Pre-School 2024 - 2025

Welcome to Pre-School Spring Term 1 2025 

We will be starting our first SpringTerm topic 'Traditional Tales' please enjoy looking at the topic web in the file section below

We have lots to look forward to this half-term including all our making and baking activities and puppet shows

Welcome to all the new children and their families starting with us in January, if you have yet to receive the welcome pack with details about the Pre-School day, then please ask at the school office. 

Routines, Reminders & Messages for Children starting Reception in September

• • Tapestry – If you have not yet sent any family photos or photos of special times for yourchild then we would love to share them in class. Please upload a photo of your child’s family as soon as you can, thanks so much! 
  • Book Bags – Please look out for our ‘wow stars’ to complete at home, we will share your child’s celebrations/achievements together at school. Also, it is really great to share any news or information about home life with us, we would love to see any type of news in their books when you bring them back to us each week 
  • Reading for Pleasure' books - Your child will choose a 'Reading for Pleasure' every week.  These are lovely books for you to share with your child at home and are wonderful as a bedtime story or snuggling up on the sofa to read together. These books are also changed on your child's specific Book-Bag Day and again we have a limited supply, so would appreciate your support in ensuring they are returned on time to be available to be chosen by another child. 
  • Phase 1 Phonics- We will be learning about how to hear and say sounds at the beginning of words. We will start with letter s and work on a new letter each week: a,t,p,i,n will follow. Each week you will receive a small poster with instructions on how to model the pure sound and practise new words at home together.
  • Lunches - You may change lunch option at any time for your child so if you wish to switch to a school lunch provided by our kitchen, please do not hesitate to let us know, an order form and menu can be obtained online or from the school office.  
  • Passwords - We require a password for every child. If you have not provided a password on your registration form, then please inform myself or Miss Moss at drop-off or pick-up time so that we can update our records. Also, if there are any changes to normal collection routines, please let us know on the day or contact the school office. 

Our Learning Journey

Week Commencing: Monday 20th January 2025

'This week we will explore the story  'The Three Little Pigs’ 

Communication & Language:

This week we will repeat phrase ‘I'll huff and puff and blow your house down’ and look at vary the story where the wolf wants to eat the pig's cakes. We will use actions and puppets to retell the story and add changes, such as  I will help you to build a house' and 'I will help you to bake cakes'. Our words this week will be; straw house, brick house and stick house and the characters names of pig and wolf.

   Personal, Social & Emotional Development:

This week we will go back to our calming breathing time for relaxation and self-regulation, using the ‘Rainbow breathing video’. We have lots of opportunities this week to express our feelings through puppet play and  with new things such as our vets role play and dressing up. We will also continue to model to the children how to buddy up with different children at free flow playtime.  

Physical Development:

This week we will be working together as a team to build houses for the wolf and the three little pigs. We will act out climbing down the chimney and climbing back up a ladder. We will enjoy making mini houses with the small wooden bricks and using playdough as cement. We will be using finer whiteboard pens, that guide our fingers into a tripod position, we can then practise forming straight lines to make squares.

Literacy:

This week we will play with puppets from the story 'The Three Little Pigs' and add more pigs to our small world farm area. We will practise recalling the sequence of the story using the pictures of each type of house and talk about how strong the material is. 

Phonics:

This week we will have lots of fun exploring how to make the pure sound 'a', using the actions of pretending to bite an apple and opening our mouths. We will have fun saying lots of different words that start with the 'a ' sound and enjoy sharing what we can see on our game boards, please practise this at home using the resources in their news books.

  Mathematics:

This week we will begin our exploration of the number 4. Throughout the week we will enjoy short challenges that will focus on counting out 4 using 4 different types of bricks to build with and last of all number 4 sports day’ challenges including 4 small balls  in a bucket and racing 4 cars. Good luck everyone! 

    Understanding the World:

This week we will role play with our 3 little pigs den building equipment. We will measure and balance equipment and try to see how many children can fit inside. Which house is the strongest? We will explore bricks, twigs and straw to see what the material feels like say why it is strong or not. We will use words like; hard, soft, bendy, squishy and so on.

   Expressive Arts & Design:

This week we will enjoy independent puppet play and practise using props and familiar words from our story. We will be getting creative with wooden sticks and painting with rollers to make brick prints and collages.

Our door is always open, please contact us for help at any time.  At busy times, please telephone to leave a message or email and we will respond as soon as we can.