Our main theme in Acorn class this term is 'Animals and their babies.' We will be learning the names of adult and baby animals and exploring the similarities and differences between adult animals and their babies. We will be taking a closer look at farm animals, creating pictures and masks, building a farm from junk modelling materials and role playing being farmers. We will learn about woodland animals and their babies and explore their habitats. We will create hedgehogs from clay and create a 3D woodland scene. We will take a look at wild and endangered animals, learning the names of those animals. We will learn what the word 'endangered' means, why some animals are endangered and how we can help. Finally we will be looking at Arctic and Antarctic animals, their names and the kind of habitat they live in and how they survive such cold weather. We will create Arctic/Antarctic pictures, explore ice cubes and observe how quickly they melt in water and relate that to the melting habitat these animals live in.

In Literacy, we will be exploring our core text 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. We will be exploring the characters and using masks to act out the story as we become more confident with the sequence of the story. We will size order goat and troll pictures, create a story map and create pictures of the characters.

Our 2 core rhymes this half term are 'Old Macdonald had a Farm' and '5 Little Ducks'. Copies of these rhymes will be sent home for children to share with their families. We will be singing these songs during circle times in Acorn class over the half term.In Phonics, we will be identifying the initial sounds of animal names, looking for rhyming words, sounding out words with 3 sounds in them.

In Maths we will be encouraging the children to lead on their own repeats, through singing familiar sequence songs, reading familiar sequence stories and painting simple patterns. We will continue to make patterns together; through songs, movement and making patterns and arrangements with objects, moving on to creating ABAB patterns. We will continue to develop our subitising skills through games and actions. 

In Art we will explore colour mixing, looking at symmetry as we create butterflies. We will be looking closely at the artwork 'Tiger in a Tropical storm' by the artist Henri Rousseau.

To help the children develop their personal and social skills we will be encouraging them to become more confident in social situations, encouraging them to develop friendships during play. We will talk about feelings and encourage children to talk with others to solve conflicts and find solutions. We will encourage the children to remember rules, without adult input. The children will continue to be encouraged to be independent in meeting their own care needs.

To help the children with their physical development we will provide push-along wheeled toys, scooters and bikes. We will develop children's kicking, throwing and catching skills by using different resources such as balls, hoops and bean bags. We will encourage children to remember sequences and patterns of movement relating to music and rhythm. We will continue to develop children's scissor and pencil control through various activities and provide a range of resources for children to build with.