During Autumn 2 we will be focusing on our topic called 'I Wonder........What We Celebrate?'. This is a fantastic topic for introducing the word ‘celebration’ and to begin to explore what this means by looking at different celebrations that we may know. We will begin with fireworks, bonfire night and Remembrance Sunday as these will be happening at the same time as our topic to create real life contexts for the children. We will also link this to birthdays with this being a common concept for children. This then allows us to begin to understand different celebrations around the world in order to create an awareness of different cultures.

We will also have many activities linked to the children’s interests e.g. superheroes, unicorns, Paw Petrol etc. We will link their learning and next steps by also using their own interests.

How can you help at home……

• Please upload any home learning pictures to Tapestry as we would love to share these in the setting e.g family days out, special events linked to celebrations. We would also love to share ‘proud clouds’ from home where you can write key proud moments e.g sharing with a sibling, learning new vocabulary, swimming etc  – please see the display on our window as you first come in.

Our Key Texts

‘Bonfire Night’ by Nancy Dickman and  Mr Men Little Miss Happy Diwali by Roger Hargraves

We will explore these books and create fun and interactive activities to allow the children to explore the key ideas and new vocabulary.

Birthdays around the world -Lisa Weir and Elmer’s Birthday-David Mckee

-We will read these books to encourage the children to talk about their own birthdays and to begin to understand how these may be similar or different around the world.

The Leaf Thief (Autumn linked)

A very funny picture book to introduce the children to the idea of seasons and to celebrate Autumn!

Christmas related texts – Stickman, Father Christmas Need’s a Wee, 10 Little Elves and more!

We will enjoy exploring Christmas and touch upon why this is an important celebration for Christians. We will read Christmas texts and create related activities for the children e.g. making our own Stickman and Christmas craft!

Our Areas of Learning

Please find below examples of some of our activities. We also plan according to the children’s interests which is decided daily.

Communication and Language

Our activities will include:

• Continuing with phase 1 phonics to develop speaking and listening skills.
• Listening to and joining in with daily stories including those mentioned above as well as the children's favourites.
• Singing well known rhymes and songs on a daily basis.
• Practising our speaking and listening skills and learning new vocabulary through short discussions as we share our ideas about different celebrations and events such as Remembrance Day, Bonfire Night and Christmas, as well as some of the other seasonal traditions pupils in our class who are from different cultures celebrate. 

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Our activities will include:

• Focusing on continuing to develop new friendships and our understanding of rules and boundaries as we begin to spend more time in other parts of our school e.g. the library, the hall for more physical activities.
• Introducing special events will lead to new concepts such as how to keep ourselves safe during fireworks and bonfire night. Remembrance Day will begin to lead us to think about what the word ‘respect’ means and how we can show respect towards objects and living things such as wildlife and different cultures.

Physical Development

Our activities will include:

• Using the school hall, field, learning garden, playground and tyre park to develop physical skills.
• There will be many opportunities for children to continue to develop their fine motor skills, whether it’s through making poppy decorations, firework pictures, leaf cutting or Christmas decorations.    

Literacy

Our activities will include:

• Looking at the language used in our focus texts, discussing what new words mean and why they are interesting.
• Learning some new songs linked to seasons and Christmas.
• Continuing to develop literacy skills throughout our provision. Making marks to write recipes in the home corner, Christmas lists, letters or cards.
• Retelling some of the stories we have read through roleplay or small world.

Maths

Our activities will include:

• We will re-introduce an Early Years maths scheme called ‘Master the Curriculum’. We will begin with fun activities to remember the colours red, blue, yellow, green and purple.
• We will also look at matching, sorting, colour, size, shape and pattern.
• We will enjoy singing number songs!

Understanding the World

Our activities will include:

• Beginning to learn about different cultures within our school community and the wider world. 
• Sharing experiences of Bonfire night, and learn why this event takes place and how we can keep safe during any linked events. 
• Learning about Autumn time and the changes that it brings.     
• Beginning to learn about The Christmas Story.                                                                                      

Expressive Arts and Design

Our activities will include:

• Listening to and joining in with different fun warm up dances using our 2 large interactive whiteboards and dressing up using our costumes!
• Through a variety of mark making resources, such as chalks, felt tips, paint and crayons, tissue paper and biodegradable glitter, pupils can record their thoughts and experiences of Bonfire night.
• There will be lots opportunities to produce autumn related and Christmas related craft!

                                            Thank you for your support which is greatly appreciated.