Welcome to Reception
Our class teacher is Miss Cottrill and our Teaching Assistant is Mrs Eldred.
Below you can find our curriculum newsletter, which details the topics we will be learning about this term.
Autumn 1 2018 – Changes
This half term Reception have been learning about ‘Changes’. Inside the classroom we have enjoyed our shop role play, thinking about foods that we like and beginning to recognise coins. In our outdoor area we have observed natural changes by going on Autumn walks. As our end of term project we read the story of Supertato! Each child designed and made their own superveggie to take home.
Reception went on a trip to the Co-op to buy vegetables.
When we got back to school we followed our plans and made our own Superveggies!
Autumn 2 2018 – People who help us
As part of our topic this half term Reception had a visit from Rawden Fire Station. The children had the opportunity to sit inside the fire engine, wear a helmet and try out some of the tools on board. The firemen answered children’s questions and the day lead to some brilliant writing!
Reception also completed their first nativity in front of the whole school and parents and sang a song in the carol service at Holy Trinity Church.
Spring 1 2019 – What a Wonderful World
This half term we have undertaken lots of outdoor learning and investigation. Reception have taken part in 6 sessions of Forest School learning to be safe, manage risks and care for our natural environment. As well as learning about our immediate environment we have also learnt about the Arctic, Africa and Space. We have written our own class story “In the jungle I can see…” and performed it to music. This has inspired writing about space with some children making their own “In space I can see…” story books.
Mini beast hunt in Forest School
Den building in Forest School
Exploring cornflour and water
Snow exploration
Spring 2 2019 – Traditional Tales
This half term in Reception we have been reading lots of traditional tales. Each week we have focused on a different story and our provision areas have changed along with the story. Our role play area has been a cottage for the Three Bears, a construction site for the Little Pigs, a beanstalk has grown from Jack’s magic beans and finally Cinderella has been scrubbing our floors and then sneaking off to the ball!
We have seen some lovely independent writing this half term, especially after our school trip to the Rainbow Factory. Reception watched a performance of Jack and the Beanstalk before taking part in a range of workshops with the Rainbow Factory’s resident artist. All of the children in Reception thoroughly enjoyed our visit and it has really helped our imaginations to grow.
Finally we have taken the skills and knowledge learnt from Forest Schools last half term and applied them in our outdoor area. Children have been planting seeds and observing them grow as well as conducting mini beast hunts around the outside environment.
Summer 1 2019 – Dinosaurs
This half term we have been learning about dinosaurs. When we came back to school after Easter we noticed a large footprint and an egg had been left in our role play area. Throughout the half term we have hatched the eggs and looked after the baby dinosaurs, feeding them, playing with and writing posters to try and find their mum.
We have been writing about what we observed in the role play area and predicted what might have left the footprint. As part of our end of half term writing we have been creating dinosaur fact files. We have thought of our own facts using what we have learnt and written sentences about our favourite dinosaurs. We have also chosen our own pictures, pens and crafts to decorate our fact files.
We have been on a visit to the library this half term and read about the only dinosaur that is still living today…the crocodile!
We learnt a crocodile poem and song and decorated party hats just like the crocodile in our story.
Finally we have been developing our outdoor area this half term and the children have enjoyed exploring the new provision in the beautiful weather. We have had: water exploration, dinosaur digs in the sand, found and cared for our school mini beasts, made ice creams in the mud kitchen, kept all of the plants and beans well watered and explored our independent outdoor creative area.
The Early Years Curriculum
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old.
The last year of the Foundation Stage is spent in the Reception class.
There are seven areas of learning and development that must shape teaching and learning in Reception. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. The seven areas are:
• communication and language
• physical development
• personal, social and emotional development
• literacy
• mathematics
• understanding the world
• expressive arts and design.
In planning and guiding children’s activities, the different ways that children learn are reflected on within the teaching.
These are called the characteristics of effective learning and are:
• Playing and exploring–children investigate and experience things, and “have a go”.
• Active learning–children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements.
• Creating and thinking critically–children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.