I Wonder How the Story Ends? 📖

This half-term, children will explore the question 'I wonder how the story ends?'. We will begin their first learning journey with The Enormous Turnip. This book will help us explore themes of working together, problem-solving and trying again! 

In nursery, we help children to explore how they feel. Children will begin to identify their feelings and talk about how they feel. This term we want to support children with the building blocks for emotional co-regulation. 

Our primary focus will be getting to know our children and helping them build relationships with staff and each other. Children will learn our routines and the rewarding ways we can learn, grow and thrive through play. We will also be doing lots of learning about how to tidy and look after our environment, following our rules: ready, respectful and safe.

Quality Text: The Enormous Turnip

I Wonder How the Story Ends? 📖

This half-term we are continuing with our topic – 'I wonder how the story ends?'. This is so the children continue to develop their understanding of how stories are structured and the excitement that stories create. This will be supported through nursery rhymes and early phonetic exploration.

We will also learn about important dates and different celebrations during this half-term, including Remembrance day, Diwali, Children in Need, Bonfire night and Christmas.

Our quality text for this half-term is ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. Children will learn about goodies, baddies and how we feel. This term we will learn to use actions and a story map to help us retell the story.

Quality Text: The Three Billy Goats Gruff

I Wonder What Happens When I Fall Asleep? ⭐

This half term, our learning will be based around the wonderful story Owl Babies. We will follow the Owl Babies as they wait patiently for their Mummy to return home to their nest.

The children will have lots of opportunities to listen, discuss and explore their ideas about the story. Children will explore the feelings of Percy, Bill and Sarah as well as investigate their environment. We will discuss why the characters might feel differently throughout the story and encourage children to name and talk about their own feelings. Through conversations, role play and storytelling, we will practise describing characters and events and talking about what happens next.

The children will also have opportunities to retell and sequence the story, using pictures, props and actions to help them remember what happened. We will encourage them to use longer sentences and explain their ideas, developing their confidence when speaking with adults and friends.

Throughout our learning, we will encourage the children to listen, wonder, talk and share their ideas as we discover the magical world of the owl babies. 🦉

Quality Text: Owl Babies.

Quality Text: The Owl Babies

 I Wonder What Happens on a Farm? 🐄

Our key story will be A Squash and a Squeeze. We will listen carefully to the events of the story and talk about what is happening to the lady and the animals. We will learn and revisit new vocabulary and encourage the children to use language to describe events and explain their ideas. As we wonder what happens on a farm? Children will develop early phonetic knowledge through exploring animal sounds.

We will support children to use key words and sentences to describe what happens on the farm.  Using A Squash and a Squeeze to create opportunities for children to practise listening to their friends and responding to others thoughtfully. We will encourage the children to share their own experiences and ideas and build on conversations with adults and other children.

We will become problem-solvers as we explore “why” and “how” questions. Why does the house feel so crowded? What could the little old lady do? How might we solve the problem? We will encourage children to explain their thinking and begin to give reasons for their ideas.

We will also develop our story recall and sequencing, thinking carefully about what happened in the story and putting events in the correct order. Through role play and meaningful play, the children will have opportunities to use the language from the story in their own conversations and imaginary situations.

Throughout our learning, we will use language to think, explain, question and solve problems, helping the children become increasingly confident communicators. 

Quality Text: A Squash and a Squeeze

 I Wonder What a Minibeast Is? 🐛

This half-term, our learning will be based around the question “I wonder what happens next?” We will use The Very Hungry Caterpillar  to develop our storytelling, prediction and conversational skills.

We will listen carefully to the story and explore the rich vocabulary within it. The children will have opportunities to talk about the characters, events and objects in the story. Children will be given opportunities to practise their new vocabulary words while observing where a minibeast might live. 

We will become storytellers as we retell and sequence the events of the story. We will practise remembering what happened first, next and last and use props, pictures, actions and role play to help us tell the story in our own words.

The children will also be encouraged to make predictions. What do you think will happen next? What might the caterpillar eat? What might happen to the caterpillar afterwards? We will encourage children to explain their ideas and listen to different predictions from their friends.

Through stories, play and purposeful experiences, we will continue to develop the golden threads of Listening & Attention, Vocabulary Development, Conversation & Oracy, Storytelling and Questioning & Thinking. We will practise these skills while following the amazing journey of one very hungry little caterpillar. 

Quality Text: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I Wonder What a Rock Pool Is? 🐚

Our key story will be Rainbow Fish. We will use the story to encourage the children to communicate their ideas, share their own thoughts and experiences and listen carefully to the ideas of others. Our Nursery 2 children will focus on ready for school behaviour and learning in their final term with us.

We will develop our ability to listen and respond in groups, practising taking turns in conversations and responding appropriately when someone else is speaking. The children will be encouraged to join in discussions, ask questions and express their own ideas with increasing confidence.

We will explore the characters' thoughts and experiences and encourage the children to explain their ideas. How might Rainbow Fish be feeling? Why might he feel this way? What could he do? The children will be supported to give reasons for their ideas and listen to different points of view.

We will also develop our questioning and predicting skills. What do you think might happen next? Why do you think that? What could Rainbow Fish do? Through storytelling and discussion, we will encourage children to use language to explain their thinking and make connections with their own experiences.

The children will have lots of opportunities to retell and sequence the story using props, pictures, role play and their own words. As we prepare for Reception, we will support the children to become increasingly independent communicators who can confidently share ideas, listen to others and participate in group discussions.

Throughout this half term, we will celebrate how far the children's communication has developed and encourage them to use everything they have learnt about listening, vocabulary, conversation, storytelling and questioning with increasing independence.

Quality Text: Rainbow Fish

Nursery Rhymes

Oxford Owl

For this half term, nursery children will be learning the poem ”Incredible You!”. Please check Class Dojo where you will find a video of the story with the actions and a list of all the Key vocabulary your child needs to know.

Our Maths for Nursery 2s will focus around counting 1-5, subitising and identifying shapes.. Please see class dojo for some ideas to help your child. For Nursery 1s, counting 1 to 5, identifying shapes and ABAB patterns. For our 2 year-olds, please practise counting physical objects 1- 2. 

Information will be put onto Dojo on to enable you to support your child with home learning.

Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults can support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye co-ordination, which is later linked to early literacy. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practice of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence