Celebrating who we are
Our environments is made for children to choose what they would like to play and do. Here are some pictures that showcase wqhat we have been doing in class during this half term. We tend to choose creative activities that engage children and inspire them to become interested in the topic.
We launched our topic “Habitats” with a visit to the Hackney Marshes, were we explored the forest habitat. We made homes for mini beasts and explored the area. We also enjoyed a yuummy snack and drink.
We made Easter bonnets for our Easter Parade and enjoyed a egg hunt in the Early years garden!
We explored Spring, and how things start to bloom due to the sun and rain. We planted out own seeds to understand life cycles better. We had a good time in forest school, exploring the lanmd and making mobiles and painting with mud.
We worked a lot on addition and subtraction this half term. Learning different strategies that would help them solve a problem, like using numberlines, concrete objects or their fingers!
We started our half term with a wow day in which we tried different Australian foods. We made anzac biscuits, pavlovas and vegemite sandwitches. The children tried them all and recorded whether they liked them or not on a taste report.
We made some dot painting, painted bush fires, made koalas out of news paper and located Australia on the map.
We then explored Australian animals, read stories with different animals, wrote facts about them all and made it into a book. We finished up the topic by going to the London Zoo where we saw Wombats and Emus!
We discussed emotions and how to recognise and manage them. We also discussed how we are powerful and what sort of power we have ourselves. Here are some examples of the many things we did.
This half term we focused on measurement. We explored weight, length and positional language. We used scales to compare weight and see what is heavier and what is lighter. They also tried finding the equal weight.
For measurement, we started by discussing why people measure things by reading “How Big is a Foot”.
We then made prints of our feet and measured things with them. We realized that this was not the best way to measure, as we all have different sized feet!
So we used cubes to compare and measure, and finally learned about rulers and how to use them.
We played games that entailed them putting beanbags on, in, next to, in front of, behind, between… etc. It was loads of fun! (sadly, I don’t have pictures to share for this…
We love play in the early years. We also love allowing the children to follow their curiousity and see how they apply what they know and what they learn to their play. Here are a few pictures showing what sort of activities we had out this half term.
To really get into the author mentality, we hd a “Wow Day”, in which we turned into authors. We dressed up and came up to tell story ideas in front of each other. We wrote our own strories in groups, ilustrated them and turned them into a book that we shared with the whole class.
We also had a go at writing with quills, like old fashioned authors.
As part of our EYFS curriculum, our children are encouraged to choose what they would like to play while they learn. Here are some pictures of the children during what we call free flow. As you will se, we like bringing out their creative side.
We explored number, quantity and numerals in different ways. We focused on 0-10. Here are some examples of activities we tried out.
The first gallery is an activity we called Inventory Bags
The next one was about feeding the characters equal amounts and how if not it was not fair!
Composing and decomposing we used cubes to find different ways to make a number.
Parts of a whole, using shapes to match on top of a whole picture.
We took a transport trip to the Emirates Cable Cars in Greenwich.
We had to take the overground, the Underground, the DLR and the cable cars. We really tasted out different ways of travel and connections! …
We read Mr. Gumpy’s Outing and Who Sank the Boat and acted out the stories to each other.
After reading The Boat Ride and Who Sank the Boat, we tried out what materials are best when going on water to avoid sinking.
We realised plastic and wood were great, as well as foil. Paper was not…
We introduced our transport topic with a Wow Day. The children were able to test out different types of transport at school. Here are some pictures of the event
We were lucky enough to have our Speech & Language specialist visit us and show us a fun and engaging way to encourage communication and language development at home.
We invited the parents in for the session and we all made sock puppets to use at home for this very reason.
Here are some pictures of the lovely session!
We explored materials and their properties and sorted them. We described what they felt like, and where they might come from.
We had a big focus on number.
We ordered numbers, matched numerals to amounts and counted out objects. We also subitised and found different ways of making numbers, learning that they still are the same amount, even if arranged differently.
This half term we focused on our history linked topic: Now and Then.
We explored how humans change from birth to adulthood and beyond.
We started out topic with a WOW DAY in which we turned the classroom into a nursery. We explored baby objects and discussed what they are used for. We acted out how to care for babies, changing diapers and feeding or bathing them. We moved like babies, sang nursey rhymes and tried baby food!
We also looked at pictures of them as babies and made a comparising between them today (making portraits).
As an arts-based school, we pride ourselves in allowing children to engage with the Early Years Provision in a creative way, exploring with drama, plastic arts and design and technology. We invite creativity in their play, allowing them to learn in a fun way.
