Rachel Keeling Nursery School
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An Open Letter to Rt Honourable Justine Greening MP

28/4/2017

 

Half Hitch, Overhand, Clove Hitch, Hangman...

27/4/2017

 
This time last week if you'd mentioned "half hitch" or "overhand bend" in the staff room at Rachel Keeling, you might have been met by a sea of blank faces. Not so this week. We have been on a learning journey with our children.
As our steep, grassy hillock was reduced to more of a suggestion of a hill and covered in artificial grass to ensure all year round access, we have noticed many more children using the area. It has become part of the learning environment, where children are stopping and using it, rather  passing over it onto somewhere else.  Yoga, gymnastics, lying down and relaxing with a book and friends has also moved onto some learning that Robert Baden-Powell would have been proud of. In true Scouting style we have been looking at tying knots: as part of developing children's concentration and fine motor skills, as well as problem solving, communication and collaboration.

Children and staff began by organising themselves a den building trolley, sorting and labelling the resources. Next they explored the different ropes and fastenings we had. Children and adults learned together how to master a simple knot (an overhand knot) and a half hitch: learning terms such as 'the working end' and 'standing end' of a rope, 'loops', 'bights'. Also working together to choose the right knot for the purpose - discussing whether it is to tie a rope to an object or to another rope!
Children then used their new found skills to create a pulley system to transport resources between the trees. Children have begun to use the area with increased independence, supporting each other, negotiating and communicating.
Young children are capable of great things!

Bagels, Bikes and Brews

26/4/2017

 
This morning, despite the icy winds, we were joined by many of our families for our termly Bike It Breakfast. We were warm and cosy after our scooting and cycling to school and enjoyed bagels, fresh fruit, yoghurt, milk, apples juice and many strong coffees together! Children, parents, siblings and staff enjoyed sharing talk, laughter and cinnamon bagels. At Rachel Keeling we have staff, families and children who cycle and scoot to school and work. We have seen the benefit of our Bike It status in developing our cycling scheme with children. Many of our children can now ride the balance bikes proficiently and some can use the two wheeler pedal bikes as well. We are seeing larger numbers of children who are able to master this life-enhancing skill and we will continue to invest in the provision. Many families are now borrowing our bicycles and helmets at the weekend. It was a wonderful celebration and of course all families are welcome to join us for our Breakfast Club every day!
Thanks to Sustrans and TfL for donating our bagels, fruit and yoghurt.

Accessible Exploration

25/4/2017

 
At Rachel Keeling we recognise the importance of our environment and on a daily basis we reflect and modify it to ensure it provides our children with the richest opportunities for learning.
During the Spring Term we have had some exciting developments in our garden: our pond area has been opened up!

Previously we had a sunken pond area which was gated off, whilst offering exciting learning, due to health and safety, it was only accessible with an adult. We reflected on this and wanted the area to become part of our on-going Forest School provision which we have embedded in our daily practice. As a result we worked with our talented landscaper, Gavin, and raised our pond to above ground height, removed the fencing and created a seating area around the edge. Our creatures that were living there (small fish, tadpoles, frogs, newt and water snails) were carefully transferred over and Gavin included an amphibian ramp for the newts and frogs to use to access the water. The area is truly accessible to all children, staff and visitors with step-free access. Children have been using the area with and without adults to explore: observing, drawing up rules for use, pond dipping and relaxing.
Of course we only remove the safety grill when an adult is learning with the children.

The area is a busy but peaceful space for learning and children have been sustaining concentration over the past two days. The photographs evidence just some of the learning this week so far.

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Rachel Keeling Nursery School - Bullard's Place - Morpeth Street - London - E2 0PS        Tel: 020 89805856   Email: admin@rachelkeeling.towerhamlets.sch.uk
Picture
  • Home
    • Welcome
    • Location
    • Contact us
  • News
    • Learning Blog
    • Newsletters
    • Visitors
  • Our School
    • Our Values
    • Our Mission Statement
    • Our Staff
    • Curricular Goals >
      • Settle in and become a confident learner
      • Follow a recipe to bake a bread roll
      • Make a model at the woodwork table
      • Ride a bicycle
      • Create your own rhythmic patterns and respond to music
      • Create shades of colour using powder paints and palette
      • Make up your own stories
      • Write the first two letters of your name
    • Our Films
    • Our Policies/Risk Assessments
    • Our Achievements
    • Our Nursery Building
    • Our History
  • Information
    • Term dates
    • COVID Information >
      • Risk Assessment
      • Health and Hygiene
    • Federation With Children's House Nursery School
    • Admissions
    • Organisation
    • Early Years Pupil Premium
    • Places for 3 & 4 year olds
    • Safeguarding Summary
    • Special Educational Needs and Disability
    • Self Evaluation Form
    • School Development Plan
    • OFSTED
    • RHSE
    • GDPR
  • Families
    • Working Together
    • School Home Support
    • Cycle Sisters
    • What our community thinks
    • Useful Links
    • Workshops and Courses
    • Toy Library
    • Saturday Garden
    • Library Visits
    • Lunchtime
  • Outreach
    • Our Outreach Work
    • Articles, Research & Conferences
    • Resources >
      • THINC
      • Design Project
      • RKNS shopping
      • Learning Journeys
      • Special Books
      • RKNS using film
      • Courses
      • SEND/Inclusion
  • Governors
    • What Do Governors Do?
    • Governor Attendance
    • Who Are Our Governors?
    • Annual Report to Parents
  • Learning
    • Curriculum >
      • Personal, Social & Emotional Development
      • Physical Development
      • Communication and Language
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Understanding the World
      • Expressive Arts and Design
    • Learning Gallery >
      • Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening
      • Performing and Playing Music
      • Learning Outside
      • Taking Risks and Being Independant
      • Being Creative
      • Showing Curiousity
      • Designing and Building
      • Cooking
      • Our Shoppers
      • Bike It
      • Science
      • Independent Projects
      • Research Projects
      • Friendships
      • Sustainability
  • Home Learning
    • Learning with Rachel Keeling Staff >
      • Stories with Staff
      • Numbers and Counting
      • Busy in the Kitchen
      • Sing-along Songs
      • Experiments
      • Letters and Sounds
      • Gardening
      • Keep Moving
      • Exploration and Games
    • 52 Things To Do
    • Learning at Home
    • Talking to Children about Coronavirus
    • Music at Home
    • Cooking Together
    • Phonics
    • Mathematics at Home
    • Science
    • Nature Detectives
    • Sharing Stories
    • Tales Toolkit
    • Being Creative
    • Keeping Active
  • Events
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • July 2021
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