Donaldson: EYFS Nursery and Reception
Welcome to Donaldson Class. Can you guess who our favourite author is?
Our class teacher is Miss Morris (EYFS Lead). In class we are also supported by our Teaching and Learning Support Staff: Mrs. Priest and Miss Cooper (HLTA).
Teaching and Learning
Every day we do phonics, communication, language and literacy, and maths on the carpet. In the afternoons we find out about the world around us through our Lenthall Learning Challenge related learning and activities.
A typical day in the Foundation Stage Unit involves lots of time to explore our different areas of learning both indoors and out. Our provision is set up so that we aim to use the outdoors as much as possible. We are PROUD of our Lenthall outdoor learning areas and recognise that it provides a wealth of opportunities for children to explore the natural world, and seasons and of course ... get physical!
In Foundation Stage we enjoy learning through play and we have lots of areas set up to explore which helps us learn and develop.
The areas we have inside are water, investigation, funky fingers, malleable writing, phonics, maths, reading, construction, computing, small-world creativity, and role play. The areas we have outside are sand, water, gardening, investigation, maths, reading, writing, creativity, and construction. We also have a mud kitchen and a forest school area.
Every Friday we have P.E with our specialist coach, Coach Lewis from Chesterfield Football Club Community Trust (CFCCT) During the winter months, this is in the school hall. As the weather improves, we go outdoors, as much as possible, to do sports and PE games.
Reading
Alongside our phonics teaching, children bring home a decodable (Collins Big Cat) reading book, matched to the phonemes they are learning, and a 'Love to Read' book to share with an adult. Phonics packs and support at-home cards are shared with parents at the beginning of the year and through ClassDojo.
We encourage you to read daily with your child to help build up their reading skills. When you have read with your child you can write about it in their reading record and then on their book change day, we will send a new book home.
Trips and Visitors
We try to make our learning as enjoyable as possible and invite visitors to the school for hands-on learning experiences. We enjoy going out on visits to local places such as the bakery and Dronfield Station and we aim to go on trips each year to places that support the teaching and learning that we have been doing in class. In the past, we have been to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, The Deep and The Butterfly House - one of our favourite places to visit.
PE Kit
We ask you to send your child to school on their PE days in their P.E kit as part of their activewear school uniform. This makes for a much easier transition between classroom-based and PE lessons.
PE days are as follows:
The whole school PE day is Friday.
- Black- shorts, joggers or leggings
- White or royal blue t-shirt
- Trainers/pumps for outdoor use – plain, dark colour, no fashion trainers/lights etc
- Black zipped tracksuit top/hoodie.
Please be aware of the weather and dress appropriately.
No jewellery is to be worn during P.E. – this includes stud earrings.
Snack
Each day we have a morning snack which is a free piece of fruit. All children under 5 years old also receive free milk. Once a child turns 5 years old parents can pay for this.
Water Bottles
We ask that parents send a full water bottle to school with their child every day. As a Healthy School, we encourage the children to drink water to stay hydrated and to be healthy.