Sharing high quality books and stories to promote a love of reading is the foundation of our Literacy learning. This half term we will be finding out all things related to water. We will start with ponds, pond creatures and then move on to think about the sea. We will use these books as a stimulus for reading, writing, and broadening our vocabulary.
Using Pearson Bug Club we will consolidate Phase 4 phonics-reading and spelling words with 4 or 5 sounds. We will also revise tricky words taught so far and complete the Phase 4 tricky words
Our aim is for children to be able to apply their phonic knowledge to reading and writing activities with a growing confidence and independence. Please see the support materials sent home each week and don’t forget to make use of the Bug Club website and allocated phonic books.
Building Numbers Beyond Ten
Children will be encouraged to build and identify numbers to 20 (and beyond) using a range of resources. 10 frames, Numicon, bead strings and towers of cubes all support the children to see that larger numbers are composed of full 10s and part of the next 10.
Adding
Children will have opportunities to use real objects to see that the quantity of a group can be changed by adding more. They will use a range of resources to create mathematical stories in meaningful contexts.
Odd and Even Numbers
The children will begin to understand that some quantities will share equally into 2 groups and some won’t. They may also notice that some quantities can be grouped into pairs and some will have one left over. Children will be provided with opportunities to explore these ideas in different contexts as they play and to talk about what they notice.
Grouping and Sharing
During snack time or group activities, children will be encouraged to check that the items are shared equally and that everyone has the same. The children will also be given opportunities to recognise and make equal groups. They will be prompted to notice that sometimes there are items left over when they share or group. The children will be asked to come up with their own suggestions for how to resolve this.
Multiplication
Children will engage in a wide variety of songs, rhymes, games and activities. In practical activities and through discussion they will begin to solve problems involving doubling and counting repeated groups of the same size in practical contexts.
Through our daily classroom life and our interactions we will continue to build relationships and encourage the children to express their feelings and consider the feelings of others. We will also use stories and planned activities to develop these skills.
No Way Through Isn’t True!
Children will learn that there is a way through every situation, no matter how impossible it may seem.
This area will continue to focus on developing gross motor skills through activities designed to strengthen muscles and engage in physical games outside. A key element this half term will be starting the letter shapes linked to our handwriting scheme-Letter-join. These letter shapes provide a foundation for moving to Year 1 and the development of cursive letter shapes.
Talk forms a major part of the experiences in Early Years. Children will be encouraged to engage in daily story times, learn rhymes poems and songs and engage in non-fiction books. We will introduce new vocabulary through our story choices and help the children to articulate their ideas and thoughts in well-formed sentences and to become more confident speakers in a range of contexts.
We have been sent some advice on how to develop communication and language in the home. Please click here to find out more.
This half term we will continue to look at seasonal changes around us and developing observation skills, learning new vocabulary and making simple comparisons. Using our school grounds, we will finish exploring Summer.
Through our themes this half term we will also look at water habitats, life in ponds and the sea and give the children opportunities to explore water, floating and sinking and freezing and melting.
Our aim is to offer our children the opportunity to explore different tools, materials and techniques through our play provision. Linked to our themes we will create our own interpretations of Monet’s lily pond and create sea collages, paintings and 3D models.
For more information about the Early Years curriculum please click here
