Datchet St Mary's CofE Primary Academy
Friendship, Love, Compassion, Honesty, Forgiveness, Resilience and Equality
Nursery
Welcome to Nursery Class.
The nursery teacher is Miss Dyer
Mrs Rutherford is the class teaching assistant.
Spring Term Class News letter 2026
We were lucky to spend some time at Forest School, where the children had a wonderful opportunity to explore nature and hunt for bugs. Carefully lifting tree trunks and logs, they discovered all sorts of tiny creatures hiding underneath, from wriggly worms to busy insects. The children showed great curiosity and excitement as they observed what they found, learning about different habitats and how living things thrive in the forest environment. It was a fantastic hands-on experience that encouraged teamwork, exploration, and a love for the outdoors.
This week at our nursery, we have been exploring the fascinating life cycle of butterflies. The children learned how a butterfly grows and changes, starting as a tiny egg, then becoming a caterpillar, forming a chrysalis, and finally emerging as a beautiful butterfly. Through stories, creative activities, and hands-on experiences, the children have enjoyed discovering how nature transforms over time. This topic has helped to develop their curiosity about the natural world while encouraging observation, discussion, and imaginative play.
Last week, we had a wonderful experience watching chicks hatch from their eggs. The children were fascinated as they observed the changes each day and learned about how chicks grow and develop. It was especially exciting when we had the opportunity to gently hold the chicks and watch them run around on the carpet. We talked about how to care for them and the importance of being calm and quiet so we didn’t scare them. It was a lovely hands-on experience that helped the children build confidence, curiosity, and respect for living things
This term, we have been on an exciting journey to space! The children have enjoyed exploring a range of stories about adventurous characters travelling to different planets and the moon. Along the way, we have been learning the names of the planets and developing our understanding of the world beyond Earth. We also had lots of fun making (and tasting!) our own “moon rocks.” In our learning, we explored shapes by using them to design and create rockets with blocks, as well as cutting out shapes with scissors to build our own models. The children even worked together to create a classroom rocket, where we imagined blasting off into space to capture aliens! Using maps to guide our journey, we made sure we were heading in the right direction, and we loved practising our counting skills by counting down from 10 before each exciting launch.
This week at nursery, we enjoyed reading Jack and the Beanstalk together. The children explored the story further in Drawing Club by creating fantastic pictures of the giant and the beanstalk. Using junk modelling materials, they designed and made their own giants, developing their creativity and fine motor skills. We even made beanstalks using breadsticks and green icing, which was lots of fun! The children also used shaving foam to create fluffy clouds and built tall towers like beanstalks reaching up to the sky, bringing the story to life through hands-on learning and imaginative play.
We had so much fun at the pancake toss!
This week at nursery, we enjoyed reading The Three Billy Goats Gruff together. The children had lots of fun using masks to act out the story, taking turns to be the goats and the troll. We walked across our pretend bridge, listening carefully to see if the troll would come out! During the activity, we talked about prepositions such as under and over, linking our learning to the story. In Drawing Club, the children drew wonderful pictures of the troll and the bridge, using their imaginations to bring the story to life.
This week at nursery, the children enjoyed making their very own pizzas. They carefully spread tomato sauce onto their bases, grated cheese with great concentration, and sprinkled it on top. The children then chose from a variety of tasty toppings, making their pizzas just the way they liked them. Once ready, we cooked the pizzas in the oven, and everyone enjoyed eating their delicious creations together. It was a fantastic activity that supported independence, fine motor skills, and decision-making while having lots of fun! 🍕
This week at nursery we explored the much-loved story Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The children had great fun making and tasting porridge – it was delicious! Using story props, they confidently retold the tale in their own words, building on their language and storytelling skills. We also used magnetic tiles to construct the bears’ house, sparking lots of discussion about what the house might have been made from and why. To finish the week, we enjoyed reading lots of different versions of the story, helping the children understand that stories can be told in many ways while still sharing the same familiar characters and themes.
Today at nursery, the children have been enjoying the story The Three Little Pigs. We took part in a creative activity where the children drew around each other and painted the outlines pink to represent the pigs, encouraging teamwork and imaginative play. Using playdough, the children made pig faces and used square shape cutters to create the brick house, helping to develop fine motor skills and shape recognition. We also used story props to retell the story and wore masks to act it out, supporting language development, confidence, and a deeper understanding of the story through role play.
This week at nursery, the children have been enjoying the story The Gingerbread Man. We explored the book together through daily story time and used story props to help the children retell the tale in their own words, building confidence and language skills. The children also took part in a fun baking activity where they made gingerbread biscuits and, of course, enjoyed eating them afterwards. Outdoors, we brought the story to life by playing “Run, run as fast as you can!” in the garden, encouraging active play, listening skills, and lots of laughter
The children had lots of fun getting ready for Christmas! They loved singing Christmas songs for our play and enjoyed practicing them together. We also had a Christmas party with games, music, and yummy treats. It was great to see everyone having fun and enjoying the Christmas celebrations!
Christmas fair
The children really enjoyed making melting snowman biscuits! They decorated them with white icing, marshmallows, and Smarties for the buttons, using their creativity and fine motor skills. The best part was getting to eat their tasty creations afterwards, which made the activity even more exciting and delicious!
In maths this week, the children have been having fun learning about numbers 1 to 3. They have been practising subitising, sorting, matching, and counting objects up to 3. Through these activities, they are developing their number recognition and early counting skills while enjoying hands-on play with different objects.
The children had fun making poppies for Remembrance Day by painting on paper plates. They used brushes to make bright red flowers and practised their cutting and painting skills. While creating their poppies, they also learned a little about remembering people who have helped others.
Our vehicle topic has been lots of fun and full of excitement for the children. They loved building their own vehicles using Lego and playdough, using their imagination to create cars, trucks, and more. The children also enjoyed painting colourful vehicle pictures and getting creative with cutting and sticking activities. These hands-on activities helped develop fine motor skills while giving the children plenty of opportunities to explore, play, and express themselves in a relaxed and enjoyable way.
The children have really enjoyed creating beautiful diva lamps to celebrate Diwali. They explored a variety of tools and materials, practising their fine motor skills as they carefully held, shaped, and decorated their lamps. Through painting, mark making, and adding details, the children developed their hand–eye coordination while learning about this special festival. It was wonderful to see their creativity shine as they took pride in their colourful and meaningful creations.
