# data[].attributes.body
My name is Ayesher and I am the Class Teacher. I have been working at Pastures Way for 20 years now and thoroughly enjoy working with children and their families.

# data[].attributes.body
We are now well underway with our school transition preparations in Olive Class. A selection of activities and class discussions are being planned for with all the children. Contact with children's new schools has been made and some teachers have already come for a visit to meet the children in class. This can be a very exciting time for the children but also a time for worries to set in as they begin to understand that their nursery journey is coming to an end and a new adventure awaits. The class team are extremely mindful of such emotions and are available to explore these feelings with the children when they arise. If you have any concerns about your child's transition to school, please come and speak with your child's key person.

# data[].attributes.body
The first core book of the half-term was Supertato. This book provided the children will plenty of opportunities to explore superhero roles/responsibilities as well as sorting and describing different vegetables. At parliament time we learnt some new and unheard of vegetable names! Have you ever heard of a dragon carrot or a snake gourd? No! neither had the Olive-ettes and staff team.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Supertato - Books Alive! Read Aloud book for kids

# data[].attributes.body
Selfies in the sun.

# data[].attributes.body
A quick pop to the shops for some ice cream!

# data[].attributes.body
Their very first swimming lesson!

# data[].attributes.body
The children had many opportunities to see and hold the ducklings up close. All the staff were so proud of how kind, gentle and caring the children were during these times. A few children were naturally apprehensive about stroking the ducklings. However their worries soon disappeared when their friends gave them words of encouragement and reassurance.

# data[].attributes.body
The sun was shining all throughout the half-term. We enjoyed plenty of water days and giggles.

# data[].attributes.body
Emilia makes sure that our new friendly giant is sitting comfortably. He still requires a few nip and tucks, possibly a facelift then he'll be good to go. The plan is he will guard our beautiful flower garden and scare the birds away!

# data[].attributes.body
Dressed in our finest pyjama's we all shared our favourite stories for World Book Day! Peppa Pig was the favourite choice for both morning and afternoon children!

# data[].attributes.body
Science week encouraged plenty of curiosity from the children as we performed a number of experiments. From Volcanoes to rain making, colour changing sweets and dissolving egg shells it certainly was all-go in Olive Class!

# data[].attributes.body
The class acted out the story with some children taking on key roles. Audience participation was on point as all the children helped contribute and prompt the characters. Special thanks to our wonderful Director Leanne; definitely a BAFTA with your name on coming your way soon!

# data[].attributes.body
The children tried hard to create their own bridges using shaving foam, sponges and straws. An activity that proved very tricky and sticky!...

# data[].attributes.body
The children planted real beans and studied the life cycle of a bean. New vocabulary was introduced to the children such as:

root

sprout

stalk

# data[].attributes.body
Designing their own beanstalks using different materials.

# data[].attributes.body
Whole group story-mapping- multiple authors!

# data[].attributes.body
Whole group story-mapping!

# data[].attributes.body
Bravo Aidan!

# data[].attributes.body
Alice found convincing evidence that the Easter Bunny had been in our garden!

# data[].attributes.body
We shared the story of We're going on an egg hunt with the children; counting all the eggs we found along the way. Once finished the children collected their special Easter baskets they had designed and we ventured out into the jungle garden to see how many chicks we could find. If the children were lucky enough to find a chick then they were rewarded with a special chocolate egg as a prize! Happy Easter little olive-ettes X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
WE'RE GOING ON AN EGG HUNT | Martha Mumford | Read by Miss Ellis 💛

# data[].attributes.body
Creating 'henna' patterns using loose parts.

# data[].attributes.body
Decorating glass jars with mosaic tiles- thankyou Anisha for leading a beautiful activity.

# data[].attributes.body
Sharing the book amongst friends.

# data[].attributes.body
The final core book of the term is Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Goldilocks and the Three Bears Fairytale with Mr Tumble | CBeebies

# data[].attributes.body
The children have been designing their very own castle out of cardboard boxes.

# data[].attributes.body
The first core book of spring 2 is Jack and the Beanstalk.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jack and the Beanstalk Fairy Tale by Oxbridge Baby

# data[].attributes.body
All the children carefully designed and decorated their own pancake for snack.

# data[].attributes.body
Pancake Day!

Olive class had great fun flipping pancakes today. The children thoroughly enjoyed counting back from 10 before each adult had a turn at tossing their pancake. Some adults were better than others but the children were the real stars of the show!

# data[].attributes.body
Shelly was due a clean, so the Shelly supervisors stepped up and got to work sharpish. They worked together as a well oiled team and delegated each other some jobs; scooping out the old bedding, refreshing her water and food supply, laying down new bedding and gently giving Shelly's shell a good brush. Bravo team!

# data[].attributes.body
Some wonderful spring cleaning and and a new lick of paint made the outside walls much more colourful. It certainly brightened up the dull, grey January days of late!

# data[].attributes.body
The children helped to rescue the farm animals from the big freeze that took hold of the nursery one evening. Various techniques and methods were used to help defrost the ice and speed up the thawing process. Such methods used were:

Paintbrushes and warm water,

Hammers and small wooden sticks,

Shaking the tins that enclosed the ice and finally wrapping the ice in fluffy towels.

# data[].attributes.body
The children designed their own pigs from play dough and used loose parts to add different effects to the dough.

# data[].attributes.body
All the children have been practicing writing their own names. We have displayed them in class and staff can already see the progression made from when the children last did this activity in the Autumn term.

# data[].attributes.body
The children have been learning how to care for babies and the reasons why babies cry. Ivan has recently been promoted to 'big brother' so this activity was perfect for him and came at the right time for him to share all his new knowledge about life at home with a newborn.

# data[].attributes.body
The second core book we have been sharing with the children is the story The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The class have enjoyed sequencing the events in the story and acting out the different characters.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Елена Элизбарян

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Maple and Olive afternoon session Christmas 2024

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Maple and Olive Class Morning session Christmas 2024

# data[].attributes.body
This term we start with the traditional story of The Three Little pigs. During our literacy sessions we will be teaching the children the main characters, where the story is set and recalling the big events that occur throughout the book. Alongside this, in the classroom we will be exploring different materials such as bricks, sticks and straw- are these materials good for building houses and if so why? We will also be looking at different homes and habitats of woodland animals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Three Little Pigs – 🐷🐷🐷 Read aloud of the classic tale about the value of hard work!

# data[].attributes.body
Making some festive sticks.

# data[].attributes.body
Writing letters to Father Christmas was a hot topic in early December. It also proved a great opportunity to practice our mark making skills.

# data[].attributes.body
Baking Christmas shortbread biscuits was good fun. The whole class joined this big bake-off. Once baked, the children took time to delicately decorate before enjoying them while watching The Snowman on the laptop.

# data[].attributes.body
Exploring Volcanoes was an interest that came from Parliament time. We explored different ingredients, equipment and methods to learn what created the most effective volcano in the shortest time.

# data[].attributes.body
During our Maths Teaching sessions, the children have been learning about shapes. Some of the children created their own 3D shapes using cocktail sticks and midget gems.

# data[].attributes.body
Pass the parcel....

# data[].attributes.body
The Olive Christmas Party is always a big event in the classroom. Plenty of delicious food and games; a truly special day was had by us all. Thankyou to all parents that kindly donated food and drink.

# data[].attributes.body
We were sure to write him a thank you letter.

# data[].attributes.body
Father Christmas took time out from his very busy work schedule in order to visit the children in nursery. He listened carefully to what was on the children's lists and really enjoyed our beautifully tuned voices as we sang him some songs from our concert.

# data[].attributes.body
The children worked hard to write their own letters/pictures to Father Christmas. As a special treat, the whole class went out and about to personally post their letters. We even had time to pop into the park while we were out. Well done to all the olive-ettes that worked so hard. Also apologies to Royal Mail who have had to sort through 50 letters addressed to the North Pole!

# data[].attributes.body
Attached is the song list for the upcoming Christmas Concert. We look forward to seeing you there! If you are unable to attend then we will be pre-recording one of the rehearsals and will upload the video on here for your own viewing pleasure.

# data[].attributes.body
With all the trees now bare for winter, the children wanted to fill them up with light, bright and beautiful decorations. Upcycling some cd's will do the trick!

# data[].attributes.body
Wow's are held every week, morning and afternoon (allocated time slots are 11am and 3pm). These sessions are where you can engage in different activities with your child/children. Anisha and Flora will be on hand to support the activities.

Activities are fun, messy, creative and natural.

We look forward to seeing you there!

# data[].attributes.body
Talking boxes

Is an intervention to support EAL children and those children who would benefit from speech and language support.

Our talking box groups are led by Kristina.

We have been doing talking boxes at nursery for several years and the format has proved successful. These groups aim to support children to learn English in a planned and progressive way.

The groups are held twice a week with a maximum of six children in each group. The sessions run for five weeks each half term.

During this group we sing a Hello song, introduce activities, introduce a book and characters, have an attention activity, read the story and have another activity (related to key words), reward sticker and say Goodbye. The children are also exposed to the key words in the main classroom, so they can make links between their play and what they are learning in the sessions. Homework is also provided so children can continue learning at home. Should you have any questions about Talking Boxes, please ask to speak with Kristina, who will be happy to help you.

# data[].attributes.body
Leanne was our class soup superhero this week, when she rounded up a group of children to work in her soup kitchen outside! The children helped prepare the vegetables, cutting and chopping them to size, before placing them in the magical soup maker. This marvelous piece of equipment transformed the vegetables into soup in under 20 minutes. Once it had cooled down, the whole class sat down and enjoyed a wonderful warming cup of loveliness!

# data[].attributes.body
Selection of wind-up toys are a fun and exciting way for children to practice the skill of pinching something small and twisting their wrists to wind-up the toy to make it work.

# data[].attributes.body
Using tweezers to pick up small objects such as bears and/or pom-pom balls.

# data[].attributes.body
Squeezing pegs of different sizes onto string.

# data[].attributes.body
Funky fingers is a regular activity in Olive Class that focuses on the development of children's fine motor skills but also has many other benefits including:

Encourages communication and language skills

Supports hand writing skills through fine motor strength and control

Highly adaptable

Can fit in with any theme, topic, celebration, interest

Repetitive fine motor skills in a fun way

If changed regularly such as weekly children are excited and intrigued to have a go

Promotes characteristics of effective learning

Allows children to develop the skills they need without causing any confusion around hand writing

Through improving fine motor skills children develop independence in things such as buttoning their own coats or opening their own packets.

Below are just some of the activities that the children have been doing in class.

# data[].attributes.body
The hot chocolate swamp proved popular with some of the children.

# data[].attributes.body
Dinosaur fossil printing in dough.

# data[].attributes.body
This week our core book is called Dinosaurs love underpants. The children have been super busy exploring old dinosaur bones and fossils in the sand. We introduced a new and exciting word called 'excavating' and learnt about what a Paleontologist does!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dinosaurs Love Underpants - Children's read-aloud story.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Think! Hedgehog Road Safety - King of the Road 1998 UK TV Advert

# data[].attributes.body
Traffic lights prompted a big discussion amongst the class. "Red is STOP!" Emilia told her friends. Samuel explained that "yellow means you turn your engine off", however Ivan felt "yellow, is you prepare to stop or go, when the lights tell you to!"