Spring term theme

Our theme this term is 'If you go down to the woods today...'. The children will be learning about woodland habitats and the plants and animals that call it home as well as sharing stories that are set in a woodland.

Our learning is very much driven by the children's interests and the Woodland creatures that they would like to find out about; we have asked them and their families to contribute to our planning ideas.

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Communication and Language 
We will be reading frequently to the children, engaging them in stories and non-fiction books and providing them with lots of opportunities to embed new vocabulary. In Nursery, we will be focusing on learning songs and nursery rhymes and using longer sentences. Children in Reception will be learning how to listen carefully and using new vocabulary in extended conversations. 

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Personal, Social and Emotional Development 

We will continue to share the ‘Colour Monster’ book which will help children to identify and manage their emotions. With our younger children, we will be working with them to develop their sense of responsibility and feeling of belonging within our school community and developing new friendships. In Reception, the children will be considering the feelings of others and learning to be resilient. We will also be continuing with 'My Happy Mind'.

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Physical Development 
The children will be spending a lot of time outside which is great for developing their gross motor skills with our climbing equipment, bikes and trikes, gravel pit and space to run. Our weekly PE sessions (on a Monday) will begin with a dance unit and then onto ball skills after half-term. We will also be developing the children’s fine motor skills with ‘Dough Disco’. ‘Squiggle Whilst you wiggle’ and lots of repeated and varied opportunities to develop their control and confidence with their hands.  

 

Literacy 
The children in Reception will continue their daily phonics lessons learning how to recognise phonemes (sounds) and write them. This half-term, the children will learn several new digraphs.  In writing, we will be continuing to write simple words with three sounds and progressing onto using finger spaces and full stops when writing simple captions. Children in Nursery will be developing their phonological awareness with lots of listening games, rhyme and alliteration and will be encouraged to use a range of mark-marking tools and materials.  

 

Mathematics

This half-term, our Reception maths sessions will focus on accurately counting objects, subitising (recognising amounts without counting) and the composition and comparison of numbers. Nursery children will be singing lots of counting songs, learning to recite numbers in order and exploring colour with the Colour Monster.  

 

Understanding the World 

We will be exploring the changes in seasons and what makes Winter special as well as looking our for signs of Spring. We will be introducing woodland habitats to the children and comparing these to where we live.

EYFS Curriculum
 

The Foundation Stage Curriculum is based on seven areas of learning consisting of Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Communication and Language, Literacy, Mathematics, Expressive Arts and Design and Understanding the World.

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Our planning, supported by Development Matters, ensures that children learn across the seven areas of the curriculum. We plan that children learn in a variety of ways including child-initiated learning through play and adult-led opportunities both indoors and in our amazing outdoor area.

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We promote learning through play as we value its importance. Young children learn best when they explore and experience things first-hand, often in playful ways. Play is essential to development as it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children. It allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity and physical strength. Play is also important to healthy brain development as it enables children to learn about themselves, their environment and the world around them.

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Phonics

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At Nantwich Primary Academy and Nursery, we follow 'Little Wandle Letters and Sounds revised' in order to teach early reading. Our Nursery children build their language development, story reading, phonological awareness and oral blending skills by following the 'Foundation for Phonics' programme. In Reception, the children start to learn GPCs (letter sounds) and blend these together to read words. Please visit the links at the top of the page from more information and view the videos below to see how to support your child at home.