“Play is the highest form of research.” Albert Einstein
Welcome to Acorns
The Acorns children are our Reception, Nursery and Rising Threes. We aim to provide a fun, inspiring environment where all children feel safe, nurtured and valued and therefore are able to learn. Children need time to learn and play, time to think and talk, time to regulate and grow. Topics and lessons are enquiry based and begin with a question for learning. Our topics ensure curriculum coverage whilst leaving scope to follow the children's interests.
I hope you enjoy the photos in the gallery. The children have asked me to tell you that one of their favourite areas is the calm corner and they also love the book corner that they have helped to make-over.
Meet our staff
Rachael Baily
CLASS TEACHER
Melissa Patterson
SUPPORT ASSISTANT
Intent
Our curriculum is all the planned experiences which we organise to promote learning, personal growth and development which fulfils the formal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework for Nursery and Reception.
The Stubbings curriculum is designed to recognise children’s prior learning, and we aim to work in partnership with families and other settings to ensure each child reaches their full potential from their starting point.
Our aim at Stubbings is to provide a nurturing inspiring environment where all children feel safe, happy, valued, heard and where they can think, learn, play, thrive and be the best they can be.
We learn about what is the same, what is different and what is special about ourselves and others and promote mutual respect and understanding.
To focus on what children, need to learn, at Stubbings, we begin with how children learn. We teach breathing, mindfulness and relaxation techniques and an understanding of how the brain works. We recognise that understanding our emotions is a key aspect of understanding and managing behaviour. Through an attachment aware approach, we believe everyone can learn to self-manage / self-regulate their own emotions, given the right conditions.
We partner with children to enjoy the power of their curiosity, all lessons have a question for learning and are enquiry based so that children actively engage in the learning process, follow their interests, learn to be curious, to investigate and explore concepts. We work alongside children to find out and develop the skill, will and thrill of what they can do. As such a big emphasis is placed on the characteristics of effective learning. We believe in our pupils and teach them to develop a growth mindset, so they believe in themselves.
See the attachment at the bottom of the page to find out more about what to expect in the Early Years. This is a helpful overview for parents.
Spring 1 2024
How are animals amazing?
Autumn 2 2023
Can I tell you a story?
Autumn Term 1 2023
Who am I?
Our focus will be settling in by getting to know each other and our setting. Acorns will be learning about their promises and how they help everyone feel happy, safe, and ready to learn. We will start by reading ‘The Family Book and ‘It’s Ok to be Different’ by Todd Parr and learn about different families and what makes us special. We will then move onto thinking about people who help us in our family, in our community and in the wider world. We will be reading ‘The Invisible String’ by Patrice Karst and considering our connections to others even when they are not with us in the classroom. We will consider how unique we are and our similarities and differences to others using books such as ‘Same, Same but Different’ by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw. We will be covering themes such as friends, family, interests, and people who help us in our community.Planning is flexible as we respond to the children’s interests so themes may change. We will be learning about the zones of regulation and how to bring ourselves back to the green zone ready and able to learn.
Summer Term 2 2023
Where will your ticket take you?
Summer Term 1 2023
What makes things grow?
We will be we will be thinking about growing and changing. The children will explore questions such as :
How do we grow food?
· How do the flowers grow?
· How can I stay happy and healthy?
· How do I care for plants?
· What do vegetables need to grow?
· How do tadpoles grow into frogs?
· How do caterpillars grow into butterflies?
We will also be continuing our learning about how special times are celebrated with a particular focus on how muslims celebrate Eid ul-Fitr. On Friday mornings we are excited to continue our woodland wonder sessions. We will be enjoying woodland walks and activities with Mrs. Dear and looking for seasonal change.
Spring Term 2 2023
What is out there ? How did it get here?
We will be begin by thinking about what is out there in the universe . We will find out what the children know and what they want to find out. The children can bring their questions to the experts who will be putting on a show for us on Monday 27th Feb. If they wish to wear white or anything space related for this space adventure they can do so. We will have a bit of a history focus by thinking about landings on the moon, space travel and events that happened before the children were born. We will find out who Mae Jameson was and read non fiction texts about the solar system and planets as well as fiction books such as ‘Astro Girl’ and ‘Bob the Man on the Moon.’
Healthy Me -
Throughout the half term there is also a healthy me focus. We will find out about Arlo, the lion who couldn’t sleep. He will encourage the children to understand the importance of a good night’s sleep and sensible amounts of screen time. We will also find out about exercise and why it is important, healthy food, good hygiene and staying safe. We will also learn about the job of a dentist and how and when to brush our teeth.
How did it get here?
We will investigate eggs,think about if they are alive or dead and why they are given at Easter. We will find out which animals hatch from eggs and which don’t. We will learn about how different families celebrate Easter and the signifance of Easter for Christians.
Spring Term 1 2023
Can a Penguin Live in a Hot Place?
This half term we will be learning that different animals live in different places. The children will think about what they already know about penguins and what they want to find out. The children learn that Antarctica is at the bottom of the world and that the Arctic is at the top of the world. They go on an Arctic expedition and explore the ice and the animals who live in the Arctic.
With the help of the poet Paul Delaney the children will be composing and performing their own Arctic explorer poetry. The children will learn how to keep warm, dry and safe in winter and how the Inuit people live on the ice and adapt to very cold places. They will learn about animals that live in the Arctic and how they are adapted to live in cold places.The children will notice that penguins only live in the Arctic and not in Antarctica. They will learn facts about penguins. They will then read stories about the African Savannah and the animals that live there. They will learn how these animals are adapted to live in hot places. At the end of the topic we will visit The Yorkshire Wildlife Park where the children will be able to see some of the animals that we have been learning about and learn about the conservation work of the park and how they are working to protect the future of these animals.
Autumn Term 2 2022
Can I tell you a story?
This half term we will be learning how to retell stories using story language. We will learn that a story has a beginning, middle and end. We will be acting out stories, adding music and sounds, chanting the patterned language, making story maps and art work to help us retell the stories. We will be reading and performing poetry. Our class favourites are by Michael Rosen ask the children to tell you one of their favourites!
Problem Solving in Acorn Class
We love to challenge ourselves and frequently get stuck before we get unstuck. This is how we learn!
We have been developing critical thinking skills while exploring pattern problems.
Autumn Term 1 2022
What do I know about me and my world?
Who are the people who help us?
Our focus will be settling in by getting to know each other and our setting. Acorns will be learning about their promises and how they help everyone feel happy, safe, and ready to learn. We will start by reading ‘Here we are now’ by Oliver Jeffers and considering our place on this planet. We will then be learning about our promises and will focus on a different promise each week using the golden rule books. We will be listening carefully to the book ‘Don’t eat the teacher’ by Nick Ward. The children will teach:
Sammy Shark to Listen.
Sharon Shrimp to use walking legs indoors to keep safe
Larry Lobster to use kind hands
Jimmy Jellyfish to take turns and share.
We will be covering themes such as friends, family, interests, and people who help us in our community. Planning is flexible and responds to children’s interests so themes may change.
Exploring the texture of our sand dough
Islands in the sea
"Teddy is sunbathing. The umbrellas stop him from getting wet."
Fun in the rockpool and the underwater city of Atlantis
Investigating sea shells
Do you fancy a dive?
Diving to find Atlantis
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!
What did you see on your dive ?
Floating to find the treasure and a diamond!
Beachball fun
Outside sea creature sketches
We read everywhere!
Building a beach
Funky Fingers : developing our wrist pivot
Hiding treasure away from the pirates!
Can you fill the square exactly?
Home Learning
How can you help your child? Each week the children will bring home:
a new phonetically decodable reading book
a book from the school library that they have chosen
new graphemes or tricky words on their phonics keyring
Remote Learning
Class Dojo will be used as the main platform for remote learning if part or whole school closure is required. Some resources may need to be uploaded to this class page and we will direct families if needed. Please ensure you login and check Class Dojo every day to access a wide range of cross curricular home learning activities.
