Stanway Fiveways Primary School

Friday 12th December

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in EYFS! The excitement is building as the children have enjoyed lots of festive treats. They have been trated to a pantomime telling the story of A Christmas Carol in child-friendly fashion. There was of course, lots of audience participation  with singing, dancing, booing and shouts of ,"he's behind you!"

The children have had fun getting their classrooms ready for Christmas and have set about decorating as only 4 and 5 year old children can!

The whole school enjoyed a festive jumper day and then tucked into a traditional Christmas meal served by the teachers.

This all got us in the mood for the children's very first school Nativity. We were so impressed by the children's confidence, singing and big smiles as they delighted their families. A very special time in the EYFS calendar!

Friday 29th November

This week the children were excited to join in with the whole school in a special Agents of Change Day.  This was our Positive Noticing Day.  It was a time to tell others the lovely things that we notice about each other. The children  received tags with special compliments and meaning behind them and all took part in presenting them to others. For considering others' great qualities and being appreciative of them they all received a stamp in their Agent of Change passport for ‘Expressing Gratitude’. 

Our Talk for Writing text, The Little Red Hen has been very popular with the children and they have learnt the text, retelling the tale with actions and expression. The Talk for Writing approach has really inspired the children to become story-tellers, developing their own narratives with classroom resources and then using their mark-making skills to draw story maps. They love to 'read' these to their friends and share their ideas!

Friday 15th November

On Monday it was Remembrance Day and the children observed a two minute silence in a very sensible manner. Each class worked together to create a poster of poppies to remind them of the message of gratitude.

After this, it was time to get busy planning a party to celebrate Pudsey Bear's 5th birthday on Children in Need day! The children remembered celebrations which they have experienced and suggested things we needed to do to get ready. They decided that they needed to invite guests to the party, so they made invitations for each other. There was strong agreement that presents were needed, so they made wrapping paper by printing repeating patterns and wrapped up items for Pudsey. They made bunting with spots  to decorate the hall. Next, they made cards and on the day of the party, the children made their own sandwiches.

When it was finally time for the party, the children played traditional party games and danced their best moves! Finally it was time for party food. But this wasn't quite all......there was a surprise visit from Pudsey Bear himself!

This has been such a fun week for all involved. The children practised so many skills whilst having lots and lots of fun - this is what EYFS is all about at Stanway Fiveways!

Friday20th October

This week we have been very proudly celebrating all the Agents of Change activities that children have been inspired to do at home. We have seen some children who have read a book that inspires them, gone for a walk somewhere they love, created a playlist and earned an Eat, Sleep, Move badge for joining a new sports club. It is wonderful to reflect with the children how they can make changes in their own lives and in those of others!

Lots of children have really been getting the phonics bug and have been exictedly launching their own letter hunts! The children have worked together and brought their early mark-making skills into their play. It's been another busy week full of fun and learning.

Friday 11th October

EYFS have been very busy this week and showing their learning and understanding in lots of areas. We began our first Talk for Writing story this week. Talk for Writing is a school-wide initiative to deliver Literacy skills. In EYFS we focus on building up the children's understanding of narrative language and structure and they quickly become storytellers! Our story this week was 'Take a Walk Little Bear'. There were lots of bear-based creative activities going on and some'bears' were even seen getting busy in the building area!

In phonics the children wewre soon spotting leeter sounds and tricky words in the environment. In maths we have been learning about same and different, sorting and matching. As the week progressed, the children were increasingly able to say how things are the same and talk about differences. We continue to see lots of collaborative play as imaginative use is made of our resources. We even had a boy-band perched on the mushroom stools!

Friday 4th October

This week the children were very excited as we had a visit from Mr Squirrell to tell them all about Agents of Change! This a school-wide project where children can earn stamps and badges as they learn how their own actions can impact and change the world. Many of the children earnt their first stamp this week as they made donations to the food bank for our harvest festival celebrations. Mr Squirrell loved hearing the songs the children had learnt which were all about combine harvesters and fluffy cauliflowers!  

There was more excitement as we began our Star Wars Letters sessions! This a fun time when the children pretend their pens are light sabres and they are training as Jedi knights, as they practise developing the skills for super handwriting.

We have seen lots of collaborative playing this week, as the children use their imaginations to make creative use of the classroom resources and share their ideas with each other. The friendships across all three classes continue to develop and the whole of EYFS has been full of happy chatter!

Friday 27th September

The fun has continued this week in EYFS, with the children really beginning to share their individual interests with us. The children have such enthusiasm for school activities and it is wonderful to observe how they share their ideas and inspire each other. All three classes have been particularly enjoying exploring the sounds they can create with different instruments and challenging themselves to copy rhythms and sequences. These early listening skills are essential for confident learning across the curriculum.

As they become more familiar with routines at school, the children have been developing their skills of looking after themselves and their belongings. The rainy weather has given them the opportunity to practise hanging coats on pegs (not leaving them on the floor!), putting on coats and zipping them up and changing into welly boots. There is nothing better than splashing in a puddle on a rainy day and in EYFS there is no such thing as bad weather!

This week we have seen children sharing cosy moments enjoying books, drawing favourite characters from stories, practising using a knife and fork on play dough and hanging out for a chat on the climbing frame! What a lot of busy bees!