Our project for the Autumn Term is “All About Me”
We will be kicking off the Autumn Term with our project ‘All About Me!’
We will be starting off with a very popular project for the start of the new academic year, which is perfect for us to learn about your child, and your child to learn about us. Friends old and new will discover each other, and the things that we like and don’t like. We will be helping the children to learn all about themselves and their bodies.
‘All About Me’ helps children with discovering themselves as individuals. What makes us different or similar to others? This topic allows opportunities for incorporating learning about our families and their pets, health, emotions and wellbeing and promotes acceptance of others who may have different cultures and beliefs to our own.
Family can mean something different to different children, and in nursery we start to look at what these differences might be. Do our friends’ families look like our own?
Learning about ourselves is a fundamental part of childhood development, especially as children start to ask questions about who they are and how they are the same, or different, from others.
We encourage our children to be aware of their bodies. Mirrors are a fantastic way for children to look at the differences between themselves and friends. The colour of our hair, eyes and skin. How tall are we compared to our friends? Mirrors are also a helpful aid for speech and language development as children concentrate on the shape their mouth needs to make to form the sounds.
This project is a fabulous way to teach children about diversity and inclusivity. Our Montessori ethos encourages children to explore and experience the full richness of the world, and all the many different people who live in it. Joining in with other people’s celebrations and festivals helps to promote a greater understanding of the world.
Discussions about ourselves will allow us to learn about the importance of keeping fit, and the different foods that are good for us and help to keep us healthy. This is a great extension to our project as it helps children to focus on their body and what it needs to keep happy and healthy.
Lunch and snack times are a great opportunity to talk about healthy eating, and also the things that we like to eat at our own family meal times. We would love for you to share any simple family recipes that the children could try cooking in nursery.
The government is placing greater emphasis on providing healthy nutrition in the early years. Getting the right amount of nutrients and energy children need while they are growing rapidly is vitally important. It can also help prevent children from becoming overweight or obese. Developing positive eating habits early on can shape future eating habits. This can impact children’s long-term health including maintaining a healthy weight, and good oral health.
We will be teaching our children about this as part of their project and hope that parents will work alongside us by providing healthy eating opportunities in their child’s lunch box and at home. The Eatwell Guide uses government advice to show what a healthy and balanced diet looks like. It shows what a balance of foods should look like in one day or over a whole week. The advice in the Eatwell Guide applies to children from the age of 2 years.
Oral health is also included in the EYFS, and particularly at a time when NHS dental care is sometimes difficult to access, we will be talking to the children about the importance of looking after our teeth. This involves educating them about healthy habits, such as brushing teeth with fluoride toothpaste and limiting sugary foods and drinks. We will also be encouraging children to think about dental check-ups as a positive experience with role play, and talking about the sounds and sights they might experience at the dental surgery.
Exercise is another important part of our ‘All about me’ project as we help children to understand the benefits of keeping active. Physical activity is crucial in early years for fostering healthy development. It supports physical growth, motor skill development, cognitive function, and social-emotional well-being. Encouraging physical activity from a young age helps children establish healthy habits for life and positively impacts their physical and mental health.
Physical play, including activities like crawling, climbing, and running, strengthens muscles and bones, improving coordination, balance, and posture. Motor skills are developed by learning fundamental movement skills like jumping, hopping, and throwing, which are essential for later physical activity and daily tasks. Activities like balancing on one foot or catching a ball enhance hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness.
Our fantastic Blast Sport sessions are a great way to introduce children to more structured sports, benefiting them in a multitude of ways and particularly helping to promote team building and self-confidence. Dancing with Claire is incredibly popular with our children and helps to encourage movement to music and some simple gymnastics, while having the best of fun!
If any parents or family members would like to get involved with our project this term, we would really encourage your participation. Whether you’d like to try a simple healthy cookery activity… some fun exercises such as simple yoga… a small talk about the role of a dentist or dental nurse… these would all be fantastic additions to the children’s learning! Please speak to a teacher if this is something that interests you.
We’re really looking forward to getting to know new friends in our ‘All About Me!’ project, and welcoming all of our new children and parents to the Children’s House family!
