We were so happy to return to our home as a nursery school last Monday, 1st of June. During the weeks of lockdown due to Covid-19 we found many innovative ways of staying connected with our children and their families, and continuing their learning journeys remotely. Unfortunately it has not been possible for all of our children to come back to the classroom in our Hadley Wood site in this half-term. We saw this as a challenge to overcome, so we have opted for a “blended learning” model, which allows us to expand on and complement our nursery-based offering with a remote learning curriculum.
During our first week back we combined online educational materials and opportunities for interaction with classsroom-based learning projects using our standard teaching methods.
The activities that we included in this week’s learning pack have mirrored the activities that took place in the classroom. Our focused book for this week was ‘Star in the Jar‘ by Sam Hey: a warm-hearted picture book that taps into the awe and comfort brought about by the presence of stars in the sky. We made our own star in the jar in various ways and guided further home-based learning based on this idea and theme.
So both within the classroom and at home our children explored ‘stars in the sky’, for example during Art sessions we learned more about Van Gogh’s famous painting. This is an ongoing process for us and one idea or theme can carry on, depending on its depth and scope for further project work. For example, this week we will:
- Experiment with light and play with light and dark.
- Talk about our feelings and wishes and use our imagination to bring stories to life.
- Continue putting emphasis on our focused activities around numeracy and literacy and our science experiment of the week will involve making a galaxy (using food colouring and soap!)