Head of School's message
We are delighted to share that the children have had a fantastic time at Heath Lane Nursery, exploring and learning together as always.
Over the last few weeks, we have been focusing our mathematics curriculum on measuring and using the language of capacity, length and weight in our play. Whether it was comparing the height of towers in the construction area or talking about which jug held more water at the water table, we’ve really enjoyed listening to the children’s conversations and noticing their growing confidence in using new words such as “taller,” “shorter,” “longer,” and “heavier".
As part of our learning around the story The Hungry Caterpillar, many of the children also enjoyed a visit to our local grocers. This was a wonderful real-life experience where they had the opportunity to choose and buy different fruits, just like the caterpillar in the story. The outing also gave us a chance to talk about road safety and how to walk safely together in our local community. These meaningful experiences help bring our learning to life and support the children in making connections between stories and the world around them.
A gentle reminder that arriving on time each day is very important. Every moment in nursery is a valuable learning opportunity, and we want every child to start their day feeling settled and included. When children arrive after the morning or afternoon session has begun, it can sometimes feel a little unsettling for them. By arriving on time, you are helping your child get the very best start and supporting a smooth, happy beginning to their day.
Dates coming up:
There will be no catch up calls next week (commencing 16th March) as staff will be working on assessments.
Last Day of Spring Term - Friday 27th March. School Closes at 1pm.
Return for Summer Term Tuesday 14th April (Monday 13th closed for Inset Day)
Reminders:
Please do not park in the staff car park and also a reminder not to wait in the main foyer in a morning before the gate opens. There are NHS staff who have already started working in the offices around.
Join our nursery's social media pages to stay connected.
Book & Rhyme of the week
The next Structured Stories Book is "Rain Before Rainbows" by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield.
We will start with the immersion phase of Structured Storytelling, where the children will explore the story through various engaging activities. They will learn about prepositions through participating in physical activities outside. This phase is crucial when developing understanding and language.
Our key vocabulary of the text is "Daybreak", "Journey", "Duel", "Wise", "Stem" and "Promise".
Please see below link to story;
Bedtime Stories | Regé-Jean Page reads Rain Before Rainbows 🌈 | CBeebies
The Rhyme of the week for next week is "Five Currant Buns".
This Rhyme has a maths focus looking at numbers.
Language of the week
We are lucky to have a rich and diverse community with lots of different languages. Our language of the week is Italian, which is spoken by some of our children and their families.
Please find below links of how to say "Hello" and "Goodbye" in Italian. You can practise with your child/ren at home.
Learning at home
🍎 Home Learning – EYFS Nursery 🍓
This week the children enjoyed a walk to Hemel Food Centre with their Key Group. This activity linked to our story The Very Hungry Caterpillar and our discussions about making healthy food choices.
The children explored the different fruits available and each chose a piece of fruit they would like to buy. We hope your child enjoyed this experience and talking about it with you at home!
Home Learning Idea:
This week, take a look at the fruit and vegetables you have at home together.
You could ask your child:
• Can you name each fruit or vegetable?
• What colour is it?
• Where do you think it was grown?
You might also like to try making a fruity smoothie together using any fruit you have at home. Your child could help wash the fruit, choose what to add, and talk about the different flavours. 🍌🍓🍎
We would love to hear about the fruits your child discovers at home!
Healthy me, Healthy world
Physical development is a vital part of early childhood learning and supports children’s overall health, confidence and ability to learn. Through activities that develop gross motor skills (such as running, climbing, balancing and jumping) children strengthen their muscles and coordination. These movements also support the development of the proprioceptive system (helping children understand where their bodies are in space) and the vestibular system (which supports balance, spatial awareness and movement). Strong development in these areas helps children with everyday tasks such as sitting upright, concentrating, sensory regulation and navigating their environment safely.
The National Health Service recommends that children under five should be physically active for at least 180 minutes (three hours) spread throughout the day, including energetic play. To help families find local outdoor spaces and encourage active play, you may also find the free Playground Buddy app helpful, which helps locate nearby playgrounds and provides information about their facilities and accessibility
Success story of the week
Last Monday, we were very excited to welcome five duckling eggs to our nursery. The children carefully observed the eggs in the incubator and eagerly watched as, one by one, the ducklings began to hatch. Once their feathers had dried, we gently moved them into a larger cage, where we discovered that each of our five ducklings was beautifully unique.
Over the past two weeks, the children have been fascinated by watching the ducklings grow and change. They have taken great responsibility in helping to care for them by feeding them, refilling their water and keeping their cage clean by removing old sawdust and replacing it with fresh bedding.
The children have also shown wonderful kindness and care when holding the ducklings, taking a closer look at their beaks, wings and webbed feet. When the ducklings were big enough, they even enjoyed a swim outside in our water tray during the sunshine, which the children loved watching.
This experience has given the children a fantastic hands-on understanding of life cycles and how animals grow and develop. It has strongly supported learning within the EYFS area of Understanding the World, particularly “The Natural World,” as the children observed real changes in living things and talked about what they noticed. The activity also supported Communication and Language, as the children shared their ideas and observations, and Personal, Social and Emotional Development, as they showed care and responsibility for living animals.
This week we said our goodbyes and waved the ducklings off to their new farm, where they will continue to grow and flourish. The children were very proud to have helped look after them and to have been part of such a special experience. 🐥
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