EYFS
Summer 1 - Down at the bottom of the garden
We have had a very busy half-term. We have been learning all about animals, minibeasts, habitats and lifecycles. At the start of this topic we learnt about how to take care of a plant and the lifecycle of one. We then all planted our own sunflower seeds and took them home to care for. We have had some very special visitors in our classroom this half-term. We have had duckling eggs! We have learnt about the lifecycle of a duckling and how to care for them. We even managed to see some of the ducklings hatch out of their eggs. The children have loved looking after the ducklings in our classroom and will be sad to see them go. In addition to the ducklings, we also have some caterpillars which we are observing to see what happens.
We had a very exciting trip to Hasty's Farm. The children had a great day, meeting all the different farm animals, feeding them and learning more about them from the farm staff. They also had a great time playing on the play equipment at the farm. A brilliant day had by all!
Spring 2 - We're on the move
The children in Maple and Rowan class have thoroughly enjoyed the topic, 'We're on the move'. Each week we have been learning about different modes of transport. We have learnt about, cars, buses, planes, rockets and boats. Each week we have compared a modern vehicle to one from the past. During this topic, we had an exciting trip to the library. We rode in a minibus to the town centre to visit our local library. We listened to a story from the librarian and completed fun activities, we also have to opportunity to get a library card and take our first book home.
Spring 1 - People who help us
Our topic, this half-term, is 'People Who Help Us'. We have been learning about all different job roles and why they are so important. Maple and Rowan class had an exciting start to their topic 'People Who Help Us'. They had a special visit from the Essex Police. The Police told the children the role of their job. Then the children all had an opportunity to go inside the police car, look at the Police uniform and try some on. We all enjoyed junk modelling our own emergency vehicle, we had to think about what we needed to include, e.g. ladder, sirens etc.
Autumn 2 - Through my eyes
During this topic we have been learning about all different events and celebrations from around the world. We have learnt about birthdays, weddings, Halloween, Bonfire night, Remembrance Day, Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas. We used our learning to create some artwork using chalks to draw our own Rangoli patterns for Diwali. We have our first school Christmas performance. All the children in Maple and Rowan class were very brave and sang their Christmas songs beautifully!
As part of our ‘7 Before 7 promises’ all the children in Early Years have been carrying out 10 good
deeds in 10 days to help the school and local community. The deeds are:
1. Help clear the leaves in the outside area
2. Share stories with the nursery children
3. Create a food hamper for the food bank
4. Give the teachers a sweet treat
5. Litter picking in the local area
6. Make Christmas cards for the neighbours
7. Help the dinner ladies set up the hall for lunch
8. Wash the bikes and scooters in the roadway
9. Help each class with their recycling
10. Make someone smile – make a card for Mrs Westcott
Autumn 1 - All about me
We have had a brilliant start to school. We have enjoyed exploring our new classrooms and learning about our school. We have been learning all about the children in our classrooms and making new friends. We have all been working really to learn to write our names and use the correct letter formation.
