What are we doing in Dolphins and
Sea Turtles for December?
Well, it is the month of
celebrations so there is no shortage of inspiration here!!
Christmas is the
big one consuming our lives and also Hanukah and Santa Lucia we will be talking
about too.
It’s going to be
about fun, celebrations, festivities and being together with friends and
family. Glitter, tinsel and lights will be shining bright this month!!
The activities this month will be
based around the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) areas of learning:
Prime areas:
C&L: Learning
new words about festivals that are new. Using exciting language to describe all
that we are seeing and feeling. PD: Gross motor skills: Christmas
dances, stretching and decorating trees, etc! Fine motor skills: detailed
craft! PSED: Expressing how we feel about each other, love , excitement,
sharing, giving and receiving.
Specific areas:
UW: Cultural
learning. Joining in the Winter festivals and learning what they are all about.
L: Learning that writing can
communicate how we feel about each other and another way of making a connecting
with friends and family. EA&D: Selecting,
organising, positioning, making a range
of creative expressions of cultural festivals. M: The big count down!! Trees, cards, decorations; size, shape,
positioning, etc. maths is endless!
Some of the activities we will be doing this month to support this will be:
·
Arts and crafts! All of the teachers and children will be
having a blast of arts and crafts.
Making wintery scenes, festival icons, etc.
·
Singing! It started in November practicing for Carols by Candlelight and
won’t stop on the 7th! We
will be singing the whole of the nursery through to the New Year!!!
·
Stories! How many of these do you think there are for festivals!? We’ll be reading
about Christmas from all sorts of angles. Funny stories and factual. Hanukah,
Santa Lucia will also have a look in.
·
Dancing! There is nothing more fun that a good shake to some Christmas
songs.
·
The big count down! It takes so long to get to the big day. We’ll
be counting, talking about time and having our own advent calendar in Dolphins
with works of art by the children.
·
Food! We’ll be baking and making delicious festive treats. Biscuits,
cakes for decorating and hanging on the tree.
·
Sharing! We’ll be showing our mums and dads how much we care. Thinking
about them, talking about how much we love them and why and making them some
surprises for Christmas.
What you could do to support your children at home:
· Share with us books about your cultural
festivals and hat you will be doing for Christmas.
· Come along to our Carols by Candlelight event
and bring your children to the Christmas parties if they don’t normally come in
on the day.
· Take the opportunity to get creative with your
children and make some great decorations at home too.
· Help them to make, write or illustrate family Christmas
cards. Talk about your family and go to the post box to send them off with
them.
· Never forget a maths opportunity. Talk about presents under the tree and
decorations; size language: big, small,
short, tall, smallest, biggest, etc. Positioning language: on, under,
beside, behind, etc.
· Join in with local community events that you
never have before. It’s different and better with children!