Rooms and Areas
Rooms/Areas used within the Pre- School
Circle Time Room
A time when children and staff come together for discussion, stories, singing and rhymes. Every day children say the days of the week and the weather in English and Welsh. Circle time encourages listening and speaking skills, as well as developing co-operation, concentration and focus. The topics covered in circle time lead to the creation of our Big Books.
Creative Room
Painting
This area encourages children to use their skill of control when using equipment. They develop imagination and self-expression and have the opportunity to be involved in activities which develop their sensory perception.
Water Play
Children are given the opportunity to investigate the properties of water. This activity encourages children to develop early scientific skills, e.g. observing, experimenting, estimating and drawing conclusions. Children can explore early concepts of volume and capacity, floating and sinking. Imaginative water play also helps to develop a child’s language skills.
Sand (wet & dry)
These activities encourage children to develop their imagination and fantasy play, whilst providing them with sensory experiences enabling their exploration of pattern, shape and size.
Children use sand equipment as a means by which to tell stories and thereby develop their language skills. Children develop early scientific concepts such as the difference between wet and dry, balance, weight, volume, and capacity. Texture Table
The texture table allows children to develop an understanding of the properties of different materials. Children learn how to design, make and combine models which encourages their development of new language skills, vocabulary and mathematical concepts. Malleable
Children are given the opportunity to explore the properties of play dough, clay, gloop, slime, etc. This encourages children to observe, compare and make patterns and imprints.
Classroom
Children work on numeracy and literacy skills in small groups, with a key worker. Our classroom has a graphics area /an interactive white board, enabling children to enjoy experimenting with written communication and to experiment with mark-making. Children use a variety of media to understand the connections and differences between print and pictures and to communicate by using symbols, pictures and words. Children are encouraged to recognise, count, sort and sequence numbers. In the classroom children share news and record events in their life; they are encouraged to learn initial phonic sounds and words associated with these sounds. Through a variety of activities, the children can learn to form letter shapes and control mark-making using various equipment. All the children’s work is recorded in their books which will be available to you at the end of the year.
Table activities
This includes jigsaws, threading, games and mathematical games.
ICT
Children can use various skills during an ICT session: these skills improve hand and eye co-ordination, mathematical concepts and literacy.
Role Play area
Role-play allows children to work on their own and with others to pretend, improvise and think imaginatively. The role-play area tends to change with every topic as this adds interest and enthusiasm.
Construction/Small World
This area encourages the children to plan and make decisions; it allows the children to explore mathematical concepts in a context that makes sense to them. They can explore length, height, space, patterns and be involved in problem-solving.
Reading and listening room
This area encourages children to enjoy books and ultimately encourage their interest in learning to read. It allows children to develop listening skills and concentration as well as learning how to handle and take care of books.
Discovery area
This area embraces many new and interesting experiences for the children. In addition to the fun of tasting, the children learn new words and develop skills such as spreading and cutting.
They experience the mathematical activities of weighing, measuring and sharing and the scientific process which occurs when food is modified through, for example, cooking or freezing. Children are also given the opportunity to explore textures, experiment with natural and man-made materials and discover their environment and the world around them, encouraging them to develop an enquiring mind. Outside area
Outside areas enable the children to develop their dexterity through activities such as climbing, riding, moving and pushing. These types of activities also promote awareness of their surroundings. Examples of our range of outdoor activities include sand, water, construction, gardening and chalking.
Music Area & Activities
The Pre-School has frequent music sessions within their area and has weekly music lessons with a specialist teacher: this gives the children the opportunity to experiment with instruments such as percussion, wind and string, as well as listening to and singing a variety of music and songs.
Gym
The children participate in weekly gym sessions with a specialist teacher and these involve the use of large gym apparatus. This enables them to work towards a nationally recognized certificate and badge.
Visits (Trips) & Visitors
Visits and visitors play an important part in a child’s education. Visits are part of our ongoing work and enhance the children’s knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live.
The children usually have a visit or visitor associated with their current topic. They will also explore the local area when they go shopping, visit the local church or go on a seasonal walk.
If trips are planned, we will follow our educational visits policy and adhere to staff children ratio. Parent consent will be obtained before any trip or outing.