What we’ve been up to this month…

Throughout this month, the children have been learning about different emotions and how we can recognise and express how we feel. We talked about feelings such as being happy, sad, excited and worried, helping the children to begin understanding their own emotions and the feelings of others. This has helped to support empathy and positive relationships with their friends.

We explored emotions through stories, role play, songs and circle times. The children enjoyed looking at different facial expressions, talking about how they were feeling and learning that everyone can feel different emotions.

We also looked at special celebrations and events that took place during the month, including Chinese New Year, the start of Ramadan and Pancake Day! During the month the children took part in food tasting, messy and sensory play, group circle times and watched short clips of different celebrations and activities. The children really enjoyed exploring their feelings and learning more about the world around them.

What’s happening next month…

Next month, we will begin our new topic: Growing Things focusing on: New Growth, Life Cycles and Plants

As we explore this theme, the children will be learning about how things grow and change in nature. We will be looking closely at the signs of spring, plants and flowers beginning to grow, minibeasts we might find outdoors, and how the weather starts to change as the seasons shift. This topic will support the children’s curiosity about the natural world and help them understand simple life cycles & how living things develop.]

We will explore growing and nature through stories, imaginative play, songs and circle times. The children will have opportunities to talk about what plants need to grow, observe changes outdoors, and learn how to care for living things.

Throughout the month we will also take part in seasonal activities such as planting seeds, exploring the garden, searching for minibeasts and noticing signs of spring around us.Our learning will include hands-on experiences such as food tasting, sensory and messy play, group circle times, and exploring natural materials. These activities will help the children investigate growth, nature and the world around them in fun and meaningful ways.

We will be looking at celebrations such as world book day, British science week, mothers day, st Patrick’s day, red nose day and the importance of world water day!!

Activities we will do at nursery:

• Spring petal sensory bags
• Leaf rubbing with crayons
• Making seasonal treasure basket
• Smelling herbs (mint/lavender)
• Making scented play dough
• Making handprint butterflies
• Making suncatchers
• Paper plate bumble bees
• Planting cress/ sunflowers
• Watering plants
• Outdoor bug hunts
• Observing seed growth in the garden
• Exploring garden centre role-play
• Exploring simple lifecycles: butterflies, frogs, plants

March Preschool focus:

This month, we will be exploring nature, plants, weather and growing through looking at life cycles, stories, observing the weather and taking part in matching games. We will be learning about how plants and living things grow through hands-on experiences, meaningful conversations and engaging learning opportunities.

Alongside this, we will be placing a strong focus on mathematics, particularly exploring shapes and measures. Children will be comparing shapes and sizes, identifying shapes within the environment, and using mathematical language such as bigger, smaller, taller, shorter, heavier and lighter.

We will incorporate maths into practical, real-life experiences such as baking, where the children will weigh out ingredients, measure quantities and explore capacity. This will help them develop an understanding of numbers, measuring and problem solving in a fun and meaningful way.

We will also be celebrating World Book Day through the use of traditional tales and storytelling. We will be reading our favourite books and sharing stories together, whilst also creating our own stories using story cards and story stones. This will help develop the children’s love for reading, encourage imagination and creativity, and support their confidence in speaking and listening as they connect with friends, talk about their favourite stories and relate them to real-life experiences.

Some ideas to do at home:

• Planting seeds such as cress at home – using small cups or yoghurt pots with cotton wool
• Going on nature walks – walking through the park, around the garden looking for signs of spring
• Minibeast hunt – in the garden or on a walk in a green space. Gently looking for minibeasts such as worms, ladybirds or snails
• Growing fruit or vegetables at home – watering daily and watching the seed grow
• Reading nature stories – sharing books about plants, life cycles or spring time
• Making pictures with nature – flowers and leaf crafts sticking with glue or painting