Play with a purpose
Within Pre-school, your child will have the opportunity to participate in a varied and interesting range of activities. Based around the 4 key themes of the Early Years Foundation Stage, we will encourage your child to:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development:
We promote positive behaviour by giving positive praise, identifying unwanted behaviour at an early sign and diffusing the issue before it escalates. We help the children to make new relationships with peers, through encouraging them to talk with each other, respect differences and embrace areas which they enjoy together. We promote self confidence and self-esteem through praise and encouraging the children to try new tasks and activities themselves – providing whatever level of support they feel they need at that time. We help the children to develop a sense of where they live and the community with whom we share it.
Communication, Language:
We encourage children to discuss their ideas and share their thoughts and experiences with practitioners and the other children. This is a great way of strengthening relationships, helps language development and is a great way of communicating together. We enjoy lots of singing and action rhymes that support language development through repetition.
We also have tactile letters, voice recording devices, story sequencing and Rhythm Time sessions too.
We embrace the technical world though ICT, using bee bots, touch screen computers tough-cam video recorders and easy-speak.
Physical Development
We believe it is important to combine indoor and outdoor play and utilise the great outdoor area where possible. By promoting a healthy lifestyle through exercise and food, we aim to engage the children in making choices for themselves and get them involved in preparation where possible. We encourage the children to learn about their body and understand that it has needs – for rest, food, water and good personal hygiene and we give choices so that children decide what they feel is the right choice (with some support and guidance!). The children also benefit from regular visits from the Fisical team.
Literacy:
Phonics are a part of our weekly routine and children develop these skills through games such as finding their first name letter on signs, in books and magazines. Reading and writing are a key lifelong skill and we help the children to enjoy these areas through a partnership with Bingley library, giving lots of choice of book selection and providing many different ways of mark making.
Mathematics:
Number games such as a number line (similar to a washing line!), Numicon and dominoes are enjoyable ways of aiding and supporting number recognition. Jigsaws, shape sorters and building blocks are excellent ways in helping children to develop problem solving skills and we enjoy such activities within the Pre-School. We encourage children to answer questions for themselves and help them to work things out, instead of simply giving them the answer straight away or doing something for them - this builds up confidence and gives children a great sense of achievement.
Expressive arts and design:
Through movement and dance, musical instruments and Jabadao equipment, we have a wide variety of resources to encourage musical creativity. Imagination is supported and encouraged through puppets, dens and tents and role-playing. Messy play is also a key area of creativity and this is always available for the children to participate in and enjoy. It is advisable to dress your child in clothes that can get dirty, paint-splattered, muddy and covered in baking activity ingredients!
Understanding of the World:
Baking activities, exploration of different textures and building models are all great examples of how the children within our setting help investigate the wider world. We have a children’s Vtech camera which they are able to use and take photographs of themselves and their peers, which gives the children independence. You are encouraged to let your child bring in items from home for the snack table, so we can talk about them as this helps us to provide a seamless transfer from home to Pre-School and helps the children see their time with us as an extension of their family. We enjoy growing and harvesting foods from our garden, as well as seeing life-cycles first hand with caterpillar/butterfly, tadpole/frog and chick experiences.