Autumn Term in Little Shells
Our first few weeks will be all about settling in, building relationships and getting to know one another. We will spend time discovering what makes each child special, finding out about their interests, talking about the things they enjoy and helping them to feel happy, safe and confident in their new environment.
We will also be learning about our school rules and routines, developing our understanding of how we learn and play together and encouraging children to build positive relationships with both their friends and the adults around them.
Once the children are settled, we will begin exploring our Autumn topic. We will look closely at the changes happening in the world around us as summer comes to an end and Autumn begins. Through first-hand experiences, stories, songs, play and exploration, we will discover changing weather, falling leaves, seasonal colours and the signs of Autumn that we can see in our school environment.
Our carefully chosen stories will help to support our learning and provide opportunities for discussion, imagination and language development. Some of the books we will enjoy include:
- The Colour Monster
- Marvellous Me
- The Big Book of Families
- Peepo Hug
- Owl Babies
- Whatever Next!
These stories will support our learning about feelings, ourselves, our families, friendships and the world around us, while providing lots of opportunities to develop children's communication, language and vocabulary.
We follow the Sounds-Write programme for phonics. During their time in nursery, children will explore the Initial/Phase phonics that underpin their early reading and writing development.
Through playful, engaging activities, songs, stories and everyday experiences, children will begin to develop an awareness of sounds, listen carefully to the sounds they hear and build the foundations they need for their future phonics learning. We will encourage children to develop their confidence in listening, speaking and playing with sounds as they begin their exciting journey towards becoming readers and writers.
In mathematics, we follow the Winning With Numbers and White Rose Maths curriculums to support our teaching and develop children's understanding of number and mathematical concepts.
To begin our learning journey, we will explore collections of objects, comparing amounts and making different-sized collections. We will explore numbers to 3 and then to 5, developing our understanding of number through practical, hands-on experiences. The children will have opportunities to practise counting forwards and backwards, as well as beginning to explore simple mathematical concepts such as adding and sharing.
Through play and everyday experiences, we will encourage children to develop their mathematical language, curiosity and confidence when exploring number and quantity.
A very important part of nursery is helping children to become increasingly independent and confident in looking after themselves. Throughout the term, we will encourage children to have a go at everyday self-care tasks, including putting on and taking off their coats, managing their clothing, washing their hands and using the toilet independently.
We understand that every child develops these skills at their own pace, and we will provide lots of encouragement, praise and support as they become more confident.
In RE, the children will begin to recognise the wonderful world around them. We will hear a small part of the Creation story from Genesis and learn that everything God made is “very good.”
We will think about our place in God's wonderful world and understand that we are each loved and special. We will also explore how we can care for our world and look after our friendships with others.
The children will learn about the Christian sign of the cross and begin to understand prayer as a way of offering thanks to God.
We are so excited to begin this new journey with our nursery children and their families. We look forward to watching the children grow in confidence, develop new friendships, discover their interests and become enthusiastic, independent learners.
Here’s to a fantastic first term in Nursery!
Tips to help support your child's learning at home
There are lots of simple and fun ways you can support your child's learning at home:
- Share stories together – Read and enjoy books every day. Talk about the pictures and ask your child what they think might happen next.
- Talk, talk, talk! – Encourage your child to talk about their day, describe what they can see and share their ideas and experiences.
- Make maths part of everyday life – Count stairs, toys or pieces of fruit, and talk about who has more or less.
- Enjoy songs and rhymes – Singing nursery rhymes and songs helps to develop language, listening and memory skills.
- Encourage independence – Give your child opportunities to practise dressing themselves, putting on their coat, washing their hands and tidying away their toys.
- Explore the world around you – Go for walks, notice the changing seasons and talk about the things you can see, hear and find.
Most importantly, have fun, play together and celebrate your child's achievements!