Our topic this half term is called Sparkle and Shine and we will be learning about many different festivals and celebrations including Bonfire Night, Diwali, Eid, Birthdays, Weddings and Christmas.

We will be exploring these celebrations through the following key texts: 

In Phonics the graphemes that we will be learning in this half term are:

e u r h b f ff l ll ss

Please help your child consolidate these at home by reading the words in your red phonics book.
Thank you :)

Bonfire Night

We have also been learning about Bonfire Night and have talked about why and how we celebrate it, including setting off beautiful fireworks! We have discussed bonfire night and firework safety. We have watched some videos of firework displays and have recreated the movement of a firework through dance using scarves. The children have also used different art skills to create their own firework pictures.

Diwali

This week we have been learning about the celebration of Diwali. We have read a lovely book called The Best Diwali Ever by Sonali Shah and Chaaya Prabhat and talked about how the little girl in the story celebrates Diwali with her family and community. We have looked closely at rangoli patterns and divas lamps and created our own using different media and materials.

Eid

This week as part of our topic learning we have been learning about and sharing our experiences of Eid. We have been busy exploring Eid in our environment by building mosques in our construction area, drawing and painting mosques and creating mehndi patterns. We have been talking about differences and similarities between Eid and Diwali celebrations.

Birthdays

This week as part of our topic learning we have been looking at photographs of our friends as babies, toddlers and of them as children now in the present day. We have sorted the pictures into chronological order and have talked about the past comparing it to the present and how we have changed. We have also had fun in our classroom as we have role-played a birthday party in the home corner… making cakes, wrapping presents, setting up a party and writing shopping lists.

Christmas

We have all been learning about Christmas. The children have helped to decorate our class tree, explored the Christmas story and started to make Christmas cards! The children have also been exploring the outdoor provision- decorating Christmas tree's and making lots of Christmas crafts.

Christmas Crafts Afternoon

We had so much fun making lots of different Christmas crafts with our Mum's and Dad's during our Christmas crafts afternoon. We had a smashing time and enjoyed all the Christmas fun!

Christmas Party Fun!

We had so much fun at our Christmas Party this week. We played lots of fun games, ate some yummy party food and even had a special visit from someone very special! All the children looked wonderful with their party clothes.They all enjoyed dancing to some music too!