
Here comes the sun
April 2025
We started the second half of this term looking for signs of spring, and now we see them everywhere.
The welcome sunshine means we can take full advantage of our outside area, such as playing in the sand, water and mud kitchen, and even setting up an ice-cream shop in the shed.
It is not only the growth outside that we have been observising. This half term we have been learning about how we are growing too, and noticing all the things that have changed about us from when we were babies.
We ended the term by learning about Eid and enjoyed celebrating in our role play area.
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
December 2024
Reception and Nursery put on three great performances of their favourite seasonal songs. With a rehearsal to the school, followed by two performances to parents and carers, the children showed off their considerable talents by singing their hearts out and putting actions to the songs. Here are some of the highlights from the show.
New Beginnings in Early Years
October 2024
It has been a busy first half term in Reception and Nursery. With every day there have been new friends to make, areas to explore, activities to try and routines to learn. The children have coped very well and everyone is feeling settled. Here are some of the pictures from the first weeks.
We Love (Yucky) Worms!
June 2024
Reception and Nursery have wowed Ladbrooke with their worm wisdom!
After reading the book, 'Yucky Worms' by Vivian French, we investigated these wiggly wonders and shared everything we found out in our class assembly which was performed to an audience of friends and family.
We learned that worms are amazing little creatures that help our gardens. Earthworms eat dead leaves and plants and turn them into something called 'castings'. Castings are like super food for our plants. Earthworms dig tunnels in the soil which help water and air get to the roots of plants, giving them room to spread out so that the plants grow stronger.
We wanted to observe worms, so we set up womeries in the classrooms. One rainy day, we went to the big field and did some worm charming. We looked for worm casts to find the biggest worms, then dug holes to find them. We collected more than 20 worms, including an extra big one called Bandit.
We put layers of soil and sand in a clear box (the sand was there to help us see the tunnels better). As the worms moved up and down, we could see gaps in the sand where it had got mixed in. Worms like it damp and dark, so we kept the box covered most of the time. We put some dead leaves on top them to eat.
What else did we learn?
Did you know that the longest earthworms in the world are found in Australia and can grow up to three meters long? What about that worms have a brain? Or that they breathe through their skin?
We are not the only ones who like worms - birds, frogs and badgers think they are really tasty!
We made our own worm book with information we collected.
We think earthworms are pretty amazing, and we hope that now you do too.