This week we all took a deep dive into the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, using a fun, STEM-focused approach inspired by Big Bad Wolf Investigates Fairy Tales by Catherine Cawthorne and Sara Ogilvie. The children didn’t just hear the story—they became curious scientists, thinkers, and creators as they explored the real-world questions behind Jack’s magical adventure. Each day focused on a different STEM-inspired question linked to the story:
- How far is the sky? We learned about Earth’s atmosphere and the Kármán line—where space officially begins! Children looked at pictures of Mount Everest and imagined just how many mountains Jack would need to climb to reach space.
- Could Jack become an astronaut? Children created their own personalised astronaut puppets and crafts using their profile photos!
- Can clouds be reached? With our new Weather Journals, the children observed clouds, identified their shapes and colors, and predicted the weather using sky observation resources e.g. cloud spotting boards and binoculars. This activity brought out a variety of new and well-known words e.g cloudy, puffy, foggy, windy, sticky hot, extending their vocabulary and supporting their communication and language.
- Can a plant really reach the sky? We discovered the tallest tree in the world is in California and is known as the Hyperion redwood—100m tall, but still far from the clouds!
🌦️ Science in Action
The children had the opportunity to enjoy a hands-on experiment using shaving foam and paint to create some ‘rain’! They made predictions of what might happen and observed the colour seeping down through the foam and into the water below, just like rain!
🎨 As part of our Creative & Sensory Play we:
- Built a giant beanstalk and some paper birds with the invaluable help of Mrs Smith, our Arts Teacher! Thank you is not enough!
- Measured how many blocks tall our friends are!
- Made sky drawings and crafts with chalks, cotton balls and blue cloths.
- Used green playdough and brown clothes to sculpt trees and leaves.
🎶 This week we also continued singing our core songs and had fun doing some movements with a Jack and the Beanstalk theme!
Visits to the Reception classrooms, talking to new Teachers and discussing what might PE sessions look like from September were also on full swing, as we continue to support the children’s transition to school.
We would like to remind you that next week we will have our second Farm visit on Thursday and our last Family Friday at 8:30 to celebrate the children’s achievements and wow moments! We also invite you to attend our picnic celebrations on Wednesday for Poppies and Snowdrops and Friday for Daisies, Bluebells and Buttercups. Please refer to the invitations that have been handed out for more information about exact times and food contributions.
We wish you all a restful weekend!
The Nursery Team