This half term, children continued to build on their growing confidence and independence through a wide range of exciting learning experiences. Our classroom became a place of discovery, imagination, and reflection as children explored stories, history, science, and creativity through practical, hands-on learning. Through purposeful play, discussion, and exploration, children developed key skills across all areas of learning while deepening their understanding of the world around them and their place within it.

 

Prime Area: Communication and Language

Throughout Spring 2, children developed their speaking and listening skills through rich storytelling, discussion, and collaborative activities. Key texts such as Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs and Billy and the Beast encouraged children to share ideas, predict outcomes, and talk confidently about characters, settings, and events.

Children were given many opportunities to explain their thinking, ask questions, and listen respectfully to others. Role play, small-world activities, and group discussions helped children extend vocabulary, sequence ideas, and express themselves clearly, supporting confidence in both social and learning situations.

Specific Area: Literacy

Key Texts

This half term, children explored Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs and Billy and the Beast, using these stories to inspire early reading and writing activities. Children retold stories using story maps, acted out scenes, and created their own imaginative endings. Writing activities included captions, labels, lists, and simple sentences linked to characters, settings, and events.

Children also explored how stories can transport us to different places and times, linking literacy to our learning about special places and historical events.

Phonics Focus

Children continued to build on their phonics knowledge through the following steps:

• Step 18: oo (book)
• Step 19: ar (car)

They practised blending and segmenting words containing these sounds and applied their learning within reading and writing tasks.

Specific Area: Maths

This half term in Maths, children explored shape, identifying and describing 2D and 3D shapes and their properties. They continued developing confidence in addition and subtraction, solving problems through practical activities, stories, and games.

Children were introduced to multiplication and division through sharing, grouping, and repeated addition, using real-life contexts and concrete resources. Learning also focused on space, where children explored positional language and spatial awareness through movement, construction, and problem-solving activities.

Specific Area: Understanding the World

Science – Living Things and Their Habitats

Children explored living things and their habitats, asking questions such as How do living things live and grow in different places? They learned about animals, plants, and environments, observing similarities and differences and discussing how living things are suited to their habitats.