April/May 2019

The purpose of this learning wall is to keep you informed of the learning that your child is experiencing in school so that it may also be complimented at home. This month your child will be learning all about spring and ourselves. Please encourage your children to look out for any signs of spring and discuss these at home. Our colour for this month is yellow and we will be focusing on the oval shape. We are so delighted with how our nursery children are progressing with their use of scissors. Please continue to encourage your children to follow the cutting programme at home or perhaps simply use old magazines or catalogues to cut out pictures of interest. This month we are focusing on the developing physical skills and packs will be sent home to practice these skills at home.

Personal, Social and Emotional:

Children will;
• To encourage an understanding of what is right, what is wrong and why.
• To encourage the children to express their feelings, ideas and opinions on subjects associated with everyday life.
• To be independent
• To develop a sense of personal responsibility in the children, for example picking up dressing up clothes/toys, tidying up at art table, helping at “tidy up”.
• The children will be able to act out everyday situations through role play.
• They will become more independent especially in the outdoor activities and role play.
• They will take turns and will use the timer.
• They will display confidence in speaking up in a group situation or through using pictures and puppets etc. and will be able to display feelings.
• They will develop feelings of social responsibility.
• Children will be willing to accept/respect differences in themselves and others

Language Development:

Children will;

• The children will have an improved vocabulary with regard to their physical features.
• They will be able to use expressive language to convey feelings such as happy, sad, angry etc.
• They will act out the stories/songs
• They will be able to talk about themselves in the past e.g. when I was a baby I couldn’t …etc.
• They will develop talking and listening sills as they listen to story tapes and use the music box outside.
• They will begin to be able to recognise their name as they find name at snack /dinner place and on entering nursery in the morning.

Physical Development:

Children will;
• Children will continue to develop physical skills and confidence levels in both fine and gross skill areas.
• They will be excited about sports day and will be willing to participate in practice.
• We will continue to emphasise and develop an awareness of safety, others and the space around them.
• We will provide opportunities using a range of small equipment-balls, hoops, and beanbags to further develop their throwing/catching skills and their aim by using targets.
• To foster movement along the obstacle course in a variety of ways-crawling, pulling, sliding, pushing etc.
• We will instil confidence and enjoyment of outdoor play.

Creative/Aesthetic:

Children will;
• Through our activities we will foster in the children a desire to use their imagination in art, music, stories and role play.
• We will develop an awareness of colour, space, form, texture and sound.
• We will increase their fine motor skills by opportunities to handle tools (cutters, scissors, knives, rolling pins etc) appropriately and safely.
• The children will observe closely themselves and farm animals and draw them.
• We will encourage children to respond to their work by discussion on a 1:1 or in a group.
• We will promote listening and concentration skills through listening to stories/rhymes on tape.

The World Around Us:

Children will;
• They will talk about past and present events in their own lives.
• They will observe the growth and changes in themselves/animals
• They will appreciate how people grow and change.
• They will develop an awareness of family relationships.
• They will be able to observe plant growth and decay.
• They will continue to be encouraged to care for and to respect their environment and to talk about features they like and dislike.
• They will be able to name and talk about farm animals and their babies.
• We will continue to encourage in the children the observation and care of the plants/flowers / seeds we have planted and to provide opportunities for further planting.
• Through cooking, the children will have opportunities to taste food and to observe changes in food as it is cooked.
• continue to observe the bulbs growing outside and the buds beginning to grow on the trees.
• be able to name parts of the body and use this information as they play in hospital situations.
• be aware that bulbs have grown outside.
• observe the change in water to ice and vice versa
• become increasing familiar with the planting process
• be aware of the position and role of grandparents in their families
• be aware of differences within our religions and cultures.

Mathematical Experiences:

Children will;

• consolidate their knowledge of the shapes covered to date and will focus on the new shape, the diamond.
• recognise the colour blue and different shades.
• develop mathematical language surrounding the concepts longer, shorter, small, medium and large.
• begin to develop confidence in sorting, matching and touch counting.
• learn new number rhymes/songs.
• sequence stages of making models etc
• recognise numbers 1 – 5
• use language of time when discussing daily routines and past/future experiences.