Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to our Ducklings final term, Term 6! This year has flown by and this term is so jam packed that it is sure to speed by.

Our topic for this term will be ‘Wonderful World.’ We will be journeying around the world stopping by at each continent to explore the weather, animals and famous landmarks.

If ever you have any questions (no matter how small you think they are) or concerns then do please let us know. You can ring the school or send in an email anytime and we will get back to you as soon as we can. We will also be on the door at drop off and pick up. This is always a busy time as the children have our sole focus, so we would ask for your patience whilst we ensure they are either safely in school or with their parents/carers.

The Early Years curriculum is split into several key areas. Below we will map out what your child will be learning in each of these during their first term. You can use these to talk to them at home and ask questions about what they have been doing – be prepared for them to answer “What have you done at school today?” with “I can’t remember!” and this is ok. We will be also be aiming to blog at least once per week to also help you know what they have been up to.

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Personal, Social and Emotional Development (managing self, building relationships and self-regulation)

PSED will be supported through the "Wonderful World" topic by encouraging children to explore and appreciate diversity across the continents. Learning about different cultures, traditions, and ways of life helps children develop respect, empathy, and a sense of global citizenship. Group activities and discussions promote cooperation, turn-taking, and confidence as children share their thoughts and listen to others. Celebrating the uniqueness of people around the world also supports self-awareness and positive self-identity. This topic fosters inclusive attitudes and helps build friendships based on understanding and kindness, which are key aspects of early emotional development.

Literacy (reading, comprehension and writing)

Literacy will be developed through the "Wonderful World" topic by engaging children in reading and writing activities related to the continents. Children will enjoy listening to and discussing stories, poems, and non-fiction texts from different parts of the world, helping to build vocabulary and comprehension skills. Writing opportunities may include creating postcards, drawing and labeling maps, or making simple fact books about countries and cultures. These meaningful, topic-linked tasks enhance communication and early writing skills in an engaging, purposeful context.

The children will also be continuing with their RWI phonics sessions and will be focusing this term on using their sound knowledge to write captions. The children will also continue with their Talk for Writing sessions, developing their story telling skills.

Maths (numbers numerical pattern, shape, space and measure)
This term we will be focusing on:

• count things that cannot be seen – sounds

• revisit rules for how to count

• discuss and practise strategies for counting larger sets.

• make or represent their own collections of larger amounts.

• practise counting on from a given number

• visualise, make and describe spatial arrangements of 6.

• practise subitising to 6

• make and describe arrangements of 6.

• listen to rhythmic patterns of up to 5 sounds and determine the quantity

• subitise doubles amounts shown on 10-frames.

• identify when a set of objects has 5/NOT 5

• identify that 6 can be composed of 5 and 1, and 7 can be composed of 5 and 2.

• identify arrangements of 6 or 7 objects

• represent numbers 6 – 9 on their fingers as ‘5 and a bit’.

• recap the numbers 6 to 9 in the ‘5 and a bit’ structure

• recap that 10 can be composed of 5 and 5

• identify when 10 is shown using structured arrangements of objects.

• match numerals to quantities shown as the 5 and a bit structure

• explore ways in which 10 can be composed of 2 parts

• represent the composition of 10 using dice frames and finger patterns

• use structured arrangements to find missing parts of 10

• solve problems involving the composition of 10.

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.

Understanding of the World (past and present, people, culture and communities and the natural world)

During the "Wonderful World" topic we will be encouraging children to explore and learn about different people, cultures, environments, and natural habitats from around the globe. It will help them develop an awareness of the diverse communities and traditions beyond their own, while also fostering curiosity about animals, plants, and seasonal changes in various parts of the world. Through engaging activities such as exploring maps, discovering landmarks, and observing nature, children will build their knowledge of both the natural world and past events, supporting their understanding of how the world works and their place within it.​

Physical Development (gross and fine motor skills)

In our topic, ‘Wonderful World’ we will be engaging in a variety of hands-on and physical activities related to different environments and cultures. For example, we will practice fine motor skills by drawing maps, cutting out pictures of animals or landmarks and handling small objects like seeds or shells from around the world. Gross motor skills will be developed through movement-based activities such as mimicking animal movements, participating in traditional dances, or exploring outdoor spaces that represent different habitats, which helps improve coordination, balance, and spatial awareness while deepening their understanding of the world.
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Expressive Arts and Design (creating with materials and being imaginative and expressive)

The topic this term will help the children to develop their expressive art and design skills by exploring a wide range of creative activities inspired by global cultures, environments, and traditions. They will create artwork using patterns, colours, and materials from different countries, make models of world landmarks, or design costumes and props for role-play based on cultural stories or celebrations. These activities will encourage them to express their ideas and experiences, experiment with different tools and techniques, and develop their imagination, all while deepening their appreciation and understanding of the wider world.

Reading
Please share the books that are sent home with your child because the more they are encouraged to share books the better reader they will become.

• Reading is a necessary, lifelong skill.

• Being read to provides comfort for children, improving their concentration and focus.

• Being read to gives children knowledge to understand and talk about the world around them.

• When children understand what is being read this helps them understand how words, phrases and sentences are put together.

• Using and sharing fiction and non-fiction books, poems, rhymes and songs builds children’s understanding and use of language.

REMINDERS:

Please make sure that everything your child brings to school is labelled with their name. This can be with a name stamp, sticker or simply written in pen. If something becomes misplaced or lost, if it is named it does have a higher chance of coming back.

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P.E is on a Friday and the children must come into school wearing full PE kit this day.

Please remember to let us know who your child is going home with if there is a change to the normal routine. This can be done at the front door, by email or a phone call to the school office.

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This is a long letter but hopefully it gives you an idea of what we will be doing this term. Our main aim, as well as learning, is to have lots of fun and to make coming to school something the children want to do!

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Thank you for your continued support and you are most welcome to come and ask about anything that we do. We are so excited to celebrate the end of the Duckling’s first year and cannot wait to fill this term with a lot of fun activities!
 

The Ducklings Team