Reception

A QUALITY START TO THE LEARNING JOURNEY

Our class teacher is Miss Patterson.

Our teaching assistants are Mrs Balshaw, Miss Garner and Mrs Goldsmith

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has 7 areas of learning. There are 3 prime areas; Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development. There are 4 specific areas of learning; Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design. The Characteristics of Effective Learning underpin all areas of learning and development in the EYFS. These are; Active Learning, Playing and Exploring and Creating and Thinking Critically.

A big welcome to all of our Reception children and their families. Starting big school is a very exciting time and we are sure they are going to enjoy coming to school. We are looking forward to working together to support each child to reach their full potential.

Autumn Term ~ Marvellous Me

During the first few weeks, we will be spending time getting to know each other, building relationships and settling into new routines. We will spend lots of time exploring our classroom and the outdoors too! We will enjoy talking about ourselves, our interests and our families too. We will talk about how we are all different, special and unique. We will share a variety of stories, including Elmer by David McKee, The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas and Incredible You by Rhys Brisenden. In maths, we will focus on numbers to 5 through various practical activities. In phonics, we will be exploring rhyme, alliteration and begin to learn our set one sounds in Read Write Inc.

 

                              

Spring Term One

We will be learning about the different seasons, building on what we learnt in Autumn term. We will share a big question 'How do we know it is Winter?' which will promote lots of discussion about changes in the environment. We will be learning all about the Antarctic and learn lots of facts about emperor penguins. We will continue to learn about different celebrations and we will learn all about Chinese New Year. We will enjoy dragon dancing, learning about the Zodiac story and trying some Chinese food. Children will continue on the RWI programme, developing their knowledge of set 1 single letter sounds, using their phonic knowledge to read words using 'Fred Talk' and then moving on to learning special friends (these have 2 or more letters but it makes one sound. For example 'Sh', 'th', 'ch'). In maths, we will be exploring numbers to 10, including comparing and ordering numbers. We will also focus on addition and subtraction to 10. We will further develop our understanding of 2D shapes and explore 3D shapes. Our PE focus this half term is developing ball skills.

 

    

Spring Term Two

We will be learning about our community. We will discuss people who are special to us and people who help us. We will explore lots of different job roles and talk about our own aspirations. There might even be a crime that we need to try and solve... We will share various books, including 'You Choose' by Pippa Goodhart and 'When I grow up' by Jon Hales. We will enjoy talking about our own dreams and aspirations. We will then move on to learning all about growth. We will be learning all about growing - plants, animals and ourselves! We will spend lots of time exploring outdoors, looking for signs of Spring and understanding the world around us. Our daily RWI sessions continue, securing their knowledge of Set 1 sounds, including Special Friends (Ch, sh, qu, ng, nk) and developing children's confidence when reading words using Fred Talk. When children are ready, we will then move on to learning Set 2 sounds. In maths, we will be continuing to focus on numbers to 10. We will be focusing on addition and looking at number bonds to make numbers 7,8, 9 and 10. We will also looking at pattern, measuring and exploring capacity. Our PE focus this half term is fundamental movement skills - developing our gross motor skills!

 

         

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to speak to Miss Patterson.

Behaviour management  – We use Class Dojo and children are able to receive ‘dojo’ points each day. We also have a class teddy called Sam. He helps us in school, he is always watching us and sometimes he chooses a child who has been a superstar and gets to go for a sleepover at their house – how exciting!

Please look out for our ‘I am proud’ pieces of paper which is an opportunity for you to share something that has made you proud of your child or any achievements. It could also be something that your child feels proud of themselves for. These will then be celebrated in school and placed into your child’s learning journey.

We follow the Read Write Inc (RWI) phonics programme. Please see the link below to support the pronunciation of the sounds. Thank you!

https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/#lg=1&slide=2

Forest School

Miss Patterson and Mrs Balshaw are forest school leaders. They have studied how to plan and lead successful sessions, health and safety, first aid and how to get the best learning from the outdoor environment. It is a real privilege to be able to offer this exciting way of learning. Reception will be taking part this year – we are really looking forward to this!

Reminders:

Please ensure your child brings their book bag into school each day. We change library books and reading books each Friday.

Our PE day is a Thursday.

Please ensure your child’s clothing is clearly named – including shoes.

How you can support at home:

Share your child’s reading book with them each day. This should only be for a short time (5-10 minutes). Encourage them to decode words by segmenting (sounding out) and blending. Encourage your child to tell you about what they have read to ensure they have the understanding.

Recite numbers with your child, encourage them to recognise numerals to 20 on your way to school – on buses, houses etc. Give them opportunities to develop their number formation. At the dinner table – can they count how many cups and plates there are altogether? What would happen if we take one away – how many would there be?

Provide opportunities for your child to have a go at writing – simple sentences, CVC words (E.g mat, cat, mum) or hearing the initial sounds and have a go at forming these letters.

Please look out for RWI videos on Seesaw and encourage your child to watch these. This will really support your child's progress. 

Please see Miss Patterson for any resources you need. Thank you for your support.

Follow us on twitter @Reception_LM to share some of our learning and any news.