Communication and language development in the early years are critical components of a child's overall growth and future success. Effective communication and language skills serve as the foundation for cognitive, social, and emotional development.

We will:

- Start a conversation with an adult or a friend and continue it for many turns.  

- Be able to express a point of view and to debate when they disagree with an adult or a friend, using words as well as actions.   

Physical Development in the early years is a vital component of a child's holistic development. It encompasses a range of activities and experiences that promote physical fitness, motor skills, and overall well-being.

To develop these skills we will be encouraging the children to:

- Make healthy choices about food, drink, activity and toothbrushing. 

- Increasingly be able to use and remember sequences and patterns of movements which are related to music and rhythm.  

- Collaborate with others to manage large items, such as moving a long plank safely, carrying large hollow blocks.  

Developing PSED in the early years is vital for building a strong foundation for a child's future success in school and in life. By nurturing their personal, social, and emotional development, we help children develop the skills and attitudes that contribute to their overall well-being and positive relationships with others.

We aim to support this skill development by encouraging children to:

- Talk with others to solve conflicts.  

- Develop their sense of responsibility and membership of a community.  

Promoting literacy in the early years is essential for setting the stage for reading and writing success in school and beyond. By fostering a love of books and language, providing meaningful literacy experiences, and tailoring instruction to each child's needs, we can help children develop strong literacy skills and a lifelong passion for reading and learning. This half-term we will do this by focusing our literacy sessions on nursery rhymes such as ‘Hickory Dickory dock’. We will be developing their phonological awareness, so that they can: 

- Write some or all their name.  

- Write some letters accurately. 

Some key questions we will look at are:

- Who lives in the woods? 

- Where do we find woods? 

- Was Goldilocks right or wrong? 

- Which house would you live in? Why? 

- Is there an even better material for building a house? 

- What would you say to the wolf to make him kinder to the pigs? 

- Are the woods a good home? Why/why not?

Fostering mathematics in the early years is crucial for building a strong mathematical foundation and fostering a love for math. By providing a rich and engaging mathematical environment, offering opportunities for exploration and problem-solving, and tailoring instruction to children's developmental levels, we can help them develop essential mathematical skills and confidence in their abilities.

In maths we will be developing our knowledge an understanding of number and numerical patterns.

- Make comparisons between objects relating to capacity.  

- Make comparisons between objects relating to weight.  

- Understand position through words alone – for example, “The bag is under the table,” – with no pointing.   

- Describe a familiar route. Discuss routes and locations, using words like ‘in front of’ and ‘behind’.

Understanding the World in the early years helps children develop a broad range of knowledge and skills that are essential for their overall development. It fosters a sense of curiosity, empathy, and a connection to the world around them, which are valuable attributes for lifelong learning and citizenship.

During this half-term, we will:

- Know that there are different countries in the world and talk about the differences they have experienced or seen in photos.  

- Talk about the differences between materials and changes they notice.  

- Explore collections of materials with similar and/or different properties.

Expressive Art and Design in the early years is crucial for promoting creativity, self-expression, and imaginative thinking. It allows children to explore and communicate their feelings and ideas in diverse ways, fostering a lifelong love of art and creative expression.

This half-term we will:

-  Draw with increasing complexity and detail, such as representing a face with a circle and including details.  

-   Creating with materials-making a clay model of a hedgehog.

- Make imaginative and complex ‘small worlds’ with blocks and construction kits, such as a city with different buildings and a park.  

-  Explore different materials freely, to develop their ideas about how to use them and what to make.