As the summer term reaches its final stretch, children across St Philip’s Marsh Nursery School have been enjoying wonderfully varied learning experiences, from caring for caterpillars to building structures, making music and exploring the natural world.
Caterpillars have been a highlight across the rooms this month. In Elm Class, children have been caring for caterpillars daily, checking on them, naming them and talking about the changes they see. The story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the song There’s a Tiny Caterpillar on a Leaf have brought the learning to life. In Oak Class and Fir Class, children have also been observing caterpillars in their rooms and learning about the life cycle of butterflies. The warm weather has also meant children in Elm Class have been noticing seeds growing in the garden and understanding what plants need to thrive. They are eagerly anticipating tasting the strawberries and raspberries when they are ready.
Construction and building have been at the heart of learning in Beech Class, where children have been building towers and structures with Duplo and bricks, seeing how tall they can go before the exciting moment when they come crashing down. Outside, this has scaled up beautifully, with children in hard hats and hi-vis jackets building larger structures. Messy play has also been a focus, with children exploring the texture changes in green gloop — watching how it moves from liquid to solid as they squeeze, pinch, scoop and scrape it. Fine motor skills have been developing across the rooms through pegging, scissors work cutting snail patterns, and rescuing dinosaurs stuck in tape.
Music and rhythm have featured throughout the month. Children have been singing “5 Little Ducks” to support counting, repetition and language development, and exploring subtraction through “5 Little Men in a Flying Saucer”. In Fir Class, children have been exploring instruments and learning to tap out the syllables of their names. Beyond the classroom, mini beasts have captured the imagination of children in Oak Class, who have been carefully holding creatures found in the garden and using magnifying glasses to look at them in detail. After finding worms, the children read Superworm by Julia Donaldson, bringing the outdoor discovery indoors.
These varied experiences support children’s fine and gross motor development, language skills, curiosity about the natural world and their confidence as learners.