Jakeman Local Authority Maintained Nursery School

This week, we headed out shopping to pick up a few ingredients so we could continue our hard work in the kitchen. The children have been busy making delicious cinnamon rolls, carefully remembering each step, cutting, sprinkling, rolling, and baking. Of course, we had to taste them, and they were absolutely delicious!

In the studio Inspired by Yayoi Kusama, the children explored colour layering techniques using lines, dots, and patterns with both watercolours and oil paints. We also created a beautiful collaborative collage showcasing all of our artwork. Our two-year-olds worked together on a special group piece, layering colours and textures to create a true Jakeman masterpiece!

A moment of calm... After such a busy week, the children decided it was time for some well-deserved relaxation. They enjoyed soothing music, quiet time, and an opportunity to rest their eyes and recharge.

Potions, potions, potions! The children had great fun mixing, stirring, and creating their own magical potions using wonderfully fresh ingredients including cucumber, mint, and citrus fruit.The aromas were simply amazing!

Our garden is flourishing! With plants, herbs, and flowers blooming beautifully, we have been delighted to watch our outdoor space come to life. The teachers have also felt very lucky to receive lots of beautiful flowers from the children, bringing extra smiles and colour to our days.
What a fantastic week filled with creativity, teamwork, learning, and fun! We can’t wait to see what adventures next week brings.

What a busy and exciting first week back!

We have had a fantastic start to the half term, full of creativity, exploration, and new experiences.

This week we have been learning about the incredible artist Yayoi Kusama. The children were fascinated by her vibrant artwork and noticed that she is the first female artist we have explored this year. This sparked lots of thoughtful discussions about different artists and their unique styles.

Our working kitchen transformed into a bakery as the children learned the steps involved in making cinnamon rolls. We can’t wait to put our new skills into practice next week and create something delicious together!

In the mud kitchen, potions and perfumes have taken over. The children have enjoyed experimenting with colours, herbs, and flowers to create their own magical mixtures and wonderful scents.

We welcomed some very special visitors this week, our very hungry caterpillars! With Naz’s help, the children have been carefully looking after them, making sure they have plenty to eat and a safe place to grow.

We’ve also been making the most of the sunshine while exploring our music genre for this half term: reggae! Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds has become a firm favourite, and the children have loved taking turns on the microphone and becoming singers themselves.

Storytelling has truly taken off this week. The children have been creating their own stories, thinking carefully about characters, settings, problems, and solutions. We have loved seeing their imaginations come to life.

Finally, we enjoyed a wonderful Eid celebration that has been the talk of the nursery all week! Thank you to everyone who helped make the event so special and memorable for our children.

What a fantastic week of learning, creativity, and fun. We can’t wait to see what next week brings!

Thank you to all the families that attended our Eid celebrations today. Special thanks to team Jakeman for organising such a magical day for the children and families. Also a big thanks to for the amazing balloon art and face painting.

The children have grown so confident and vocal, singing their favourite nursery rhymes using the microphones. We have continued to express ourselves through dance and music, enjoying both familiar songs and exploring new sounds together.
We were delighted to see such a wonderful turnout for both of our reading workshops. The children absolutely loved having their grown-ups join them to share stories and foster a love of reading.
In the studio, we explored transient art inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy using loose parts from the tinker tray to create and arrange our own imaginative designs.
Our working kitchen was full of healthy conversations as we made delicious fruit kebabs! The children used their fine motor skills to cut, slice, peel, and thread fruit onto skewers while discussing what Startwell’s Fay 5 a day” would think about our healthy choices. Of course, the best part was eating the tasty fruit afterwards!
We also had a very special visit from Animals in Hands, which was a fantastic experience for all the children. They had the opportunity to hold and stroke a variety of animals and closely observe some creatures they may never have seen before.
In the garden we continued making potions, practising our mark making, climbing, and enjoying lots of outdoor fun in the sunshine.
What a fantastic way to finish the half term, we are so proud of all the children and everything they have achieved this term!

What an unforgettable day with Animals in Hands!
Mo was absolutely fantastic, sharing fascinating facts and stories about each of his amazing animals. The children were incredibly brave and curious, eagerly holding, stroking, and getting up close to the animals throughout the visit.
There were so many smiles, questions, and unforgettable moments, and it was wonderful to see the children so engaged and excited to learn.
A huge thank you to Animals in Hands for such a fun, interactive, and educational experience, the children truly had the most amazing day!

In the mud kitchen, the children have been busy making magical potions and experimenting with colours to discover new shades. They explored the natural materials around them, adding leaves, petals, and other treasures to their wonderful creations.

As we continue developing our stage area, the children have been expressing their love for performing by dancing with fabrics, writing their names, and singing their favourite songs into the microphones. So much confidence and creativity shining through!

In the garden, the children enjoyed the beautiful sunshine while exploring how water travels through guttering, filling and emptying bottles as they investigated cause and effect through play.

The children have been developing their cutting and threading skills by chopping, slicing, and carefully feeding fruit pieces onto spaghetti sticks. Next, we’ll be making delicious fruit kebabs, something they are very excited about!

The bamboo structure in the garden continues to inspire creativity. Using long willow stems, the children created beautiful natural decorations to hang around the garden, showing fantastic imagination and teamwork.

What a fun-filled week we’ve had!

The children explored their creativity by taking inspiration from Andy Goldsworthy, using clay to create beautiful shapes and patterns. Our under 2s have used the loose parts in the tinker tray to create their own works of art. This inspiration even led to an exciting outdoor structure, where children added their own touches using string, ribbon, and tape—watching it grow and change with their ideas!

After lots of anticipation, our stick insects finally made their big debut. The children helped set up their habitat with ivy and water droplets, and have loved observing our tiny new friends as they settle in and grow.

Our role play kitchen transformed into a busy Italian restaurant. The children became chefs, carefully choosing ingredients like peppers, cucumber, tomato, and sweetcorn to create their own delicious pasta dishes.

Construction took us both indoors and outdoors this week. From building a bus to designing a stage for singing, teamwork and creativity were in full swing.

With the warmer weather, water play has been a big hit. Lots of splashing, exploring, and laughter!

Music and movement have been a big highlight this week. The children listened to different genres of music, using instruments to mimic beats, speed, and tempo. We also enjoyed sharing music from home and explored lots of different ways to move our bodies to the sounds.

And after plenty of thoughtful observation, the children decided we needed an outdoor performance area. They danced, sang, and performed for their friends, even creating their own playlist and learning about the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.