Summer term
Wheels!
Our current topic is wheels! We are enjoying our ride on toys, bikes and scooters!
We are also having a close look at wheels and how they work as well as trying different, interesting objects to roll our toys down a slope.
We are also enjoying listening to story's about wheels and different vehicles.
The children are looking forward to using different small world vehicles to explore weight and capacity, shape and size.
At home you could try:
Talking about different vehicles and spot them when you are out and about,
Discuss simple concepts such as big car, long train,
Bring any wheeled toys or books to play or show.
Let's pretend!
Our new topic is looking at using our imaginations. We are encouraging the children to build self confidence, playing alongside each other and engaging in the same themes and games.
The activities will include:
Role play- garden centre, home corner, puppet theatre, mud kitchen, den building, garage, train rides
Small world- cars and garage, dolls house zoo, farm and trains.
We have also been using our imaginations to go on magic carpet rides to the moon, Neverland, the Beach, up Jack's beanstalk and a pirate ship. All these themes have been chosen by the children, so who knows where we will be going next. It is also nice to see the children thinking about this at home and coming in as a character, dressed up and role playing as soon as they enter the setting. We have been lucky enough to have a buzz light year, Snow White, Tinkerbell, firemen, knights and builders. We look forward to what will walk through the doors next week!
Planting Seeds and Mini beasts
Our new topic is all about planting and mini beasts. We will be looking around our outdoor area for different bugs and there habitats as well as planting our own flowers and vegetables. We will also be talking about which bugs are safe to touch and which ones can string or bite. We are also excited to have caterpillars in our butterfly house, so we will be watching the life cycle of a butterfly. We are also going to be looking at insects and parts of a flower under our microscope.
At home, you could encourage your children to go 'bug watching' in your outdoor areas, as well as discuss and show any insects, flowers or plants that produce fruits or vegetables. If anybody has any books or toys they would like to bring in to share with the group, it would be appreciated.
Spring term
Our Senses
We will be learning about our five senses and exploring the world and environment with them. We will be: tasting foods, feeling and describing different textures, smelling spices, perfumes and flowers. We will also listen to sounds around us and explore light in our dark den. We are also going to be looking at 2D and 3D shapes and different colours. If you wanted to encourage learning at home you could allow your children to explore your house and environment and focus on what you can see, hear, smell, touch and taste. You could also notice shapes which are 2D and 3D shapes and observe different colours as well as reading books to do with colour and shape.
Being healthy
We are learning about keeping healthy. We have been talking about which foods help to keep us healthy as well as trying new foods. We have been talking about our bodies and how it is important to exercise! We are enjoying music and movement, balancing and yoga as well as perfecting our star jumps! We have transformed are role play area into a green grocers with real fruit and vegetables. We are also observing, tasting and painting with a variety of vegetables and fruit. We are also looking at body hygiene, looking at brushing our teeth, washing regularly and taking a close look at how to prevent germs on our hands. We are really enjoying this topic and we encourage discussions, tasting and new exercises at home.
Pets
Our topic is Pets! We are learning all about different types of pets and how we look after them. We have transformed our role play area into a pet shop and Vets. We have been making animals with our play dough mats, weighing and measuring animal food and making fish tanks and animal masks in our craft area. If you would like to bring your pet in to show, we would be very grateful. Also at home, if you have a pet, encourage discussions and responsibilities in the everyday care of the animal, including exercising, grooming and feeding.
Fairy Tales
We are going to be looking at a variety of fairy tales for our new topic! We will be reading different tales each day, looking at morals which each story conveys. We will be producing some exciting artwork and craft items and have lots of fun in the three bears' cottage in our role play area. We will learn about categorising measures through our play and explore different ways of moving our bodies using fairy tales as inspiration.
Snow and Ice
We will be learning about snow and ice. We will be playing with ice and experimenting with ice and colour. The questions we will be asking the children are: What happens to ice when it is heated? How is it made? What is it's texture?
We will be doing lots of snowy activities and discovering about the people and animals who live in snowy places.
Space
We are looking at different elements of space. Children have been busy making and creating a space station as their role play. We are also creating some lovely art work including moons, sun, planets and rockets using paper mâché, paint and collage. We will also be exploring colour and 2D and 3D shapes. The children are enjoying this Topic, and I'm sure you are hearing all about what they are learning.
Autumn Term
The World We Live In
Our new topic of 'The World We live in' focuses on the EYFS area of learning: Understanding the World. The children will have the opportunities to discover and experience various cultures, festivals, food, clothing and music and dance. Our role-play area is transformed to various cultural playgrounds, such as an African hut, and Indian market and Chinese restaurant. We are giving opportunities for the children to experience the dance and music culture of various countries such as African drumming and Polynesian dance. We also have transformed our snack table to suit the country we are looking at. For example the children are experiencing food from China, India, Mexico, and France. They are enjoying trying new things. We are also creating art work, which will be posted on our gallery soon! The children are even learning different languages and have been greeting their friend and family with words such as 'Bonjour,' 'Aloha' and 'Hola.' We are all enjoying this topic and the children are taking a lot of knowledge home with them.
We would like to encourage the children to look at pictures from holiday photos or from the internet, under supervision. If you have any Multi-cultural books, artefacts, toys, clothing or fabrics, we would welcome them into the setting.
All About Me
This year's first topic will be All About Me!
It's is a great theme for the start of term, to build self-esteem, getting to know each other, making friends and feeling safe and happy in their environment.
Activities will include:
Hand prints,
Foot prints,
Self portraits (looking at themselves in a mirror)
Free painting (allowing children to express their creativity and individuality)
Tracing around their bodies.
Parents/ careers can become involved in this topic! We are inviting you into the setting to enjoy a session of junk modelling together. These dates will be available in the coming weeks on the notice board and blog.
Some other ideas we suggest for home learning are: looking at photos of themselves and their families, drawing their family members and drawing or taking photographs of things the children are interested in. We welcome you to bring these in for our Home Learning Display.