Welcome to our Nursery Class Page

Nursery staff members:

Miss A. Bridges (Class Teacher); Miss Z. Gut; Miss Nadeem

Mrs S. Kousar (Monday-Wednesday); Mrs S. Clews (Wednesday-Friday)

Our Class Saint in Nursery is:

Curriculum Information

On this page, you will find information about our learning in class, which is updated weekly. We will occasionally share links to online resources that can be used to support learning at home. It is important that children are supervised when using these suggested links. 

You can find general information about topics such as how to support reading, online safety, healthy eating and child development under the heading 'EYFS Parent Information' within the 'Parent' tab. Please ask a member of staff if you would like any further guidance and support.

Information about the 'Talking Time' programme we will be taking part in this year can be found here. For your information, our school has been selected as a control group, which means we have participated in the research; however, we will not be running the 'Talking Time' sessions this year.You can also find the information sheet in a range of languages here: Talking Time Parent Information Different Languages.

Academic Year 2024-2025

Weekly Reminders Summer 2:

You can read our summer 2 curriculum letter here.

Children should have their school reading book in their book bag every day.

Monday -

• Homework books should be returned to school.
• We will have a forest school session on the first day back (Monday 2nd June) and then again on Monday 16th June - please ensure that your child has outdoor clothing and footwear to change into.

Tuesday -

• As we will now be going into assembly on Fridays, our P.E. day will be on Tuesday. 
• Children need to bring their P. E kit in a labelled bag. If your child is wearing tights, then they should have socks to change into. They should also have appropriate sports pumps or trainers. The P. E. letter sent home can be found here

Wednesday -

• Homework books will be returned home with a new activity inside.

Thursday -

Friday -

• Library books should be returned in book bags every week and will be changed in the school library.

Week commencing 14.07.25

This week we will be revisiting our Maths and Phonics learning from this year through different learning activities. We will also have a range of fun activities available based around the children's interests for them to play and enjoy together in their last week of Nursery.

The children have all done so well this year and should be immensely proud of themselves. We will miss them all but know they will flourish next year and beyond. 

Please have a safe summer holidays - Remember the children will only be this little once and the simplest things are still so exciting! We hope the sun continues to shine and that you continue to make lots of precious memories together (Please check the school Facebook page if you would like inspiration about free activities going on locally - the library is always a good place to start!). 

Please also continue to practise the skills that the children have been developing in Nursery ready for their Reception journey in September. 

Key things to practise are:

Sharing a daily story together, encouraging your child to talk about the pictures - remember you can borrow books for free at Hanley Library! 

Name activities - recognising their own name in print, matching and building their name and then forming the letters in their name if they are ready.

Fine motor activities such as playing with play dough, threading, hole punching, snipping with child scissors, finger painting, drawing with different tools etc.! 

Gross motor activities - go to the park and encourage your child to balance and climb using different equipment.

Oral segmenting and blending - play eye-spy gamesat home or outside where you 'talk like a robot' - break down simple 3 syllable words into their pure sounds and then blend these sounds together to make the full word e.g. c-a-t would be blended to cat, c-oa-t would be blended to coat.

Key mathematical skills - counting objects - saying one number name for each one item to find an overall total, pointing out colours, numbers and shapes in the environment.

Making patterns in different ways using objects (blue, red, blue, red) (car, train, car, train).

Dressing skills - encourage your child to now have a go at un-doing or fastening their own buttons ready for P.E in Reception!

Week commencing 07.07.25

Reminders this week:

It has forecast very hot temperatures next week, particularly towards the end of the week. Please ensure that your child arrives wearing sun-cream, a sun hat and has a filled water bottle every day. We will ensure that their sun-cream is topped up at lunchtime, that they have shade breaks and drink plenty of water.

We have our Nursery sports festival morning with parents next Wednesday morning from 9.15 to 10.00 - this will replace sports day on Thursday for our little ones. Please arrive at the school office approximately 5 minutes before and a nursery staff member will greet you.

On Thursday, we will have our 'wedding' inspired themed day. The children should come to school wearing celebration clothing. We will also welcome any party food donations for the afternoon (must be in original packaging due to allergies).

This week our story of the week is 'The Rainbow fish'. 

We will be learning about creatures that live under the sea, creating them with different media. The children will be making their own rainbow fish puppets!

Week commencing 30.06.25

This week, we will be moving on to our theme 'at the seaside'. Our story of the week is 'Lucy and Tom' and our song is 'The Big Ship Sails'.

In Maths and Phonics, we will continue revisiting and consolidating our learning from this year. 

We released our butterflies on Monday and had a seaside themed day on Friday, what an exciting week!

Week commencing 23.06.25

This week, we will be focusing closely on the lifecycle of a butterfly. We even have our own caterpillars in class that we have been observing over time. They have got very big now and have been spinning their chrysalis! 

Our story of the week is 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. You can watch a video version of the story here.

Our song of the week is 'There's a hungry caterpillar on a leaf'. 

In the story, it uses the phrase 'cocoon' - however, we will be using the terminology 'chrysalis'.

In Maths, we will be looking at what comes before and after a given number on a number line 0-5. We will then begin to place these numbers in order. You can practise this here.

Week commencing 16.06.25

This week, we will continue our theme of minibeasts, but will be focusing on snails. We will be learning all about the artist 'Matisse' who had a famous 'snail' piece of art work and the children will be creating their own in this style.

In Phonics, we will begin to recap earlier aspects such as rhyme and alliteration. In Maths, we will begin to explore 'one more' and 'one less' than a given number. Their homework will be to go on a 3D shape hunt using the sheet provided, to recap their Maths learning from last week (shapes that you can hold in your hand e.g. tins/ balls/ boxes/ blocks).

We have been playing these games in school which you could use at home to practise recognising how many and counting out numbers from 1-5 (1-10 if your child finds is easy - numerals only, not words).  

Our song of the week will be called 'five garden snails'.

Week commencing 09.06.25

This week, we will begin our new theme of 'mini-beasts'. Our focus story is 'Twist and Hop, Minibeast Bop' and our song of the week is 'Wiggly Woo'.

This is our last week of practising oral segmenting in Phonics, before recapping other aspects covered this year. Oral blending and segmenting is a very important skill for children to master before they start their Phase 2 learning in Reception. There will be a guidance sheet with ideas on how to practise these skills at home in the children's homework books this week.

In Maths, children will begin to name and explore 3D shapes (shapes that you can hold in your hand). 

The children's homework this week will be to choose a celebration to talk about using the prompts provided (a wedding, birthday party, Eid, Baptism, Christmas). Please send a photograph to our homework email address: homework@stpetersnewman.co.uk to support our R.E learning next week.

We had lots of fun at our mini trampolining session and our Father's Day stay and play session!

Week commencing 02.06.25

This week, we will be exploring signs of summer.

Our focus story is 'Guess how much I love you in the summer' and we will be learning a song called 'Summer sun is shining down'.

In Phonics, we will spend a little bit more time focusing on oral segmenting skills and in Maths, we will be revisiting 2D shapes and patterns. The children's homework is to look for and describe 2D shapes around their home (there is a checklist provided).

We had a lovely morning at our Eid stay and play session!

Week commencing 19.05.25

This week, our focus story is 'Handa's Surprise'. This will link to our learning about healthy eating, as well as learning about different places and ways of life. You can watch a video version of the story here.

Our song of the week is called 'We're going to the shops'. The children will be adding lots of fruit into our shopping basket for the lyrics!

In Phonics, we will move on to orally segmenting words into their sounds (cat - c-a-t). In Maths, we will be exploring the concepts of 'more' and 'fewer'. There is a video to practise identifying 'more' and 'fewer' here.

We will also be walking to the supermarket to buy fruits from the story. The next day, we will describe our route using mathematical language to describe and will describe the feel and taste of the fruits the next day! 

The children's homework will be to explore signs of summer over the half-term. You will find a 'signs of summer' checklist inside your child's homework book to help you. We would love to see some photographs sent to our homework email address, that we can share when we are back in school.

Please ensure that you continue sharing your reading books and name activities, as well as using the Ten-Town games! Note: On the first day back after half-term (Monday 2nd June) the children will need their forest school clothes for the afternoon. They must also have a sun-hat and sun-cream in school.

Week commencing 12.05.25

This week, we will be learning about the emergency services and how they can keep us safe. We will focus on learning about police officers and will revisit our learning from the autumn term about firefighters.

 

In phonics, we will be taking part in a fun 'cross the river' game - where the children will have to listen carefully to the caller. If they hear their item being called out, e.g. c-a-t, they should blend the sounds together and cross the river!

In maths, the children will move on to learning about positional language. Please support this learning by pointing out locations at home. We will be focusing on the words 'on', 'under', 'in', 'next to', 'in-between', 'in front' and 'behind'. To link with our learning about positional language, our song of the week is called 'The bear went over the mountain'. There will be an activity to support this in your child's homework book this week.

Week commencing 05.05.25

This week, we will be learning about healthy lifestyle choices and will be learning about dentists and doctors.

 

Our song of the week is Miss Polly had a dolly. 

Their homework will be an activity to revisit their learning about height in Maths. Please support the children to use the words shortest, taller and tallest. 

The children enjoyed their 'VE day' themed picnic and making flags on Thursday!

Week commencing 28.04.25

This week, we will start our overarching theme of 'Living and Growing'. Our story of the week is 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. You can watch a version of the story here. Our song is 'I'm a little bean'. 

 

In Forest school, the children will be planting beans to observe how they grow and change over time. In Phonics, the children will continue to practise their oral blending skills. In Maths, they will be exploring height, using the mathematical vocabulary: short, shorter, shortest and tall, taller, tallest.

Their homework will be to revisit their learning about capacity last term. 

We enjoyed meeting Melanie, the author of 'Polly Pin'.

Easter Holidays

Week commencing 07.04.25

This week we will be learning about Easter traditions. Our story of the week is 'We're going on an egg hunt'.

We will be tasting hot cross buns, making nest cakes and going on our own egg hunt finding eggs hidden by the Easter bunny! Our song of the week is 'hot cross buns'.

In Maths, we will be exploring capacity, using the vocabulary (full, empty, half-full, nearly full, nearly empty).

The children will have some optional homework over the holidays to practise their name and number work from this term.

Week commencing 31.03.25

Our story of the week is 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. Our song of the week is called 'Billy Goats so hungry'. You can watch a video version of the story here.

This week in phonics, we will move on to 'oral blending' - this means listening to (not reading) letter sounds and then blending these together into words, e.g. (c-a-t - cat). In Maths, the children will be exploring mass using the balance scales. The children's homework will be to identify the side of the scale that is heavier/ lighter using the pictures provided.

The children enjoyed their Eid al-Fitr celebration day decorating biscuits and food tasting!

Week commencing 24.03.25

This week, the children will be learning about Mother's Day, thinking about the special people in their lives who love and care for them. The children enjoyed flower pressing to create some beautiful gifts for their special people!

We will also be learning about Eid al-Fitr, which many of our children and families will be preparing to celebrate.

Our song of the week is 'Five Little Ducks went swimming one day'.

This week will be our last week learning about 'alliteration' in phonics. We have been practising playing 'eye-spy' with the initial sounds in our names - perhaps you could play this at home! The children will be 'digging for treasure' and sorting items into their initial sound (the sound the word begins with).

In Maths, children will be introduced to the concept of length, using the mathematical vocabulary: long, longer, longest and short, shorter, shortest. For their homework this week, the children will have 3 pictures to place in order, from shortest to longest.

The children had a fantastic day at the farm. They saw lots of animals, including their babies, and even got to feed the lambs. They had a tour of the farm in a tractor and trailer, then had lots of fun in the play areas!

 

Week commencing 17.03.25

This week, our story of the week is 'Rabbit's Spring Adventure'. We have already started to discuss some of the changes in the temperature and weather now that it is spring. However, this week we will explore this in more depth as our theme of the week. Our song of the week will be 'Spring is here'. 

In Phonics this week, we will be matching pictures that start with the same sound and, in Maths, we will be learning about '0' - Keep an eye out for when zero pond is unlocked!

The children will have a name recognition activity inside of their homework book this week. They can decorate the first letter of their name however they like and then try to spot all of the other letters that are within this.

Spring has sprung in nursery! We started our week by looking for signs of spring outside and then had lots of activities themed around what we saw in class. We also planted some sunflower seeds to observe over time!

Week commencing 10.03.25

This week, our story of the week is 'The Three Little Pigs' and our song is 'Little Pig, Little Pig, Where are you?'.

The children will focus on retelling the story using story language. The children will recap their learning about numbers 1-5 in Maths and will continue to explore alliteration in Phonics.

The children's homework activity this week is to identify the pictures on the sheet that start with the same sound as star (s). 

The children had a very busy week this week, but have had so much fun at all the different events and experiences on offer. They enjoyed the author's workshop - he delivered it in a very child-friendly way, and the children thought it was very funny!

They also had lots of fun during the science show; this was focused on different forms of transport; they saw a 'rocket ship', 'hot-air balloon' and even a miniature hovercraft!

Finally, the children enjoyed the singing and activities during the whole school retreat day. This was their first time sitting with the whole school and lots of the staff commented on how sensible they all were ... well done children!

Week commencing 03.03.25.

This week, the children will be learning about the lifecycle of a hen. You can watch a simple video explaining this here. Our story of the week is 'The Higgly Hen' and our song is 'Chick, Chick, chicken'.

In Phonics, the children will be introduced to their alliteration and will be exploring a sound bag containing items with the same sound, each day. In Maths, they will continue to learn about the number 5 and will be able to explore the Fiona Five resources on their Ten Town Account.

The children's homework this week will be a Maths activity where they will be revising their learning about the number 2 and will be looking for the 'odd one out' (the one that doesn't show two), in a set of examples.

We are pleased to share that we have had a new staff member join our Nursery Team called Mrs Clews. She is joining us with a wealth of experience working with children and families and will be with us every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

We had a lovely time at the little library van and hope that the children are enjoying their book packs!

Week commencing 24.02.25

This week, the children will be introduced to their theme of learning 'Down on the farm'.

Our story of the week is 'What the ladybird heard' and our song is 'I went to visit a farm one day'.

In Phonics, we will be exploring how to make different sounds using our voice and in Maths we will move on to learning about the number 5. 

The children's homework is to draw an animal that lives on a farm. They may also have some additional challenges inside their book linked to their individual learning targets.

Week commencing 10.02.25

This week, our theme will be animals, with a particular focus on pets.

Our story of the week is 'Kipper's new pet'.

Our song of the week is 'I had a little turtle'.

The children will be meeting some very interesting pets during their animal talk in school. They will each receive a certificate and photograph to keep. 

We will also be taking part in 'Safer internet day', listening to a story about 'Smartie the penguin' and helping him to stay safe when using his tablet.

You can click here to find advice for parents about how to keep young children safe online.

There will be no homework set over the holidays, but please share your child's reading book and remember that you are able to use the Ten Town resources at home! 

Week commencing 03.02.25

This week, we will be taking part in Children's Mental Health Week.

Our story of the week is 'Sometimes I feel sunny' and our song of the week is 'If your happy and you know it'.

We will be naming and talking about different emotions. We will be drawing/ painting to music and creating artwork to express different emotions. 

In Phonics, we have moved on to learning about words that rhyme! You can practise identifying rhyming matching pairs here.

For the next two weeks, we will be learning about the number 4 and shapes with four sides: squares and rectangles. Freddie four will be unlocked on Ten Town soon!

For the children's homework, they will practise identifying what amount is being shown by finding the correct numeral. If your child has a pet, they can also send a photograph of it to homework@stpetersnewman.co.uk, ready for our learning about animals next week!

We enjoyed walking to the church to support our learning about R.E. The children were very sensible!

Week commencing 27.01.25

This week, we will be learning about Lunar New Year. Our focus story is 'Dragon Dance' and our song of the week is Dragon Dance.

We will be going on a dragon hunt at forest school and making our own dragon masks!

We will be tasting new foods and creating our own dragon dance!

In Maths, we will continue to learn about the Number 3 (this will be unlocked in Ten Town) and triangles. The children's homework will be to identify the triangles using the activity provided.

Week commencing 20.01.25

This week, the children will be focusing on the story 'Goldilocks and the three bears'. They will be retelling the story in different ways and making/ tasting porridge at forest school!

Our song of the week is 'When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears'.

In Maths, we will move on to learning about the number 3. We will also be describing and sorting items based upon their size. The children's homework i to sort the pictures provided into categories, big and small. They could even have a go at drawing their own examples.

 

We had a very colourful day for our Jubilee launch!

Week commencing 13.01.25

This week, the children will continue to learn about winter. They will be thinking about how they can care for God's creatures during the colder months and learn that it may be hard for the birds to find food due to the weather conditions. They will help to feed the birds by making bird feeders at forest school. The children will be exploring ice, using new vocabulary and trying to melt it using pipettes and warm water. They will also hear stories about Arctic animals, learning that some animals live in a very cold habitat.

Our story of the week is 'Robin's Winter Song'. You can watch the story being read here.

Our song of the week is '5 little snowmen standing in a row'.

In Maths, the children will be revising their learning about counting, matching, sorting and patterns. In Phonics, they will be clapping out the syllables in their name and other words.

The children's homework will be to decorate a snowman using the template provided in their homework book. Don't forget that you can now use the Ten Town games at home too!

Week commencing 06.01.25

This week, we will be learning all about winter. The children will be creating different winter clothing and winter-inspired artwork.

Our story of the week is 'Guess how much I love you in the winter'.

Our song of the week is 'I'm a little snowman'. Can you sing along at home?

In phonics, we will focus on following a steady beat and rhythm before moving on to syllable patterns next week. In Maths, we will revisit our work on patterns before the holidays. The children will have an activity about patterns to complete in their homework book this week. 

The children had lots of fun playing in the snow on Monday and celebrating our class saint, Saint Mary on Friday! 

Week commencing 16.12.24

This week, our story of the week is 'We're Going on an Elf Hunt'. 

In phonics, we will be learning about sounds that we can make with our body. In Maths, we will start to create simple repeating patterns. No homework over the holidays!

We had such a fun-filled week! The children did an amazing job taking part in the Christmas performance. They enjoyed a yummy Christmas dinner in their party hats and had a great time singing and dancing with the Christmas elf!

Week commencing 09.12.24

This week, our story of the week is 'The Gingerbread Man'. You can watch a video version of the story here.

We will continue to learn about number 2 and will be using our Ten Town 'Tommy 2' song as our song of the week. 

The children will be baking and decorating their very own gingerbread biscuit. Let's hope they don't run out of the oven!

Their homework activity will be to decorate their own gingerbread man picture using the template provided.

Week commencing 02.12.24

This week, our story of the week is 'The Very Helpful Hedgehog'. 

In Forest School, the children will be making hedgehog homes and creating their own hedgehogs with clay and sticks that they will collect. They will also go on to create hedgehogs back in class using scissor skills to add lots of spines! We will be learning the rhyme below:

We will begin to look at number 2 this week and will be introduced to 'Tommy Two' from Ten Town. This week, their homework is to find all the number 2's using the sheet provided!

The children made some amazing hedgehogs at forest school!

Week commencing 02.12.24

This week, our story of the week is 'Owl babies'. 

The children will be creating owls with different media and exploring the differences between events during the day and night. 

In phonics, the children will move on to exploring instrumental sounds and will be making their very own instruments!

In Maths, we will begin to look at the number one and will be introduced to our first Ten Town character 'King One'. We will also explore circles as a one-sided shape. The children's homework this week is to find all the circles using the activity inside their homework book. They could also look for circles within the environment at home or outside, such as when they are walking to school. 

The children enjoyed make some 'One-spoon' flapjacks!

Week commencing 18.11.24

This week, our theme of the week is 'The Gruffalo'. You will find a video version of the story here. We will also be learning a Gruffalo-themed song, which you can find here.

The children will be going on their own 'Gruffalo trail' during forest school on Monday. They will be retelling the story and creating the characters from the story with a range of media.

We had lots of fun playing outside in the snow this week! The children also had their school photographs taken so please check their book bags for this!

The children's homework this week will be to revisit their learning about colours by going on a colour hunt. 

Week commencing 11.11.24

This week, we are celebrating Inter-Faith week in school and the children will be learning about the Hindu festival of Diwali, which was celebrated a few weeks ago. You can find out some more information here.

We will be learning that the poppy is a special remembrance flower on Monday and will also be taking part in Anti-Bullying week in an age-appropriate way, by exploring a range of books that celebrate differences.

This week the children's homework is to practise singing their favourite Nursery Rhyme. They could also create a craft or picture of this. 

We had a very busy week! The children were introduced to the Hindu religion and learnt about how the festival of Diwali is celebrated. At forest school, they mixed, kneaded and cooked their own chapatti's. They then gathered together to eat these with some yummy mango chutney! 

In the classroom, the children explored light and darkness, creating their own Diya lamps with clay and then decorating these. They also created some beautiful rangoli patterns with coloured rice.

On Friday we celebrated 'Culture' day! The children really enjoyed tasting some different foods!

We also had our first stay and play to celebrate 'World Nursery Rhyme Week'.

What a busy week filled with fun and learning. Well done children! 

Week commencing 04.11.24

We hope all the children have had a fantastic week off and are looking forward to welcoming them back to school on Tuesday. Our learning will be based around Bonfire Night and fireworks. The children will be creating firework-inspired artwork, learning a special firework action song, and we will be using the stories below to support our learning.

The children's homework books will be sent home on Wednesday this week.

On the first page, you will find a name card and an envelope containing the letters in your child's name. This is so that they can use the letters to practise matching and building their name in the correct order. This is an activity that can be done regularly. 

There will also be a new activity idea included each week to support our learning in class. The first one is to create a firework picture. 

Week commencing 21.10.24

This week, the children will be learning all about the season of autumn. Our song of the week is called 'Autumn leaves are falling down'. Our focus story is 'Guess How Much I Love You in the autumn'. However, we will be reading lots of lovely autumn story books to support this learning.

On Monday afternoon, the children will have their first forest school session. The Forest School letter gives information about what your child needs for Forest School (these were also given out on Friday in your child's book bag). We had lots of fun exploring the forest school area, collecting autumn items and creating leaf rubbing pictures! Thank you to all who brought back their autumn treasure bag too! 

The children will be exploring how the natural world changes in autumn. They will collect leaves and other found items such as leaves, conkers and pine-cones to use creatively in the classroom. They will be using new vocabulary, as well as recapping their learning about God's Creation in R. E and colours in Maths. Don't forget to go for your own autumn walk and bring in some items from home if you can!

Week commencing 14.10.24

This week, the children will be learning the Nursery Rhyme 'Old Macdonald had a farm'. Our focus story is 'I went walking', which is a lovely introduction to animals and will also revisit our learning about colours.

We will also begin to notice and discuss seasonal changes outside. Your child has their own autumn treasure collection bag in their book bag to collect natural items such as leaves, conkers and pine cones (safe items only please - no berries/ mushrooms). Please return these to school by next Monday. 

Week commencing 07.10.24

This week, the children will be naming and exploring a range of colours! Our song of the week is I can sing a rainbow and our focus story is Brown Bear Brown Bear. 

Week commencing 30.10.24

This week, our song of the week is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We will also be learning the song Zoom Zoom Zoom. This fits in well with our whole school 'Space Day' on Friday, where the children will have the chance to visit a large inflatable 'Space Dome' in the afternoon. How exciting!

The children will be creating stars and rockets with a range of different media.

They will also continue to get to know each other and develop their listening and attention skills through circle time activities.

Week commencing 23.09.24

This week, our song of the week is Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. The children will be introduced to a range of basic body parts through songs and games, but will look closely at their faces and will go on to create self-portraits. These will then be proudly displayed in our cloak room!

 

The children enjoyed decorating cupcakes for the Douglas Macmillan Coffee Morning. Thank you for all who brought in a donation.

Week commencing 16.09.24

This week, our song of the week is Incy Wincy Spider. The children will take part in lots of 'spider' themed activities. We are expecting a lovely sunny week, so we will be taking part in lots of outdoor activities as well as continuing to introduce new parts within our Nursery day.

Week commencing 09.09.24

Well done to the children for a fantastic first few days in nursery. We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each one of them.

This week, we will introduce our first song of the week, which is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 once I caught a fish alive. The children will continue attending as part of a smaller group on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before attending as a whole class on Thursday and Friday. 

Week commencing 02.09.24

A big welcome to our new children and families joining St. Peter's.

We look forward to seeing all the children for their stay and play session on Wednesday. We have lots of lovely toys and activities ready to play with together. We even have a special treat for the grown-ups to take home!