September 2011

 

TO PARENTS OF NURSERY

 

Dear Parents

                                 

In the Nursery we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage which is produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and the Department for Education Skills and is also part of the National Curriculum.

 

Those documents help us to provide a broad curriculum whilst ensuring we are continuously helping all children to gain new skills and experiences. One of the fundamental aims of the Nursery is to encourage the children’s social skills. We aim to provide activities and play opportunities which encompass the six areas of learning set out by the Foundation Stage.

 

Development and learning are holistic. None of the six areas can be delivered in isolation from others. They are equally important and depend on each other. One activity or experience can help to develop skills and understanding across several areas of learning and development. Below are the six areas of learning: 

 

·        Personal, social and emotional development - this includes showing the children how to function in a group outside the family unit as well as having consideration for others, sharing and caring and showing a certain amount of independence. Interacting with peers and teachers, talking about and sharing their news.

 

·        Physical development - their fine motor skills and hand eye co-ordination are encouraged with colouring, cutting and pouring. The children’s large motor skills are helped along by our P.E. teacher Mr Alexis from ‘The Elms.’ He uses a wide range of equipment to help enhance the children’s hand –eye co-ordination, ball control skills, gymnastics skills, tennis skills and balance. Bicycles, cars, scooters and the outside climbing frame are used periodically throughout the day. The children have music and movement with our specialist music teacher Miss Calderwood, this takes place in either the Synagogue with the piano and in the classroom with action songs. The children are taught to experience and respond to the musical elements of rhyme, melody, dynamics, tempo and form through singing songs, movement activities and use of percussion instruments. The children have Yoga with a professional Yoga bugs teacher - Michelle Whitefield once a week.

 

·        Problem solving, Reasoning and Numeracy - the children will encounter numeracy skills in many different ways. A child who is building a tower using duplo is not merely ‘playing.’ He is using his concept of size, shape and space; he is counting the bricks; he is comparing the size of his tower with that of another child; he is sorting out which bricks he needs and building with them in sequence. These and may other construction activities serve an important purpose with regard to mathematics and language development. Counting songs and stories are particularly helpful, as are counting games. To help the children recognise numbers, colouring sheets are used together with arts and crafts and computer programmes. A very popular activity is cooking-is there any child or adult who does not like eating?! To make a successful cake the children learn to measure/count the ingredients.

 

·        Communication, language and literacy - when we interact with the children whilst they are playing, we are continuously extending their vocabulary by talking to them about their activity. This promotes language skills, as does circle time-which provides an opportunity for group discussions. Morning snack and lunchtimes allow the children socialise when they sit at the table and tell each other their news. Their language skills are recorded and monitored in a weekly newsbook where they dictate their news to a teacher who writes down exactly what the child says, e.g. “ I goed to buy an ice cream.” The children in the Nursery are emergent readers. They are aware of the written word through stories, labelling on wall displays and by learning their alphabet; they learn to differentiate shapes and patterns for letter and sound recognition. The children will begin learning some letters with the help of ‘Jolly Phonics.’ The children will learn a letter during circle time, reinforced by a physical activity which helps children remember the sound. This is followed by art and craft activities to enhance this knowledge. There will be a letter of the week table where children are encouraged to bring objects from home for this table.

 

·        Creative development - the children have access to many creative opportunities using sand, clay, paint, chalk, textured materials, and of course crayons and pencils. The children can use these materials to express their inner thoughts and feelings. Children can also be creative through music and movement, musical instruments, junk modelling, dancing and imaginative role-play.

 

·         Knowledge and understanding of the world- children create models based on their experiences and observations of the world around them. The children explore the wonderful world of science. How does food alter after it has been cooked? How does a seed grow? Where does the wind come from to make a boat sail across the water? We will also make use of the I.C.T. suite; the children will learn what a computer is and how it works. The children will develop their mouse control skills, with the help of software packages. They will also develop their skills in Routing through the use of Oma Roma a programmable robot. The children also have access to the classroom computer. The children learn about their culture, customs and Jewish laws through daily prayers, topic work and activities. We will be covering the following topics throughout the year: Shabbat, Chaggim, Berachot and Kashrut.

 

  The children are provided with a rich Jewish Studies curriculum daily. Through stories, songs, drama, games and amusing anecdotes the children are taken into a colourful expedition of the Torah and all the Chaggim. Each day begins with Tefillah and Berachot, which are recited before eating and Birchat hamazon at the end of lunch. The week ends with a Kabbalat Shabbat party. Each child has the opportunity to be Shabbat Ima or Abba.

 

Both Penguin and Dolphin classes will cover the same curriculum and topics outlined. P.E, music, yoga, breaks and at lunchtime the classes will be split so that the children do not only make friends with the children in their class. Both classes will be merged together for outings and special occasions such as drama workshop days and Kabbalat Shabbat.

 

This year we will be covering the following main topics to enrich the children’s knowledge of the world.

 

·        Autumn Term: The Chaggim, Parasha-creation of the world and Noah’s Ark, myself, autumn and Transport (Visit to the RAF Museum) Chanukah and lights.

·        Spring Term: Growing, Tu B’shvat, Purim, Pesach, life cycle of a tadpole.

·        Summer Term: Yom Ha’atzmaout, people and food from around the world - Kashrut, Berachot and a summer term outing.

 

Parents are welcome to share suggestions and ideas on a particular topic.

 

We hope this information has been useful and has given you a better understanding of what your child will experience whilst in the Nursery. If there is an activity you would like to do with the Nursery, please let us know so that we can arrange an afternoon for you to come.

 

We look forward to an exciting and busy year ahead.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Danielle Karr

 

 

Head of Nursery