoyed making dough, painting, building, dancing, making music, playing outside, doing science experiments, reading stories, making new friends and having fun.
