Throughout the year, several trips and experiences are planned into the seven areas of learning to help the children broaden their knowledge by exposing them to things they may not encounter. These experiences enhance the children’s awareness by seeing real-life examples of what they have been learning; the children gain a deeper understanding of the topic, increasing their motivation to learn and retain the information. We focus heavily on our local environment, with trips and walks around the local community, which is why our visit to the Lost Gardens of Heligan was a fantastic experience for the Storytellers as they were able to see lots of the things they have been learning about on a far grander scale: beehives, sculptures, conservation, unique colours within the world of plants and lots of rare breed animals. This language-rich experience is essential and also fun which is always at the heart of everything we do. It is our role as a setting to help the children experience the awe and wonder of the world in which they live, and what a pleasure it is to be able to do that with these fantastic little people 

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At Storytellers, we have been outside enjoying the sunshine while learning about various habitats for the minibeasts that we have been looking at resonantly. The children each picked a mini beast and set to work, making it a house. This involved lots of fine motor skills as they assembled their little homes.

Through our dedicated efforts in caring for minibeasts and other animals, we are instilling in the children a deep sense of respect and care for all creatures. This hands-on exploration of the natural world they inhabit is a testament to our commitment to their holistic development.

It's good to develop children’s knowledge of the natural world they live in.

Over time, the children will develop the skills to talk about what plants and insects need to grow and how they change.

We have been learning to take care of small creatures, hold them without damaging them, and know that we must always place them back where they found them.

We feel it’s really important to encourage our children’s curiosity about the natural world, for they will be the next generation safeguarding the future of our planet. Minibeasts, in particular, play a vital role in nature, and our children love to learn about how bees pollinate our plants, ladybirds eat the pests on our crops, and worms help to keep our soil healthy.

Lifecycles form an important part of this project, and we have our own class caterpillars. This gives the children a chance to watch their very own hungry caterpillars grow and turn into beautiful butterflies, which we’ll release in the nursery grounds.

The world of mini-beasts is amazing. There is always something new to learn, so we’ll be putting on our sunhats and sun cream, packing our binoculars and magnifying glasses, and setting off to explore the incredible tiny world that’s all around us over the coming weeks!

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Life Cycle of a Butterfly.

This half term, we are delving into the fascinating world of animal life cycles. The children were overjoyed when a small box arrived in the nursery today. Inside were five tiny caterpillars! We dove into some nonfiction books that revealed intriguing facts about caterpillars and butterflies. 

 We talked about the life cycle of our caterpillars and what we may see next. The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring the process and used some wonderful new vocabulary that we had been learning. The children made their own wonderful pictures of the butterflies' life cycle and decided where to place them in class so they could watch and wait patiently for the changes to happen.

  Watching the caterpillars change into chrysalises and then emerge as butterflies in the coming weeks is a fantastic opportunity for our children to learn more about the natural world around them.

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Storytellers made the most of their surroundings while visiting Restormel Castle, immersing themselves in magical tales of princesses and knights fighting off naughty dragons within the spectacular castle's grounds. 

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Storytellers have been learning about castles this week alongside their topic of ‘Traditional Tales’. They thoroughly enjoyed today's trip to Restormel Castle and saw all the different features we have been learning about. We climbed up the steep steps to see the view that soldiers had when looking for enemies. We found out about the worn armour, and we went into the kitchen and dressing room area to see how the king and his family lived. The children loved to see the features of a castle in real life!

Some children had never been to a castle before, and they were impressed by its sheer size. They enjoyed feeling the cold, hard stone and uneven walls and could relate the castle to the different pictures they had seen in the books we had been reading. They looked at specific features, such as the enormous windows, fireplaces, and drawbridge area over the moat, which proved very exciting as they checked for baddies. They all enjoyed exploring the grounds and looking at the information boards.

Storytellers had great fun searching for Easter treats and then happily sharing them in class so everyone had the same amount. Watching them help each other find the eggs and happily share is a pure joy and an essential aspect of their early education, which they are all flourishing in.
Happy Easter from everyone at Storytellers.

 During the last week of the Spring term, Storytellers read “Poppy and Sam’s Easter Egg Hunt” by Sam Taplin. The story explored the fun themes of hidden Easter egg shapes and encountering various springtime animals. Storytellers then began to explore the real meaning of celebrating Easter, learning that Easter Sunday is not just the day we all enjoy chocolate eggs but is traditionally part of the Easter Story. The children visited Blisland Church to place the Easter garden they had made; they were greeted by The Revd Robin Thwaites, who kindly took the time to speak with the children, starting by explaining when Jesus died, his body was put in a tomb, and a big stone was placed over the entrance so nobody could get in. Two days later, Jesus's friend Mary went to the tomb and discovered that the stone had been rolled away and Jesus's body was gone. At first, Mary was sad, who had taken her friend? But then she heard a voice, she turned around and saw Jesus, he was alive! Mary ran off to tell Jesus's friends he'd come back to life. The children grappled with the child-friendly version of the story and explored the various traditions surrounding Holy Week.

We couldn’t have been prouder of them as they listened intently and were keen to ask questions and contribute to the conversation.  

Within our EYFS curriculum, the children learn about special times for family and friends and special times of year for other people.  Therefore, throughout the year in Storytellers, we learn how people of different faiths celebrate their special festivals. 

Alternative Sports

Blisland sent 6 of our finest athletes over to Looe for an alternative sports day. The children competed in: ultimate frizbee, seqway races, fencing and street surfing. Our pupils showed fantastic attitudes and team work. We are delighted with our 2nd place overall. 

A huge thank you to Looe for hosting and organising the event. 

Spring Term 2

Cross country
Our athletes have been training hard this term - building up to the 5k Landrake run. We have trained for the distance and braved the wind and rain to complete the distance at Sibley Back Lake. A huge thank you to Mr Jones for organising and supporting our pupils.  

Bike club
After the Easter holidays we will be starting a bike club a Lanhydrock. The club will run for 5 weeks and start at 3:45pm. If you are interested please contact the secretary showing your interest. 

Mrs Chalkley
Last week we said goodbye to the fabulous Mrs Chalkley. After a decade at the school, it is impossible to quantify her impact. We will greatly miss her but are very excited for her next adventure in Yorkshire. We gave her a fitting send off: flowers, cake and a wonderful painting to remember us by. Mrs Chalkley gifted us a fabulous poetry book with one poem for every day of the year.

Trumpet
We have finished 11 weeks of trumpet lessons in KS2. Mr Jones has done an incredible job of teaching with all pupils able to read music and play along to a Mexican Samba. Keep you eyes peeled for the video on BridgeTube.

Easter Fayre
This Thursday is our Easter Fayre. We are extremely grateful to the PTA for organising this. Please come along and show your support. 

Farm and Country Day
Last week KS2 attended the farm and country day at Wadebridge Showground. We had a wonderful day making pasties, eggy bread and tacos whilst learning about food production in the local area.

The morning didn't go as planned as the fire station crew was called out, so we could not visit. This meant we could spend longer visiting Cardinham Woods exploring the interactive Gruffalo trail with party-themed activities and games, as well as fun facts along the way to learn about life in the forest for the Gruffalo and other creatures. The children followed the trail to help find the missing party items to give the Gruffalo a birthday to remember. They searched for balloons, pinecones, apples, and the Gruffalo himself! The sun shone as the children enjoyed the activity park and tested their balancing skills! All this exercise built up an appetite, so we enjoyed a picnic lunch and well-earned ice cream before heading home. 

Storytellers had a wonderful morning visit to the Hugs Foundation. We have been learning how the charity supports animals that have been neglected or abandoned and how they do this. The children explored the area and met some fantastic characters along the way. The pigs were very popular, and helping to throw the food in was great fun, as well as watching the pigs forage around in the mud. Meeting the cheeky goats and giving them a fantastic scratch ensured they enjoyed walking with the children. The children investigated various foods that the animals enjoyed and looked at some wonderful treasures, from horses' teeth to antlers. Meeting the ponies and learning how and why they were rescued was a definite highlight. Thanks to Hazel for showing the children around, providing many learning opportunities and fantastic enrichment for our class topic.

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Today, the Storytellers had fun learning all about the role of a nurse, which supports this term's topic, 'People who help us'. Sally explained her role and showed the children various equipment she might use; they had fun bandaging their hands and arms and asking questions. 

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Why do we send home Reading Pets? It goes without saying that reading to your young child on a regular basis can help you forge a stronger relationship with them. When it comes to children, one of the most important things you can do to influence their development positively is to spend time with them. Reading to your child provides a great opportunity to set up a regular, shared event where you can look forward to spending time together. With shared reading, your child will trust and expect you to be there for them. The importance of trust to small children cannot be overstated.

Reading a favourite book to your child helps you bond with them and gives them a sense of intimacy and well-being. This feeling of intimacy helps your child feel close to you, and the feelings of love and attention encourage positive growth and development.

Reading aloud together and having a shared activity gives you and your child something to talk about, which supports the development of reading and writing skills. A children’s book can provide springboards to meaningful discussions about many different topics, which can further develop a child’s critical thinking skills.

At its core, literature is one of the best ways to help children understand something without necessarily having to experience it for themselves. Reading to your child helps to expose them to all types of subjects and concepts, building our children’s understanding of humanity and the world around them.

If you read just one book daily to your child, they will have read 1825 books by their 5^th birthday! 

As we do every day, we have been sharing much-loved stories with the children. For World Book Day this year, we read ‘Elmer and Wilbur’ and created some beautiful pictures depicting a very colourful Elmer. Elmer the Elephant teaches us that everyone is unique and has something that sets them apart and that there's no point in trying to hide or disguise this. We should embrace our differences and always be true to who we are.

Learning to love books, listen to stories, and share ideas is a fantastic way to develop your child’s imagination. Reading to children is an essential part of their education.

We know how many books you have at home – read until they fall apart, maybe, and others that have been read and enjoyed are now collecting dust.

We want our children to share their love of books by swapping one or more with their friends.

We encourage our children to bring the books they no longer want and put them in the “book swap cupboard" outside the nursery. The children can then swap or choose a different book to take home and enjoy. 

 We had a Cornish-themed day in Storytellers on the 5th of March in honour of St Piran’s Day. Children arrived dressed in black and white clothes to start the day. We explored Cornish tales such as the Mermaid of Zennor and talked about the story of St Piran. Great fun was had dancing to some beautiful Cornish songs. The children thoroughly enjoyed baking some delicious scones for their Cornish high tea in the afternoon, complete with their handmade Cornish-themed decorations and bunting. Don’t worry—we ensured Jam went on first!

‘Twas proper! 

Who was Saint Piran?

According to the Cornwall Heritage Trust, St. Piran was “the merriest, hardest drinking, hardest living holy man Cornwall ever knew.” However, legend has it that he wasn’t Cornish.

He was Irish and was an advisor to King Aengus of Munster.

When the King wanted to leave his wife for a younger woman, Piran said it was his duty to forbid it.

Aengus bound him to a millstone and threw him off the highest cliff in Munster. However, the stone floated, and it filled ashore on the north coast of Cornwall.

He built a church, St Piran’s Oratory, or praying place, which is the oldest Christian church in Britain. To this day, it still exists near Perranporth.

Piran was very popular, especially after discovering how to smelt tin. He became known as the Tinner’s Saint, and that’s why the flag of Cornwall is a white cross on a black background.

It shows the light of God in a dark world and the white tin metal against the black rock.

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 Every Wednesday, we hold a toddler group in our wonderful nursery building during term time. Any age preschool children are welcome to come along with their adult. Attending Twiglets is great fun. But it also has some surprising benefits too. It’s all about learning through play.

At Twiglets, your little one will love the songs, play and movement, and being around other children the same age. Your child will not just be having great fun; they will also be busy learning all sorts of important early skills.

Here are just a few ways that all the play and fun they have at Twiglets plays an important part of early learning:

Storytime – an early introduction to reading and phonics

We all know how much little ones love stories. But did you know that when you read to your baby or toddler, you also introduce them to many early literacy skills?

Studies have shown that babies who had lots of books read to them have a greater vocabulary and better early reading skills by age 4.

 Moving and grooving is more than just fun!

According to the NHS, once your child is walking, they should stay active for at least 180 minutes (3 hours) of the day! Twiglets is a great way for your toddler to run off steam. All the moving and grooving is helping them with gross motor skills, which will continue to develop as they grow.

Mini mark-making helps with writing later on. What might look like play time Twiglets is actually far more developmental than it might appear. Simply letting your child squish a Play-Doh ball helps them develop fine motor skills in their hands and fingers. Getting creative with chunky crayons or paints is helping them develop these skills, too. Developing fine motor skills from an early age will benefit your child when they come to learn more complex skills at nursery and school, like holding a pencil and beginning to write.

So next time your toddler gifts you their latest Jackson Pollock imitation painting, remember they’ve developed more than just their artistic talents!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – classes can bring numbers alive!

Lots of play activities at Twiglets introduce your child to counting and numbers. They might hear lots of counting in songs and rhymes. Or count out toys as they play. Or count the number of hops and jumps they make while dancing. Lots of exposure to counting and numbers will help them develop early numeracy skills in a fun way.

6, 7, 8, 9, 10 – here we go around again – Routines Twiglets is a great way to introduce your baby or toddler to routines, which is a big part of a nursery or school day. Gradually, your child will get used to the different routines in class. That might be sitting in a circle to start, tidying away at the end and stopping for snack time. Introducing this concept at a young age will make it less of an alien concept when it comes to that daunting first day of nursery or school.

Learning to fit into a group. When your child grows up and starts nursery or school, they must learn how to fit into a group. They will learn how to take turns and share. Twiglets is a great opportunity to teach all the basics. Greetings, turn-taking, sitting in an allocated spot, and pleases/thank yous all start to happen around your child. This encourages them to copy and do the same.

Tidy-up time teaches key life skills. Little ones can learn to help from a young age. Starting with helping tidy up their toys. Once they start nursery or school, they will be expected to pitch in and tidy their room or space so other children can enjoy it later.

Introduction to other cultures. Little ones are the least likely to judge another based on their background. Twiglets is a great way to begin introducing your little ones to different families from various backgrounds. This might be race, religion, or perhaps different family dynamics.

Making friends – important social building blocks.Being surrounded by other parents and children may be one of the main reasons you would attend Twiglets. Being in a group teaches crucial social skills that will really help your toddler in the future. It’s important for your child to understand social cues and learn how to make friends. They might start by learning how to share toys or equipment. Or to take turns. By attending Twiglets, you may also introduce your child to new concepts like empathy. If another child is upset, your toddler might start questioning why that is and try to help make them feel better. These are all important social skills when it comes to making friends later.

But what about the grown-ups?

  Parenting can sometimes feel like a solitary endeavour, especially for stay-at-home parents. Twiglets provides a valuable opportunity for parents and carers to connect with others who are going through similar experiences. This social interaction helps combat feelings of isolation and allows for sharing advice, experiences, and parenting tips. Being part of the group allows you to build a support network of parents who understand the challenges and triumphs of this particular stage of parenting. These relationships can provide a strong foundation for mutual support, empathy, and camaraderie.

  Above all, Twiglets group offers a fun and enjoyable experience for both parents and children. The laughter, play, and shared activities create lasting memories and positive associations with socialising and learning.

In conclusion, Twiglets offers many benefits for parents, from creating social connections and support networks to providing enriching experiences for your child. If you haven’t already, consider joining our friendly group and discover the many rewards it can bring to your parenting journey. Remember, you’re not alone on this adventure, and there’s a community of parents ready to share the joys and challenges with you.

Pancake Day is a chance to incorporate cultural celebrations into the curriculum, promoting inclusivity and diversity. To celebrate Shrove Tuesday (yes, we know it’s a week late), children in Storytellers made and explored the ingredients and cooking process for pancakes, flour, milk and eggs. They learned lots of new vocabulary such as ‘whisk’, ‘frying pan’, ‘batter’ ‘liquid’ and ‘spatula’. We investigated the ingredients and possible toppings and planned our pancakes with fabulous pictures!

Teaching Storytellers the history of Pancake Day in the UK was made engaging and age-appropriate through various activities and approaches. Physical and sensory activities are a great way to get all children involved. Our wonderful mud kitchen area offers abundant natural, open-ended activities; it provides an ideal space for the children to explore, create, and learn. These activities offer sensory-rich experiences that enhance fine and gross motor skills, language development, and social interaction. Integrating Pancake Day celebrations into the mud kitchen activities makes learning truly immersive and enjoyable!

After all the fun of the mud kitchen, everyone had a hearty appetite and was ready to cook!  Once everyone had given their hands a good scrub, we enjoyed cooking pancakes outside and trying out various toppings to choose our favourite! Maple syrup and strawberries seemed to be a popular one!

Spring Term 2

Cricket

Both KS1 and KS2 have cricket sessions being delivered by a specialist cricket coach. These sessions will be on a Monday for the next 7 weeks. The coach will also run a lunch time club to show the children new cricket related play ground games.

Cross-country

We are building up to the big race at Landrake on the 15th March. Before then we will complete a 5k at Sibley back on the 4th March. The children have been working to build their stamina at our weekly cross-country club.

Falmouth Maritime Museum

Last week we had a fantastic trip to Falmouth where we leant about Viking long-ships. We also enjoyed a trading workshop and found out that the Vikings made it is far as Iraq - trading their own goods for precious spices.

Dinosaurs

Ks1 have been had an amazing week! They have been digging up dinosaur bones and creating pasta skeletons. My goodness what a fantastic topic Mrs Elliot is delivering!