A wonderful whirlwind of friendship, discovery and Autumn adventures in Pre-School!

What a wonderful start to the school year we have had in Pre-School! Our first topics, ‘Getting to Know Me’ and ‘Autumn’, have given us so many opportunities to build relationships, explore our new surroundings and begin to develop a real sense of belonging within our Lady Barn community. 

Our ‘Getting to Know Me’ topic was inspired by the story This Is Us by Emily Hamilton. Through stories, conversations and creative activities, the children have explored what makes each of us unique and what it means to belong. We have drawn our families, created pictures using family photographs and talked about the people who are special to us. We have also begun to imagine our new Pre-School family here at Lady Barn, getting to know our house teams, making new friends and becoming familiar with our daily routines. 

There has been plenty of creativity along the way! The children have enjoyed painting self-portraits, creating stick puppets of themselves and adding woollen hair which they could cut, style and personalise. Through play and conversation, we have also begun to explore early mathematical concepts, comparing the number of children in our class and learning to count each other as part of our gentle morning carpet sessions. We have even started recognising, reading and mark-making our own names. 

It has been an absolute joy getting to know our new families. We have seen plenty of tears - and, if we are honest, some of those belonged to the adults! - alongside lots of laughter, cuddles and growing confidence. There have been lost jumpers and more than a few occasions when we have worn one another’s shoes, but these little moments are all part of settling in and becoming a Pre-School family. 

As summer has given way to autumn, our learning has naturally moved outdoors. At Lady Barn, we are incredibly fortunate to have our own woodland, stream, greenhouses, allotments and winding paths to explore. The children have been able to see, smell, touch and even taste the changing season. During our woodland walks, we have marvelled at drifting leaves, watched squirrels, spotted robins and listened carefully to the sounds of parrots and the autumn breeze. 

These experiences have linked beautifully with our phonics learning. We have been developing our listening and attention skills by tuning into environmental sounds, exploring rhyme and rhythm, and beginning to hear the initial sounds in our names and other words. Our favourite story so far has undoubtedly been Shark in the Park. It seems that every class adopts a favourite ‘mascot’ story, and this one has certainly become ours! The children already know the rhymes, the text and the pictures so well that they eagerly join in, often knowing exactly what is coming next. And when we reach that final page and discover the missed shark, the whole room erupts into delighted screams! It may not be the quietest approach to phonics, but whatever it takes to stimulate a love of rhyme, listening and language! Through these joyful, repeated experiences, the children are developing an awareness of rhythm, rhyme, sounds and words - building those all-important foundations for future reading. 

Music has been another highlight, with our weekly sessions with Mrs Beer bringing huge amounts of joy. We were incredibly proud when Pre-School performed an energetic, all-singing, all-dancing song at our Harvest Festival in front of the Lower School pupils and guests. Seeing the children perform with such confidence was a truly special moment. 

Our autumn adventures have continued into the garden, where the children have helped to plant, grow and care for our little ‘patio allotment’. The squash continues to swell, the runner beans climb higher, and the falling leaves and berries have provided wonderful inspiration for our mud-kitchen ‘Autumn soups’. 

Thank you to all our families for your patience, support and brave hearts at drop-off. Just as the natural world changes from summer to autumn, our children are changing too - growing braver, kinder, stronger and increasingly confident each day. 

Mrs Stapleton 

Pre-School Teacher

Find Out More About Pre-School at Lady Barn