The key to every early years Curriculum
It is crucially important that an early learning curriculum is response to the changing needs of children so that opportunities for growth and development are not missed.
We base our curriculum and learning through our children, by us observing them and their voice we can provide a rich and engaging curriculum providing Awe and Wonder , We cover all areas of learning as set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage guide lines (2021). Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Intent
- Giving the children a voice
- Curiosity / engagement / Awe and wonder.
- Exciting challenging activities.
- Treating children as individuals and supporting uniqueness.
- To develop and support at their own pace.
- Extend language and use imagination bringing in new vocabulary.
- Cultural capital – giving experiences they don’t have at home.
- Giving every child equal opportunities to grow and develop.
Implementation
- All children to be happy and self regulate.
- Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.
- To talk about feelings, feelings board, happy hands, good choices.
- Children assess their play / risks.
- Children and adults plan together.
- Listening to the childrens voice.
- Staff and daily meetings to share information on childrens development.
- Provide exciting and engaging activities to observe and assess play.
- Language board, talking tree.
- Promoting British values, making good choices.
- Staff continuous professional development to access training.
- Leuven scales to monitor wellbeing and involvement.
- Development assessments, two year check, three monthly assessments, end of year reports.
- Parents partnership / parents discussion time.
Impact
- We assess all childrens individual needs in their development.
- Reflecting on the practice and each other.
- As adults we will have developed happy, kind , confident children who are ready to transition to the next chapter in their lives
The 7 areas of learning and development
Prime Areas
Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first these are:
- Communication and language
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical development
These prime areas are the most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.
Specific Areas
As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
Each child within the setting is allocated a key worker who will keep a record of your childs development and progress in the form of an interactive learning journey called FAMLY, this includes observations and photographic evidence of their learning through play. Parents / carers are welcome to look at this at any time, we hold a parents evening once a term to discuss the learning journey in more detail.
At some point after your child turns 2, the professionals working with your child must give you a written summary of how your child is progressing against the 3 prime areas of learning. This is called the progress check at age 2.
What are we exploring this term……What are the children choosing to learn…
- Nursery Rhymes – Child initiated
- Autumn / Harvest – Childrens voice
- Black history month / Handas surprise
- Pumpkin Fun
- Goldilocks and the 3 bears – Child initiated
- Bonfire night
- Rememberance Sunday
- Diwali
- Thanks giving
- Christmas – Childrens voice
Well Being
Giving children a solid foundation at Little Teapots.
When we are providing our care for the children we want to give them the best foundation for their physical health, making sure they get enough water, food, exercise and sleep. We want to teach them to tell us when they are not feeling well and identify what part of their body is hurting if they fall over. Emotional health is no different , children don’t come into the world knowing how to care for their emotional health any more than their physical it is up to us to teach them.
Emotional health is so important
At Little Teapots we want the children to identify how they are feeling, showing their emotions is a positive step, making it part of their regular routine at home and in the setting , making it a fun everyday experience.
What we have done to enhance well being in the setting
Talking about our emotions on a daily basis.
We have made an emotions board – When they sign in the morning they put their name card on which emotion they feel at that particular morning. We discuss why they are feeling happy, sad etc. and monitor throughout the morning. Sometimes the children have changed their card depending on how they feel and discuss it with them whether it is from happy to sad or sad to happy.
Emotions stones – The children can carry it around with them during the session and change it whenever they feel like it.
Dinosaur Feet – Frustrated feet – If the children are feeling angry or frustrated they can jump on the feet on the floor to let out their feelings.
Books – How are your feeling today, How about you, best friends etc.
Emotion Dice – Different faces, happy, sad, excited and crying.
Mirrors.
A child that is aware and can express their emotions are better prepared for challenges that may occur thus helping them develop, learn and grow.