This Term

Below you will find information about what the Nursery classes are learning about this term.  

Please also read our topic page to find out more about our Topic Work.

Summer 2024

Communication and Language Development

We discuss our question of the day at snack time through a circle time approach and children can share their news with peers.  We have a weekly ‘Talk Ticket’ to share at home and we talk about what we have discovered back in Nursery. We introduce new vocabulary within our provision through adult modelling to extend children’s vocabulary further.  Throughout the term children will listen to stories, participate in small group games, activities and singing to develop their communication, interaction and listening skills. They will use telephones in role-play scenarios.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development. 

Children have access to a visual timetable to reassure them of the structure of the nursery session. Staff will spend time talking and listening to the children, building relationships, and developing children’s confidence. Staff will model play throughout our provision to enable children to use the resources independently.  Children are encouraged to recognise their feelings through our emotions board and stories, where children learn the words to label their emotions correctly. This half term we are having an ‘Elmer Day’ where children are dressing in bright clothes to celebrate how they are all different and special just like Elmer. We will talk about friends and relationships and how to be a good friend.  We continually reinforce the nursery rules and routines. Our positive behaviour management strategies include the ‘Achievosaurs’, high five and recognition through our super star chart, star of the day and specific praise.  During snack time one child is chosen to be the fruit monitor and share the snack with their peers.

Physical Development

Our movement area continues to be popular with the children and supports their physical development. We also have a weekly focus to develop fine motor control in our ‘Funky Fingers’ area. Gross and fine motor skills are developed throughout our provision such as ribbon sticks, weaving, hoops, threading beads, peg boards, writing in crazy foam, tracing on tactile letters, using the interactive white board, dough and using tweezers to pick up small objects.  We will complete regular yoga sessions and move around in different ways to travel like animals linked to our jungle theme. Healthy eating will be promoted through discussions during our snack time and cooking focuses.

Literacy

We have a range of mark making resources and ‘superhero’ writing capes which encourage the children to mark make with their ‘super powers’.  We also have proformas to promote writing throughout our role-play provision in the Home Corner, Vets, and in our outdoor Building Site and Jungle Hide.  Focus mark making activities will include writing about bears and other creatures we may find in a cave, labelling and writing about jungle animals, and writing letters and messages to ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’.    We are completing daily phonics sessions and introducing reading through ‘Floppy’s phonics’.  In addition to this we discuss the importance of a comfortable pencil grasp and use rhymes to support children in developing the correct letter formation. Every child has a name card which they can access independently for support to write their name.  We have a daily story time and are enhancing our book corner with cushions and soft toy jungle animals for children to read with. During this half term our talk for writing unit is ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’. The children will learn this story through a ‘story map’ and will be able to retell the story using actions. This term our focus rhyme is ‘Five little monkeys jumping on the bed’.

image

Mathematics

Children will learn about shape and space through provision in the sand, malleable, water and construction areas. Through our work on Elmer children will explore patterns; they will also create repeating patterns on snake templates. Children will be encouraged to order numerals to ten and introduced to addition and subtraction through a range of practical activities.  We regularly change our star number. Children are encouraged to complete several activities relating to this including recognising the number and its value in numicon. Children will practise number formation rhymes using a range of mark making equipment. Children will begin to record by making marks, such as tallies to show their favourite animals.  We will complete jigsaws, maths games and contribute towards making number lines for our provision areas.

 Understanding the World

We will observe the changes that take place during spring and changes that take place with ingredients when cooking as we make animal biscuits.  All children will be involved in planting and taking care of flowers in our outdoor area.  Through our ‘Jungle’ theme children will learn about the different animals that live in the jungle and the habitats in which they live around the world.  Children have daily access to the computers, interactive board, and light panel. They will use the iPad during focus activities to take their own photographs and will create pictures using Dazzle.

 Expressive Art and Design

Children are encouraged to develop their own creativity throughout nursery. Specific focuses to support children’s creative development include colour mixing, painting animals, creating box craft models and paper plate animal masks. Children will use construction equipment to make homes for animals. They will have opportunities to develop their own stories using the puppet theatre and create music on the music wall and dance mat. Children will continue to use their own mini me’s to support their imaginative play in the construction and small world areas.