Nursery
Welcome to Nursery!
In Nursery, the teacher is Mrs Guest and the teaching assistants are Mrs Hall and Miss Pilcher. We follow a two-year rolling programme of topics in the Foundation Stage and we plan our adult led learning around our current topics. We also respond to the interests of the children which means we may divert from our planned topics. The provision of activities in the areas of our Nursery classroom aim to support the development of all areas of the Early Years curriculum and the specific needs of the children. We access learning opportunities both indoors and outdoors throughout the school year. Here is an overview of the topics to be covered over the coming year in Nursery:
| Term | Topics Covered | Brief Outline |
| Autumn 1 | It’s Good to be Me! | We start the year by settling our children into Nursery, making friends, learning about routines and establishing our Nursery rules. In this topic, we focus on ourselves and our families. We learn about our bodies, naming the parts and their uses. We make a collage of our face and look closely at our features. We talk about our favourite colour and notice how people like different things. Colour mixing is also explored during this topic. We also look at the five senses and explore these in exciting practical and sensory activities. We talk about our different families and the different kinds of homes people can live in. Each week, a different text is used to explore themes related to our topic including poetry and non-fiction books. We begin to practice writing our names. The change of season is observed and we talk about and celebrate Harvest. Our children make music, dance and move to express their ideas and feelings. |
| Autumn 2 | Celebrations | In Autumn 2, we learn about different celebrations, their meaning and what people do to celebrate. Through creative activities and role play, we learn about the special times of Diwali, Remembrance, christenings, birthdays and Christmas. We talk about and experience, the significance of lights, food, clothing, gifts and ceremony in celebrations. Children are given opportunities to discuss the similarities and differences, reflecting that people celebrate different things and in different ways. Children and families are invited to talk about celebrations they have experienced. We also learn, and use, appropriate vocabulary linked to our topic and role-play our own celebrations. Our mark making and writing, is based on cards, lists, invitations and letters. There are many opportunities to explore a range of art techniques and media within this topic. We continue to develop speaking and listening skills. Children are encouraged to listen effectively in a range of different situations, such as carpet time, circle time and role play. |
| Spring 1 | Heroes and Heroines | Our focus in Spring 1 is ”Heroes and Heroines”. We think about how people help us as we live our lives and we learn, and use, new vocabulary linked to our topic. Using fiction and non-fiction books, we think about different occupations, the vehicles and equipment used and the signs we see for different services. In particular, we investigate Police Officers, Fire fighters, Doctors and Vets. The children experiment with a range of materials, colours and techniques to create winter art, emergency vehicle models and pictures of people who help us. In music, children explore the sounds that different instruments make. They learn to repeat simple rhythms and create their own rhythms using musical instruments, parts of the body and found objects. Our children learn about and observe the change of season from Autumn to Winter. In science, we investigate hot and cold, how we can be healthy and what animals need to live. We continue to enjoy saying and singing nursery rhymes throughout the year. |
| Spring 2 | Dinosaurs | Dinosaurs are an exciting focus for Spring 2! This is a topic that benefits from lots of work outdoors as we learn that there were different kinds of dinosaurs. We think of different ways to sort dinosaurs based on their characteristics such as their physical appearance, what they ate and how they moved. This topic also affords lots of opportunities to explore size; making comparisons of sizeand using size vocabulary. We talk about the past and how things were different in the past. We also learn that dinosaurs are now extinct and that we know about them because of fossils left behind. We talk about how different dinosaurs move and make up our own dinosaur dances and put a sequence of movements together to music. In science, we investigate fast and slow. Our children also learn about, and observe, the change of season from Winter to Spring. We reflect on how, and if, we celebrate Easter, noticing that we celebrate in different ways. |
| Summer 1 | Growing and Traditional Tales | We start this topic with the Traditional Tale “The Gingerbread Man” We read, discuss, role play, sequence and retell the story. We discuss and use new vocabulary that we encounter in our reading and discussions. We identify and talk about the parts of a book. Through our Traditional Tales topic, we also particularly focus on the classic story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and the modern classic “The Tiger Who Came To Tea “. We begin to think about the language used in stories along with the characters, setting and main events. Using stories, we explore how and why we say sorry. We use instruments and body percussion to compliment the stories that we read and retell. Our children sing related nursery rhymes and action songs. There are opportunities for us to bake gingerbread, party food and to make porridge and sandwiches. In science, we grow peas. We observe the changes that take place as a plant grows and use this as an opportunity to compare length in simple terms. We talk about the different parts of a plant that we can eat. |
| Summer 2 | Holidays | We end the academic year in Summer 2 as we reflect on our knowledge and experiences of holidays. We talk about the seaside; where it is, what we do there, the food we eat and the wildlife we might see. We use engaging stories, poems and non-fiction books to learn new things and new vocabulary about holidays. We recreate a camping experience in class and make decisions about what we would need to take with us. We taste different flavours of ice cream and think about the most popular flavour. How we travel to our holiday, is a subject of discussion as we think about different forms of transport. The children explore and use media and materials in creative activities such as making model vehicles and under water creature art. We continue to develop fine motor skills through the dough disco, finger rhymes and fine motor activities. We take the opportunity to explore safety near water, road and railways. We remind the children to stay with their adult when they are in new places. Being safe in the sun and hot weather are also discussed. We observe and reflect on the change of season from Spring to Summer. |
Home Learning:
Children will receive new home learning tasks on a Friday and they will have until the following Thursday to complete them. Home learning tasks are often phonic or number based, but can take the form of talking tasks, topic or creative activities. All communications about home learning will be sent out via Seesaw.
Phonics:
In Nursery, our children are encouraged to develop an awareness of sound, through activities that develop focused listening and attention. We will listen to environmental sounds, body percussion, musical sounds, voice sounds and alliteration. Using nursery rhymes, songs, stories, games and activities the children learn to recognise rhymes, count syllables and hear initial sounds.
Reading:
Please read with your child as often as possible at home and ideally every day. Developing a love of reading at an early age, is one of the most important and effective ways that parents and carers can actively support their child’s learning and development. Encourage your child to talk about the events in the story, its setting and the main characters. Nursery has a lending library in the conservatory which parents and carers are able to use.
PE:
Our PE sessions are on Mondays and Wednesdays this term. You do not need to send a PE kit into school.
Our current Nursery cohort photo gallery
