Enrichment

Here at Margaret Wix, we aim to provide endless enrichment opportunities to our learners right from Nursery. This is not only to develop their knowledge and interests, but to be inspired and well-equipped, for when they move on to the next stage in their education. 

As well as bringing in professionals, EYFS aspire to get out and about as much as possible to enhance all seven areas of the EYFS;

- Physical Development

- Communication and Language

- Personal, Social and Emotional development

- Literacy

- Maths

- Understanding of the world

- Expressive Art and Design

Below are examples of the enrichment opportunities EYFS participated in so far this year:

Autumn 1

We kicked started our enrichment with 'Little City' in school. This developed our communication and language skills as we took on different roles in the city. It developed our personal, social and emotional skills as we played alongside peers and took turns using the equipment and finally our understanding of the world knowledge. Little city introduced job roles and an insight into people who help us, which we will be exploring in a couple of weeks time.

We explored our families, homes and interests as we read 'Monkey Puzzle.' During our session all about pets, Toast the Tortoise came to visit us. We spoke about the similarities and differences between our class pet Wix and Toast. The children enjoyed feeling Toast's shell and feeding him dandelions that they picked from the field.

During our focus week on people who help us we read the text 'A superhero like you.' To enhance the children's knowledge on our local superheroes, we had a Q&A video call with Sergeant Rossiter (a firearms officer), a face to face session with PC Alex and had a session with our local dentist who brought goody bags in for each child. A huge thank you to all, for giving up their time to provide these amazing sessions for our children.

Below are examples of the enrichment opportunities EYFS participated in during September 2023-July 2024:

Autumn 1

• The beginning of the year saw us learning about people who help us. During this time we had Nurse Khan in from a local practice and a Dentist from our High Oaks Dental Practice. Both visits were exceptional and both were kind enough to donate equipment to enhance our role play. The children were also lucky enough to receive a goody bag with their own toothbrush and toothpaste in. 

• During our all about me topic, we had a week dedicated to pets and favourite animals. Part of this week involved a lesson where Petal the pony came to visit us. The children got to feed and brush Petal as part of this exciting lesson. 

Autumn 2

• Whilst we were looking at our local area ‘St Albans,’ the whole of EYFS took a public bus and visited St Albans cathedral and explored where Christians celebrated their faith.

• During the festive period, we developed our PSED and EAD skills by exploring the Christmas story and performing our own Nativity. We then had mince pies, hot and cold refreshments and snacks for the children, to celebrate a special time and an even better first term.

Spring 1

• As we moved onto fairytales in Spring 1 term, we took the bus and visited our local library in the heart of St Albans town. Not only did this trip introduce the library to some of our learners, some even signed up to become members. The children were excited to receive their membership cards and be able to take a book home to borrow and read. 

Spring 2

• During this term we celebrated Science week with the rest of our school. Each year group had a sustainability goal to focus on, our goal being ‘Life On Land.’ Across the week the children took part in a pollination workshop by Rothamsted Research Centre, made bird houses, completed a litter pick and took part in a second workshop with St Albans community pantry. During the workshop with St Albans community pantry, we completed a food tasting activity, gained knowledge on food waste and were informed on what they offer as a charity. We then kindly received free bread to take home to our families. We would like to thank all of our visitors from this amazing week.

Summer 1

• During our unit about transport we have explored many texts around journeys. During the week on the focus text ‘The Train Ride,’ we headed to St Albans Signal box to learn more about trains in the olden days. This trip out enabled us to explore Understanding Of The World along with Communication & Language and Personal, Social & Emotional development. The children operated old signals, completed an outdoor art activity and train spotted in the signal box. It was a lovely day had by all and the children even received a gift, kindly given by the Signal Box.