This week the reception children enjoyed a walk to Campsall Church. We took with us the corn dollies that the nursery children made, along with a harvest flower bouquet that was handmade by our reception children. The church wardens were delighted with our gifts. This act of kindness made the children feel happy and we enjoyed showing that we care in our local community.
The children behaved impeccably on our walk and we were very proud of them.
The children always enjoy learning beyond the walls of the classroom and what a wonderful outdoor space we have to develop curious minds.
This week the children considered the question… ‘is it only humans that show they care?’ We quickly discovered that we share our world with amazing animals who show kindness, love and care in lots of different ways. We were lucky enough to meet Ralph, a therapy dog from the charity Pets are Therapy. The children loved hearing all about Ralph and the important job that he has bringing people joy and happiness.
After the visit we thought about all the words we could think of to describe Ralph. Here are just a few…
We started our meeting by singing our ‘Wake Up Shake Up’ song. It was a great way to start the day. We then celebrated all of the amazing learning behaviours that we have seen in our Reception classes this week. Well done to all of our children who received postcards…
Today Nursery had a visit from an expert visitor of an unusual kind….. a therapy dog named Ralph! The children were so excited to meet Ralph and his carer Sarah, who came from the charity Pets are therapy, who kindly agreed to spare what little spare time they have to visit us, as part of our case study “How do people show they care?” Sarah explained about the important work that the pair do in the community and the important job Ralph has to make friends and bring people happiness.
The children looked at photos of different therapy dogs and the kinds of people that they help, including the elderly, children in schools, people in hospital and hospices, as well as adults with learning difficulties and even people in prison. The dogs bring healing to those who are feeling very low, poorly or suffer with anxiety or worry.
The children were so excited to stroke Ralph and ask questions about his job and about what he needs, to care for him, after looking after so many others…. “He likes sausages and cheese best”. They thought he was “very kind”.
Thank you for coming to visit Ralph and Sarah – we very much appreciate your time and kindness.
In P.E this week the children enjoyed playing a balancing game. The children helped one another by holding onto each other. We all found that balancing on one foot was the most challenging. Great team work and impressive balancing skills class 1!
This week in phonics the children have learnt a new strategy to help them spell words. We use our segmenting fingers to help us break down the word before we write it. I have been blown away by their attempts! Keep it up Class 1!
Crew Goodyer have enjoyed the outdoors this week creating some beautiful Autumn leaf collages with Mrs Jackson.
Last week Nursery and EYFS celebrated a Christian tradition, Harvest Festival by being thankful for the food we eat, grown by farmers from all around the world. Nursery children were excited to join in a whole school assembly hosted by an expert visitor, our local pastor and volunteer/coordinator at Askern Food Bank, Mr West. Some of our children were even brave enough to stand at the front of the assembly and participate in the activities!
In Nursery we explored a little further about what Harvest actually is, by watching a short video about the celebration. The children learned that Harvest is when crops and vegetables are collected and sold to supermarkets. They also learned that a christian tradition is to gather food and donate it to others that maybe in need, through their local church. This fits in perfectly with our case study, “How do people show they care?” We were very grateful to all of our families who donated food, as the children collected the food and have made care packages to send to the local food bank with Mr West.
Another part of our beautiful work last week was also to create a “Corn Dolly”.
The children learned that the Corn Dollies are made from the strands of corn left over in the fields after the Farmers have collected their corn with their combine harvesters. They are made into dollies and then taken to the local church to wish farmers good luck for the year ahead’s crop! Just look at how amazing our corn dollies are!
As always there’s been so many moments of children working hard, getting smart and being kind. Here’s our stars from this week receiving their certificates and prizes…
