I Wonder........What Changes?

During Spring 1 we will be focusing on our topic called 'I Wonder........What Changes?'.  This topic is a fantastic way for our Ducklings to explore the seasons. We will explore what we can see, hear, feel and touch during the different seasons, focusing particularly on winter. We will have short discussions during our mat times and set out fun and inviting activities during Rainbow Time linked to our topic (free play). We will also have many activities linked to the children’s interests e.g. dinosaurs, Peppa Pig, Barbies etc. We will link their learning and next steps using their interests.

How can you help at home……

• Please look at photos on Tapestry with your child to discuss their learning.
• Please upload photos to Tapestry from home to share what your child has been doing e.g days out, craft, spotting any numbers, singing etc. We would love to see and share these!

Our Key Texts

We’re going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen- This well-known story is about a family who travel through various natural obstacles and weather (for example a snow storm) in search for a bear.  We will be thinking about the language used in the story and take part in a variety of activities to retell the story.  The children will use their senses to explore the different scenes within the story for example, using ‘long wavy grass’ with our small world toys.

One Winter’s Day by M. Christina Butler- A story about how a Little Hedgehog's nest that is blown away in a terrible storm so he wraps up warmly and sets off for Badger's house. On his way Hedgehog meets lots of animals shivering in the wind and snow. One by one, he gives them his cosy mittens, hat and scarf. A lovely story focusing on kindness!

One Snowy Night by M. Christina Butler – Another wonderful story focusing on the same characters by the same author as above.  Little Hedgehog has a woolly red hat but no matter how much Little Hedgehog stretches the hat to fit, his prickles get in the way every time. But then Little Hedgehog has an idea, and the hat turns out to be the best Christmas present ever. A further story focusing on friendship and kindness.

We will also revisit Owl Babies and The Colour Monster for our new children starting as well as for all children returning. Owl Babies is a fantastic text all about the mother owl leaving but coming back again. We will relate this to grown-ups leaving whilst the children are at preschool and then coming back again. The Colour Monster is a brilliant book exploring feelings and emotions.

Our Areas of Learning 

Please find below examples of some of the activities:

Communication and Language

-We will be continuing with phase 1 phonics, focusing on a variety of listening and speaking games.

-We will be listening to and joining in with daily stories including those mentioned above as well as the children's favourites.        -Children will be encouraged to ask and answer questions about the stories, focusing on the illustrations and what they already know about the story.

-We will be singing rhymes and songs on a daily basis.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

-We will look at different emotions, and when we may feel these emotions.

-We will be encouraging the children to use their words to explain what they want.

-We will focus on following routines and boundaries.

Physical Development

-A focus will be to develop our core muscles when playing on the tyre park and building obstacle courses in the school hall using large equipment and soft play blocks.

-We will explore a range of equipment including large building blocks, tyres, dancing scarves and balancing equipment.

-The children will be encouraged to use a range of tools to strengthen their fingers e.g. shaping playdough to make emotion faces, using scissors to make masks for retelling ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt; and threading activities to name just a few. 

Literacy

-We will be listening to and joining in with stories, rhymes and songs.

-Children will be encouraged to answer questions about the stories, focusing on the illustrations and what they already know about the story.

-We will be drawing and mark making daily using many different tools such as pens, pencils, crayons, paintbrushes, chalk on many different surfaces including paper, card, large and small screens plus more!

Maths

-We will be exploring many maths resources.

-We will enjoy counting songs and count daily in real life contexts e.g. how many children are in our group. We will represent this number using our fingers, clapping that many times etc.

-We will continue to follow our ‘Maths Master the Curriculum’ programme to explore counting, numerals, size and pattern.

Understanding the World

-We will be exploring the natural environment.

-We will be finding out more about the seasons, with a particular focus on winter. For example, the children will explore ice, thinking about why and how it is formed and why and how it melts.

-We will introduce using a daily calendar and begin to learn the days of the week and talk about what the weather is like.

-We will be thinking about how we can keep warm and sort seasonal clothing.

-We will learn facts about bears as we explore ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.’

Expressive Arts and Design

-We will take part in many art and craft based activities e.g. making our own snowflakes, snow men and winter pictures.

-We will explore lots of art linked to our text e.g. bear collages.

-The children will continue to have access to their favourites including playdough, water beads and painting.

Thank you for your amazing support which is greatly appreciated.