Area of Learning

What we are doing at school.

What you can do to help.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

In the first half of the term our topic will be food. We will talk about needing a range of food to keep us healthy. We will cook lots of different foods to sample and share and discuss what we like/dislike.
In the second half of the term our topic will be animals where children will contribute to discussions about looking after animals in different habitats. Children will recount personal experiences and feelings about animals eg some people being afraid of spiders, snakes etc . Children will understand the importance of animals and how they contribute to the environment. We will visit a farm and the Palm House.

Talk to your child about the foods you eat and where they come from. For example bread is made from wheat, apples grow on trees, milk from cows. If buying fruit and vegetables with your child see if you can find what country they grew in.
Talk about all the animals in our local area and see how many you and your child can name. Do you have a pet? If so talk about how to keep it healthy. Explain why animals play an important role in our environment and why we shouldn’t be afraid of them.
During this term your child will bring home their Special Book to share with you at home. You are welcome to put add something to this book eg a piece of work, a photo, or a keepsake from a special event etc.

Communication, Language and Literacy

Children will have opportunities to role play domestic/shop/café/vet scenarios and talk about visits we make. They will listen to and re-tell stories related to the topics, e.g. The Sandwich that Max Made, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, The Very Hungry Caterpillar etc. They will also be introduced to information books and understand how these books help us to learn and find information. Children will continue to compose letters, make lists, write captions and stories and they will continue to take part in group reading activities. They will learn songs and play with sounds and words.

Read books with your child every day. Allow your child to choose their own book and talk about the pictures in the book. Encourage your child to talk about foods they like/dislike and animals that they see. Take your child to the local library and borrow story books and information books. Please read their Guided Reading book several times during the week.
Encourage your child to draw pictures and write about them. Where possible demonstrate writing simple letters (for example, to family members) and making simple lists (for example, shopping lists). Continue to help your child write their own name using upper and lower case letters correctly and other names or words.

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

Children will continue to chant numbers up to, above and beyond 20. They will count groups of objects and recognise and write numbers. Children will begin to understand adding and subtracting simple numbers up to 10 and then beyond. Children will begin to recognise coins 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 20p.
Children will consolidate 2D shapes, such as triangle, rectangle, square, circle and hexagon and discuss their properties, e.g. A square has 4 corners and 4 sides. They will begin to recognise and name basic 3D shapes such as, cube, cylinder, cuboid, pyramid. Children will continue to group and sort shapes according to colour, shape and size and make patterns, pictures and models using shapes.

Continue to count everyday objects. Help your child to recognise numbers from 0 to 10 and then move on to numbers up to and beyond 20. Use words like less and more. Ask, what is one more than 5? Or One less than 7 - with numbers to 10 first and then try to 20. Show and say simple addition and subtraction sums for example 3 and 2 make 5 or 3 take away 2 makes 1.
Show children coins up to 20p and where possible point out paying for goods at the shops. When walking to and from school point out shapes that you can see, for example ask what shape is the window? Can you see any triangles?

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

We will grow some plants from seeds so that the children can observe and record the changes that they see. We will learn that we need plants and animals for food. We will make comparisons; similarities and differences between various foods and animals. We will make visits to a farm and the Palm House in Wood Green to see animals and small creatures in their natural habitats.
We will make puppets from relevant stories -teaching safe use of tools and techniques. Children will be given the opportunity to continue to use basic controls on a computer when playing games etc.

Go on trips to local parks to look at different plants and small animals. Bruce Castle Park, Alexandra Palace and Finsbury Park are excellent facilities to see plants and small animals.
Try to grow some plants with your child – cress is easy and quick to grow and you can then make lovely, healthy cress sandwiches to eat! Talk about how we get different foods from trees, plants and animals.
Look at different creatures and ask where they live, what they eat and what they do. Look at how many legs some have or if they have any legs. Watch some TV documentary programmes about animals.

Physical Development

We will introduce different games to play in the outdoor area, which will help to improve spatial awareness and cooperation. We will encourage children to participate in team games. We will continue to develop fine motor skills through cutting, sticking, sewing, etc, when constructing for a purpose, e.g. puppets, junk models, shakers, etc. We will be encouraging children to match movement to music.

Take your child to the park and encourage regular exercise. Let your child climb and explore park equipment – this will really help in lots of ways, including helping your child to write more easily. Encourage your child to move and dance to music and explain that this is a form of exercise. Let your child draw pictures and cut out using child safe scissors to help develop their fine motor skills.

Creative Development.

Children will make observational drawings/paintings of foods, plants and animals using different media. We will study paintings of several artists and try to do our own paintings in their style. We will help and encourage children to make up their own imaginative stories to go with puppets and models. We will use musical instruments to help with rhythm and patterns.

Let your child draw pictures/write about animals they have at home or see. Encourage your child to listen to music and join them to move in time and clap with the rhythm.
Let your child make up dances to their favourite music and let them bring it to school to share.