Early Years
Autumn 2023 - September & October
In the Let’s Explore project, your child will explore their class environment and school grounds so that they feel settled and happy in their new surroundings. They will learn about the local environment and find out about places they have visited. They will look at and create maps for journeys.
Supporting your child at home
- Use Google Earth to explore the locality.
- Go on a walk around your local community and talk about the things that you see.
- Encourage your child to talk about the activities they enjoy doing at school.
- Share and discuss the Did you know? resource.
In the Build It Up project, your child will explore structures in the world around them. They will learn about materials and their properties, and will have the chance to work independently and in groups to design and make marvellous structures.
Supporting your child at home
- Take a walk in the local area. Look at and talk about the buildings and other structures you see.
- Talk about the materials from which their house is made, such as brick, stone or wood.
- Take a large cardboard box and see what you can create together.
- Share and discuss the Did you know? resource.
In the topic Marvellous Machines, your child will learn about technology that is part of their daily lives. They will explore various machines, learn about how machines help us and find out about how machines have changed and developed over time. They will learn about products that use electricity to make them work and explore magnetic and non-magnetic materials.
Supporting your child at home
Talk about the machines and technology you use in your everyday lives.
Look for things in the home that are powered by electricity.
Look for items that are powered by batteries.
Share and discuss the Did you know? resource.
During the mini topic of 'Puppets and Pop Ups'. Your child will create puppets and use them to communicate with and tell stories. They will find out how puppets are used to tell stories. They will learn to join materials in different ways, and find out how shadows are formed.
Supporting your child at home
Watch a puppet show or puppet TV programme together. Talk about the puppets and how they move and talk.
Make simple sock puppets and use them to have silly conversations.
Share a wide range of fairy tales.
Share and discuss the Did you know? resource.
Many little things light up hungry little minds. Kids take everything in, and even the smallest things you do with them can make a big difference.
They love it when you chat, play and read with them, even when they’re too young to understand everything. Whatever the time and wherever you are, you can turn almost anything into a game.
And every little thing you do together will help set them up nicely for the day they start school.
How to look out for your child's mental health
Maths
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Bud’s Number Garden - Join Bud the bee to explore his magical garden and practise recognising numbers, counting, sequencing and much more. This game is great for children in their first year of school or for pre-school children who want a taste of what they'll be learning when they start.
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Counting - A collection of musical films on counting one to 10, 10 to 20, sets and ordinal numbers.
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Measuring - Songs for learning the vocab of measuring as well as how to counting time and money.
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Space and shape - A collection of musical films on 2D and 3D shapes, movements, shapes and patterns.
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Numberblocks - An animated series full of number tricks, available to watch on iPlayer.
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Bitz and Bob - Join Bitz and her little brother Bob in their animated engineering adventures. Available to watch on iPlayer.
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Bitz and Bob game - Help Bitz and Bob solve fun engineering problems and earn rewards along the way. A great way to explore maths and puzzles.
Literacy, Language and Communication
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School Radio: Nursery rhymes collection - A collection of well-known nursery rhymes and counting songs designed to promote joining in with singing and actions.
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School Radio: Playtime - Ideal for shared listening to get kids moving. Presented by Andy Day and Steven Kynman of CBeebies.
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School Radio: Listening Skills - A collection of 14 audio episodes inviting children to listen carefully to sounds and identify them. An easy way to promote listening skills and sustained focus.
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Welsh language - Learn the names of colours , the days of the week and how to count from one to 100 in Welsh.
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CBeebies Storytime App - Read over 40 interactive stories including fairy tales, nursery rhymes and stories with CBeebies favourites like Peter Rabbit and the Octonauts.
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Alphablocks - Play to learn phonics with the Alphablocks.
Understanding the World
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School Radio: Listen and Play - A collection of 50+ audio episodes that include a story, a song to join in with and simple movement activities, ideal for learning at home. Presented by CBeebee's Cat Sandion.
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Maddie’s Do you Know - Learn new things with Maddie as she explores the world around us and discovers how stuff works. Available to watch on iPlayer.
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Go Jetters - Funky Facts from Ubercorn and the Go Jetters crew to help explore places all around the world help with Geography.
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Kit and Pup - Explore the wonderful world around us with Kit and Pup as they learn about everything from bubbles to trees.
Expressive Arts and Design
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CBeebies Get Creative app - Get your kids painting, making music, creating stories, inventing toys and building blocks with their favourite CBeebies friends. Perfect indoor activities to inspire creativity.
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Bring the Noise - The campaign to inspire music learning and make every child in the UK a musician. Includes songs, quizzes, musical exercises and more!
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Ten Pieces - Resources to help your little ones get creative with classical music.
Wellbeing and development
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Personal Development and mutual understanding (PDMU) - A collection of 17 films featuring puppets Pip and Declan to help children understand their feelings and emotions and how they can keep healthy and safe.
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My first day at school - A great game to play with your child and walk them through their first day at school.
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Starting Primary School - Support and resources for parents to help prepare your little ones take the first big step into Primary School.
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Teach: feeling better - A collection of clips presented by Dr Radha Moghil that explore feelings and emotions, as well as providing talking points and tools to feel better.
Physical Education and Development
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Super Movers - Resources across the curriculum to help get your little ones learning whilst staying fit and healthy! With subjects spanning from Maths to Modern Foreign Languages,these musical videos encourage movement whilst engaging the brain.
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See Bring the Noise for more songs with actions to improve rhythm, timing and counting.