Nursery

Nursery

Spring Term 1

Vocabulary Focus

Literacy

We will be using pictures and props to sequence and retell our familiar books and fairy tales, and will also be using recordable equipment to act out our favourite parts of the stories, such as the horrible troll and fierce wolf.  We will be focusing on the ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and exploring the story across all areas of the curriculum.

The aims are that children will:

• Join in with repeated refrains and anticipates key events and phrases in rhymes and stories (30-50).
• Show awareness of rhyme and alliteration (30-50).
• Handle books carefully (30-50).
• Begin to be aware of the way stories are structured (30-50).
• Recognise familiar words and signs such as their own name and advertising logos (30-50).
• Ascribe meanings to marks they see in different places (30-50).
• Listen to stories with increasing attention and recall (30-50).
• Describe main story settings, events and principal characters (30-50).
• Know information can be relayed in the form of print (30-50).
• Hold books the correct way up and turns pages (30-50).

Respond to questions about who, what and where,when linked to text and illustrations.

Use gestures and actions to act out a story, event or rhyme; use familiar story language and retell together e.g. Once upon a time… Happily ever after.

Recite simple rhymes, songs and poems.

Maths

We will be using numicon to help us count and understand numbers to ten. We will be using familiar fairy tales, such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs and The Three Billy Goats Gruff to help us explore number, size, positional language and sequencing. We will be making simple patterns with the peg boards and threading beads.

The aims are that children will:

• Sometimes matches numeral and quantity correctly (30-50).
• Show an interest in representing numbers (30-50).
• Show curiosity about numbers by offering comments or asking questions (30-50).
• Know that numbers identify how many objects are in a set (30-50).
• Use positional language (30-50).
• Show an interest in shape and space by playing with shapes or making arrangements with objects (30-50).
• Recognise numerals 1 to 5 (40-60).
• Count up to three or four objects by saying one number name for each item (40-60).
• Recite numbers in order to 10 (30-50).
• Compare two groups of objects, saying when they have the same number (30-50).
• Realise not only objects, but anything can be counted, including steps, claps or jumps (30-50).
• Show awareness of similarities of shapes in the environment (30-50).

Vocabulary – we will talk about ways we can pay for things through our ‘Shoppers’. This will involve real life situations where we need to pay for things.

Coins, goods, notes, cards, change

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

We will be developing our confidence in talking with others during our play. Our teachers will support us to use daily activities such as playdough, the home corner and construction to talk about ourselves, our families and home lives, as well as other important things we might have been doing. We will be thinking about our feelings, exploring which things might make us happy, angry, sad or scared. We will consider our own actions and think about things which might make our friends happy or sad. We have a special puppet called Sia who helps us talk about our feelings.

The aims will be that children can:

• Select and use activities and resources with help (30-50).
• Keep play going by responding to what others are saying or doing (30-50).
• Usually tolerate delay when needs are not immediately met, and understands wishes may not always be met (30-50).
• Welcome and value praise for what they have done (30-50).
• Usually adapt behaviour to different events, social situations and changes in routine (30-50).
• Initiate play, offering cues to peers to join them (30-50).

Positive vocabulary – curious, determined, persistent, imaginative, persuasive, funny, calm, energetic, lively, clever, generous, entertaining, polite.

Happy, angry, sad, scared, upset, friendly.

Good sitting, building, looking, helping, sharing, tidying up…

Communication and Language

Our first book will be ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’.  We will also be exploring lots of different nursery rhymes such as ‘I’m a little teapot’ and we have a visit from the Freshwater theatre company to help us explore this theme. We will help our teachers by listening carefully and joining in with our favourite parts, especially when the Troll says “Who’s that trip trapping over my bridge?“

The aims will be that children can:

• Focus attention – still listen or do, but can shift own attention (30-50).
• Show understanding of prepositions such as ‘under’, ‘on top’, ‘behind’ by carrying out an action or selecting correct picture (30-50).
• Begin to understand ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions (30-50).
• Question why things happen and give explanations using who, what, when, how (30-50).
• Retell a simple past event in correct order (e.g. went down slide, hurt finger) (30-50).
• Use talk to connect ideas, explain what is happening and anticipate what might happen next, recall and relive past experiences.
• Follow directions (if not intently focused on own choice of activity) (30-50).
• Begin to use more complex sentences to link thoughts (e.g. using, and, because) (30-50).
• Use vocabulary focused on objects and people that are of particular importance to them (30-50).

Use talk to connect ideas - Next, later, after that, and, because.

Understanding the World

We will be thinking about people who help us such as police officers, firefighters, doctors and nurses. In our role-play area we will have a hospital, where we will act out the roles of doctor and patients and find ways to make each other better.  We will be exploring healthy eating, and in our outdoor area, we have a healthy eating ‘café’, where we will be discussing healthy food choices. We will also use the outside area for keeping our bodies healthy with keep fit exercises.

The aims will be that children will:

• Remember and talk about significant events of their own experiences (30-50).
• Talk about why things happen and how things work (30-50).
• Show an interest in technological toys with knobs or pulleys, or real objects (30-50).
• Show care and concern for living things and the environment (30-50).
• Know how to operate simple equipment (30-50).
• Talk about some of the things they have observed such as plants, animals, natural and found objects (30-50).

Vocabulary linked to the world around them: loud, quiet, shout, whisper, hum, ring, bang, rustle. Texture e.g. soft, hard, spiky, sharp, sticky, gooey, rough, smooth.

Smell e.g. perfume, fresh linen, manure, minty, sweet, flowery.

Experience, observe and talk about: pets, wild animals, mini beasts, insects.

Wind, rain, cloud, frost, ice, storm, thunder, lightning, food, weather, season,  spring, summer, autumn, winter,  temperature, map, globe, plan, country, position, near/far, left/right, up/down, map.

Physical Development

We will practice moving in different ways such as jumping, hopping on one foot and skipping. We will continue to develop our confidence on the climbing and balancing equipment. We will develop our skills on the balance bikes and start to explore riding our bikes around obstacles and over different terrain.

The aims will be that children will:

• Run skilfully and negotiate space successfully, adjusting speed or direction to avoid obstacles (30-50).
• Hold pencils near point between first two fingers and thumb and use it with good control (30-50).
• Dress with help, e.g. putting arms into an open-fronted coat or shirt when held up, pulling up their own trousers, and pulling up a zipper once it is fastened at the bottom (30-50).
• Use one-handed tools and equipment, e.g. make snips in paper with child scissors (30-50).
• Draw lines and circles using gross motor movements (30-50).
• Catch a large ball (30-50).
• Stand momentarily on one foot when shown (30-50).
• Mount stairs, steps or climbing equipment using alternate feet (30-50).
• Handle tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with increasing control (30-50).
• Tell adults when hungry or tired or when they want to rest or play (30-50).

Through the snack table there will be planned opportunities to talk about healthy/unhealthy items that children are familiar with e.g. fizzy drinks, water, fruit juice, chocolate bars, crisps, fruit, raisins etc.

Names of different fruits/vegetables, grapes, apples, pears, cucumber etc.

Expressive Arts and Design

We are already really excited about our new ‘mini me’ people. These are little puppets of us and our friends, and we will use these to support our small world play. We also have lots of masks to match our favourite stories, helping us to act out stories in our own words.

The aims will be that children can:

• Tap out simple repeated rhythms (30-50).
• Imitate movement in response to music (30-50).
• Understand that they can use lines to enclose a space, and then begin to use these shapes to represent objects (30-50).
• Enjoy joining in with dancing and ring games (30-50).
• Explore what happens when they mix colours (40-60).
• Begin to move rhythmically (30-50).
• Explore and learn how sounds can be changed (30-50).
• Develop preferences for forms of expression (30-50).
• Use movement to express feelings (30-50).
• Sing to self and make up simple songs (30-50).

Blue, green, pink, red, yellow, mix, stir, paint, brush, explore, pattern.

Beads, glass beads, marbles, rings, nuts, bolts, string of beads, pebble, buttons, pompoms.