This week our Eagle and Nightingale Class had the wonderful opportunity to take part in the We Can Cook programme delivered by School Food Matters and what an amazing experience it has been! The children were fully immersed in hands-on cooking, discovering new flavours, practising real kitchen skills, and building confidence every step of the way.

On the first day, the children explored fruits and vegetables from around the world using all five senses. They were excited to touch, smell, and taste a variety of fresh produce, some familiar, some completely new! After learning safe chopping techniques, they cut the vegetables into long sticks and wrapped them in rice paper to create their own mini “sushi” rolls. The highlight was dipping their colourful creations into soy sauce and with pride, trying something they had made themselves.

On the second day, the children developed their knife skills, learning how to chop safely and confidently under careful guidance. They then put their new skills to work by creating three delicious types of hummus, each with its own flavour and colour. Once the dips were ready, the children enjoyed them with soft wraps, adding fresh salad on top to make a healthy, colourful and nutritious snack. Our cookery room was full of excitement as they tasted their own creations and discovered new favourite flavours!

On the third day, Sharon and Fiona worked alongside the children to help them create the most delicious pasta sauces and the results were fantastic! The class began by making a simple tomato base, then each group transformed it using different spices and ingredients inspired by Jamaican, Italian, and Mexican flavours. After tasting all three versions, the children voted for their favourite… and Jamaican and Italian tied for first place! Please remind your child to hand you their recipe sheets. Along with their cooking certificate, they can take these home. It would be wonderful to try making one of the sauces together and let them share all the facts and skills they’ve learned this week.

🚍✨ All Aboard the Naughty Bus! ✨🚍
This week at Oakbridge Nursery we’ve been diving into the wonderful story Naughty Bus — and what an adventure it’s been!

Our little learners have been busy:
🔢 Counting along with the bus… “The wheels on the bus go round and round… how many children are on the bus?”
📝 Making marks, drawing, and describing everything the Naughty Bus spotted on his journey
🌍 Creating a Naughty Bus small world, where our mischievous bus drove right through pasta!
🎨 Junk modelling to build our very own buses — full of imagination, colour and creativity!

The children have loved exploring, building, imagining and getting hands-on with their learning. So much fun and so much fantastic thinking! ❤️🚍

#OakbridgeNursery #EarlyYears #NaughtyBus #LearningThroughPlay #LittleExplorers #EYFS #CreativeKids

Falcon class @FP has enthusiastically dived into the start of Kensuke’s Kingdom, quickly becoming invested in Michael’s incredible journey. To deepen their understanding, they’ve been utilising a variety of essential reading skills. 

The students have successfully retrieved key details about Michael’s life on the Peggy Sue, and practiced making inferences about his feelings and the reasons behind his family’s grand adventure. Furthermore, their ability to predict what might happen next, especially after the storm, has fueled lively discussions, showing that they are not just reading the words, but truly engaging with and comprehending the exciting narrative.

“Kensuke was speaking in a different language to Michael to try and make him put out the fire.” – Anwar

“He fell off the boat and floated to save himself. He ended up on this island and someone started to give him food and shelter.” – Afraa

Parakeet Class @FP: In English we have been looking at Fairy Tales. We then went further and looked at ‘twisted tales’. These are tales that have been adapted from the original. We have been learning about writing in the third person. We did lots of roleplay and linked this with using inverted commas for speech. This week we are beginning to draft our very own tale based on a story that is familiar to us.

In DT we have been looking at the design of cars and we began to make our own. We looked at wheels and chassis’ and then made a basic model. Next, we will try our cars out to see how far they will travel before improving our prototypes. 

In History we continue our Vikings topic. We have been learning all about longships and making time lines of key events in chronological order. We looked at where and how Vikings invaded and why they were so successful.

This week, Duckling Class @FP enjoyed an exciting space-themed adventure as we read the story Whatever Next! After receiving a special message from Father Christmas, the children discovered a collection of items they might need for their own journey to the moon. 

With great imagination and enthusiasm, they packed their “rocket,” put on their “helmets,” and prepared for take-off!

To deepen our space learning, we watched a video about real-life astronaut Tim Peake. The children were fascinated by how astronauts live and work in space, and this led to a wonderful discussion about the differences between Earth’s atmosphere and space. We talked about how Earth has the air we need to breathe, while space has no air at all!

We also explored the differences between planet Earth and Mars, comparing landscapes, temperatures, and what makes Earth such a special place to live.

It has been a fantastic week of curiosity, imagination, and learning. Well done, Ducklings—future astronauts in the making! 

So far this week in class we have been diving into the charming story Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. The children have absolutely loved exploring the adventures of the little boy and his penguin and to their delight, the penguin from the story even paid us a special visit!

Our week has been filled with exciting, hands-on activities inspired by the book. The children explored winter-themed small-world play, created penguin art using different materials, solved puzzles, and used playdough tools to make their own icy landscapes. They were fully immersed in the story world, retelling moments and imagining new ones.

One of the highlights was when the penguin came to visit our classroom. The children gathered on the carpet and had the chance to ask him questions. We used this as a fantastic opportunity to learn how to structure a question properly, thinking about question words, using our voices, and remembering those all-important question marks!

Throughout the week, the children practised forming well-structured questions such as:

• “Why did you follow the boy?”
• “How did you get to our school?”
• “Do you like living in the South Pole?”

They showed great curiosity, confidence, and creativity.

We are so proud of how engaged and enthusiastic the children have been. Enjoy these photos showing just a few of the activities we’ve taken part in so far. What a magical week of learning!

Our final morning has begun. The grass is coated in frost and crunches under our boots, but spirits are high. We’re wrapped up, packed up, and we are ready for our last activities today. Fencing and problem solving.

Breakfast is done and the children are buzzing with energy. They’re determined to squeeze every bit of fun out of this final day!

As soon as the coach arrives round 1.00  we’ll be on our way home, tired, happy, and full of stories. ❄️🚌✨

Today was another great day, even though it was still cold. The children completed three big climbing activities- rock climbing, abseiling and the vertical challenge — really pushing themselves and showing so much courage. Their favourite, though, was archery, where they learned new skills and had so much fun.

We ended the day with a brilliant disco, and they absolutely had a ball. They’re now tucked up in bed, excited that it’s their last night away and so looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow.

In Hummingbird class @FP, we have finished learning about letter writing and have published our own letters. They were to convince Mr Bond to make some changes in the playground, so we delivered them straight to him! He read them and sent us a reply letter, describing the changes he has been convinced to make! Wow! Hooray! To read our published letters, please come and look at our Published Work display in the Hummingbird classroom. Well done, Year 2! 

The children played games and took pictures to wish everyone a goodnight.

What a day we’ve had! This morning PGL met Narnia ❄️ as we were finishing breakfast, the children noticed snow drifting past the windows: the very first snowfall of the winter.

Despite the cold, they threw themselves into the sensory walk, guiding one another through the woods using all five senses. After that, they tackled a sensory trail challenge, working brilliantly as teams.

Next came the zip wire, where they showed huge courage. Climbing a 10 metre tower and stepping off the edge is what they did and with determination.

The highlight for many was canoeing. Paired up, they learnt to paddle in sync and navigate around the lake.

To finish the activities, they attempted Jacob’s Ladder, helping each other climb as high as they could. It was wonderful to see them cheer one another on every step of the way.

Tonight’s evening challenge was all about teamwork again: protecting a water balloon from bursting.

They’re now tucked up, cosy in their pyjamas, and sending a big “good night” to you through the photos.

Everyone is safe, happy, tired in the best way, and making memories they’ll never forget.