Today in Crew Nursery kicked back with a follow up activity to world book day. They each attempted a Fairytale character Hide and Seek. The children looked for traditional characters and counted how many times they could spot them. Most children attempted to write numbers or make marks to represent what they had found. Amazing work and lots of fun!
On Friday Nursery celebrated World Book Day. Children were so excited to come to school in fancy dress as a book character or with their home made Dr Seuss inspired crazy hat. All children and hats looked absolutely amazing!
We celebrated with a a host of book inspired small world activities where children could create their own stories around their favourite characters.
We made bookmarks to help keep our place in our books….
Finally we used our tales tool kit writing frame to help us tell stories by cutting and sticking characters and drawing our own settings. These were amazing, the story language and creativity that the children used was fabulous.
The children arrived looking absolutely amazing in their costumes, and the hats were truly sensational. A huge thank you to all of you parents for the time and effort you put into helping the children prepare for today – it really made the day extra special.
We started World Book Day just as you might expect… with our heads in a book! The children enjoyed some quiet reading time before we gathered together to share and admire everyone’s fantastic costumes and creative hats.
Throughout the day, the classroom was full of exciting book-themed activities. In the construction area, the children took on the roles of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, building houses and acting out the story together. We also created Hungry Caterpillar repeating patterns, made our very own beanstalks, and even had a go at writing our own stories.
It was a joyful day full of imagination, creativity, and a love of books. Well done to all of the children for their enthusiasm and fantastic participation – we are very proud of them!
Thank you again for helping to make our World Book Day so special.
This year our World Book Day had a Dr Seuss theme – a cat in the hat inspired crazy hat! Boy did the children deliver!! We had everything from gardens to space helmets and minions to globes – the children’s hats absolutely blew our socks off! 👒🎩
In crew this morning, Y2 created their very own crew murals inspired by their favourite books. We took time thinking of a way to represent our favourite books, drawing them and then sticking them all together to create our collaborative artwork.
We also spent some time with The Cat in the Hat himself this morning – we watched the story and then had a go at drawing our very own Cat in the Hats. What a great day!!!
This week our school assembly was all about the wonderful festival of Holi. We learned that Holi is a colourful spring festival celebrated by many people around the world.
During the assembly, we listened to the story of Holika and Prahlad, which teaches an important lesson about good winning over evil.
One of the most exciting parts of our assembly was when we got to throw colourful powder to wish good luck and happiness to everyone. It was so much fun seeing all the bright colours everywhere! We also decorated a tree using bright spring colours. It looked beautiful and reminded us that Holi is also about welcoming spring, new beginnings, and spreading joy.
Over the last few weeks in our “Wise Wednesday” crew sessions, Crew Hamilton have been thinking all about our mental health and having a positive mental attitude. This morning we spent our crew session filling each other’s cups with compliments. Some highlights included:
“You work really hard”
“You are very funny”
“You always help people”
“You show courage”
“You are caring, helpful and kind”
It was lovely to see all the amazing things that the children had noticed in each other.
There are moments in school life that remind us why community matters so much.
This week, our Community Meeting was one of those moments.
We gathered together to share the beautiful and thought-provoking picture book The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig. It’s a gentle but powerful story about Brian, a quiet boy who often feels unseen by his classmates. Through simple illustrations and subtle storytelling, we watch how small acts of kindness begin to bring colour into his world — quite literally.
Why This Story?
In our setting, we place huge value on belonging. Before children can truly thrive academically, they must feel safe, valued and visible. The Invisible Boy gave us a shared language to explore:
What does it feel like to be left out?
How do small actions make a big difference?
What does kindness look like in practice?
How can we notice those who might feel “invisible”?
The story created a calm, reflective atmosphere. You could have heard a pin drop.
Respectful Conversations in Action
What made the meeting so powerful wasn’t just the story — it was the discussion that followed.
Children spoke with honesty and empathy. They listened carefully to one another. They disagreed thoughtfully. They built on each other’s ideas.
At one point, as we reflected on how Brian was treated, a child confidently said:
“Well that wouldn’t happen at our school.”
Another child added simply:
“They aren’t being kind.”
Sometimes the clearest insights are the most powerful. The children recognised unkindness immediately. They were able to name it. They understood it.
Some children reflected on times they had felt invisible. Others spoke about moments when someone had made them feel included. Many identified simple actions they could take — inviting someone to join a game, noticing who is alone at lunchtime, using kind words.
From Words to Action
Stories give us a mirror and a window — a mirror to see ourselves, and a window to understand others. This Community Meeting reminded us that creating a culture of belonging is not about grand gestures. It is about noticing. Inviting. Including.
If we want every child to feel seen, it starts with each of us.
A smile. A kind word. An invitation.
Sometimes the smallest actions bring the brightest colour.
The last two weeks have seen the children in Early Years making large scale models of vehicles towards their final product for our expedition, “We are on the move – Would you travel by wheels, wings or other things?” Each child designed their own eco-friendly vehicle and the designs were judged by Miss Tunney. There was one winner from each crew and the children of that crew have began to work collaboratively to create and make their chosen design. The children have worked so hard to make decisions together, exchanging and suggesting ideas of how they could make their vehicles the best that they can be. Carefully choosing which materials would be the best to make their model out of, giving special thought to the eco friendly parts, such as batteries, solar panels, turbines, tanks, sails and propellers! They even took part in a simple vote to help make decisions, by placing a lolly stick on the materials of their choice.
Today as a hook to continuing to finish our vehicles the children took turns to look at each crews model. That crew presented what their model was, how it was powered and why it was good for the planet? The other crew offered critique of what they liked about the model firstly and then suggested what the model was missing to be complete. We had some lovely ideas to help enhance the models, suggestions included, “ A control panel”, “A steering wheel”, “A door”, “seats for the pilot”, “A tank” (to hold the power source), “a button to open the door”, “Windows”, “More wheels” and much more! This is an advanced skill for such young children and with careful scaffolding the children were beginning to understand the concept of critique – Well done Nursery.
To help the children understand this big idea, Mrs Chadwick took on a very special role — she pretended to be the world! She spoke to the children about the things that can make her feel poorly, such as smoke from cars, pollution, and waste. The children listened thoughtfully and showed great empathy, considering how their actions can impact the planet.
After hearing from “the world,” the children eagerly shared their ideas about how we could help. They suggested simple but powerful actions like walking more, using bikes and scooters, and putting our rubbish in the bin. It was wonderful to see their growing awareness of how small changes can make a big difference. The children enjoyed sharing their fantastic eco-vehicle designs. The children spoke beautifully and confidently about their creations, explaining how solar power and wind energy are much better choices because they help to keep our planet clean and healthy. Many designs included solar panels, wind turbines, and even imaginative new inventions. Their creativity and understanding were truly impressive!
Alongside our learning, we have also been making the most of our beautiful world by spending lots of time outdoors. We have enjoyed the sunshine, told stories together, and played fun games in the fresh air. Being outside has helped us appreciate exactly what we are working so hard to protect.
This week, the children have also begun building their eco-vehicle design models! They have been working collaboratively, sharing ideas, listening to one another, and discussing which materials might be best to use. There have been thoughtful conversations about recycling materials, choosing strong structures, and how to include features like solar panels and wind-powered parts. The teamwork and creativity on display have been fantastic. Watch this space for the finished results!
Today we carried on preparing to write our own hunt story!
We revisited what adjectives, verbs and onomatopoeia are and why they make our writing more exciting. Then we split into three teams, each focusing on one type of word. As we listened again to We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, we became word detectives, spotting examples in the text to add to our anchor chart.
Next, we helped Mrs Parsons up level a very simple sentence. We added powerful adjectives, exciting verbs and even some onomatopoeia to make it come alive! Some of us even realised we could use commas to make our sentences flow even better — very impressive!
After that, we used our steps to success to improve our own sentences. We became “feature finders”, highlighting where we had used each writing feature — and adding more if we thought we could make it even better.
We now have lots of exciting new vocabulary and brilliant up-levelling skills ready for when we start planning and writing our own Doncaster hunt story! 🐾
