This is a one-year programme of topics for pre-school study

Overall theme: Nature & Communication

The whole year has the overall theme of nature and communication, which is broken up into four seasonal topics, which in turn are broken into monthly themes, and within the monthly theme, there is a weekly focus. Special days are noted in brackets.

Please feel free to make use of this plan, and amend it to suit your family.

Keep a look out for our new unit-study page which will help turning topic ideas into projects!

Autumn Theme:	Endangered Species
SEPTEMBER Rainforests Geography * Flora & Fauna * People * Endangered Species (Grandparents Day)	OCTOBER Harvest Apples * Squirrels * Harvesting, farm machines * Keeping food fresh (Thanksgiving)	NOVEMBER Emergencies Bonfire Night * Fire * Police * Ambulance (Remembrance Sunday) (Advent)
Winter theme:	Hibernation
DECEMBER Christmas Christmas Food: cake * Music: carols * Christmas presents [Christmas week = holiday]	JANUARY Snow New Year * Snowmen * Arctic: Polar Bear * Antarctic: Penguin	FEBRUARY "Animal holidays" Migrating Birds * Hibernation: hedgehogs * Winter sports holidays * Warm holiday: Australia (Valentine's Day)
Spring theme:	New Life
MARCH Seed-time Seed-time, plough * Tractor * Spring Flowers * March Hare (Mothering Sunday) (St. Patrick's day, Ireland), (Lent) (Palm Sunday)	APRIL Water Water = life * Leisure/ work * Energy (Easter) (St. George's Day, England) (Clocks go back)	MAY Farm Animals Cows * Sheep * Pigs * Chickens (Whitsun)
Summer theme:	Holidays
JUNE Sun Solar system * Weather, seasons * Outdoor sports: Wimbledon * Energy (Father's Day) (Midsummer's Day)	JULY Africa Geography & flora * Fauna: Big cats - Lion * Elephants * Zebras (Ascension Day)	AUGUST Travel & Post Over/ Underground * In the Air * On the Water * Travel in nature

About "Little Bears Family Homeschool":

"Little Bears Family Homeschool" is a family with young children who do not attend playgroup or daycare. We advocate parentally-(as opposed to 'expert')-guided programme of education in a home environment which is developmentally appropriate..

Our current pre-school informal educational programme takes the form of ‘theme-work’; that is, looking at a given theme for a week to a month to a season.

The emphasis, however, is on learning through play & positive (suitable) social interaction. Exposure to other languages & cultures is also encouraged by singing nursery rhymes from other countries.

What do we Do?

Music time: Sing songs, clap, learn nursery rhymes, dance together!
Craft-work: Drawing, painting, cutting & sticking, modelling, etc.: Encouraging creativity & imagination.
Going out to the park/ playing in the garden, going swimming: exercise, contact with nature. Educational, fun outings, using public transport, green-cross-code traffic training.
Story-time: Using the library service, encouraging fantasy & imagination, telling our own stories.
Going shopping: To the post office, bank & local shops: contact with local people. Regular contact with other children & other grown-ups: experience of larger group activities.