Seedlings and Saplings Class
Welcome to FS1!
Please check our blog below regularly to see our learning and what we get up to each week!
Teddy Bears Picnic 🐻 🐻 🐻
Hi Everyone,
The eagle eyed amongst you spotted that there is a Teddy Bear’s Picnic happening for Nursery and Reception tomorrow (15th July). Children can bring a teddy into school with them (please label if possible so they don’t get mixed up) and snacks will be provided. This is in addition to their dinner, so packed lunch will still be needed and school dinner will still be provided.
We do have teddies in school if anyone forgets or reads this message too late.
🐻 🐻 🐻
Our Trip to the Big Top Circus!
This afternoon we were very lucky that we got to visit the big top circus as our end of year treat! The children were amazed with the magic shows and some children even got to go up on the big stage and volunteer to help with some of the magic too! The children laughed, clapped and cheered throughout, it was a great afternoon had by all!
Big Top Circus Skills!
This morning we went into the junior hall and completed a circus skills workshop! The children enjoyed learning different movements and skills that they could do with the colourful fabric. They also learnt how to balance plates on their heads and walk around and then they balanced the plates on poles and spun them around! They even asked for some volunteers to see how many plates they could balance on their heads! We were so proud and impressed with how well the children did during the workshop, listening and following the instructions carefully!
Making our Outside Area Colourful!
This week the children have been helping the adults to paint our wooden equipment outside in the colours of a rainbow. The children have done so well and we love how colourful it is becoming! 
Our Weekly Mile
Mr Haywood, our Reception Teacher and PE Lead has challenged each class to complete a ‘Weekly Mile’! We will be doing our mile by walking laps of the all weather pitch for 15 minutes in a designated time slot each week. Today was our first try at our mile walk and the children did superb at keeping up with the laps and said that they were very tired by the end of it!
Playing Together 🥰
This morning all of the children in school have been playing outside together so nicely during provision time. They all initiated a big game of hide and seek together and took it in turns to count and hide. It was so lovely to watch 🥰
Home Learning - Nursery Identified Contacts 22.06.2021
Good morning,
Unfortunately, we will be learning remotely for the next week so we will post activities each day for you to do from home on tapestry and google classrooms.
I am going to miss seeing you all and hearing about your family and friends but you can join me for a daily story at 10:40 on google classrooms, so keep your eye out for the link for those.
I know it can be difficult to concentrate from home so do your best and we will be back in school soon.
Stay safe,
Mrs Bennett :)
Run, run as fast as you can!
Remembering the Animals in Handa's Surprise!
Today we focused on the animals in the story ‘Handa’s Surprise’. We wrote the animals phonetically as the children sounded them out. We also thought of an action to do for each animal then reread the story whilst carrying out these actions.
Ordinal Numbers 🥇🥈🥉
This week we have been learning all about ordinal numbers. We have been racing lots of different sized cars on different materials to see which came first, second or third. The children have really enjoyed this activity, cheering each other on and being proud of which ever place their car finished in!
Surprise!
Today we listened to the story Handa's Surprise in small groups. We then discussed why both Akeyo and Handa were surprised in the story and shared a time when we were surprised with a gift or trip out.
Handa's Surprise
Our new story this week is Handa's Surprise. Check back to see all the learning we get up to!
P4C - How can we be safe?
We have been learning all about Road Safety so we discussed how we can keep ourselves safe.
The Butterflies Have Been Set Free!!
This morning we tried again to set the Butterflies free but they still didn't want to leave! We let them out of their habitat onto a plate to see if that would encourage them to fly off but they stayed on the plate so we brought them back inside to warm them up again. Over the course of the day they started to show interest in flying off the plate and onto the counter in our cupboard. This afternoon we managed to set them free, some enjoying sitting in the trees while others enjoyed having an explore on the leaves on the floor!
The Butterflies wanted to stay!
This afternoon just before home time we tried to let the Butterflies free but they decided that they wanted to stay for a little bit longer in the warmth! None of them showed any interest in trying to fly away but we had a good look at what they look like and their colours. We are going to try again in the morning!
Describing Grandma 👵
Today during literacy the children had a go at describing Grandma from the story of Little Red Riding Hood. We thought about what she looked liked on the outside and how she was feeling on the inside. The children came up with some really good describing words such as old and poorly. We then discussed how we thought Grandma might have been feeling about the wolf coming into her house. We decided she might have been feeling sad, angry, surprised, scared and even a bit muddled up.
We Have Butterflies!!
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This morning when we got into school we were greeted by Butterflies!
Over the weekend the Butterflies have emerged from their chrysalis and have been resting and spreading out their wings getting ready to fly! This morning we gave them some fruit and nectar water.
We currently have all 10 beautiful Butterflies stretching out their wings!
Little Red Riding Hood - Feelings
Today we came together in our Keyworker groups to think about how Little Red Riding Hood might have been feeling at different points in the story. The children thought really hard and came up with some super words to describe how she could have been feeling.
Describing the Big Bad Wolf 🐺
During Literacy time we recapped the story of Little Red Riding Hood and discussed the characters. Today the children had a go at describing the wolf. We thought about what the wolf looked liked on the outside and what he was like as a character on the inside. The children came up with some really good describing words and even remembered some from the story like “big ears” and “big teeth.” We then discussed whether we thought the wolf was a good or bad character. We decided he was bad and described him as “scary” and “naughty.”
Little Red Riding Hood
Our new story this week is Little Red Riding Hood.
Today we read the story and we're going to be doing lots of learning around the story over the next couple of weeks!
Caterpillar Update 🐛
This morning we moved some of the caterpillars into their new habitat ready to wait for them to transform from their chrysalis. The other caterpillars still need a couple more days before they can be transferred to join the others.
What are healthy and unhealthy foods?
Our big question this week after reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar was asking if the children could make a list of some foods that are healthy and some foods that are unhealthy. The children came up with some fantastic ideas for each list, we were very impressed by their suggestions.
Healthy and Unhealthy Food
Today the children have been looking at healthy and unhealthy foods. In our Story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar the Caterpillar eats lots of different kinds of foods throughout the week. The children sorted these foods into healthy foods, a mixture of both and unhealthy foods and discussed their thoughts. Great job!
Noughts and Crosses
This morning the children have been playing noughts and crosses outside with our big chalk. I showed the children how to play the game and they then went off and played with each other, taking their turns correctly and sharing the chalk.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Story Maps
This week Seedlings and Saplings have made Story Maps of The Very Hungry Caterpillar in classes and remembered the story fantastically. After this the children then worked together during provision time to remember and draw each part of the story themselves! We think they did a great job at this and their drawings are amazing!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Fruit Salad
Today Mrs Hindle received a letter from the very hungry caterpillar asking the children to help as he had eaten too much unhealthy food and had realised he needed to be much more healthy. The children helped to write a list of all the fruit the caterpillar ate in the story. They were very good at hearing the initial sound in the words, helping to hear the sounds in the rest of the word and also having a go at writing down some of those initial sounds themselves. We were super proud of how extremely hard they worked that as a treat we decided to use our list of fruits to make a fruit salad for the caterpillar. They thought it was yummy!
Caterpillar Update 🐛
This morning we came into school to find that the caterpillars have started to cocoon over the weekend!!
We are going to leave them safe in their container for the next few days until they're ready to be moved into their big new home to wait and see what happens next!
Caterpillar Update 🐛
This morning we have noticed that the caterpillars are starting to attach themselves to the top of the containers and are hanging in a j shape! We are going to have a look on Monday morning to see if anything else has happened over the weekend.
Sequencing The Very Hungry Caterpillar 🐛
Today the children helped to sequence the story, being able to put the different parts of the story in the right order. The children were superb at this! Fantastic work Nursery!
Retelling The Very Hungry Caterpillar 🐛
Today the children were able to retell the story by describing what was happening on each page of the book. We were super impressed by how well the children remembered the story! Well done Nursery! 😊
The Very Hungry Caterpillar 🐛
Our new story this week is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Today we read the story and we're going to be doing lots of learning around the story over the next couple of weeks!
Caterpillar Update...🐛
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We have been watching the caterpillars very closely to see what changes we can see happening. The children have noticed that the caterpillars are growing a lot bigger already and are leaving ‘webs’ in their containers! The children have also been very observant and used lots of describing words to tell us what the caterpillars look like now. The children have predicted that the caterpillars might turn into butterflies. We are going to keep another close eye on them to see what happens next...
Phonics Superstars!
This week we have started a new phonics program - Read, Write, Inc.
The children have worked REALLY hard at learning the new routine and the new phonemes 🌟
We are so so proud of all of you! Have a look at some of our wonderful letter formations!
The Three Billy Goats Gruff Story Map
The children have been able to retell our story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff fantastically and today we made a shared story map. The children remembered what happened next at each part of the story and could remember the repeated refrains. The children showed great understanding of each part of the story! We hope you like our story maps as much as we do!
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Today the children were able to retell the full story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, complete with sound effects and voices! They have really enjoyed this story, why not ask your child if they will read it for you!
We're Going On A Troll Hunt!
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This week we have been reading the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. We had a call to say that the troll was on the loose and thought we might be able to help find him!
We went on a troll hunt around our outside area, going under our climbing frame, over the slide, through the grass and then luckily we found him! We were all very brave and ran up to him!
Picnic Time! ☀️
This morning the weather has been lovely and warm so we decided that we would have a picnic outside at lunchtime. The children really enjoyed eating their dinner in the sun like we did at the start of the year.
Hopefully the ☀️ is here to stay!
Here Comes the Sun! ☀️
The children have loved playing outside in the sun this morning, it was so lovely and warm!
Very Special Visitors 🐛
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We have had some very special visitors arrive with us in Nursery!
We have had some baby caterpillars delivered and today they have been a bit more active, climbing all over the sides of their container. We are going to be very careful and make sure that they get lots of quiet and rest!
We are going to watch them very carefully and see what might happen as they start to grow...
We wonder if anyone might be able to predict what might happen to them...!
You've Got This!
And the winners are... 🐰🥇
A huge thank you to everyone who entered our Easter Bonnet and Easter Egg competition.
The winners of the Easter Bonnets are -
The winners of the Easter Eggs are -
Congratulations!
Our Wonderful Easter Creations!
We are so Proud of You! 
Easter Bonnet Parade 🐰🐣
We know some of you have been busy with your Easter bonnets already and lots of you were excited to get creative and show your friends what you had made. We would still like to make that a possibility for you!
If you would still like to make a bonnet or an egg then please share the photos with us by Monday 29th March.
We will then collate all the photos together and share them with all your friends to see!
Please upload your photos via Tapestry or email them to fs1parents@newmoston.manchester.sch.uk
🐰
Remote Learning!
Hi everyone!
Just to let you know that we will be sharing daily learning activities for phonics, maths and topic on Tapestry and Google Classrooms. There will also be a live lesson daily at 10:40 on Google Classrooms. Your daily phonics, maths and topic sessions should last no longer than 20 minutes, a short sharp burst of learning is better all round for our little ones! We know that remote learning is difficult, but we hope that if you take part in the daily learning activities that we share, it’ll give your day a little structure and focus! Please share your learning with us on Tapestry, we would love to see what you get up to!
As always if you have any questions or concerns please email us at fs1parents@newmoston.manchester.sch.uk or ask your questions when we give you a check in call.
Keep safe and we hope to see you all very soon! 
Red Nose Day!
Today we have come to school with crazy hair to raise money for Red Nose Day. We have pipe cleaner hair, purple hair, glitter hair, rainbow hair, cupcake hair and many many more designs! We are so impressed with the ideas people have come up with!
This morning we have talked about why we have raised money and also thought about what the money raised could be used for. Some of the ideas we came up with were to buy some shoes if their feet get cold, get socks for them, get a bike for someone to help them travel, buy stuff for them if they don’t have the money, give people dresses or clothes and people could go to the doctors and get better.
We think everyone looks absolutely fantastic with their crazy hair today! ❤️
Sharing the Bubbles!
This morning the children have been playing with the bubbles that we got for our super attendance from Mrs Sayle. The children have absolutely loved chasing the bubbles and sharing them with their friends. The children independently took it in turns to blow the bubbles for each other! The children chased after the bubbles trying to pop them with lots of smiles on their faces! Some went too high for us to pop though but we enjoyed watching them float off over the roof!
Mark Making Outdoors!
This morning the children have been super busy using big movements to make marks in different areas of our outside area. The children used the floor, the walls and the tarmac to draw a variety of different lines, shapes and letters. Some children even had a go at writing their names with the chalk on the floor.
Well done children 😊
We are all Superstars!
Mrs Sayle gave us a special certificate, some bubbles and a new book as a prize!
World Book Day!
As we are celebrating World Book Day today the children came to school dressed as an adjective. The children have enjoyed showing off their outfits and talking about what adjective they are being today. We have some sparkly outfits, some sporty outfits and even horrid Henry and a hungry caterpillar! We think they all look wonderful!
We also had a very exciting treat this morning as Miss Maynard came to read us a lovely story all about a rainbow and lockdown. The children listened carefully and enjoyed this story very much! Thank you Miss Maynard! 😊
We are going to spend the rest of the day looking at lots of different stories and talking about which stories are the children’s favourite.
Welcome Back! 
Making Pancakes 🥞
This morning we have been making pancakes and learning all about how to make them. We watched Mr Wolf‘s Pancakes and a video showing us the steps. We then made our own pancakes. Mrs Studholme showed the children how to flip the pancake and then we then gave the children a cold pan to practise flipping the first pancake we made. They all did so well!
They enjoyed tasting the pancakes and we’re going to have some more this afternoon ❤️
Bread Tasting for the Little Red Hen
Today we shared the story of the Little Red Hen. After we finished the story we all tried some different breads! We had a baguette, whole meal, tiger bread and cheese and onion topped rolls. The children loved eating the bread and we were really pleased that everyone was brave and gave them a try!
Stir Fry Making
On Friday it is Chinese New Year. This week we will be doing lots of learning around this celebration. Today we cooked a Chinese stir fry so that we could taste some typical Chinese food. It was super easy to make and the children were so good at helping.
First we heated some oil in a special pan called a wok. Then we added the vegetables to the hot oil, we could hear them sizzle as they started to cook. Next we poured in the sauce and stirred it well. Finally we added the noodles and stirred for a couple more minutes.
The children all tried the stir fry, even if they were unsure if they would like it, which is amazing! Some children liked it so much they asked for more!
Children's Mental Health Week
What is Kindness?
Today for the start of mental health awareness week we have been thinking about how we can be kind and how kindness makes us feel. The children have written on some leaves for our kindness tree that we are going to display in class.
Happiness is...
The children have been thinking about what it means to be happy and what happiness is to them. Below are some examples of what our children have said so far.
Self-Care...
Today we looked at Self-care and ways we can look after our health, mentally and physically. We talked about how taking some time to do something we enjoy doing and finding time to relax can help with self-care. We talked about things that the children enjoy doing in school or at home that can help them to relax and have fun.
We came up with a list and one of the children told us that self-care means love yourself ❤️ this really made us smile!
We then talked about how yoga can be very relaxing and we watched some children’s yoga videos and all had a go, the children followed the instructions from the yoga instructor on the screen and it was lots of fun, we felt very relaxed afterwards and enjoyed a biscuit for all our hard work ❤️
Rainbows of Hope 🌈
What makes you different makes you special 🌈
Snow! ⛄️
We woke up to snow this morning. Miss Toshkezi got very excited and made two snowmen!
What do you think?
Have you played in the snow? Share any photos on Tapestry with us!
Take care, keep safe xx
Rainbow Day 🌈
Christmas Party Day 🎄
Everyone in Nursery has had a brilliant time today at the Christmas party. We played lots of games like pass the parcel and musical chairs. We ate lots of delicious food, danced around and had a good sing song and then at the end of the day we had a special visitor drop in to Nursery to say hello and brought each child a present! 🎅🏼
All of the staff in Nursery hope you all have a lovely Christmas and we will see you all in the new year! ❤️
Reindeer Food
Today we watched Mrs Claus make some reindeer food. She explained that the reindeers need special reindeer food as the get very hungry and need to keep warm. The children also added a sparkly wish.
Christmas Jumper Day ❄️
Today all the children came to school in their Christmas jumpers to show support for Save the Children. We think everyone looks fabulous and Christmassy🎄⛄️ ❄️
Decorating the Christmas Tree
The children enjoyed helping to decorate our Christmas Tree. They did a fantastic job!
Writing our letters to Santa!
The children have been writing their Christmas wish lists today. They've all promised to be really good so Santa will visit!
Birthday Celebrations 🥳
On Friday afternoon we had a lovely time in Nursery having a celebration for everyone’s birthdays for this year. We sang happy birthday to everyone and then played lots of party games, which included pass the parcel, musical statues and musical bumps. We also enjoyed a cake and some chocolate too. We all had a lovely time and can’t wait for the next birthday celebration 🥳
Gruffalo’s Child Story Map 🐍🦉🦊
We have been learning about the Gruffalo’s child story and the children have listened really carefully. Today we used words such as next, after, finally etc. to discuss and create our story map!
A Menu for the Gruffalo’s Child
Today the children took part in a shared write in small groups. They worked together to think of a menu for the Gruffalo’s child for their midnight feast! We wrote the words phonetically with the children helping to sound out the initial sounds for each one!
The Gruffalo’s Child
This week we are sharing the story 'The Gruffalo's Child'.
Well Done Nursery!
Children in Need 💛
Today we would have been raising money for and learning all about Children in Need.
As we are sure a lot of you were excited to wear your pyjamas to school today, please still wear them, it's a good excuse to stay in your pjs all day!! Enjoy the pictures of us doing just that and send us your pictures via tapestry too! 💛
Remote Learning
Hi everyone!
Just to let you know that we will be sharing daily learning activities for phonics, maths and literacy on Tapestry. Your daily phonics, maths and literacy sessions should last no longer than 20 minutes, a short sharp burst of learning is better all round for our little ones! We will be sharing games, links and ideas each day to support your learning at home. We know that remote learning is difficult, but we hope that if you take part in the daily learning activities we’re sharing it’ll give your day a little structure and focus.
As always if you have any questions or concerns please email us at fs1parents@newmoston.manchester.sch.uk or ask your questions when we give you a check in call.
Stay safe!
Bonfire Night
The Gruffalo - Questions
Today in literacy we had a look at question words. We focused on Who? Where? And How? question words today, linking them to our story the Gruffalo. Our first question was ‘Who is in the story?” The children did really well at remembering the names of the characters. Our second question was ‘Where is the story set?” The children all remembered that the story takes place in a woods. Our final question was ‘How did the characters feel?” We read the story again and paused at certain points to talk about how that character might be feeling at that time. The children gave some fabulous reasons as to why they thought the characters might have been feeling that way.
The Gruffalo!
This afternoon we had a very important phone call from a news reporter telling us that a creature with knobbly knees, two orange eyes and purple prickles all over his back is on the loose and did we know who it might be! The children told us that it sounds like it could be The Gruffalo! We then read the story of The Gruffalo and we are going to be doing lots of learning around the story this week!
Making witches potions 🧪 🧙♀️
Room on the Broom Learning 🧹
Room on the Broom
Our Autumn Displays 🍁
Here are our Autumn Displays that we have made using the items that you have collected on your Autumn walks, the wonderful autumnal pictures that you have created and pictures of your adventures from tapestry. We hope you like them as much as we do! ❤️🦔🍃🍂🍁
Red Day ❤️
Today the children have all come dressed in red to show their support and show racism the red card! They all look amazing as I’m sure you will agree ❤️
Along Came a Different
We are all different 🌈
Today we read the story ‘we are all different’ then we explored our differences by playing a stand up and sit down game. We discovered we all had different hair, skin, families, likes and dislikes!
We are all different but we are all friends 🙂
Owl Babies - How do they feel?
Our owl fact sheet 🦉
Today we read a non-fiction book all about owls. The children listened very carefully and we shared what we had learnt to create an owl fact sheet!
Owl Babies
Number of the Week 🖐🏼
Apollo 11 and the Rocket Launch
Number of the week!
Our Trip to the Moon
Bear Toast 🐻🍞
Last week we made some bear toast. We used chocolate spread for the bears fur and bananas for its eyes and nose. The children really enjoyed eating the bear once they had finished!
We’re Going On a Lion Hunt 🦁
Our Bear Hunt Learning 🐻
This week we have used the story of the Bear Hunt to enhance our literacy skills. On Monday the children helped to write a list of things we might need to take with us on a bear hunt. They came up with some very good ideas such as needing a light so we could see in the cave and a towel and spare socks in case we get wet in the river. On Tuesday the children thought of adjectives to describe the bear so we could write a wanted poster to find the bear. They even remembered the words from the story like goggly eyes. Today the children used positional language to label all the places in the classroom that the bear had been spotted.
We Met Pippa the School Dog!
This afternoon Pippa the school dog came to visit us. The children were very excited to meet Pippa and wanted to pat her. What a lovely surprise for us all!
Our First Lunch Time!
The children have been so excited about having their packed lunches today. Because it has been nice and sunny we had our first lunch time as a picnic outside. The children loved it!
Our First Week in Nursery
This week we have explored all the different areas and toys that we have to play with in Nursery. We have also spent time exploring our outdoor environment and enjoyed meeting our new friends!
Drop off and pick up
After listening carefully to feedback from parents and carers the procedures for drop off in the morning have changed. ONE parent/carer can now come on to the school grounds at the start of the day with their child. You can walk them upto their class door.
The start time for FS1 is 9.15am and home time is 3.15pm.
These timings apply from 21st September 2020 until then please follow your child’s transition timetable.
The letter from our Headteacher about these changes can be found below.
Thank you for your continued support 😊
Food Policies
As a Manchester Healthy School we are committed to supporting our children to be happy and healthy. The policies below are for Packed Lunches and Food in School.
Please refer to these when packing your child's lunch.
Thank you
Ms Rashid
FS1 Welcome Powerpoint
Starting School
All of the children who have been given a place in NMPS FS1 will start school on Monday 7th September. All of the children are in one of four transition groups; A, B, C or D. You will have received a letter in the post outlining the group your child is in and a timetable that explains the timings of their two week transition into full time FS1.
On Monday 7th September, ONE parent or carer will be allowed onto the school premises to walk their child into the FS1 Playground. The children will then be taken into FS1 Saplings or FS1 Seedlings by the FS1 staff.
From Tuesday 8th September, the children will be met at the big blue gates by all FS1 staff to welcome them into school. Your child will need a named water bottle and a spare change of clothes in a named bag which can be left in school on their peg.
From Monday 21st September, we intend for all our FS1 children to be in school everyday.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me on
fs1parents@newmoston.manchester.sch.uk
Enjoy the long weekend!
Take care,
Ms Rashid