In Block 4, children will be learning about families and homes. This topic helps children understand themselves and others and supports their sense of belonging and identity. Through the storybook Sunny and the Birds, group discussions, role play, and creative activities, children will explore the idea that families can look different and discover what makes each family special.

Children will also be supported to write some or all of the letters in their own name in fun and meaningful ways. Using hands-on activities such as mark-making, tracing, name cards, and exploring different writing tools, children develop early writing skills while enjoying playful learning experiences.

Development Matters

• Write some or all of their name.
  
  

Key Vocabulary
Family, home, parents, grandparents, house, apartment, love, special, together, share, care, trace, practice

In Nursery, children develop early mathematical understanding by solving simple, real-world problems using numbers. Through the Sunny and the Birds pathway, mathematical learning is made meaningful, playful, and connected to children’s everyday experiences. 

Children explore counting, number recognition, and simple problem-solving as they help Sunny care for the birds. For example, they may count how many birds are on a branch, check if each bird has one piece of food, or work out how many more seeds are needed when a new bird arrives. They will notice that homes can be different shapes, sizes, and made of different materials, just like the places people live around the world. These experiences support an understanding of solving mathematical problems related to lessons based on White Rose activities.

Development Matters:

Solve real-world mathematical problems with numbers up to 5. 

Key Vocabulary:
real world, connected, recognition, problem, solving, arrives, understanding, different

Through the story Sunny and the Birds, the children will explore the idea that people live in different places around the world. The story introduces Sunny’s home and surroundings, helping children notice how homes, landscapes, and daily life can look different from their own.

As we read and talk about the book, children will be encouraged to look closely at the illustrations and share what they notice about where Sunny lives, the birds, and the environment around them. They will compare these places to their own homes and talk about similarities and differences they have seen in photographs, stories, or real-life experiences.

We will also talk about fairy tale homes like cottages in the woods, castles, or little houses made of candy. Children can compare these magical homes to Sunny’s home and to their own homes.

Development Matters:

Know that there are different countries in the world and talk about the diffrences they have experienced or seen in photos.

Key Vocabulary:

homes, house, village, garden, castle, woods, different, same

Alongside the story Sunny and the Birds, children will explore Sunny’s world and the garden around her. Using small world equipment such as animal sets, dolls, and dollhouses, children can create their own stories about Sunny, the birds, and their homes.

Children will be encouraged to use their imagination, making up adventures, acting out what happens in the story, and adding their own ideas. They can build gardens, nests, and homes for Sunny and the birds, experimenting with different materials, shapes, and arrangements.

Development Matters:

Begin to develop complex stories using small world equipment like animal sets, dolls and doll houses, etc.

Key Vocabulary:

imagine, homes, build, garden, create, mold, build, recreate

During our Families and Homes topic, children will be encouraged to explore a variety of tools and materials to support their physical development. They will practice using pencils, crayons, paintbrushes, and scissors to create representations of their families and homes, developing fine motor skills such as hand-eye coordination, control, and precision. By selecting the appropriate tools for different tasks, children also learn problem-solving, independence, and confidence in their abilities.

Development Matters:

Choose the right resources to carry out their own plan. For example, using kitchen tools, gardening tools such as a spade to enlarge a small hole.

Key Vocabulary:

families, tools, practice, control, tasks

Children will learn about their bodies and how to take care of themselves. They will begin to name some parts of their body and understand that being active, eating healthy foods, and getting enough sleep helps them grow strong and feel well. Children will also explore daily hygiene routines, including brushing their teeth and washing their hands before eating and after using the toilet.

Through discussions, role play, and hands-on activities, children will talk about safe adults in their lives and ways to keep themselves safe. These experiences support children’s understanding of health, wellbeing, and self-care, while helping them develop confidence, independence, and awareness of the world around them.

Development Matters

• Talk about ways to keep their bodies healthy.
  
  

• Understand simple routines for personal hygiene and self-care.
  
  

• Recognise people who keep them safe.
  
  

Key Vocabulary
Healthy, body, teeth, wash, hands, sleep, exercise, safe, food, clean, strong, grow

In this block, the children will explore the book Sunny and the Birds. They will be encouraged to listen attentively to the story and take part in group discussions about Sunny and the birds she meets. Children will talk about what happens in the story, sharing their ideas and feelings about the characters and events.

Through shared reading, role play, and small-world play, children will have opportunities to retell the story in sequence, describing key events using their own words. Adults will model simple sentences and repeated phrases from the story to support children’s confidence in speaking and storytelling. Children will be encouraged to use new and familiar vocabulary from the book to help them express their ideas clearly.

Mark-making activities such as drawing birds, creating simple maps, making signs, and attempting to label pictures will support early writing skills. Role play and imaginative play will further help children to retell the story, develop narrative skills, practise turn-taking, and build confidence in communication.

These experiences will support children’s listening and attention, speaking skills, vocabulary development, and understanding of stories, linking language learning to play and everyday experiences.

Development Matters:
• Enjoy listening to longer stories and remember what happens.
• Use a wider range of vocabulary.

Key Vocabulary:
Sunny, birds, wings, fly, feathers, sky, sing, nest, friend, help, happy, journey, explore, listen, together.

Nursery children explore music through singing, movement and play-based activities linked to birds. They practise keeping a steady beat, copying simple rhythms and using their voices expressively to create bird sounds (tweet, chirp, flap). Children play along using untuned percussion, learning loud/quiet and fast/slow changes to match flying, hopping and perching. Rehearsals focus on singing together, listening carefully, and building confidence to perform as a group.

Key vocabulary: beat, pulse, rhythm, fast, slow, loud, quiet, sing, listen, instruments, start/stop, perform, birdsong.

Nursery children develop dance skills through imaginative movement inspired by birds. They explore travelling actions (flutter, hop, glide), different levels (high/low), and shapes (wings wide, nest curl). Children copy short movement phrases, freeze on a signal, and practise dancing safely in shared space. Rehearsals focus on clear starts and finishes, moving together as a flock, and enjoying performance with confidence.

Key vocabulary: travel, actions, levels, space, shape, freeze, copy, follow, direction, flock, glide, hop, perform.

We warmly encourage families to continue learning at home through playful activities that link with what we are exploring in Nursery:

Communication and Language (CL)
Share and explore Sunny and the Birds and other fairy tales together. Encourage your child to join in with repeated phrases, talk about the story, and retell it using toys, drawings, or small-world birds. Ask questions like, “What might Sunny do next?” or “How does the bird feel?” Encourage your child to practise writing their name during related drawing or labeling activities.

Mathematics
Use everyday objects to explore positional language such as in, on, under, behind, next to, or above. Create simple bird “routes” at home—e.g., hopping from branch to branch or flying between nests—and ask questions like, “Where is the bird now?” Count birds, feathers, or nests during play. Encourage children to compare quantities (more/fewer) and sizes (big/small), and solve simple problems using numbers up to 5.

Understanding the World (UW), Expressive Arts and Design (EAD)
Explore different birds and their movements. Talk about how birds fly, build nests, and make sounds. Encourage your child to create their own Sunny and the Birds adventures using craft materials, toys, or natural objects. You can also discuss real-life experiences—Have you seen birds in the garden? What are they doing? Introduce the concept that there are different countries in the world and talk about differences your child has experienced or seen in photos.

Physical Development (PD)
Support gross motor skills by creating simple “flight paths” for your child to move like a bird—flapping arms, hopping, or balancing on lines. Encourage children to go up steps, stairs, or climb apparatus using alternate feet. For fine motor skills, offer opportunities to draw, paint, cut, and glue to make birds, nests, or maps of Sunny’s journey. Encourage children to choose the right resources to carry out their own plans, for example using kitchen tools, gardening tools such as a spade, to enlarge a small hole they dug with a towel. 

We would love for you to share a short note, photo, or video of your child enjoying these activities on their Tapestry Learning Journey, so that we can celebrate their learning both at home and at school.