Reflecting on their experiences, the children learn about the four seasons and their associated weather, explore how seasonal changes affect trees, daylight hours and clothing and plan and present weather reports, considering the knowledge needed for the role.

Identifying and naming objects and the materials from which they are made, the children compare and group materials by how they look and carry out tests to sort them based on unobservable properties.

Identifying and naming body parts, the children conduct practical activities with the senses to spot patterns and answer questions.

Learning about animals, the children compare and group them by similarities and differences in characteristics, physical features and diets.

Venturing outside, the children identify and name common wild and garden plants (including deciduous and evergreen trees), observe plant parts with magnifying glasses and name them, sort leaves by appearance, investigate whether beans need water to grow and identify edible plant parts.

Using picture books as inspiration, the children broaden their understanding of plants and animals by gathering and recording data to investigate if taller trees have larger trunks, recap the features of animal groups, build waterproof animal homes with natural materials and sort birds according to their diet.

Considering the life processes shared by all living things, the children classify objects as alive, once alive or never alive, explore a range of habitats by naming plants and animals found there, learn how different living things depend on each other for food and shelter and create food chains to show the sequence in which living things eat each other.

Building on their knowledge of habitats, the children explore how microhabitats meet the needs of minibeasts, learn about scientific skills used to answer questions and plan and carry out an experiment to determine the conditions woodlice prefer.

Recognising the suitability of materials for specific purposes, the children explore how actions like stretching and bending affect solid objects, compare material suitability through tests and record data.

Studying the life cycles of various animals, the children learn what animals need to survive, observe changes over time, collect and record data on their peers, develop measurement skills and consider how scientific knowledge supports healthy choices.

Carrying out comparative tests, the children investigate the conditions for seed germination, measure stem height with rulers, record data in tables and learn through practical activities that plants need water, light and suitable temperatures to grow and stay healthy.

Identifying ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, the children use their knowledge of material properties to invent creative uses for old objects, discover that some natural materials come from plants, explore paper-making processes, conduct tests to select suitable materials for homemade plant pots and venture outdoors to gather natural materials for decoration.