Humanities in the Early Years
What does Geography and History look like in Nursery and Reception? The Early Years Foundation Stage has seven areas of learning, rather than the individual subjects used within the National Curriculum. Communication and Language as well as Personal, Social and Emotional Development underpin all our learning in Class 1, but the key areas of learning related to geography and history are through the area, ‘Understanding the World’.
Throughout the autumn and spring terms, class 1 are busy (as usual) finding out about our world in a range of different contexts both in and outside the classroom. This has included: observing changes and recording data on weather in our work about the seasons of autumn and winter; learning about how animals like hedgehogs and birds adapt to the changing seasons; developing an understanding of significant national events such as Remembrance Day; retelling and sequencing events from different stories.
We enjoy adapting our curriculum in early years to follow the interests of the children too. Our in-depth study on migration began with one pupil’s bird box that had made at home to put in our outdoor area. This inspired further learning around why some birds migrate; what dangers they encounter; and even a trip to Leighton Moss where we spotted some examples of migrating birds.
Choosing where to locate our bird box in our outdoor area was another opportunity for some learning. We discovered that it is best to position our bird box so that it faces North. Deciding on the best location for our bird box involved lots of discussion, problem solving and team work. We also learnt about how to use a compass to find North too! If you want to know anything about migration and how to look after birds in winter time – there are many experts who will be happy to help in Class 1!