Darwin Class

Class teacher: Miss Dalby

Learning Assistants: Mrs Earl, Mrs Lutchman and Mrs Balsamino

This term:

In Nursery, we deliver the EYFS curriculum as well as following the whole school STEAM curriculum.

This term our STEAM focus is Engineering. We will be looking at how to build a variety of different objects and how we can make a plan before we build. To support our learning, we will be reading the Three Little Pigs.  This will provide us with the opportunity to explore different materials and assess their suitability for building houses. Another of the stories we will be reading is Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we will use our engineering skills to help baby bear repair his chair. Our STEAM showcase this term is to build a bridge which will remain standing unsupported. To help us achieve this we will read The Three Billy Goats Gruff to gain a better understanding of the purpose of a bridge. We will then use our engineering skills to experiment with different materials to build a bridge. We can’t wait to see the children develop into fantastic engineers and look forward to seeing their creativity skills develop as they showcase their creations.

There are seven areas of learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving. 

These are the Prime areas: 

• Communication and language: the number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial. By commenting on what children are interested in or doing and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children's language effectively. Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive. 

• Physical development: Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness. 

• Personal, social and emotional development: PSED is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. 

We also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are: 

• Literacy 

• Mathematics 

• Understanding the world 

• Expressive arts and design 

This term we will be exploring the following principles within each of the specific areas: 

Literacy	Beginning to be aware of the way stories are structured and tell own stories. To talk about principal characters and events in the stories they listen to. Recognising familiar words and signs, such as own name. Making up stories, play scenarios, and drawings in responses to experiences.
Mathematics	Children will gain confidence in counting forwards as well as backwards from 0-5 Children will show an interest in shape and will be learning the 2D shape names for a square, rectangle, diamond, pentagon and a star and create designs with these shapes. The children will be using language of position and direction while building this term. Children will be learning to order objects by length
Understanding the world	Children will explore and learn about different occupations that link with our topic. Children will explore the differences between materials and changes they notice. Developing positive attitudes about the differences between people.
Expressive Arts and Design: exploring media and materials	Children will explore construction materials and make a variety of objects with these they will discover that enclosed spaces can create 3D structures Children will select materials they want to use for a house, chair and bridge. Children will experiment with joining materials together and learn how to do this effectively

Reading

It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Our Read Write Inc phonic scheme starts in nursery with the children beginning to learn the rhymes that match the letters, please look on our website for these.

This term we will be continuing to build the foundations to early phonics by teaching children to discriminate sounds, including environmental, musical, body percussion and voice sounds. At this stage in children’s development, rhythm, rhyme and alliteration are very important, so please read lots of Nursery Rhymes at home to support our work in class.

We are very excited to be continuing ‘Talk through stories’ this term, which provides the opportunity for children to really explore key texts, understand the principle of the story, learn new vocabulary and explore new characters. Each week we focus on one key text which the children will become very familiar with. Our key texts for this term will be:

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• The Three Little Pigs
• The Billy Goats Gruff
• Hugless Douglas
• The Bear and the Piano
• A Litte Bit Brave

Please ensure that you find daily opportunities to read to your child and support them on their journey to becoming a reader.