Our main theme in Acorn class is 'Kings and Queens'. We will be learning about Charles III and his mother Elizabeth II and Prince William. We will take a look at where they live and how we can know if the King is home, or not, by looking out for the Royal Standard. We will be looking at the different Castles and Palaces the Royal Family own. We will introduce the King's Guard, discuss their uniform and job role. We will learn what coronation means, what happens during it, who is involved and where it takes place. We will learn about King John and the Magna Carta and what this meant for the people of England. We will learn about our Government, who our Prime Minister is, what he and other members of Parliament do. We will also look at how we can have our say and what we might change about our local area.

In Literacy, we will be reading our core text 'The Queen’s Hat.' We will be exploring the characters, creating pictures of them and looking at their features. We will be using illustrations to help us retell the story. We will be discussing what the characters did during the story and thinking about how they might have felt. 

Our two core rhymes this half term are 'Humpty Dumpty' and 'The Grand Old Duke of York.' Copies of these rhymes will be sent home for children to share with you. We will be singing these songs during circle times.

In Phonics we will be working on sound discrimination, word awareness and rhyme, through a variety of activities, rhymes and stories.

In Maths we will be focusing on subitising, by playing games and listening to and representing sounds with our fingers and resources. We will be looking at shape and space, completing jigsaw puzzles, shape matching, object matching and shadow matching. We will be looking for patterns in familiar stories and rhymes and painting simple patterns. We will also be making patterns with instruments and movement. We will also be using objects to create patterns, arrangements and AB patterns.

In Art we will be studying the artwork "Tiger in a Tropical Storm" by the artist Rosseau. We will be painting pictures of real fish with ink and wax resist.

To help the children develop their Personal and Social Development we will be reminding the children of the school rules and ensure they understand why the rules are important. We will encourage the children to express preferences when making decisions. We will also encourage children in independent play and co-operative play with other children, promoting turn taking and talking to each other to solve conflicts. The children will be encouraged to become increasingly independent as they learn how to meet their own care needs.

To help the children with their Physical Development we will provide push-along wheeled toys, scooters and tricycles, along with balance beams and stepping stones. The children will be supported to develop their kicking, throwing and catching skills with different resources such as, balls, hoops and bean bags during our weekly PE sessions. The children will be encouraged to develop their large motor skills by waving streamers, using paint and chalk to make large creations. The children will also be encouraged to develop their fine motor skills, by using scissors, putting coats on independently and managing buttons and zips.