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Ducklings

Welcome to Ducklings Class (Year R)

Balance Ability

Over the past couple of weeks, our Ducklings class have had a fantastic time taking part in their Balance Ability sessions! The children have approached each workshop with enthusiasm and growing confidence as they developed key skills such as balance, coordination, control and spatial awareness. Through fun and engaging activities, they have been learning how to move safely and steadily, improving their core strength and posture along the way. It has been wonderful to see the

Doubling Fun

Ducklings have been learning all about doubling and have been working really hard to understand how numbers are made up of parts and a whole. We have been exploring how, when we double a number, the parts are always equal, which means they are the same amount. The children are becoming more confident with their doubles from double 1 all the way to double 5! To help us explain our thinking, we have been using stem sentences to talk about what we know. For example, when doublin

Dino Fun

During our COOL Time, Ducklings Class have been busy exploring a range of exciting dinosaur-themed activities designed to spark curiosity and a real love of learning! The children were thrilled to discover mysterious dinosaur eggs hidden in the TUFF spot, they were so old they had turned rock hard! This led to lots of problem-solving as the children worked out different ways to crack them open, developing their Physical Development skills and perseverance. Their excitement gr

Dinosaur Workshop

Ducklings Class had an absolutely roarsome time on their trip to Folkestone Museum, where they took part in a fun, hands-on dinosaur workshop! The children explored how rocks and fossils are formed, getting stuck in with some amazing real-life specimens from Folkestone and beyond. They discovered which dinosaurs once roamed right where they live and learned how scientists use clues from fossils to understand the past. The session was packed with sensory activities, giving eve

Little Heroes to the Rescue!

In PSHE this term our Key Stage One classrooms have been full of little heroes learning big life skills! We have been learning all about how to call for help and how to use simple first aid if someone needs us. We have explored what an emergency actually is and when we might need to ask an adult for help or call 999. To help us remember what to do, we did lots of fun role plays. Some children pretended to be helpers, some were callers and some were the emergency services. We

WBD Hat Competition

Last week, to celebrate World Book Day, sixty of our children took part in our Hat Competition. It was wonderful to see how much care, time and creativity had gone into each and every hat. The entries showed fantastic effort from the children, with each one designing a unique hat inspired by a favourite story or book character. Today we announced the winners and took time during our celebration worship to recognise and celebrate every single hat. The display was truly breath-

World Book Day

Ducklings and their Year 5 buddies enjoyed a special early morning trip to Waterstones to exchange their book vouchers for a brand new book. There were so many wonderful titles to choose from, and it was delightful listening to the conversations about books as the Year 5s helped their Duckling buddies choose something they would really enjoy. It was also lovely to hear so many children speaking politely with the staff members, remembering their “please” and “thank you” as the

Book Day Costumes

A big thank you to everyone who provided costumes and props for your children on World Book Day.

World Book Day in KS1 and Ducks

Take a look at all our fantastic costumes!!

Reading Escape Room

On World Book Day we were so lucky to take part in a Reading Escape Room! Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 pupils had to escape Crow Castle by working in teams and taking a journey through the rooms via the magic of books. From MacBeth to Charles Dickens, Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes, the children had to turn detective and search for clues. They had to read, infer, comprehend, spell, scan, skim and riddle their way to freedom, or face the Crow Queen and be trapped in Crow Castle. Duck

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Ducklings Class latest blogs

Term 4 - Dinosaurs

Welcome to Term 4! Our theme this term is Dinosaurs, and we are excited to take the children on a prehistoric adventure that will spark curiosity, creativity, and learning across all areas of the EYFS framework. Below, we have highlighted what the children will be exploring and learning over the term.

We are always happy to hear from you, no matter how small your question or concern may seem. You can call the school or send an email at any time and we will get back to you as soon as we can. We will also be at the door during drop-off and pick-up. These are busy times as our focus is on ensuring every child is safe and settled, and we appreciate your patience. Please know we are always here to support both you and your child.

Early Years Curriculum Overview for Term 4 ‘Dinosaurs’
The Early Years curriculum is organised into several key areas. Below, you will find an overview of what your child will be learning in each area during their first term. You can use this as a way to talk with them at home and share in their experiences. It’s perfectly normal if their answer to “What did you do at school today?” is “I can’t remember!” We will also aim to post a weekly blog so you can see some of the exciting activities and learning your child has been enjoying.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

This term, children will collaborate during outdoor and TUFF spot activities, building skills in turn-taking, sharing, and empathy. They will also explore Mother’s Day, engaging in discussions about family and caring relationships. In the final week, the focus will shift to Easter, where children will reflect on themes of hope and new beginnings, fostering an understanding of feelings and celebrating diversity.

Communication and Language

This term, children will explore dinosaurs, learning about their habitats, diets, and fossils. Weekly activities will include storytelling, sharing discoveries, and asking questions about the past. By the end of the term, they will confidently use past and present language to describe dinosaurs and events.

Physical Development

Weekly outdoor dinosaur-themed movement activities will help children develop gross motor skills through stomping, balancing, and climbing. Fine motor skills will be strengthened with fossil digs, playdough, cutting, tracing, and peg patterns, supporting the control and coordination needed for early writing

Literacy

This term, children will continue developing their phonics skills, recapping known sounds, learning new ones, and focusing on segmenting and blending CVC words as well as recognising tricky/red words. They will bring home either targeted phonics sheets, RWI ditties or books, and can continue choosing a reading-for-pleasure book. In writing, children will use their sounds on Fred Fingers, with a focus on initial and final sounds. Our Talk for Writing focus is Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds, which children will retell through speaking, actions, and drawing before writing, building language, creativity, confidence, and storytelling skills in a fun, engaging way.

Mathematics

This term we will be focusing on:

Children will compare dinosaur sizes, lengths, and weights.
Counting, sequencing, sorting, and measuring will be integrated into hands-on activities.
Outdoor games and TUFF spot trays will reinforce number recognition and problem-solving.

These activities help deepen children’s confidence with number sense, early addition and comparison.

You can continue to support their number work at home by encouraging your child to count different objects and talking about what 1 more or 1 less would be. How quickly can they count a group of objects, do they touch each object, can they see a certain number pattern and can they count things that cannot be seen like sounds? The children could also try writing their numbers from 0-10. If your child does any number writing at home they could bring it in to show us, we would love to see.

These activities help deepen children’s confidence with number sense, early addition and comparison.

Understanding the World

This term, children will explore the world of dinosaurs, learning about how they lived in the past, their diets, sizes, and the fossils they left behind. They will also investigate different habitats and environments, comparing the Earth of long ago with the world today. In addition, children will engage with the Easter story, discussing themes of new life, hope, and Christian celebrations in a way that is accessible and meaningful for their age. Through these activities, they will develop curiosity about the past, an understanding of the natural world, and an appreciation for different traditions and celebrations.

Expressive Arts and Design

Children will enjoy a wide range of creative art and craft activities, including making dinosaur handprints, constructing habitat collages, designing paper plate faces, and building junk-model dinosaurs. They will also create something special for Mother’s Day and Easter, celebrating these occasions through hands-on creativity. In addition, opportunities for imaginative play in small-world trays and den-building will allow children to develop storytelling, role-play, and problem-solving skills, encouraging them to express their ideas, explore different perspectives, and bring their own narratives to life in a playful and engaging way.

Reading

Please enjoy the books your child brings home and share them together. The more children are encouraged to read and be read to, the more confident and enthusiastic they will become.

Reading is an essential life skill.
Listening to stories brings comfort and helps children focus.
It gives them knowledge and language to talk about the world.
Understanding stories helps them see how words and sentences fit together.
Exploring fiction, non-fiction, poems, rhymes, and songs builds their vocabulary and love of language.

Important Reminders

Please label everything your child brings to school (stamp, sticker, or pen) so lost items can be returned. Please check that the labels you have put in are still attached and not faded.
PE is every Friday and children will come to school in their full PE kit.
If someone different is collecting your child, let us know at drop-off, by email, or by phoning the school office.
Thank you for your support and please feel free to ask us about anything at all. We are so excited to begin this exciting term and cannot wait to see all the adventures ahead!

The Ducklings Team