Throughout the year we have a number of core texts that we read and explore with our pre-school children. These books are a guide from which we explore the whole breadth of the 7 areas of the early years foundation stage. The books provide inspiration for all manner of imaginative, creative, and physical activities whilst also being a great reference for expanding vocabulary and seeding fascinating conversations. When selecting the books, it was imperative that they had a clear mathematical emphasis; supporting strong early skills around numeracy and exploring shapes, sizes and weight is something that we’re particularly passionate about.

We’ve chosen a wide and varied range of books that cover a number of topics, many that fit specifically with key times of the year: We explore Oliver’s Vegetables around the time that we’re planting our seeds and starting to grow our plants in early Spring. We look at the very hungry caterpillar to coincide with the time when our caterpillars arrive, and we watch them develop into butterflies.

Many of the books chosen allow us to celebrate our local area and plan trips: The Snail and the Whale provides a great opportunity to visit our local fire station and learn more about people in our community who help us. Duffy’s lucky escape helps us to teach the children about caring for our world and gives us a chance to visit the beach (which is less than 300m from our front door) to do a beach clean and discover more about our sea’s ecosystem.

There are 11 books in total, but they are continually reviewed to ensure that they support our core provision and that they engage our children, filling them with awe and feeding their passion for learning and exploring. Below is a list of the books, with links to videos that you can share with your child at home. All of the books can be found and purchased easily, or lent from our local library (again, less than 300m from Sunshine).

• The snail and the whale
• Elmer
• We’re going on a bear hunt
• Walters wonderful web
• Owl babies
• The little red hen
• Whatever next?
• The very hungry caterpillar
• Duffy’s lucky escape
• Oliver’s vegetables
• How to catch a star