Welcome to our nursery home learning page!

It's so lovely to see you! 

Hello everyone!

Whilst it is impossible to replicate the experience your child will be having in the nursery setting we thought you may like some activities based on what we have been doing.

Below are some links to exciting activities for you to do with your child. Please don't feel that you need to do all or indeed any of them. We will be posting here from time to time so please come back and have a look if you are ever looking for things to do. 

More bears!!

This is our latest bear activity pack. Please make sure you collect one- every bear needs a home! 

Bears!

We are learning all about bears! We have made a pack for every child in nursery with lots of activities relating to Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. Many of you have already picked them up but we still have a few left. If you would like one, please just come to the school gate, press the buzzer and say that you are here to pick up a pack and someone will gladly bring one to you.

Here are some more 'Goldilocks and the 3 Bears' activities for you to enjoy. 

Positional language

Here are some activities focusing on positional language (the words we use to describe where things are in the space around us) eg behind, in front, next to, under, on. We would suggest that you start by playing a game with your child’s favourite toy or their little mouse.

Place it in various positions and ask your child "Where is Mouse?" Do lots of talking. Encourage your child to do the same and you tell them where it is. Model full sentences and encourage your child to do the same.

Below are some links to some online resources you might like to have a look at.

Teddy activity

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/ui-l-6-teddy-prepositions-powerpoint

Have a look at the cards and ask your child the question “Where is teddy?” Try and encourage the use of full sentences eg Teddy is under the table etc

The fox activity is very similar.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-2547904-where-is-the-fox-positional-language-picture-cards

Again, have a conversation with your child about where the fox is in each picture. You could use the pictures to help tell a story about what the fox has been up to!

The tree game is where you as an adult reads the sentence and the child will place the object in the correct place on the picture.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/au-s-059-preposition-tree-game

Please encourage your child to cut out the small pictures and stick them onto the big tree picture. We have been practicing our cutting skills in nursery so it will really help them if you have time to help them practice this skill at home.

Autumn number work

We have been practicing counting to 10 and completing number challenges. We have been outside and the children had to listen carefully to whatever challenge we set and then had to carry out that challenge. Examples of these challenges include collecting 3 leaves when asked and then counting the leaves to make sure they had collected no more or no less than 3. This is actually trickier than you would have thought because often young children know how to count but don’t yet match one to one so when asked to collect 3 leaves, they may collect handfuls! Encouraging your children to set the table for the family ensuring that everyone has a plate, a knife, fork and a cup would really help your child develop this skill. Even handing our grapes to everyone making sure that everyone has 3 would also consolidate this skill.

Hibernation

As you have probably seen on the blog, we have been learning all about Autumn and hibernation. In nursery, we read a story about  hibernation. Please ask your child about this story. Ask them what they learnt about hibernation. We are sure they would love to tell you! Some of us actually had a go at hibernating ourselves! 

Sorting autumnal objects

Here is a link to a mathematical sorting activity for you to do with your child. Using natural resources is such a lovely way to help your child learn because the objects always feel so tactile.

https://www.ltl.org.uk/resources/get-it-sorted/

Fungi, moss and lichen hunt

It is always so interesting to see the different types of living things that we can find near where we live.

If you live anywhere near a park or you have a garden, download this check list and see how many of these specimens you can find. If you don't have access to a printer, just have a look at the pictures before you head out and see what you remember from the list. Take a mobile phone with you and take some photos. You could always upload them to the blog so everyone can see what you found!

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/fungi-moss-and-lichen-hunt-6123762

Play

While you are at home, play is the best learning opportunity you can provide your child. It is so important for your child's development.

Children learn so much from play. It helps to improve language, social skills, physical development, creativity and problem solving abilities. Play does not need expensive toys and lots of space. A few old boxes and blankets can provide lots of great play opportunities. For example;

Lego/construction- develops fine motor skills, problem solving and reasoning, pattern, shape, imagination and language.

Making a den- develops gross motor skills, imagination, language, size and capacity, critical thinking.

Acting out favourite stories- develops imagination, listening and communication skills, social cues, reading, writing and confidence.

Children love to watch and learn from their significant adult so letting them join in with some daily activities like cleaning and cooking can be hugely beneficial to their development.

Please find a link here from the NHS explaining the importance of play for young children: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/why-play-is-important/

Counting with Numberblocks 

The resources below are an excellent introduction to number for young children. 

Using the familiar Numberblocks show, NCETM have created a scheme of work to support early number recognition, counting and ordering. There are Powerpoint documents that provide guidance and teaching points for each episode. I will also add some additional resources for children to practise their counting. 

NCETM Numberblocks teaching plans: 

https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/52060

Numberblocks episodes on YouTube:

 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPlwvN0w4qFSP1FllALB92w

Below are some ideas and links to provide parents with ideas of things to do whilst school is closed. We have done our best to find things that everyone will be able to access and we have also considered that you might have other children at home.

You may already be doing these, or there are some easy activities you might like to try that don’t require too much preparation. There are some fantastic age appropriate websites, games and videos online too.

Don't forget that there are lots of practical things that you can be doing, such as painting, threading, baking, role play, junk modelling (if you have access to these things) or just getting your child to help you at home 

Stories

Reading children’s books with your child helps with their learning – this can be their library book from school. You can talk about the pictures, talk to them about how we hold and look after a book, and if it’s one they know already they could try and join in with some of the words.

Here are a few examples of stories that have been popular with the children...

• Owl Babies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPQRiSTYFHo
• We're Going on a Bear Hunt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Waoa3iG3bZ4
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NQK-Sm1YY
• The Gingerbread Man - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pckuS--UlV4
• Jack and the Beanstalk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5rxfLRgXRE
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QzT1sq6kCY

Audible are also giving free access to stories for a range of ages:

https://stories.audible.com/start-listen

Songs and dancing

Talk about what songs we sing at Nursery. There are also lots of songs that you can access online...

Mr Tumble nursery rhymes with makaton, YouTube or CBeebies                                        https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/playlist-something-special-nursery-rhymes?collection=playlist-collection

BBC nursery rhymes and songs, BBC teach website
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-songs-index/zhwdgwx

Gonoodle do lots of dancing videos that the children have enjoyed in Nursery:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gonoodle

Some fun Disney activities to get moving:

https://www.nhs.uk/10-minute-shake-up/shake-ups

Understanding the World

In Nursery after the holiday, we would be going on to learn about planting things like seeds and beans and talking about what they need to grow. If anyone has any of these sorts of things at home, you could have a go at doing some planting. Otherwise we would have used some of these...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDBX2gCXxYw

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/curations/national-gardening-week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwCe3zzNzL8

We would also be starting to learn about minibeasts and bugs and the different types. If you have a garden, you could have a look and see if you can find any of these things outside. If not, you could look at some pictures and videos and talk about what they look like. Maybe have a go at drawing some!

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-2912-minibeasts-display-photos

Learn about different bugs here:

https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEB&search_query=wizz+minibeasts

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p011n1mp

Maths

Practice counting out loud, but also encourage your child to have a go at counting a small group of objects to see how many there are. See what shapes you can see around where you live and if they know their names. Try the links for games/activites...

CBeebies - https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/topics/numeracy

Counting - https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/teddy-numbers

Shapes - https://www.topmarks.co.uk/early-years/shape-monsters

There is also some maths support here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/help-your-child-with-maths

Playdough recipe

Playdough is great for being creative and developing your child’s fine motor skills. It is easy to make if this is something you decide to do!

To make your own you need:        

• 2 cups of plain or self-raising flour
• 1 cup of salt
• 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• 5 tablespoons of vegetable or sunflower oil
• 2 cups of boiling water
• Optional – add some food colouring with these ingredients if you want your playdough a different colour

Put all of these ingredients in a big bowl in this order, and then mix together. The hot water cooks the playdough and you may need to add more flour if it is wet or sticky. Knead and mould the playdough into a ball and allow time for it to cool before playing with it. If wrapped up tight in a carrier bag or kept in a container, it should last for about a week.

Twinkl

This is a resource website who are giving parents free access to all of their resources and packs. If you have access to a printer, this is where we get a lot of our colouring and writing sheets, that are easy to print and use. 

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/parents/free-resources-parents/free-resources-for-parents-free-resources-parents