January 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy New Year!  All the children have resettled very well into our daily routines after their Christmas Holidays. We are happy to be back and start our learning journey in 2023.

We are sure this will an exciting term where the children will enjoy exploring and learning together☺

Here is some information detailing our curriculum for the Spring term.

In English our focus will be on learning and extending the children's phonics knowledge and developing language and communication skills, with an emphasis on listening, speaking, signing and using PODD books. Our focus stories are ‘Wow said the Owl’ and ‘Day Monkey and night Monkey’. This term children will also look at Poetry - Sensational Senses and non-fiction books about weather.

In Mathematics we will be practising counting to 10 objects and reading, writing & ordering numbers & numerals from 1 – 10. We will be practising estimating the number of objects & checking by counting and saying 1 more/1 less to 10-20, using ‘more’ & ‘less’ to compare two numbers, adding two single digit numbers and work on subtracting by ‘taking away’ from a group of objects.  We will also be exploring and talking about weight, capacity and time.

In Science the topic this term is ‘Light’.  The class will be learning that darkness is an absence of light and carrying out various activities which will help them to understand that light is necessary to see things. We will learn about various light sources e.g. torches and lamps and that shadows are formed when an object blocks light from a source.

In Art and Design lessons the children will explore formal elements of art, drawing lines, and mixing colours for painting. They will learn different ways to mark make, how to make different prints with their bodies as well as Lego printing.

In PSHE, there will be a strong emphasis on personal, social and emotional development. We will be reading stories, using rhymes, playing games and singing songs with links to our topics, ‘Managing strong feelings’ and ‘Changing and Growing’

During P.E sessions we will focus on individual physical development and expression, including dance, swimming and Yoga taught by specialist teachers.

Humanities - In the first half of the term we will have Geography where we will learn about the local area.  In R.E. lessons children will focus on exploring friendships. This term we will also be making the most of the outside environment.  We will have regular sessions in our garden planting bulbs, seeds and flowers. We plan to make local tripse.g. to the local park and the local pond. There will be lots of opportunities to encourage the children to interact with their peers and express themselves through free choice activities, music, art and ICT based sessions.

In Computing this term, the focus is on learning how to access the internet and how to be safe when using the internet. This will include looking at devices that connect to the internet

Thank You in advance for your support. We look forward to discussing your child’s progress at their PSP’s (Personal Support Plans) and Annual Review meetings.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries.

Anna and Panda Class Team.