Cherry class is a fantastic classroom that is full of learning opportunities for our younger children. Cherry Class is led by Mrs Stephenson, a talented class teacher with a wealth and many years of experience. We ensure that the continuous provision in this classroom and the adjoining outdoor space enables our children to learn through play and develop their:

•  Communication and language
•  Physical development
•  Personal, social and emotional development
•  Literacy
•  Mathematics
•  Understanding the world
•  Expressive arts and design

 

Term 1

Once Upon a Time, and Sparkle and Shine

Once Upon a Time

In the Once Upon a Time project, your child will be introduced to the wonderful world of stories. They will listen to a range of traditional tales and have the chance to act out the stories in their play. They will also listen to alternative contemporary stories to see different viewpoints from the characters. They will use the stories to think about how life has changed from when the stories were written. They will also make up their own stories and make masks, props and puppets to act out their stories.

Supporting your child at home

• Read traditional stories and fairy tales to your child.
• Visit your local library and choose picture books to share.
• Talk about the characters in stories and whether they like or dislike them.
• Talk about how the characters in stories behave and what they could do differently.

Sparkle and Shine

In the Sparkle and Shine project, your child will explore different celebrations that take place in autumn and winter, focusing on the significance and symbolism of light at this time of year. They will take part in a variety of creative activities and discover more about how Christmas, Diwali and Hanukkah are celebrated around the world.

Supporting your child at home

• Talk about special events that you celebrate at home.
• Share photos of events that you celebrate.
• Talk about how you prepare for special celebrations including the clothes you wear, food you prepare and gifts you give or receive.

 

Maths
Literacy
Understanding the World	Messy Maps; Key Workers; Emergency Vehicles
PD/ PE	Dance; Agility, Balance and Coordination; Fine motor skills
PSED	Building relationships; Developing Interests; Turn taking games; Aesop's Fables and Emotions; Friendship Tree; Parachute Games
Expressive Arts and Design	Friendship Rainbows; Dressing Up; Circles and Spirals
Communication and Language	Listening, attention and understanding; Speaking; Working in small groups; Taking turns in discussions;
Religious Education	Our theme this term is Special People Our Big Question is: What makes people special?
Memorable experience	Our School Community Tour

Our PE days this term are: Tuesday (Outdoor) and Friday (Forest School). 

Christian Distinctiveness

Autumn 2 RE: What is Christmas?

This term, we have begun exploring our new big question, “What is Christmas?”, focusing on the core Christian concept of Incarnation, which is the belief that God became human in the person of Jesus.

To begin our learning, we thought about the importance of saying thank you. The children discussed why gratitude matters, how it makes others feel, and how it helps us to be kind and thoughtful.

As part of this, we took part in an exciting activity where the children wrapped gifts for each other. They practised being generous, giving thoughtfully, and responding with a sincere “thank you.” We explored together:

• How it feels when someone says thank you
• How it feels when gratitude is missing
• Why Christians see the birth of Jesus as a gift

 

Autumn 1 RE: What makes people special?

In Cherry Class this term, we are learning about special people. Our Big Question is What Makes People Special?

We began by discovering the special people within our school community: learning about their jobs, why they are important, and how they help us every day.

We then turned our focus to the special people in our own lives. Children shared photos from home and talked about who is special to them, why they matter, and the different ways they offer care and support.

As part of the theme, we also spent time thinking about what makes each of us special. The children reflected on their own interests, strengths, and hopes for the future, including what they might like to do when they grow up.

Pupil Voice:

"I would like to learn football more" - Jaxon

"I want to learn to make a cake with my Mummy" - Martha

In our study of Christianity, we explored stories of Jesus as a special person, focusing on his miracles such as healing the blind man. Through these parables, the children learned how Jesus showed kindness, compassion, and care, and how we can bring these values into our own lives.

Autumn 1 Collective Worship

Our Value this term is Generosity.

Acts  20:35:  Remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  himself  said,  it  is  more   blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.

2  Corinthians  9.7:  God  loves  a  cheerful  giver

We began by reflecting on the wonder of creation, thinking about how God has been generous in giving us such a beautiful world. After reading a Bible story about creation, we headed outside to look for examples of God’s wonderful gifts all around us: trees, flowers, pine cones, and so much more.

The children also learnt the song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”, complete with actions, helping us celebrate the idea that the world is held and cared for.

We read the story Sharing a Shell and talked about what it means to be generous with what we have. The children discussed:

• How we can share and help each other

• Times when sharing feels easy

• Times when sharing can feel difficult

Through these activities, we have been learning not only about generosity in stories and scripture, but how we can live it out in our everyday lives.

 

Mathematics

Maths is taught daily to challenge and inspire all. Maths resources are available for children to access at all times and enhanced provision activities linked to our weekly maths focus are provided to encourage children to develop their skills independently. 

 

Expressive Arts and Design

Children can access an assortment of creative and fine motor activities in our creative area. A range of materials are available at all times to encourage their imaginations. Enhanced provision activities linked to our current project are provided for the children to engage with. 

 

                              

Understanding the World

Understanding the World is an exploration of the natural world, past and present, and different cultures and communities. Understanding the World is taught through our project lessons. Children will find an investigation task in their enhanced provision each week linked to their project or something they have expressed an interest in. 

   

 

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Creating bird feeders.

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Clean teeth egg investigation

Outdoor Learning

We have a wonderful outdoor area that extends across two levels and has a range of equipment to encourage the development of gross and fine motor skills. 

 

 

 

Reflections and Prayer Space

Children in Cherry Class are encouraged to access our reflection area when they would like a quiet moment to sit and think. If they choose too, they can light a candle to help them think about our Collective Worship value. This term our value is Thankfulness. 

We have discussed what prayer is, what people may pray for, and the different ways in which people pray. We have a collection of activities to access, or we simply sit and reflect.

We have been developing our spirituality in a variety of ways during prayer space, learning in both our indoor and outdoor reflection areas. We are thinking about big questions such as, "Why am I here?" and "Who made the world?". 

Tapestry

Weekly observations of your child will be recorded on Tapestry. Any home learning ideas and messages from the class teachers will be left on here. Please aim to access Tapestry at least once a week to ensure you are up to date with your child’s learning.

If you need help with accessing Tapestry then please talk to Mrs Jones and Mrs Stephenson, or ask in the school office.