Little Owls Nursery Class
This page gives Little Owls parents a flavour of what the children have been up to lately. If you are considering enrolling your child at Little Owls or are interested in more general information about the nursery, you may also like to look at our introductory Little Owls landing page.
Below is an expanding photo gallery of some of our activities in nursery:
- The most recent activities are at the top - scroll down to see older ones
- Just click on the little photos to enlarge them
- Documents for each term are also linked as they are finalised
July
Farewell party
There was cake, there were strawberries, there were balloons!
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Circus skills
For Eldene's 50th birthday, we had a visit from some circus performers who showed the children various tricks.
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Wild and Wet morning
It was a perfect day for it - warm and bright. We played various watery games starting with getting just a little wet, right up to full buckets-over-the-head!
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Let's go.....kart
The children assembled a simple go-kart using chunky wheels, axles, and nuts and bolts. The pay-off was to have a ride on their creation!
June
Sports Day
Sports Day was great fun! Afterwards, as a reward for all their efforts, we gave the children an ice lolly treat. Luckily there were enough left over that none of the teachers had a tantrum...
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Gardening
Our potatoes are growing well but sometimes get a bit dry. Luckily, there is no shortage of volunteers for the task of watering!
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Paperwork for Term 6 
Our topic for Term 6 is Journeys
Click the links below for more details:
Term 6 detailed planning for Orange Owls
Term 6 detailed planning for Purple Owls
May
Jubilee
We had an impromptu jubilee picnic on our new green space.
April
Paperwork for Term 5
Our topic for Term 5 is Water
Click the links below for more details:
Term 5 detailed planning for Orange Owls
Term 5 detailed planning for Purple Owls
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Easter
We have been doing various Easter-y things this week. Take a look at our chocolate Easter nests and painted eggs!
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Full of beans
We planted these beans at the beginning of term and look how well they are doing! Every single cup has sprouted shoots. We are just a little concerned that they may reach the clouds and that angry giants will get involved.
March
Getting wet?
As the weather grows warmer, we have been able to use water outdoors a bit more freely and it is lovely to see the children following their own lines of inquiry with this versatile substance.
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Register time
The nursery children are often fascinated to see teachers completing the daily register so we created a child-friendly version with large print and picture name-cards. In the boxes, they record who is present and who is absent using symbols which are easy to write but convey real information. This shows them that writing is actually useful, and not just a mystery for grown-ups!
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Tree explorers
We regularly go for walks on the large grounds of the school, especially in the wooded area. The young trees there give us the perfect chance to do a little age-appropriate tree climbing, which strengthens the children's coordination and helps them learn to take small, manageable risks. There are also lots of seasonal treasures to find....
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Still going round...
Still thinking about spinning things, we set up some simple circuits with batteries and motors. Not only do the circular boards help to illustrate the circuit's nature, but the tiny motors give a satisfying fast spin too. And then there are fiddly nuts and bolts which have to be turned to connect.
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Paperwork for Term 4
Our topic for Term 4 is Growth & change
Click the links below for more details:
Term 4 detailed planning for Orange Owls
Term 4 detailed planning for Purple Owls
February
Getting in a spin
As part of our work on spin, we introduced the children to a new kit of items - spinning tops, fidget spinners, and rotors. All of these develop the children's control skills but also teach important concepts about this fundamental and everyday property of many objects.
January
Dress the part
In between other role-play set-ups, we got out the dressing-up clothes which proved a real hit with the children. So many superheros and princesses! Getting into and out of these clothes can be quite a challenge and is great for developing the children's coordination skills. And, of course, their imaginative ideas are blooming!
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Nailed it
As part of our week about holes, we made holes with hammers and nails. It was tricky to find something soft enough for the children to nail into but hard enough still to feel rewarding. This old piece of pinboard was just the job and soon the nursery was alive with the sound of tapping.
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A hole lot of good
Also as part of our week about holes, we dug a hole in our garden. We didn't find any bones or treasure but we did find some interesting stones. It turns out digging a hole is quite hard work.
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All mixed up
We talked a lot about upside-down, back-to-front and inside-out so it only seemed natural to try it out!
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Paperwork for Term 3
Our topic for Term 3 is What if...?
Click the links below for more details:
Term 3 detailed planning for Orange Owls
Term 3 detailed planning for Purple Owls
December
Upwardly mobile
We have some young trees on the school site which are just the right size for beginner tree-climbers - big enough to give a strong hold, small enough to be safe. It took a little while for the children to find the confidence to climb but soon the forest was full of their whoops of triumph and pride!
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Get wrapping!
Wrapping presents is actually quite tricky, when you think about it. So many things to co-ordinate! Challenges like this are perfect for developing the problem-solving and fine motor skills of nursery children. We wrapped up lots of bricks as 'pretend-presents' to put under our tree.
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A new perspective
We've been playing with mirrors, magnifiers and lenses and talking about how they work. Do you recognise these distorted images?
November
Take the strain
The fact that these sandbags are quite heavy makes it more exciting for the children to pull them all the way to the top. But as well as developing their physical strength, this is a simple case of force transfer. To make the bag go UP, you have to pull DOWN, which is counterintuitive to a four year old, and takes a bit of getting used to!
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Can you believe your eyes?
Our nursery scientists have been up to their eyeballs in optical phenomena. Shadows, torches, colour filters - all great for learning how these light effects work.
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Fireworks
We had our very own firework display. It did not go with a bang - more of a quiet fizzle.
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Paperwork for Term 2
Our topic for Term is Light & colour
Click the links below for more details:
October
Pumpkin pleasure
The children enjoyed trying to reassemble Pumpkin Head!
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Playdough
Playdough is as popular in the nursery as it has ever been. It is certainly invaluable for the children's fine motor control, hand-eye co-ordination and strength. And it's also an expressive creative medium. Last week, we had to throw away one lot when it got too crumbly - there was virtually a riot until we made a fresh batch!
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Tidy up time
We try to encourage the children that it's ok to make a bit of a mess, but that we all help out with setting things right again. This goes down well most of the time, but there are odd days when everybody is conveniently 'too busy' for tidying! Using the right tools for the job is part of the fun, but even the simplest tools take a bit of getting used to...
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Is it a bus? Is it a plane?
So much of young children's play has an imaginative element to it. The way their visions match-up (or not!) influences the social aspect of the play. When there is a difference - one child sees a car, another sees a bus and another a plane - there is sometimes a clash, but more often these differences lead to enrichment of the play as they bounce ideas off each other, changing direction smoothly. 
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September
Learning together
Children are hard-wired to learn from each other. Yes, staff have an important role to play but in scenes like those below, the teachers and learners are intermingled and their roles can switch with every moment.
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Reading for pleasure
One of our routines is that before the teacher reads a story to the class, the children choose their own books to share for a few minutes. Gradually, a wonderful peaceful atmosphere develops - the quiet hum of children developing a lifelong love of reading.
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Down to earth
Gravity gives us so many fascinating phenomena and these nursery scientists are fearless in their studies! There are many variations in the way things fall, slide, and roll under the influence of gravity and, by repetitive play, the children gain first hand experience of the way this natural force behaves in different contexts.
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Where are you going?
This question is the basis of a simple game to encourage the children to talk during their active play. Queuing up at the barrier is surprisingly popular. Often an adult starts off the game but it is not long before the children realise they too can control the power of the barrier and become the one asking the questions!
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Welcome back...and welcome for the first time!
It's good to see lots of children playing in the nursery again. Some have returned from last year, and others are brand new. It's an exciting time for most....but a bit anxious for some - waving goodbye to mum and dad is not always easy. But there are so many new people to meet, new friendships to try out, and new toys!
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Paperwork for Term 1
Our topic for Term is Who Am I?
Click the links below for more details: