What we are learning
Personal, Social and Emotional Development Learning Focus:
Changes
Understanding the World Theme: People Who Help Us
In each nursery session (morning and afternoon) we dedicate quality time for reading together. This shared time for stories is one of the ways we support children in developing a love for stories and a thirst for knowledge and imaginative experiences through stories. These stories are in addition to those we use to enhance learning linked to the key themes identified in our long term plan. Children's interests, experiences and stories from home are often linked to our 'drop everything and read' stories; seasonal changes also influence the stories chosen.
Learning in nursery promotes rich use of language. Naming resources, responding to others through conversation, speaking in longer sentences and learning new words are all ongoing themes.
Children are taught a wide range of skills including:
Listening and responding to Who? How? Where? Why? questions.
Speaking in full sentences, using new vocabulary.
Listening to the rhythm of words and exploring sounds in words.
Joining in with repeated phrases in stories and talking about events in stories.
Talking about own experiences linked to stories.
Drawing pictures and giving meaning to marks, be it lines, shapes, recognisable pictures, letters, words.
For children in the school group, a greater focus on key knowledge and skills includes:
Mathematical knowledge and understanding in nursery focuses on the development of number sense. Whilst being able to recite number names in order, from memory and recognising numerals are useful skills, a deep understanding of number values and how to count effectively are essential knowledge and skills.
Supporting children's understanding of shapes, space and measures through exploratory play which involves problem solving is essential for teaching knowledge and understanding of shapes and measures.
The focus for learning in these areas of the curriculum include:
Size - big, bigger, biggest, large, larger, largest, small, smaller, smallest...
Weight - heavy, heavier, heaviest, light, lighter, lightest)
Children in nursery and reception are not expected to measure in standard units. They need to develop a deep and secure knowledge of size, capacity and comparisons using non standard units
before moving on to the sorts of measures older children and adults use. For children in the school group, a greater focus on key knowledge and skills includes:
Counting on from a number bigger than one.