Area of learning 

Teaching and Learning 

Parental Involvement 

Communication and Language 

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We have a strong focus on developing listening and speaking skills. These are developed daily through high quality interactions, group time, stories, singing and book talk times. We will develop and build upon the children’s vocabulary as they play and learn. 

• We will be supporting the children to make friends by playing lots of games where they can learn each other’s name. Teachers will support children, during their play; modelling and scaffolding how to ask for a toy/resource and how to respond to each other.  

• Each week we will have a book focus. As we read through the book we will be supporting the children to make links and talk about their own experiences.  

• We will be developing routines using pictures and talk e.g. It is … time. It is … now. Next we will … 

• We will be learning to respond to simple questions (who/what) and instructions directed at them. 

• We will play games to develop listening and concentration skills 

Please visit our school website and click on the class page. Nursery class is called ‘Owls’. The class page is regularly updated with what the children have been learning about. There may also be some suggestions of activities that you could do at home to create opportunities to talk and make links with the learning done at school. 

Website to help you support communication and language skills with your child. 

Tiny Happy People 

Personal and Social Development 

Vocabulary 

sad 

happy 

worried 

angry 

help 

sharing 

turn taking 

same 

different 

• The children will be getting to know the classroom and outside areas, establish rules and routines, develop an awareness of who they are and what makes them special. We will also be developing friendships. 

• Self-identity – understanding their own feelings. The children will be encouraged to name and talk about their feelings. We will model sentences like, “I feel sad because...”  

• Trusting the adults. Learning to ask for help. “Can you help me please”/”I need help to...”  

We support the children to say, “Please can I have a turn?” The other child may respond by giving the toy to them or might say, “when I’m finished.” The child is then supported to wait their turn. This can be reinforced at home with siblings too. 

Physical Development 

Physical development plays a huge part of our ‘Early Years’ curriculum. The children will have daily opportunities for climbing, riding bikes/scooters/trikes and developing ball skills. 

• We will be using the outside resources to build obstacle courses. The children will learn how to lift the equipment safely.  

• There will be opportunities to practise throwing and catching with large balls. 

• The children will use the outside climbing equipment to develop their balance, control and co-ordination.  

• We will use the bikes/scooters/trikes, within the nursery garden and on the big play ground, to develop spatial awareness and control. 

The children will also be developing their fine motor skills each day (early morning work). 

• We will be learning to develop control in holding and using a range of objects or resources. We will be threading, using tweezers, pincer grip activities, spreading glue and sticking objects to the glue, pouring, scooping, digging and learning how to hold scissors with one hand. 

• We will be exploring mark making with chalks, paint and pens.

Continue to provide opportunities for children to be active. 

Continue to provide opportunities for children to mark make with different resources such as crayons, felt pens, paint. 

Literacy  

We will be fostering a love of reading. The children will have an opportunity to look at books in our book talk sessions and listen to stories read to them. We will talk about what is happening and about the characters.  

• We will be listening to stories and talking about what they see and hear. 

• We will be learning to handle a book and turn pages correctly. 

• We will support the children to recognise their name in a variety of situations. 

• We will be encouraging children to join in with stories, rhymes, poems, no-fiction texts (information books).

• We will play games that support children to hear sounds in the environment (including different instruments), make body sounds (pat, clap, stamp). Teachers will model clapping syllables in words for children to copy. 

There will be daily opportunities for children to experiment with their own writing. Children will be shown, if they don’t know already, how to hold a mark making tool with a comfortable grip. 

• We will explore mark making using mark making tools in trays/ felt pens on a variety of surfaces.  

• We will explore using larger paint brushes and chunky chalks inside and outside on the ground. 

Share and read the library book chosen each week by your child. Talk about what is happening and who the characters are. 

Attend the phonic workshop (see school website for dates). The workshop shows how the children develop the foundation for reading skills in Nursery and how children learn to read and write within Reception. 

Attend book talk/stay and play sessions.

If the children have a favourite book at home please encourage them to bring it in so we can read it within Nursery. We love to know what the children enjoy reading at home! 

Numeracy 

Numeracy is developed daily through high quality interactions, group time, early morning work and during independent learning. 

• There will be opportunities for purposeful counting e.g. counting children, milks, chairs, and fruit. Teachers will model counting along the number line and stopping at the correct number. 

• We will practise counting aloud to five and back. 

• We will sing number songs and rhymes to 5. 

• We will be developing mathematical vocabulary to compare the size of objects – ‘big’ and ‘small’.

• We will provide opportunities to explore 2D and 3D shapes to create patterns and constructions. 

• We will learn how to sort objects by colour. 

Use various opportunities to count e.g. doing up buttons, climbing stairs, collected items etc.  

Sing number songs: BBC Number Songs 

Problem solve with objects – will the toy dinosaur fit in the box? Why? 

Look around you for patterns. Talk about what you can see. 

Understanding the World  

Past and Present  

• We will provide opportunities for children to talk about who they are and who they live with. (I am...), including their pets. 

• We will provide opportunities to talk about their own experiences/own life (family/celebrations).

People, Cultures & Communities 

• We will be learning about Diwali, Christmas and other celebrations that happen in the Autumn term. 

• We will be modelling positive attitudes to differences. 

• We will be learning about who helps them within the local community (doctor, fire fighter, police, vet, lollipop person) 

The Natural World 

• We will be showing the children how to look after the toys and learning how to tidy up. We will use the script, ‘choose it, use it and put it away’. 

• We will be developing curiosity for the world around them. We will talk about what they see and hear by going for walks in the school grounds and making collections of things to share. 

Share pictures of the family, including pets. Talk to your child about who the people are. Send photos into school (either print them out or Email them to the school office).  

Let the nursery staff know about the celebrations that are important to your family so that we can learn more about different faiths and religions. If you can come in and talk to the children about how you celebrate.  

When you are out and about point things out to your child. Talk about colours e.g. the leaf is green like the grass. Help children to make links e.g. the apple is smooth just like the pear. 

Expressive Arts and Design 

• We will be showing the children how to use the art resources to create their own marks and art work. They will have an opportunity to explore the resources and experiment using colours and textures. 

• They will learn to use a variety of tools/resources to draw their face. They will look in a mirror and observe facial features. 

• We will be showing the children different ways to use the playdough (roll, cut, squash, pinch, twist).

• We will be showing the children how to use the small world and role-play areas and where resources are. 

• We love to sing at Nursery and we will learn new songs together (carpet time and routine songs). The children will develop their confidence to perform these new songs to parents (harvest and Christmas).

• We will use and explore the musical instruments. 

Sing nursery rhymes together. 

BBC Nursery Rhymes 

Collect natural materials to make pictures and collages. 

Attend Christmas productions (see the website for dates).