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Taw Pre-School Autumn Term 2025

17.10.25 

 

Our topic this week is ‘Pumpkins and Autumn’. We have read autumn themed books, and our focus story has been ‘Room on the broom’.  

Books we have read: 

  • Pumpkin soup  

  • Room on the broom 

  • The best gift of all  

  • The squirrels who squabbled  

  • The leaf thief  

  • The Gruffalo 

 

Activities/provision this week:  

  • Autumn light box – The children explored different autumn colours using our light box. They played with wooden autumnal materials e.g. leaves, mushrooms.  

  • Room on the broom water play – We read ‘Room on the broom’ and then played with a themed water tray. The children made their own magic potions using glittery water, bowls, spoons, small pots etc.  

  • Room on the broom magic wands – The children made and decorated magical wands from ‘Room on the broom’. They cut out stars and stuck on shiny craft paper.  

  • ‘Going on a leaf hunt’ - We read ‘We’re going on a leaf hunt’ and talked about autumn leaves. We went on a walk around the school, collecting leaves and other autumnal materials. Later, we sorted the leaves into colours – red, yellow and green.  

  • Decorating hedgehogs – The children decorated hedgehogs using brown tissue paper and leaves.  

  • Autumn tree craft – The children decorated autumn tree outlines using paint (red, yellow, green, orange), crayons and stick on craft leaves.  

  • Pumpkin biscuits. The children decorated biscuits with orange and green icing to look like pumpkins. They later ate the biscuits at snack time.  

  • Small world farm – The children played with the farmyard, tractor, trailers and farm animals. 

  • Pumpkin soup role play home corner – The children played in an autumn themed home corner. They used munchkin pumpkins, scales, bowls and spoons to pretend to make soup.  

  • Autumn sensory tray exploration – The children played with autumn themed dry pasta, leaves, pumpkins, leaves and pinecones. They transported the pasta using different sized scoopers.   

 

Phonics: Instrumental sounds 

This term our phonics focus is instrumental sounds! We will be experimenting playing with a variety of instruments. We will practice playing the instruments loud, quiet, fast, slow etc.  

Maths: Patterns  

The children have been learning how to: 

  • Recognise patterns in their environment 

  • Create their own simple AB patterns using coloured bears and cubes.  

  • Continue a simple pattern using natural materials e.g. leaves, conkers, pinecones and pumpkins   

 

Next week the topic will continue to be: Bonfire night  

 

Important information 

  • Please can the children bring in any books from home about Autumn, dark/light, stars, nightime etc.  

10.10.25 

Our topic this week is ‘Pumpkins and Autumn’. We have read autumn themed books, and our focus story has been ‘Pumpkin Soup’.  

 

Books we have read: 

  • Pumpkin soup  

  • Room on the broom 

  • The best gift of all  

  • The squirrels who squabbled  

  • The leaf thief  

  • The Gruffalo 

 

Activities/provision this week:  

  • Small world farm – The children played with the farmyard, tractor, trailers and farm animals. 

  • Autumn playdough – The children played with orange cinnamon scented playdough. They used cutters to make their own leaves.  

  • Leaf craft – Throughout the week the children have been decorating and cutting out leaves for our light up autumn tree.  

  • Pumpkin painting – Painting pumpkin pictures using orange/green paint, sponges and tissue paper.  

  • Pumpkin soup role play home corner – The children played in an autumn themed home corner. They used munchkin pumpkins, scales, bowls and spoons to pretend to make soup.  

  • Pumpkin soup tuff tray – The children scooped out the insides of pumpkins and then pretended to make soup. They played with ladles, jugs, bowls etc. We added water for the children to mix and transport.  

  • Autumn sensory tray exploration – The children played with autumn themed dry pasta, leaves, pumpkins, leaves and pinecones. They transported the pasta using different sized scoopers.  

  • Leaf painting – We read ‘The leaf thief’, talking about the signs of autumn and leaves. The children painted leaves and printed them onto paper.  

  • Autumn repeating patterns – The children copied repeating patterns photos using pinecones, conkers, leaves and logs.  

  • Conker rolling – The children played in conkers, rolling and pouring them in the tuff tray.  

 

 

Phonics: Instrumental sounds 

This term our phonics focus is instrumental sounds! We will be experimenting playing with a variety of instruments. We will practice playing the instruments loud, quiet, fast, slow etc.  

 

Maths: Patterns  

The children have been learning how to: 

  • Recognise patterns in their environment 

  • Create their own simple AB patterns using coloured bears and cubes.  

  • Continue a simple pattern using natural materials e.g. leaves, conkers, pinecones and pumpkins   

 

Next week the topic will continue to be: Pumpkins and Autumn  

 

Important information 

  • Please can the children bring in any books from home about Autumn. 

  • This half term we will be holding parent meetings. Your child’s key worker will approach you next week to arrange a time/date.   

 

 

03.10.25 

Our topic this week is ‘Harvest’. This week we have read books about farming, harvest, fruits and vegetables. The children learnt new harvest songs such as, ‘Big Red Combine Harvester’. We talked about why and how people celebrate harvest.  

Books we have read: 

  • The scarecrows wedding  

  • Supertato 

  • What the ladybird heard 

  • The little red hen  

  • A squash and a squeeze  

  • The gigantic turnip 

Activities/provision this week:  

  • Small world farm – The children played with the farmyard, tractor, trailers and farm animals. 

  • ‘Little red hen’ tuff tray – The children played with a ‘baking bread’ sensory tray. They pretended to bake bread using flour, plain coloured playdough, rolling pins, scales, bowls, spoons etc.  

  • Harvesting tuff tray – The children pretended to sow and harvest different vegetable. They used plant pots, trowels and watering cans. We made moon sand mixed with cocoa powder to look like soil.  

  • Cleaning the farm animals activity – The children played with the farm animals in pretend mud. They used clean water and sponges to clean off the muddy farm animals.  

  • We read ‘The gigantic turnip’. The children pretended to make vegetable soup from the story using bowls, spoons, coloured water and vegetables.  

  • Fruit and vegetable shop – The children played in our fruit and vegetable role play shop. They explored real vegetables when pretending to work in the shop.  

 

 

Phonics: Instrumental sounds 

This term our phonics focus is instrumental sounds! We will be experimenting playing with a variety of instruments. We will practice playing the instruments loud, quiet, fast, slow etc.  

Maths: Patterns  

The children have been learning how to: 

  • Recognise patterns in their environment 

  • Create their own simple AB patterns using coloured bears and cubes.  

  • Continue a simple pattern using coloured bears and cubes  

 

Next week the topic will be: Pumpkins and Autumn  

 

Important information 

  • Please can the children bring in any books from home about Autumn. 

  • This half term we will be holding parent meetings. Your child’s key worker will approach you next week to arrange a time/date.  

 

 

26.09.25

Our topic this week is ‘Harvest’. This week we have read books about farming, harvest, fruits and vegetables. The children learnt new harvest songs such as, ‘Big Red Combine Harvester’. We talked about why and how people celebrate harvest.

Books we have read:

  • The scarecrows wedding
  • Supertato
  • What the ladybird heard
  • The little red hen
  • A squash and a squeeze

Activities/provision this week:

  • Small world farm – The children played with the farmyard, tractor, trailers and farm animals.
  • Farm playdough – The children made prints in brown playdough using toy farm animals. They also used farmyard animal footprint stones.
  • Scarecrow craft – Cutting and sticking together different parts of a scarecrow on paper. Adding autumn themed craft paper.
  • Vegetable printing – The children put cut up vegetables into paint and then printed them onto paper.
  • Sorting fruit and vegetables – We sorted vegetables and fruits into two groups, labelling as we sorted.
  • Fruit and vegetable shop – The children played in our fruit and vegetable role play shop. They explored real vegetables when pretending to work in the shop.
  • Baking bread – We read ‘The little red hen’ and then baked bread. The children worked together to follow the recipe and make bread to take home.
  • Harvesting apples – We went apple picking in the school orchard with the children. We then put the apples in the water tray and rolled them.
  • Corn rolling – The children rolled corn onto paint and then onto paper.

 

Phonics: Instrumental sounds

This term our phonics focus is instrumental sounds! We will be experimenting playing with a variety of instruments. We will practice playing the instruments loud, quiet, fast, slow etc.

Maths: Comparing quantities

Learning mathematical language - ‘more, less, most, least, fewer’. We compared quantities using counting bears and numicon. We decided which bear had the most or least biscuits.

 

Next week the topic is: Harvest

 

Important information

19.09.25

Our topic this week is ‘All about me!’. This week we have read books about the body and our senses. The children learnt a new song called ‘parts of the body’  by ‘Caitie’s Classroom’.  

Activities/provision this week:

  • We drew around one of the children on a large piece of paper. The children then labelled the different parts of the body by placing pictures on the outline e.g. hands, eyes, mouth, feet.
  • ‘How tall am I?’ activity – We measured the children using string and the chalk board. We compared the children’s heights using mathematical language e.g. tall, short.
  • Colour mixing – We read ‘Mix it up’ and then the children experimented with colour mixing. The children painted each of their hands a different colour then mixed them together to make a new one. They printed their hands onto paper.
  • Colour monster activity – We drew the ‘mixed up’ colour monster onto a large tuff tray and filled it with different coloured pom poms. The children helped the colour monster by sorting the pom poms into groups. The children used tweezers to sort the pom poms and match them to the monster of the matching colour.
  • We read stories about our senses – smell, taste, smell, touch.

 

Phonics: Instrumental sounds

This term our phonics focus is instrumental sounds! We will be experimenting playing with a variety of instruments. We will practice playing the instruments loud, quiet, fast, slow etc.

Maths: Sorting

We have been learning to sort objects into different groups and describe them e.g. sort by shape, colour or size.

 

Next week the topic is: Harvest

 

Important information

12.09.25 

Our topic this week is ‘All about me!’. We have welcomed lots of new children to pre-school who have been settling in. This week we have read books such as ‘You Choose’, ‘I’m starting nursery’ and ‘This is the way we go to school’.  

Activities/provision this week:  

  • All about me playdough – The children helped to make playdough this week. They played with Mini people and houses.  

  • Small world dolls house– The children played with familiar characters such as, Peppa pig, hey duggee, Disney princesses etc.  

  • Construction – The children played with Duplo and made their own house.  

  • Home corner role play – The children pretended to cook with our toy kitchen and look after the babies.  

  • Craft area – The children made pictures of their house using cut out shapes.  

  • Mark making – The children painted self-portraits and painted using different sponges.   

  • We decorated pancakes using a variety of fruit toppings to make a face.  

  • Colour mixing – The children experimented with colour mixing using pipette and coloured water.  

  • Playing with shapes – We drew around 2D shapes and matched the shapes to the outline.  

  • The children practised recognising their names. They tried to find the magnetic letters to make their own name.  

  • Sharing family photos – At circle time the children shared their family photos and talked about who they live with.  

Phonics: Instrumental sounds 

This term our phonics focus is instrumental sounds! We will be experimenting playing with a variety of instruments. We will practice playing the instruments loud, quiet, fast, slow etc.  

Maths: Sorting  

We have been learning to sort objects into different groups and describe them e.g. sort by shape, colour or size.  

Important information 

  • Blog photos will be uploaded every two weeks for parents/carers to view.  

  • Please can parents/carers bring in/email baby photos of the children for a circle time activity next week.  

05.09.25 

Our topic this week is ‘All about me!’. We have welcomed lots of new children to pre-school who have been settling in. This week we have read books such as ‘You Choose’, ‘I’m starting nursery’ and ‘This is the way we go to school’.  

 

Activities/provision this week:  

  • All about me playdough – The children helped to make playdough this week. They played with Mini people and houses.  

  • Small world dolls house– The children played with familiar characters such as, Peppa pig, hey duggee, Disney princesses etc.  

  • Construction – The children played with Duplo and made their own house.  

  • Home corner role play – The children pretended to cook with our toy kitchen and look after the babies.  

  • Craft area – The children made paper dolls of themselves. The coloured faces and used tissue paper to make clothing.  

  • ‘You Choose’ - The children made a self-portrait and added pictures from the ‘You Choose’ book to show their interests.   

  • Magnetic dress up – The children dressed people in different clothes using magnetic clothes.  

  • Sharing family photos – At circle time the children shared their family photos and talked about who they live with.  

Phonics: Instrumental sounds 

This term our phonics focus is instrumental sounds! We will be experimenting playing with a variety of instruments. We will practice playing the instruments loud, quiet, fast, slow etc.  

Important information 

  • Blog photos will be uploaded every two weeks for parents/carers to view.