Autumn 1 2022
We are The Seahorses!
All About Me!
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Welcome back, Seahorses! We are looking forward to having a fun-filled year and we want all of our children to be happy and confident and to enjoy coming to nursery. The adults will work alongside the children to get to know them and build relationships so the children are relaxed and comfortable. The children will be encouraged to make friends and try new things. They will have independent time as well as adult-directed time so their skills can be developed.
Communication and Language
Speech and Language is always a priority in Nursery and is even more so this year. The children will be encouraged to 'use their words' rather than gestures and sentences will be modelled for those who need this support. New vocabulary will be introduced, displayed and used so the children's vocabulary is continually growing. Small group activities will target less confident children and provide opportunitites to talk. The children will be taught to 'give me 5' - eyes looking, ears listening, lips closed, hands still and brain ready. They will be expected to listen to each other and adults and to respond when someone talks to them. Early Talk Boost will start for those children who we feel need sessions to develop these skills further.
Writing and mark making
Physical development goes hand in hand with writing development. The children need to develop both their gross and fine motor skills in order to be able to hold and use scissors and mark making materials properly. The children will develop these skills indoors and outdoors. They will use playdough to strengthen their fingers, manipulating it into different shapes, paint and draw with different equipment and development movement and balance on bikes and scooters. Adults will model how to draw shapes with care and skill in order to make marks more recognisable. We will use the 'Squiggle While You Wiggle' programme to develop gross motor skills which is movement to music and is great fun!
Mathematics
Number - in number we will be working on numbers to 3. We will work on counting and understanding the value of quantities so the children are competent in this. They will play number games and learn to count out small quantities from a larger group, learning to 'stop' at the right number. They will learn to recognise small quantities without needing to count them (subitising)
Have a go at the 'Counting Out' game below and see if your child can count out small quantities correctly.
Problem solving - the children will learn to sort objects by size, colour or shape using a range of equipment.
Shape - the children will have access to a range of construction equipment and will explore these, learning how they fit together.
Measure - the children will talk about how objects are the same and different, learning new vocabulary relating to this.
Understanding the World
This half term they will use photographs to talk about their family, learn about where they live and what the people in their families do as a job. We will talk about what makes them special, how they are the same and different to their friends and learn to accept differences. We will make books using photographs from home and use these as a stimulus and to engage the children. They love talking about themselves and their families! Have a look at the word mat and talk about the people in your family, name them and say who they are in your family.