Pre-School - Hedgehog Class

 

Welcome to Hedgehog Class

Preschool Practice Coordinator: Mrs Bolt

Class Teacher: Miss Oliver

Teaching Assistants: Chloe and Katy

 

Term 5

Down in the Garden

This term the children will be exploring the themes of minibeasts, planting and growing. Their learning will be enriched through a set of beautifully chosen key texts including Bothered by Bugs, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Luna Loves Gardening and Errol's Garden. These stories will help anchor learning across all seven areas of the Early Years curriculum.

   

  

Communication and Language

Children will have many opportunities to develop their communication skills this term. They will begin to use more complex sentences to link thoughts and feelings and begin to understand how and why questions. Using familiar stories and their own experiences, they will learn to retell simple stories and past events in the right order. 

Physical Development

Physical development will be supported through activities that encourage balance, coordination and control. They will learn to navigate spaces successfully, developing their spatial awareness and how to move safely in their environment. 

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

This term places strong emphasis on cooperation, empathy and emotional understanding. Children will learn to consider the needs of others and practise skills such as turn taking and sharing, which are explored through their play and through key stories. They will also develop strategies for negotiation and compromise and learn how to seek adult help when resolving disagreements. As their awareness grows, they will begin to recognise how their choices and actions can affect others, and they will start to notice and respond to the feelings of their peers. Regular routines will help them feel a sense of belonging and participation within the group.

Literacy

Through engaging stories, children will continue to develop early reading and writing skills. They will join in with repeated phrases and anticipate key events in familiar books such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They will discuss stories, talk about characters and even predict how a story might end. We will talk a lot about alternative endings and what the children would like to see happen. Children will have rich opportunities to develop early phonics skills through Level 1 Twinkl Phonics, experienced in a playful way through games, child-initiated play, and supportive adult-led activities. Children will begin to assign meaning to the marks and symbols they create and imitate writing by making continuous lines from left to right. They will also show increasing interest in mark making, including imitating adult writing.

 Mathematics

Mathematical thinking will develop through hands-on exploration and small group activities with an adult. Children will compare small groups of objects and identify when amounts are the same. They will practise subitising small numbers and begin using number names and language within play. Through playful investigation, children will discover that numbers can be made by combining smaller numbers. They will also learn to recognise and complete simple patterns.

Understanding the World

This area of learning will be shaped by curiosity and discovery. We will be learning how things work and why things happen through an exploration of planting, growing and through our key stories. When searching for minibeasts and caring for our plants, we will show our care and concern for living things in our environment.  We will also be exploring different occupations and ways of life through role-play, stories and our own experiences. 

 Expressive Arts and Design

Creativity will flourish as children explore a variety of artistic and musical experiences. We will be learning to use a range of tools when exploring our environment, making decisions about which tool will be the best for the job. We will continue exploring joining different materials together to create models, balancing and stacking with increased skill and independence. To enhance our story telling, we will be creating sounds and movements to accompany stories. 

‘Widgit’ in Pre-school

We use ‘widgit’ signs and symbols to help us learn the new words and vocabulary in our stories. These are published on the website and we strongly recommend that you look at these are home with your child. If your child speaks two or more languages it is really important for their development to speak about these words in all their languages and not just in English.

Makaton

 This is to help us express and communicate our wants and needs. We use Makaton how to say yes please and no thank-you, say what fruits they like to eat and make choices independently using their Makaton skills.

What a busy term we have ahead of us!

Mrs Bolt and the Pre-school team

Pre-school room

We have a wonderful, light and engaging environment for the children to play, learn and explore in. We have lots of exciting new resources for the children to share and a wonderful interactive whiteboard to enhance learning opportunities. We have created lovely, calm areas to explore mark -making and our senses as well as purposeful zones to further develop specific skills. Our continuous provision - the space where they use and explore independently, provides the children with endless opportunities to develop their skills in each of the seven areas of the EYFS.

Outdoor Learning

Throughout the day, the children will have time in the outdoor areas. We have free flow sessions on to the patio area and learn to explore in the 'big garden'. There is so much to see and do outside, from bikes, trikes, balls and hoops to water, soil and exploring all aspects of growing, weeding, planting and harvesting. The children will be hands-on with various seeds, plants, soil and herbs. They will get messy - please consider this when dressing your child for the day.  The children will have constant opportunities to choose resources independently, to explore collaborative play and decide how they want to develop their ideas and play in the outside area. We will respond to these interests and use natural resources, risk-taking equipment and will be out in all weathers, so please provide a coat, wellington boots and appropriate foot wear each day.

Children in pre-school learn through:

Three characteristics of effective teaching and learning.

• Playing and exploring- children investigate and experience things, and 'have a go'
• Active Learning- children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
• Creating and thinking critically- children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.