Rachel Keeling Nursery School
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Welcome to our Learning Blog

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Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

18/12/2018

 
The past two weeks have been filled with festivities across Rachel Keeling. Children have shared different ways some families celebrate festivals. We started by decorating the beautiful tree which was kindly donated by Empowering Learning. This sparked lots of conversations about Christmas decorations and lights children had seen out and about in Bethnal Green. Children have made their own decorations from salt dough stars to willow hangings and paper pictures to hang on the tree. Far from being an area of frenetic energy, the Christmas tree have evolved to being a space of relaxation and moments of calm! 
Children have been introduced to the Christmas Story and enjoyed retelling it using clay models and by dressing up and entering the 'stable' themselves. Some children are able to retell the story, remembering place names and the people involved. Some children commented "Christians celebrate Christmas" and "I like Christmas at school but I'm a Muslim so I don't celebrate it in my house". 
The sensory immersion of Christmas music has been enjoyed with carols to popular Christmas hits shared. Children have been learning We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Twinkle Twinkle, and one child has mastered We Three Kings ahead of our Carols Around the Campfire on Thursday where our ukulele band will debut.
No Christmas would be complete without plenty of food to share and enjoy. Festive gingerbread has been made with cinnamon and ginger wafting across the nursery most days.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Reed Smith who donated 25 wrapped boxes of gifts for the children. It has certainly helped Father Christmas and the reindeers with their mission. Thank you too to Kim from School Home Support for their ongoing support for our community and their knowledge and signposting.
Our celebrations are culminating with our Christmas Party on Friday morning before all families, staff and friends hopefully enjoy a wonderful Christmas break with their loved ones. 

Musical Immersion

7/12/2018

 
Over the past three weeks children have been supported in developing an appreciation of music. A sensitive practitioner drew on a wide range of musical styles to expose children to different beats, rhythms and tempos.
Children started by collaboratively building a stage, decorating and lighting it and thinking about how children could use it (deciding on a 'shoes off' policy eventually!) Children used scarves and dancing ribbons, which they made themselves to respond to the different music they heard.
Some children further developed their learning by accompanying the music and dance with the djembe drum: creating different beats and tempos.
A group of children who have shown considerable interest and skill in dance and musicality were introduced to the piano. They read the coloured notes from left to right and played Twinkle Twinkle independently, showing great pride in their achievements. One child recognised the musical notation found in a book and wanted to create her own marks in it. She was supported in understanding that notes also have letter names. 
Finally some quiet time in the afternoons was taken to focus on the forming of our new ukulele group. They were introduced to the instruments, learned how to hold them and began with their first chord. They have taken them home over the weekend to practice with their families as well. They will make their debut at our Annual Rachel Keeling Nursery School Christmas Carols Around the Campfire on Thursday 20 December at 2.30pm.

Nourishment for the Soul

3/12/2018

 
Cooking is an integral part of life at Rachel Keeling. The children harvest, shops for and prepare snacks and we regularly cook with children to enrich their experience at school. The past week has been no different with many cooking experiences and opportunities to share food as a group. As part of a mathematical focus in Bluebell, children made bread rolls and had mastered them the following day by adding cheese and making cheesy bread rolls. Whilst measurement, accuracy, number recognition and simple calculation were the main focus; concentration, using one handed tools safely and the art of conversation were also important aspects of learning which benefited. Children's independence was challenged when they designed and made their own pizzas to take home and share. Children were encouraged to prepare all the toppings and then make choices about the healthy topping they would like to enjoy. Our healthy cooking continued with children creating vegetable skewers to oven roast and share: they used up the last odd vegetables we had in the kitchen and persevered with the peeling and chopping. Finally on Friday, the children made a campfire in the garden and enjoyed some marshmallows (not so healthy!) which they toasted carefully. Only one child ate their marshmallow before toasting it!
Rachel Keeling Nursery School - Bullard's Place - Morpeth Street - London - E2 0PS        Tel: 020 89805856   Email: admin@rachelkeeling.towerhamlets.sch.uk
Picture
  • Home
    • Contact us
    • Location
    • Welcome
  • News
    • Learning Blog
    • Learning Blog Archive
    • Newsletters
    • Visitors
  • Our School
    • Curriculum 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 History
    • Our Mission Statement
    • Our Nursery Building
    • Our Policies/Risk Assessments
    • Our Staff
    • Our Values
  • Information
    • Admissions
    • Early Help
    • Early Years Pupil Premium
    • Federation With Children's House Nursery School
    • GDPR
    • Health Guidance/Viruses
    • OFSTED
    • Organisation
    • Places for 3 & 4 year olds
    • RHSE
    • Safeguarding Summary
    • School Development Plan
    • Special Educational Needs and Disability
    • Self Evaluation Form
    • Term dates
  • Families
    • Cycle Sisters
    • Food Bank
    • Lunchtime
    • Library Visits
    • Saturday Garden
    • Children and Family Centres
    • Useful Links
    • What our community thinks
    • Working Together
    • Workshops and Courses
  • Outreach
    • Articles, Research & Conferences
    • Our Outreach Work
    • Resources >
      • THINC
      • Design Project
      • RKNS shopping
      • Learning Journeys
      • Special Books
      • RKNS using film
      • Courses
      • SEND/Inclusion
  • Governors
    • Who Are Our Governors?
    • What Do Governors Do?
    • Annual Report to Parents
    • Governor Attendance
  • 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
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
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    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021