Croeso i Dosbarth Draenog!
Our Team: Mrs Steen is the class teacher and our wonderful teaching assistants are Mrs Wooding and Miss Dillon
We share our class information as well as lots of the things that our class have been learning about using Seesaw. Should you need a link to your child’s Seesaw account please contact the school office or speak to Mrs Steen when you collect your child.
Teaching and learning in our school changes each year according to the needs of the children in our classes however we would still like to give you an insight into what a year in Dosbarth Gwennol looks like!
TTo help us to do this, we would like to share some of the adventures we plan to go on this year….
A Year in Dosbarth Draenog…
In Nursery the content of our curriculum is based firmly around children’s interests and led by their current fascinations. We broadly follow topics related to the seasons and the traditions and celebrations associated with them. We spend lots of time outdoors and children have long periods of uninterrupted play during which adults observe, scaffold and support them to ensure all children are developing their skills and knowledge through hands on play based activities.
We start our year in September with the topic ‘Getting to Know You’ during which we focus on building relationships with each other and becoming familiar with our indoor and outdoor environments. As the weather cools, we explore lots of Autumn artefacts, investigate pumpkins and learn about the traditions associated with Bonfire Night. We also focus on the differences between night and day.
During December we enjoy learning about some of the traditions associated with Christmas. We make and send cards, decorate our Home Corner, perform a Nativity play with the Reception Class and learn some traditional Christmas songs.
In January our ‘Wonderful Winter’ topic includes ice experiments, making bird feeders, creating snowmen out of a range of materials, and making observational paintings of Winter trees. We also celebrate Chinese New Year by taking home lucky red envelopes, exploring Chinese artefacts, and using chopsticks.
During the second Spring term we enjoy activities based around birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Saint David’s’ Day, Mother’s Day, and Easter. We make a range of cards and gifts. We celebrate World Book Day by dressing up as a book character and bring our favourite books to school.
We start the Summer Term with a focus on Growing and Changing. We plant sunflower seeds. learn about life on the farm in Springtime and became familiar with the names of some baby animals. We enjoy looking at baby photos as we consider how adults grow and change. After the May half term break, we focus on the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar and learn all about the life cycle of a butterfly. We read Oliver’s Vegetables and learn about where different fruit and vegetables grow and what we need to eat to keep us healthy.
During our final term in Nursery, we take part in lots of activities to prepare us for full-time school. We visit Dosbarth Weiwer, go into the school canteen, play on the big yard and spend time with the adults who will be teaching us in Reception.
Throughout the year we experience a range of painting techniques including mono printing, tyre printing, hand printing and splatter painting. We have many opportunities to develop our creativity both indoors and outside using loose parts. We spend a lot of time developing our understanding and use of the Welsh language and culture. We all enjoy being ‘Helpwr Heddiw’ and learning Welsh with Fflic a Fflac in addition to daily ‘Helpwr Heddiw’ sessions during which we learn a range of Welsh words, phrases and songs and rhymes. We have lots of opportunities to develop our understanding of Welsh culture including coming to school in Welsh themed clothing to celebrate Saint David’s Day and taking part in whole school Eisteddfod craft competitions. We learn lots of new songs and rhymes and enjoy sharing numerous books both whole class and one-to-one with an adult. We take part in regular myHappymind sessions which help our well-being and develop our resilience. We learn how to use simple programmes on the interactive whiteboard and how to programme a Bee Bot. All these activities help to develop our skills across the curriculum in a holistic way and lay the foundations for the start of our full-time school journey.
