Well, that went by in a flash!! I cannot believe we are at the Christmas break already! We have had a wonderful term in Meithrin. We have been ever so busy, making lots of memories and learning new skills! i think we are ready for a little rest over Christmas! Have a look at what we have been busy doing over the last few weeks! 

Literacy

We have been talking, talking, talking!! The children are so excited about this time of year! They are keen to share all their news with us! We had lots of stories about Halloween and Bonfire night! The children described what they dressed up as, and what fireworks they saw. This led to lots of drawings and paintings of fireworks and bonfires with lots of colour and different shapes!!

With Christmas around the corner, Father Christmas is a hot topic and the children have been telling us about their visits to see Father Christmas and what they would like to put on their list! The excitement is real! 

Whilst all of this has been going on, we still have so much interest in writing, which we LOVE! The writing table is never empty! The children have been thoroughly enjoying writing lists to Father Christmas and sending Christmas cards to their families. It's clear to see the children adore their families and there isn't a morning goes by when we don't have a portrait of a mummy, daddy or the whole family!!

We know that in order to have beautiful handwriting we must build up all the tiny muscles we have in our hands and fingers to be the strongest they can be! The children love scooping, pouring, squeezing and threading! These activities are always so popular and are always accessible. 

 

Numeracy 

Most recently, the most popular activity has been wrapping presents for Father Christmas to deliver! We have lots of wonderful little elves in Dosbarth Pengwiniaid who are very hardworking! The children have been cutting paper to the correct size, folding the wrapping paper in different ways and cutting sellotape to secure the wrapping. Most children have been doing this independently, whilst some need a little support. This has been a wonderful activity which the children have been fully engaged in! Following on from this, we needed a sleigh to deliver the presents!! You guessed it – in the construction area the children made a sleigh! They used chairs, bricks, wood and some cardboard! This was a magical session which really showed us, as practitioners, the true essence of in-the-moment planning. 

Our singing of number songs has really helped children to begin to recognise the meaning of numbers. The children recognise them around the classroom. Counting is also something the children do daily in their play, again, reinforcing the meaning of numbers. 

Science

We celebrated World Science Day this term with a number of different science experiments! The Science team held a Science Fayre where they showed the children different types of experiments and explained to us what was happening. Our favourite was the dancing raisins!! 

We did our own science experiment in class  - changing colour. We wanted to change milk to different colours, and we watched how the food colouring swirled and swished into the milk and gradually changed colour. The children also noticed that certain colours mixed together make other colours! It was fascinating! 

We have also been in the kitchen this term making chocolate sparklers, autumn biscuits, Christmas bark and, not to mention the infamous leek and potato soup! Being in the kitchen provides a wealth of skills, not to mention laughs and memories! 

 

Health and Wellbeing 

For the first time this school year, we went to our "big" forest at the back of the school!! How exciting! As it was close to Bonfire night, we made leaf sparklers! The children were in their element searching for sticks and leaves. Lots of mathematical language are used too – long, short, big, small. We had so much fun!! 

We love being outside on a daily basis! It has been wonderful to see the children riding their bikes on our new bike lane. The children enjoyed playing with hopscotch and creating masterpieces with chalk! The water trays are always very popular with lots of potions and soups being made for everyone. 

For the first time, we took part in a "Santa Dash" last week!! WOW! What fun!! It was amazing! The children all dressed up in Christmas outfits and we ran the daily mile together! There were so many smiles and giggles! The children loved being with the older children and all of them completed the dash! The two best dressed children came from our class!!! Arbennig!!

 

 

Humanities 

It's important to share with the children dates that are important to us as a society. For Remembrance Day, we spoke about the soldiers who we put away to fight for their countries and didn't come home to their families. We spoke about being brave and what that looks like in our everyday life. The children were very mature about this subject and we had some excellent conversations! Some children wanted to make poppies that we could display in class. 
 

We have also been learning about the Christmas story this half-term. The children have been re-acting the scene in the stable and dressing up as Mary, Joseph and the angels. They have also drawn some wonderful stable pictures and have been able to re-tell the story in great detail! 

It was Children in Need this term too. We dressed in comfy pjs and had a film and snacks with Reception! What a treat! ❤️

 

Expressive Arts 

We are never short of things to say or show when it comes to expressive arts! The children really do immerse themselves in creating and designing, and it's wonderful to see.  Christmas is super special in early years, and we have had a very busy few weeks celebrating! 

Elf Day! 
Only elves allowed! We had a brilliant day in Elf School! The children absolutely loved getting to know their elf names and completing tasks so they could become fully-fledged elves and take their Penclawdd bells home! What a wonderful memory! 

Jingle and Mingle

We have been singing and dancing until our hearts are content the last few weeks! We had the best time performing for our families! The children sang on top of their voices and the dance moves – well, they were spectacular! What a way to kick-start the celebrations! Not a single tear – from the children! – and lots of smiles and giggles! We are super proud of them all! 

Our annual visit to see Father Christmas was as magical as ever! We love visiting Gower Fresh Christmas trees! The children had a wonderful time! We fed the reindeers, saw Father Christmas, saw all the magical lights and characters and even had a tractor ride!  Wow! Such a special morning spent with our Penguins and their families!❤️🐧

A huge thank you to our families for all the support this term! We absolutely love being a part of your children's lives! There is nothing more special! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and we look forward to seeing you all in 2026! 
 

Nadolig Llawen i chi

Tim Pengwiniaid 🐧❤️