Literacy  

We will read stories and non-fiction books linked to our theme ‘In the Garden’, looking at growing plants, seasons and minibeasts. We will have opportunities for children to engage to conversations about the books we read and to learn new vocabulary.   

Some of our key texts are: 

In fine motor sessions, we will continue to develop motor muscle control needed for using scissors, pencils and paintbrushes etc. We will be focusing on practising the correct letter formation using the formation phrases. 

In our writing, we will be applying the previously learnt graphemes and continuing to work hard to use the correct pencil grip. There will also be lots of opportunities in our continuous provision for writing sentences using the known high frequency words. 

Phonics 

Through the ‘Little Wandle Phonics’ lessons we will continue to consolidate our phase 3 phonic knowledge to read longer words and continue to practise our letter formation. We are continuing to blend for reading, segment for spelling and will be practising our tricky words. Keep up your reading and writing at home! It really helps.

Maths

We will be continuing to use the Early Years Numbersense Maths Programme to continue build on the key skills of subitising, manipulating, and partitioning of numbers to 10.  We will be using a variety of resources such as tens frames, pebbles etc for organising counting to gain a deep understanding of number.   

We will be also exploring measures through comparing size, mass and capacity. Children will have opportunities to talk about measures and use a variety of vocabulary to describe objects, exploring how containers look when full and empty. Through our daily ‘Let’s Practise’ sessions, children will be able to apply their knowledge to discover ‘this holds the most’ and ‘this holds the least’ to explain what they notice about capacity.  

Other Areas of the Curriculum

Physical Development 

In PE sessions we will be continuing  to develop fundamental movement skills.  We will be learning to develop and apply their ball skills with a partner.  In gymnastics we will be learning to develop our jumping skills and rotational movements on the low and large apparatus. Children will be working towards applying their skills in team games and relays.  

Personal, Social and Emotional Development 

Jigsaw 

In the Jigsaw sessions this half term, we will be working on the unit ‘Relationships’. Children are introduced to the key relationships in their lives. They explore the friendships they have and what makes a good friend. They are introduced to simple strategies they can use to mend friendships and learn about Jigsaw’s Calm Me and how they can use this when feeling upset or angry. 

Understanding the World  

In the unit, we will be exploring the natural world around us, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants. We will be spending time in Forest School to look at growing plants and minibeasts. Growing and planting seeds will be an exciting experience to explore. Children will have opportunities to look at some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.  

We will talk about what makes every single person unique and precious. We will be looking at how some Christians believe that people are special to God different books, by looking at resources and activities. and encounter stories from world religions.  The children will have opportunities  to recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways.  

Expressive Arts and Design 

Children will have opportunities to draw, paint and print flowers and plants using observational skills. They will use a variety of tools, techniques and media to create artwork inspired by the garden. Children will have opportunities to talk about the processes they followed to create their artwork, what they like, dislike and even how they could make it even better!