Welcome to Early Years!
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!
Friday 8th November
The children have all returned from their half term holidays refreshed and raring to go! There has been lots of excitement and chatter about Bonfire Night and fireworks. The children were fascinated to learn about the historical facts behind the celebrations. There were lots of opportunities to explore this topic further through creative activities. The children all learnt a song about Bonfire Night, which told them how to keep safe but also have fun. On Friday, the children made breadstick 'sparklers'. Then we made a pretend fire in the fire pit during our welly walk. We all had fun singing the song around th 'fire', waving our 'sparklers' and finally eating them!
EYFS also learnt all about how to keep themselves safe when walking near roads in a road safety workshop. The children listened attentively and learnt the ditty,"stop, look, listen, think". Then they used what they had learnt while playing outside.
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!
Friday 20th September
It has been lovely to see more friendships developing this week, as the children continue to explore the environment and take on new challenges. We have been thinking about how important our ears are for hearing lots of different sounds and for listening to each other. The children loved making their own ears and tiptoed around the school. to discover new sounds.
There was a lot of excitement in EYFS as each class enjoyed their first welly walk in our wonderful wooded area. The children had so much fun climbing trees and noticing bugs and fruit growing on our apple trees.
Our children love dressing up and using their imagination to develop lots of role play, which this week involved princesses, ponies, trolls and pirates!
Friday 13th September
Our new EYFS children have been busy enjoying making new friends and learning the routines of school, in their first full week. We have been so impressed with how well they have settled and have taken starting 'big school' in their stride! The children confidently explore all our learning environment which includes 3 EYFS classrooms and our wonderful outside area. The sand shed and climbing frame are already proving popular! We encourage the children to take an active role in their development by becoming Learning Superheroes. This week we have seen lots of Have a Go Heroes, Agent Ideas and Keep it Up Captains as the children try new activities, share their thoughts and keep going with tricky new experiences. Each class had lots of fun in their first P.E. lesson and learnt to use the space and move their bodies in different ways. What a super week!