Reception
Welcome to Reception
Miss Ashington and Mrs Dinnis
We look forward to welcoming you and starting Reception.
Topic - 'Traditional Tales'
Reception Curriculum – Autumn 2:
We are excited to announce that this term, our focus will be on exploring traditional tales and nursery rhymes. Our main stories will include:
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- The Gingerbread Man
- The Three Little Pigs
In addition to these classics, we will also introduce a selection of other beloved stories and rhymes. We believe that every child's background enriches our learning experience, so if you have a favourite traditional tale from your family or culture, please share it with the class teacher. We want our exploration of traditional tales to reflect the diverse experiences of the children in our classes.
How You Can Help at Home?
You can support your child's learning by engaging with them at home in several ways:
- Reading Together: Share a variety of traditional tales to help your child become familiar with these stories.
-Story Discussion: Talk about the beginning, middle, and end of the stories. Discuss how the writer keeps readers interested, as well as the characters, plot, and story structure.
School learning:
Phonics and Writing
In our phonics lessons, the children will continue to develop their knowledge by learning phase 3 digraphs and some trigraphs. They will work on recalling tricky words and will practice writing words in sentences. Your support with their reading and spelling of tricky words, as well as providing opportunities for phonetic spelling, will be invaluable.
Mathematics Focus
In mathematics, we will enhance our understanding of numbers through:
- Correct formations to 5
- 2D shapes
- Composition of numbers to 5
- Beginning to introduce number sentences using addition and equals to symbols.
Characteristics of Learning
Throughout this term, the children will embody the characteristics of learning by persevering and exploring through a variety of activities and resources.
Show & Tell
Show and tell will be on a Monday (Hedgehogs, Rabbits and Badgers) and Tuesday (Squirrels, Foxes and Owls). We encourage children to bring in either something that links to our topic, 'wow' work or images can be emailed for children to talk about.
Homework
Homework will be assigned on a weekly basis and will primarily focus on developing writing and mathematical skills, as well as fine motor skills. These tasks will be light and manageable, designed to prepare the children for the challenges of the upcoming year.
Special Assembly
We are thrilled to announce that the children will participate in their first good work assembly this term. We encourage you to get creative! If you'd like to craft something related to our topic for your child to showcase during the assembly, feel free to do so. Ideas include making a house for the Three Little Pigs, creating Jack’s beanstalk or crafting Goldilocks' bed.
Thank you for your continued support as we embark on this exciting journey of storytelling and learning together!
Focus Areas This Term:
During Autumn 2, much of our learning will centre around developing communication skills and Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED). Children will be encouraged to talk about themselves, share their thoughts and feelings and build friendships through play and group activities. This term is all about helping children develop their skills and finding confidence in independence in a warm, supportive environment.
Building on Prior Knowledge:
This term, we will be building on children’s knowledge of:
- Nursery rhymes
- Story structure - beginning, middle, end, setting, characters and plot
- General structure of a sentence
This prior knowledge will support classroom discussions and help children feel confident as they develop independence in activities and phonics.
Key Vocabulary We Will Be Learning:
- beginning
- middle
- end
- characters
- setting
- plot
- moral
- digraphs
- trigraphs
- addition
- equals to
- number sentences
Reminders:
Show and tell:
Monday (Hedgehogs, Rabbits, Badgers)
Tuesday (Foxes, Owls & Squirrels)
We encourage children to bring in either something that links to our topic, 'wow' work or images can be emailed for children to talk about.
Scooter day:
Tuesday - Hedgehogs and Rabbits
Wednesday - Badgers and foxes
Thursday - Owls and Squirrels
Please make sure your child has their own helmet on their day and that it is labelled.
Homework
Homework will be assigned on a weekly basis and will primarily focus on developing writing independence. These tasks will be light and manageable, designed to prepare the children for the challenges of the upcoming year. It is really important you support your child at home with this, alongside daily reading.
Important dates this term:
Monday & Friday - Changing reading book
Friday - Homework sent out and to be returned the following week
PE - Thursday (Children will keep their PE kits in school and take them home every half term.)
W/B Monday 3rd November - Scootathon
Friday 7th November - Good work assembly in front of school
Monday 8th December - Immersive experience visitor (Playhouse company)
This half term our focus for PSHE is 'Celebrating differences'
This term in PSHE, our focus is on celebrating differences and understanding what makes each of us unique. Through engaging lessons, pupils will explore their individual strengths, learn about diverse families and homes and develop important social skills such as making friends and standing up for themselves. These activities aim to foster self-confidence, empathy and respect for others, helping children to appreciate the richness of our community and the value of every person within it.
Press here to access the website - health for kids.
The EYFS framework includes Seven Areas of Learning that are equally important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly important for sparking enthusiasm for learning and forming relationships.
The Prime Areas of Learning:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
The prime areas are strengthened and applied through four Specific Areas of Learning:
- Literacy
- Maths
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning
In addition to addressing all seven Areas of Learning, our curriculum is designed to promote the Characteristics of Effective Learning. These characteristics describe how the children will learn. These learning behaviours are particularly important in the EYFS because they build the foundations for children to be lifelong learners. The characteristics are:
- Playing and Exploring - Engagement
- Active Learning - Motivation
- Creating and Thinking Critically - Thinking
Planning and assessment
We offer the children in Reception a ‘hands-on’ play-based curriculum, both indoors and outdoors, throughout the day. Planning can be intentional, responsive, or anticipatory. It is flexible and can change in response to children’s ideas and interests. Planning may also be linked to events in the community or around the world.
“Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, relate to others, set their own goals and solve problems. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.”
Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
In addition to the activities planned by the adults, the children are offered plenty of opportunities to direct their own learning.
All children starting Reception will take part in the Reception Baseline Assessment. Please see the information for parents document produced by the DfE below to explain the process.
At the end of the Reception Year children will be assessed for the EYFS Profile. Each of the seven areas will be further broken down into the following categories.
To practise phonics, the children can access Mr Thorne’s Phonics on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MrTsPhonics/playlists This is free of charge and the 5 minute videos will give the children a reminder of the sounds they have already learnt but would also enable them to start learning about sounds that are to come in Year 1 if they wanted to. Games can be accessed on https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ and https://www.phonicsbloom.com/ Additional resources are also available below, covering all of the phonics taught so far.
Maths games can be accessed free of charge via Top Marks: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ The children could also continue to practise number formation, ensuring numbers are correctly orientated, and do practical addition and subtraction, for example using Cheerios for counting. There are also resources below revisiting learning the children have covered this year.
If you need to support your child with toilet training, below are some useful links to get them started. Current advice is to teach your child the skill of using a potty and not waiting for the child to be ready.
To help your child be school ready and get the best start to their education, please follow the link below which supports families through interactive games and conversation starters:
https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/school-readiness
https://www.facebook.com/SolihullHVs
https://eric.org.uk/potty-training/
Phonic activities - Phase 2
Phonics Resources
Dental Hygiene:
In EYFS, we teach about dental hygiene. The children learn the value of good brushing and how to use toothpaste to fight tooth decay. The Colgate Tooth Defenders help us to learn how to keep ourselves healthy and even give us our own toothbrush and toothpaste to take home!
The Tooth Defenders would like us to complete our brushing chart to make sure that we keep our teeth and gums healthy.
If you need any support for your child or any tips on keeping teeth clean, please see our documents below to help you. Also start taking your child to the dentist….it is never too early to start!
Meet the Teacher - presentation and resources
School Readiness information for parents
Baseline:
Please use the link below to find out about the statutory Reception Baseline assessment that we will be completing with all children.