🌱🏰 Our Week: Jack and the Beanstalk 🌱🏰
Hello everyone,
We hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend with your families and have been enjoying the beautiful sunshine.
We’ve had a very busy and exciting week at preschool! The children have continued to enjoy listening to Jack and the Beanstalk and have taken part in lots of wonderful activities linked to the story. We have listened to different versions of the story and explored the characters, settings, and events in many creative ways.
Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to…
Monday 🏰🌱
On Monday, we did some junk modelling to make castles. The children used a variety of materials and techniques to create their own imaginative designs.
We also played the Bean Game outside, moving like different types of beans, such as:
- Runner beans – running fast
- Jelly beans – wobbling around
- String beans – stretching up really tall
In the afternoon, we used the Chromebooks and Purple Mash to colour in our own castles. The children are becoming very confident at using the touchpad, selecting colours, and carefully colouring their pictures.
Tuesday 🥋🌱
On Tuesday morning, a group of children attended kickboxing, where they practised jumping with two feet together between cones. They also enjoyed stretching and worked on their foot skills, moving their front foot first and then their back foot.
Back at preschool, the children used different materials to create their own beanstalks.
In the afternoon, we used the Now Press Play headsets and acted out the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. The children loved becoming part of the story and using their imaginations.
Wednesday 🏰🎵
On Wednesday, one group of children visited the care home, where they sang songs, shared a story, and enjoyed some cake together. It was a very special experience for everyone involved.
Another group continued making their own beanstalks using a variety of creative materials.
In the afternoon, we took part in our Relax Kids session, enjoying calming activities and a peaceful imaginative journey together.
Thursday 🏃♂️🤸♀️
Thursday brought our weekly visit to the YMCA gym — always a highlight of the week!
We started with a warm-up game where the children moved in different ways and climbed onto equipment when the music stopped.
The children then rotated around a variety of exciting activities, including:
- An obstacle course with rope swings, balancing, and roly-polies
- Bouncing on the trampoline and practising falling safely onto their knees and standing back up
- Throwing beanbags into basketball hoops
- Jumping off equipment and landing safely
- Creating different shapes in the air, such as starfish jumps
We finished with tappy stick games and a fun round of the Hokey Cokey.
In the afternoon, we enjoyed outdoor play in the preschool garden and visited Reception to listen to a story with Mrs Rogers.
Friday 🐔🌞
On Friday, we had a lovely morning playing outside and visiting the chickens.
🌈 Learning Through Play
Throughout the week, the children explored a wide range of play-based activities, including:
- Constructing with mobilo
- Creating beanstalks with playdough, leaves, coloured stones, and pipe cleaners
- Threading multi-hoops onto spaghetti in the Finger Frenzy area
- Small world play with our Jack and the Beanstalk scene
- Water play, using blocks to build castles
- Investigating sound pots
📚 Read Write Inc.
We have continued learning our phonics sounds and focused on:
m, a, s, d, t, i, n, p
Here are the sounds you can practise at home:
- The children were introduced to Fred Frog, who can only say sounds rather than whole words. They loved playing “Fred Talk,” listening carefully to the sounds and blending them together to make words.
We have also been enjoying lots of rhyming games and stories throughout the week.
📸 Some Pictures from Our Week
We hope you enjoy looking through the photos and seeing some of the wonderful experiences the children have taken part in this week! 😊
🏠 Home Learning –
Here are a few simple activities you can enjoy at home to support your child’s learning:
🗣️ Communication and Language
Question of the Day
Choose a different question each day and encourage your child to talk about their ideas.
Some examples:
- What was your favourite part of today?
- If you could be any animal, what would you be?
- What would you pack for a picnic?
- What makes you happy?
Encourage your child to speak in full sentences and listen carefully to their answers. You could also take turns asking each other questions.
😊 Personal, Social and Emotional Development
🌈 Feelings Check-In
Talk about different emotions throughout the day.
Can your child:
- Name how they are feeling?
- Explain why they feel that way?
- Talk about what helps them feel happy or calm?
- Recognise how others might be feeling?
You could use facial expressions, mirrors, or draw happy, sad, excited, and worried faces.
🎯 Fine Motor Fun
Strengthen little fingers with simple activities such as:
- Threading pasta onto string
- Using tweezers to pick up pom-poms or cereal
- Pegging socks onto a washing line
- Rolling playdough into balls and snakes
- Cutting paper with child-safe scissors
These activities help develop the hand strength needed for writing.
📚 Phonics Fun
We have been learning the sounds:
m, a, s, d, t, i, n, p
Can your child:
- Find objects beginning with these sounds?
- Practise saying the sounds clearly?
- Play “Fred Talk” by sounding out simple words such as:
- m-a-p
- p-i-n
- s-a-t
- n-a-p
🥜 Nut-Free School
Please remember that we are a nut-free school. Kindly ensure that no products containing nuts are included in children’s lunchboxes. Thank you for your support.
👕 Uniform
To order preschool uniform, please use the details below. We also have some second-hand uniform available—please speak to a member of staff if you are interested.
DEP Schoolwear Shop (Dorset Embroidery and Printwear Ltd)
🌐 Website: https://www.dorsetprintwear.com/the-prince-of-wales-school
📞 Telephone: 01305 750292
✉️ Email: sales@dorsetprintwear.co.uk
📖 Dates for Your Diary
Stay and Play is on Monday from 8.30-9.00am.
We break up for Half term on Friday 22nd May and return back to preschool on Monday 1st June.
Please speak to myself or a member of the team if you have any questions—we are always happy to help.
Here’s to another exciting week full of fun and adventures 🌈✨
Wishing you all a very Happy Half Term.
Julia, Colleen, Lauren ,Lauren , Mary and Lola💛
