Our Current Topic

This is just a starting point, We follow the childrens interests and develop our learning from there.

Communication and Language

Make Christmas Rhyme time bags.
New vocabulary- Christmas, Merry, Joy, Santa, Decorations, Nativity.
To encourage language during play, provide a well stocked Christmas themed role play and small world play area- Nativity, Santas workshop or home themes

Physical Development

Provide stubby crayons and pencils that need to be held using a tripod grip.
Make an obstakle course for Santa and his elves to get around.
Go on winter walks collecting winter treasure to make into Christmas decorations.
Practice putting on winter clothes

Personal, social and emotional development

Ensure the play environment provides stimulating and challenging opportunities and areas that are calm and reassuring.
Make materials accessible at child hieght to ensure everybody can make choices.
Invite the kindness elf to visit and encourage random acts of kindness.

Mathematics

Have shape of the week, focus on that shape to make Christmas decorations eg circles to make snowmen, triangles to make Christmas trees.
Use props to sing and count 5 little snowmen fat.
Play sorting games using secorations, putting things in size order.
Provide Russian doll type activities to encourage the language of size.

Understanding the world

Talk about the changing seasons and weather.
Make bird feeders and put these outside so the children can observe the birds.
Make bird friendly reindeer food.
Provide natural items for sensory play- pine twigs, fir cones, cloves and cinnamon.

Literacy

Do helicopter stories around our theme.
Provide story sacks with Christmas themes.
New songs- Jingle bells, 5 little snowmen fat, snowflake snowflake, Away in a manger, when Santa got stuck up the chimney.
Provide salt and glitter sensory play and encourage mark making.
Write letters to Father Christmas

Expressive Arts and Design

Look at everything shiny- play with glitter, and metallic markers and make pictures.
Listen to firework music and encourage movement to the music- provide scarves, tinsel and streamers.
Make poppies using a range of media