Our guide to the EYFS Curriculum in your child’s Transition Year:
Starting in Transition
Our main values are Kindness, Independence, Friendships and Social Skills
We help parents to understand the changes when your child is settling into Transition, potential new teachers and a new teaching environment.
Some children might regress in terms of potty training until they feel completely comfortable. Take on board advice from the Transition teachers to support your child’s learning. Please promote our values in partnership with the Transition teachers and instil politeness, kindness and independence.
Starting the Day Right
- Separation: Comforters to be left at home and children should separate from parents confidently.
- Transition children are taught to walk up and down stairs without being carried and using alternate feet; please encourage the same.
- Children will eventually go to the classroom independently having said goodbye at the front door.
- Encourage your child to greet and promote eye contact with the Head/Deputy, class teachers and familiar adults when talking.
- Bring in the Blue Bag with the completed Chatterbox at the beginning of the week.
- Bring items in for Show and Tell (discuss with the teacher about when to do this)
- Each day bring a water bottle.
- Do not bring food into School.
- Wear and bring appropriate clothing for the day – e.g. jacket, hat, etc.
- Wear shoes with no laces
- Your child should independently put these on their peg.
- Wellies (named) can be left here for outdoor learning
Learning and Development
Topics continue in Transition
- Children will demonstrate interest in different activities which our teachers will follow and encourage, to further their learning.
- Children should not be forced to move on to their next level of development if they do not show developmental readiness.
- There will be continued learning across the seven areas in the EYFS.
- Montessori teaching is incorporated in our curriculum.
“Play is the work of the child”
- Play is how children express themselves and learn. This mirrors the EYFS and our approach to learning through play.
- We use Montessori in our curriculum to encourage exploration and teach the children to take responsibility for themselves, their belongings and the environment.
- We teach self-care skills from as young as Tiddly Pops so when they reach Transition, the routine of taking care of the environment and of themselves is embedded and they are ready for the next challenge.
- We use a wide variety of resources that are designed to isolate what it is we want to teach.
Montessori teaching is conducted through a ‘Three Period Lesson’
- First stage: naming or introduction – “This is a.” I will name a, trace it and invite the child to do the same. I will do this for two more letters.
- Second stage: recognising or identification – “Show me a.” Give me a, put t on your head, show your friend s, put a here, place t here, can you put s behind your back? The longest stage and a playful one.
- Third stage: remembering or cognition – “What is this?”
If they make a mistake, we make a mental note of which one to present again and keep practising with them.
We might say “That’s the s” or “You’ve got t there” rather than correcting and knocking their confidence.
EYFS: Communication and Language
Communication and Language – the development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development.
- Manners
- Confidence with talking and vocabulary
- Understanding
- Asking questions
- Using tenses, describing, memory recall
- Rhythm and Rhyme
- Humour
- Circle Time
- Weekend News
- Show and Tell
- Pippin Puppy
Extra-Curricular Activities
Creative Movement
Little Foxes
Drama
French
Studio Cultivate
Forest School
EYFS: Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Children’s Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) is crucial for them to lead happy and healthy lives and is fundamental to their cognitive development.
A Child in Transition Develops:
- Independence
- Kindness
- Friendships
- Confidence
- a Can-do Attitude
- Flexibility
- Perseverance
Independence and Self Care
– Hang up own coat
– Take coat on and off
– Take shoes on and off
– Wash hands and face
– Brush hair
– Toilet trained/in process
– Use the loo independently
– Develop awareness of boundaries
Engage in Mealtime Routines
– Sit at a table
– Serve themselves food from a bowl
– Use tongs to serve fruit
– Use a knife and fork, cutting own food
– Pour own water from a small jug
– Drink from an open cup
– Ask to the leave the table
– Access water independently throughout the day
The Children in Transition will create and follow Golden Rules
Friendships
- Relate to and make attachments to members of their class
- Initiate, join in, extend play, including Take part in pretend play, taking on roles
- Show more confidence in new social situations and become more outgoing with unfamiliar people
- Find solutions to conflicts and rivalries
Feelings
- Name and talk about their feelings and the feelings of others.
- Learn that all feelings are understandable and acceptable, but not all behaviours are.
- Self-regulation – the ability to understand and manage one’s behaviour and reactions to the feelings they are experiencing is an important part of early years education. Being able to self-regulate helps children learn effectively at school, allows them to behave in socially appropriate ways and supports friendship. We teach the children to self-regulate by role modelling and controlling our own emotional reactions, by talking about their feelings, acknowledging those feelings and discussing ways to feel better.
- Mindful Moments
EYFS: Physical Development
Physical Development is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy & active lives.
Balancing, Kicking Balls, Throwing and Catching, Rolling and Forward Rolls, Crawling, Walking, Running, Hopping, Skipping, Obstacle Courses, Climbing Yoga, Soft Play, Riding a Scooter, Tricycle, Balance Bike, Prachute Play, Going Up and Down a Slide, SPORTS DAY
Fine Motor Skills
- Manipulative skills e.g., Threading
- Show a preference for a dominant hand
- Use one-handed tools and equipment, e.g., making snips in paper with scissors – Montessori cutting activities
- Independent dressing – Use Montessori Dressing Frames (Fine motor skills and dressing skills) – Montessori Dressing Frames
EYFS: Literacy
Literacy is crucial to develop a lifelong love of reading.
The children will learn through play, with teachers keeping everything exciting and engaging. It is an area of learning that requires lots of practice and each child will only move on to the next stages when they are ready.
- Engage with a variety of stories in different ways
- Non-fiction to supplement learning
- Make up stories
- ‘Word of the Week’
Reading Skills:
Before teaching children to read themselves, we must build the foundational skills: sound differentiation, rhythm and rhyme, and alliteration
Auditory discrimination skills in the environment can involve listening to walks, playing sounds lotto games, listening to different musical instruments hidden under a blanket and identifying which one is being played, making loud and quiet sounds with an instrument, singing songs and action rhymes to develop their sounds vocabulary.
Rhythm and rhyme can involve reading rhyming stories, playing rhythm games, such as copying and creating clapping patterns or tapping a rhythm on a drum.
Letters and Sounds:
We teach letters and sounds in a variety of ways, and use materials from Jolly Phonics
Examples of Activities include identifying initial sounds of words – ‘I Spy’ games, matching objects with the same sound, making phonics soup, listening to stories with alliteration, using the letter tubs and completing letter puzzles/letter lotto games
Reading – Next Steps
In Transition SOME children may start blending and segmenting words, e.g. CVC words. Many won’t and that is FINE – they will do that at school, it’s important that they have developed those foundational skills first.
Possible further learning:
- Learn about Phonograms
- Begin Word Building – blending and segmenting, CVC words, learning Sight words
- Read Farm Phonics Series, Amazing Child Phonic Readers or the Oxford Reading Tree
- Start to recognise the letter names
Writing
Developing fine motor control and skills, in addition to gross motor; hand-eye coordination, dexterity and control; strengthening the muscles in their hands and wrists
Prewriting Skills
- e.g., Threading, ‘Tap Tap’ hammer game, pegboards, using tweezers
- Engage in Mark making activities
- e.g., a stick in the mud at the park, using paintbrushes with water on an easel,
- using their finger in salt or glitter sand
- Hold a pencil – developing a pincer grip
- Draw Lines, zig zag, circles
- Recognise, trace and write their first and second name by the end of the academic year if the child is ready
Complete Tracing
Green dot for go and red dot for stop
Lower case letters (Capitals only for the first letter of their name)
Workbooks
The children in Transition will complete the following Workbooks, throughout the academic year:
- ‘Little Learners’
- Name Book
- Weekend News Book
Examples of Montessori Resources for Literacy
Spelling Mat
Sandpaper Letters
Sand Tray
Large Moveable Alphabet
Small Moveable Alphabet
EYFS: Mathematics
Mathematics – Developing a strong grounding in numbers is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically: numbers/quantities, patterns and connections and spatial reasoning.
Numbers
- Show curiosity in numbers
- Numbers 1-20
- Quantitative relationship
- Odd and even
- 10s/20s/30s
- Fractions – wholes, halves and quarters
Shapes
- Find, draw, experiment with 2D and 3D shapes
- Sorting, matching and experimenting with Patterns
- Use language of size, such as ‘big’ and ‘little’
- Experiment with measurements – Weight, Length, Height
- Learn about time – Hours/times of the day/clocks
- Join in Practical life activities
Examples of Montessori Resources for Mathematics
Sandpaper Numbers
Colour Boxes 1, 2, 3
Cylinder Blocks (1,2,3,4 and Knobless Cylinders)
Pink Tower
Brown Stairs
Red Rods
Number Rods
Geometric Cabinet
Geometric Solids
Geometric Plane Figures
Binomial Cube
Trinomial Cube
Sandpaper Numbers
Circles, Squares and Triangles
Number Cards and Counters
Spindle Box
Tens Board
Teen Board
Coloured Bead Stairs
Fractions Skittles
Fraction Circles
EYFS: Understanding the World
Understanding the World – personal experiences, community, diverse world and widening vocabulary.
- Develop cultural capital – essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success.
- Activities and experiences that give our Transition children the best possible start to their early education.
- Grow knowledge by referring to books and exploring different resources, fostering a sense of curiosity and excitement to learn, and creating a solid foundation for learning.
- Consolidate learning with interactive activities such as sound games matching sounds to images, completing puzzles, developing role play, creating artwork and practical experiments.
- Learning through exciting topics and building on the child’s own experiences.
Weekend News
Show and Tell – Create a Scrap Book or similar for Show & Tell
Trips
Trips to the park
Walks in the community
Shop trips
Going on the bus or different modes of transport
Outings e.g., Wetland Centre, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Garson’s Farm, Battersea Zoo
Celebrations
Celebrate birthdays
Cultural celebrations
Parents invited to talk about these – please let us know what your family are celebrating
Pippa Pop-ins Events throughout the year:
Autumn Term – Festive Spectacular
Spring Term – Mother’s Day/Someone Special
Summer Term – Father’s Day/Someone Special
– Summer Show and Graduation
Examples of Topics
Healthy Living:
- The Human Body
- Keeping their body healthy
- Oral Hygiene – use own toothbrush after lunch
The World we Live in:
- Different nationalities
- Different Flags
- Using Globes (Sandpaper Globe and Painted Globe)
- Singing ‘The Continents Song’
- Maps and Map puzzles
- International food days
- Flat Stanley
- Current affairs
- Looking after the planet
- Recycling
- Different festivals
- Different languages
- Learn French (extra-curricular)
The Natural World:
- Nature Studies with Studio Cultivate
- How to look after the planet
- Different habitats
- Migration for birds
- Planting – scientific exploration
- Life cycles – chicks & butterflies
- Weather
- Seasons
People:
- Different Occupations
- Abilities and disabilities
- Inspirational people
- Inventors, Explorers and Scientists
- Artists
- Parents’ jobs – show and tell
- Talk about own ambitions
- Dressing up
Technology:
- Explore technology resources such as Beebots, sound recorders, metal detectors
- Use Computers and learn how to use the keyboard and mouse
- Complete educational games
Examples of Montessori Resources for Understanding the World
Botany Puzzles
Zoology Puzzles
Map Puzzles
Globes
Land and Water forms
Montessori Practical Life resources
EYFS: Expressive Arts and Design
Expressive Arts and Design – the development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity as well as their self-expression and communication through arts.
- Continuing to expand knowledge and understanding through a wide range of creative activities
- Engage in symbolic play
- Draw with purpose, e.g. self portraits
- Develop own creations, choosing materials e.g. Junk Modelling
- Express self through movement
Examples of Montessori Resources for Expressive Arts and Design
Roman Arch
Metal Insets for Design
Montessori Colour Boxes
Coloured Pencils
Ideas to Support Your Child
- Promote positive behaviour and reinforce being kind and using words.
- Be consistent with what you say to your child, with clear boundaries and expectations.
- Always give your child specific praise for when they make the right choice, e.g. “I like the way you tidied up” or “Well done for helping Daddy.”
- Encourage your child to greet and make eye contact with the Head/Deputy, class teachers or familiar adults, when talking.
- To help develop your child’s self-esteem, organise, and encourage them to play with a variety of children and not just their ‘best friend.’ This will enable your child to become familiar with others and promote their social development.
- To promote physical and Personal, Social and Emotional development, you may also wish to encourage your child to participate in clubs e.g., swimming, team sports, horse-riding, drama or ballet sessions.
- Broaden independence, responsibilities, and self-help skills, e.g., setting the table, using cutlery appropriately, putting on and taking off their own shoes and coats.
- Show an awareness of healthy practices, e.g., washing hands before eating, brushing teeth and letting your child get dressed or undressed.
- Oral Health – When brushing your child’s teeth, engage in conversation about the importance of oral hygiene and how we can look after our teeth (brush twice a day for two minutes, limit sweet foods etc.)
- To promote Language Development, ask your child about different things and allow him/her to answer, e.g., “Can you tell me…?”, “What do you think?”, “What is that?”, “Why?”, “How did that happen?”, “How do you think xxx will work?”
- To help support your child to talk to unfamiliar people, give opportunities such as ordering in a restaurant.
- Help your child to contribute to the topics at Pippa Pop-ins; during ‘Show & Tell’ your child will be encouraged to sing a song, tell a story, or show their topic item in front of the class
Activities to Try at Home:
When playing games encourage your child to take turns and take part in the activity, e.g., soundtracks, Bingo, Lotto, Snap, Connect Four and so forth.
Play ‘Simon Says,’ e.g., “Simon Says ‘touch your head.’”
Use a variety of different puzzles, layered puzzles, sequencing puzzles, floor puzzles and tabletop puzzles. Use descriptive words when talking about a puzzle and encourage your child to complete it independently.
Encourage your child to articulate and express his/her wants, opinions and needs.
Play visual discrimination games such as ‘hide the shoe’ or pegging socks. Talk about pairs, longest, shortest, odds, evens, and colours.
Let your child practice cutting skills, e.g., cutting specific pictures in magazines or along cutting lines.
Play memory games – what is missing from a tray of 6-8 different objects.
Phonetically talk about the letters that objects begin with, in the environment.
Let your child mark make, draw, and tell you what they think it is and not what you may think (unless your child asks you!)
Bake together, talking about the ingredients and process and letting them measure, pour, mix, etc.
Construction- let your child build and create with small Lego, magna tiles, stickle bricks or junk modelling.
Use the Jolly Phonics book and CD or the app.
Play ball games and encourage various physical skills such as climbing, crawling, hopping, and using different play equipment at the park.
Read a wide range of books to enhance your child’s vocabulary and language, comprehension, word reading and knowledge.
Encourage your child to finish their activity before moving onto the next one.
Books:
‘There can be few things as powerful as regularly reading to a young child. It has astonishing benefits for children: comfort and reassurance, confidence and security, relaxation, happiness and fun. Giving a child time and full attention when reading them a story tells them they matter.’ National Literacy Trust
Please find below a list of suggested books to read to your child over the academic year prior to him/her starting Primary or Pre-Prep School. We have chosen these books from an educational perspective and because they are popular with the Transition children.
Recommended Authors for Fictional Books:
- Julia Donaldson
- Eric Carle
- Giles Andreae
- Oliver Jeffers
- Judith Kerr
- Rachel Bright
- Valerie Thomas (Winnie the Witch Books)
- Tom Fletcher (There’s a …. In my Book!)
- Jill Murphy
- Lynley Dodd (Hairy Mclary Books)
- Flavia Z Drogo
- Ian Whybrow and Reynolds Long (Harry and the Dinosaurs books)
- Paddington Bear Stories by Michael Bond
- Mr Men and Little Miss Books by Roger and Adam Hargreaves
Some of our favourite books:
- Flat Stanley (original story) by Jeff Brown
- Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne
- The Tiger who came to Tea by Judith Kerr
- Non Fiction Books:
- Little People BIG DREAMS books
- Usborne Early Years Children’s Books
- Wonderwise Collection
- Patricia Hegarty Books
Any Books that Support Feelings and Emotions
Read books relating to your child’s interests.
Take a trip to the Library or a bookshop and see what your child picks!
Local Libraries:
Fulham Library
598 Fulham Road
London
SW6 5NX
Kensington Central Library
12 Phillimore Walk
London
W8 7RX
Points to Remember:
- Children demonstrate interest in different activities which our teachers will follow and encourage, to further their learning.
- Children should not be forced to move on to their next level of development if they do not show developmental readiness.
- Understand that all children are individual and on different levels of their learning and development and therefore academic activities depend on the child’s interests and emotional development.
- Please do not compare the children; each child has their own learning style and differences, unique qualities, and it is important we respect them.
- Please look at the Pippa Pop-ins curriculum guidance and an example of a Transition timetable.
- We hope you find our advice helpful, should you have any questions or would like a meeting regarding schools and your child, please email the Schools’ Office. We do not hold school meetings in September due to the children settling in.