April 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope you had a lovely Easter break. The children are happy to be back at school and learning with their friends.  

As recommended in the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, our planning continues to make time for the children to experience periods of independent learning. Research clearly indicates that young children learn best through play supported by adults who know and understand their learning needs. There will also be specific activities to support children’s targets through either an activity they particularly enjoy or activities linked to a specific theme e.g. early phonics. We will be linking much of our learning to the book “The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle and ‘Titch’ by Pat Hutchins. 

Here are the Areas of Learning for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The first 3 areas are known as the Prime Areas and set the foundation for the other 4 areas which are known as Specific Areas. Much of our work will be focused around the Prime areas. Linking the areas of learning supports children to make sense of what they are learning.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

We will be continuing to develop circle times and support the children to make choices of songs they want to sing and games they want to play. We will continue to give the children opportunities to play and work together. This will be extended in the summer term with more regular sessions with our friends at Lancasterian and in other Vale classes. This will support transition for those children who will be making transitions to other classes in the new academic year. Our children are making good progress with recognising their own belongings and anticipating the routine of the day. 

Communication and Language

Our children are making good progress at using objects of reference to support their understanding of routines and to let them know what is happening next. Some are moving towards using photographs and symbols such as toilet, snack and good morning. We are very proud of our children’s developing communication such as vocalisations, eye gaze, pointing to request. We will continue to maximise opportunities for Intensive periods of interaction during the daily independent learning sessions. 

Physical Development

With the warmer weather we will be capitalizing on our outside area to support and extend children’s learning. They will have frequent opportunities to use a variety of one-handed tools e.g. crayons, brushes, chalk pens. They will also be handling building blocks, small world toys and balls. This will develop and support the muscles in their hands. They will also have the opportunity to use the soft play room and the Lancasterian Early Years playground which will support the larger muscles, balance and coordination. If your child uses a standing frame or a walker, regular opportunity will be given for this during the school day. We also have a yoga and a dance session each week with a specialist teacher which our children thoroughly enjoy.

Mathematical Development

We will be learning some number rhymes and using number names to count e.g. how many children are in school today? We will also be exploring things that are heavy and things that are light. 

Literacy

We will be focusing on the book “The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle and ‘Titch’ by Pat Hutchins. We will also be looking at tactile books and books that make noises. We will learn that an object can represent a song. We will learn to hold a book the right way up and to turn the pages carefully. We will continue to develop our pre-phonic skills with visual discrimination and auditory matching activities. These will be adapted to suit each child’s individual learning needs.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

We will be learning about Weather through different sensory activities and experiences. We will go on short trips around the local environment in different types of weather. We will continue our sensory cooking sessions, exposing children to a range of tastes and flavours. 

Expressive Art and Design

We will be exploring different ways of making marks with different materials such as paint, gloop and sand. We will be learning songs and using sticks and shakers and sticks in different ways to the rhythm and in response to music. We will be offering the children many different sensory and messy activities. The adults working with your children will encourage them to touch and then explore wet, damp and dry materials such as flour, water, playdoh, paint, glue, oats, sand, soil etc. The adults will model the appropriate language as they do so and support the children to access these with increasing confidence and autonomy.

The messier your child, the more they have enjoyed the activities of the day!

If you notice your child is enjoying something in particular please let us know and we may be able to incorporate this in class. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Best Wishes

Teddy Bear Team