Throughout the Year, children will begin to develop their Working Scientifically Skills. This will include: 

• showing curiosity about objects, events and people
• engaging in open-ended activities
• taking risks, engaging in new experiences and learning by trial and error
• finding ways to solve problems
• finding new ways to do things 
• testing their own ideas
• developing ideas of grouping, sequencing, cause and effect 
• knowing about some similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things
• talking and asking questions about aspects of the world they are knowledgable e.g. where they live or the natural world
• using their senses to explore the world around them
• making links and noticing patterns in their experiences
• choosing the resources they need for their chosen activities
• handling equipment and tools effectively 
• creating simple representations of events, people and objects
• answering how and why questions about their experiences 
• making observations of animals and plants, talking about changes and explaining why some things occur
• developing their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events

 

 

In Summer 2, children have been learning about Fantasy and Summer. This includes :

• observing and exploring the key features of summer
• identifying weather changes
• caring for the natural world around us
• harvesting, tasting and describing the fruits and vegetables they have grown
• investigating shadows and how they change throughout the day
• investigating magnets, floating and sinking and melting and freezing
• investigating cause and effects when creating artwork and artistic effects
• sorting objects into groups and understanding that objects can be sorted in several ways and into multiple groups
• applying their understanding of materials and using equipment when creating superhero capes
• investigating tuned instruments
• investigating and comparing volume and capacity
• sequencing events and times
• developing their description vocabulary  

 

In Summer 1, children have been learning about Wild and Endangered Animals. This includes:

• observing and exploring the key features of spring
• identifying weather changes
• caring for the natural world around us
• investigating cause and effect – different paintbrush sizes, decision making, lightening and darkening of colours, making paints of different consistencies
• applying their understanding of materials to construction
• applying their knowledge of animals and animal features when making observational drawings 
• sequencing events
• developing their description vocabulary
• comparing their local area with contrasting environments 
• making comparisons between fruits when making fruit salad
• investigating where fruit comes from and the journeys of some fruits
• improving understanding of personal hygiene in particular oral hygiene and food preparation hygiene

 

In Spring 2, children have been learning about Growing. This includes :

• learning about what seeds need to grow
• observing the growth of broad beans
• observing the life cycle of animals 
• using magnifying glasses to discuss how things appear larger
• sorting a range of pictures of animals into those that lay eggs and those that don't
• using a computer to find information about different life cycles
• planting a variety of vegetables and herbs, making observations of how they grow and using them to make healthy sandwiches

 

In Spring 1, children have been learning about Transport and Journeys. This includes:

• identifying similarities and differences between past and present transport 
• investigating how tyres roll, the tracks of different toys in wet sand
• asking questions and showing an interest in the lives of people who they are familiar with
• sequencing and talking about significant events in their own experiences 
• learning about different places around the world
• comparing urban and rural settings 

 

In Autumn 2, children have been learning about Traditional Tales. This includes:

• discussing and comparing the foods they would like to have for breakfast
• cooking, tasting and describing porridge, coconut burfi, bread etc. 
• learning about real bears, where they live and what they like to eat
• identifying different types of shoes and who might wear them
• using the Internet to find images of bears

 

In Autumn 1, children have been learning about Ourselves. This includes:

• learning the parts of the body and its parts
• exploring the world around us using our senses
• learning about how to look after our body - healthy eating and washing and hygiene routines
• identifying similarities and differences between our families and other families
• showing care and concern for living things and the environment including our Farm and Wildlife Area
• constructing dens
• looking for signs of Autumn

Why don't you try to do some of these activities at home?

• Parts of the Body
• What is this body part?
• Label the body
• Dr Binocs Show - The Senses
• The Five Senses Game