Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Children will learn to select activities and resources with help, carry out small tasks and become confident in new social situations. Children will be encouraged to share and take turns, whilst being aware of their own and others’ feelings. Children will be encouraged to play in a group, initiate play and interact with peers and familiar adults. Understanding the World: Children will have opportunities to talk about their families and special times or events for family and friends. They will learn about different occupations and ways of life and know some of the things that make them unique. They will begin to understand and talk about some of the similarities and differences in relation to friends and family. They will begin to talk about things they have observed in the natural environment and understand growth, decay and changes. Children will have opportunities to operate simple equipment and know that information can be retrieved from computers. They will have the opportunity to use classroom computers and the interactive Cleverboard. Expressive Arts and Design: Children will be encouraged to join in with dancing and singing familiar songs and they will use percussion instruments to explore how sounds can be changed and how to maintain a rhythm. Through opportunities in art they will explore colour and texture and will experiment with different tools and media. Children will be able to use various construction materials and will learn how tools can be used for a purpose. Children will learn to create movement in response to music, make up rhythms and engage in imaginative role-play experiences. Physical Development: During PE sessions and in the outdoor area, children will be encouraged to move freely with confidence and to negotiate space successfully. They will have the opportunity to explore a range of equipment. Children will learn to use one-handed tools and equipment safely. Through mark making activities children will be encouraged to hold a pencil correctly and use it with good control. Children will be encouraged to use the toilet independently as well as dressing and undressing. Communication and Language: Children will learn about prepositions and will respond to simple instructions. They will begin to understand ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions. Children will be encouraged to use more complex sentences and use a range of tenses and vocabulary that reflects their experiences. Children will be encouraged to listen with increasing attention and will have opportunities to talk about stories that they have heard. Literacy: Children will listen to and join in with stories and poems and begin to be aware of the ways that stories are structured. They will be encouraged to talk about settings, events and characters and show an interest in illustrations and print in books and the environment. They will taught to recognise familiar words and link sounds to letters. Through various activities children will begin to give meaning to marks as they draw, write and paint and begin to segment the sounds in simple words and blend them together. Children will learn to write their name and other simple words using correct letter formation. Mathematics: Children will learn to use number names and number language spontaneously whilst engaged in practical mathematical activities. They will learn that numbers identify how many objects are in a set and begin to represent numbers using fingers, marks on paper and in pictures. They will have opportunities to match numeral and quantity and compare groups of objects. Children will become more aware of shapes in the environment and use positional language. They will learn to order items by height, length, weight and capacity.

Ourselves We will be talking and learning about our own and others’ families and interests through our Welcome Boxes and our All About Me booklets. Children will learn about the human body and senses. We will also be learning about new beginnings which will involve making friends, learning the routines and finding out about the school environment and the people within it. Celebrations We will be learning about various celebrations including Birthdays, Divali, Guy Fawkes’ Night, Remembrance Sunday and Christmas. We will learn how these occasions are celebrated through different family traditions and customs. We will start to learn about seasonal changes. Some of the books that we will be looking at include: Pass the Jam Jim – Kaye Umansky Kipper’s Birthday – Mick Inkpen Kipper’s Toybox – Mick Inkpen Funnybones – Janet & Allan Ahlberg