The teachers and assistant in Reception continue to watch and interact with the children every day to see what they are interested in and what they are good at. Then they plan a range of really exciting indoor and outdoor activities for the children following the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance. This has seven areas of learning:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
We are promoting positive attitudes through the use of circle time and puppets. We are focusing on forming positive relationships with both peers and adults and we try to be really kind and considerate to each other. We provide opportunities to help build children’s self-confidence and self-awareness. We work on building the children’s ability to self-regulate by being aware of their own and others feelings and emotions, managing self by being confident to try new activities and show independence and resilience and building relationships.
How can I help at home?
Talk to your child about what they are good at and what they would like to get better at. Support children by practicing skills at home.
Communication and Language.
We encourage the children to listen carefully in a range of situations; such as story time, circle time and listening to instructions. We model how to speak clearly and confidently and how to take turns in conversations. We will be focusing on talking in a familiar group, rhyming and alliteration. The children will have opportunity for role play and seeing unfamiliar items that may spark curiosity, questioning and discussions.
How can I help at home?
Talk about their families at home.
Look at family themed books. We have lots of books in school and a lending library in the village if you would like some to borrow.
Physical Development
We are supporting the children as they develop their gross and fine motor skills. This is through the use of large equipment such as the climbing frame, bikes and balls and smaller equipment such as peg boards, threading, play dough and mark making tools. We are focusing on holding a pen or pencil and use it to write recognisable letters. We will be using scissors, paintbrushes, pens, hammers and bricks. The children are working on their finger muscles and join in with daily dough disco as well as other funky finger exercises. This term we will be looking at how to keep our bodies healthy and the impact that exercise has on our bodies.
Our PE sessions are on Monday and Tuesday, this term will be working on gross motor skills.
How can I help at home?
Encourage children to be active at home, whether it is a sport, a bike ride or just a walk.
Literacy
We will explore a variety of fiction, non-fiction, songs and poetry texts. This term we will be focusing on Phase 1 phonics and introducing Phase 2. We will be making meaning of the marks we make and celebrating a love of reading. Our main texts this half term is Where the wild things are and Bringing the rain to Kapiti Plain.
How can I help at home?
Share stories and read bed time stories especially.
Maths
This half term we will be looking at numbers to 5, introducing the wholeness of each number and how they can be represented in different ways including addition and subtraction. We will be matching, sorting and comparing, looking at patterns and recognising some 2d shapes.
How can I help at home? Go on shape hunts in the environment at home and outdoors. Talk about amounts when cooking. See if you can find numerals in the environment.
Understanding the World.
This half term we will be focusing on learning about Ourselves. Exploring what makes us the same and what makes us different, looking at our own families and others around us. Learning about our local environment and how it may differ to others. We look at different beliefs and celebrations, different occupations and show care and concern for living animals.
Forest School sessions are on Friday. The children will need full Forest School kit which consists of a long-sleeved top, long trousers, waterproof jacket and wellies. Children can get very dirty, so please send old clothes.
How can I help at home?
Go for a local walk and talk about where are homes are, is it a house or a bungalow? Do you walk or drive to school?
Expressive Arts and Design
This half term we will learn songs, mix colours, act out stories and play musical instruments. We will be exposed to a variety of mediums for drawing and painting and build on previous skills. We will be focusing on art and design both adult taught skills and child-initiated creations.
How can I help at home?
Listen to wide range of music and talk about the similarities and differences in music.
