Reception Curriculum Information
Term: Autumn 2024
Home Learning on Google Classroom
Both Reception classes have their own Google Classroom page where we will upload Maths and Literacy home learning tasks. These will be posted each Friday and you will have one week to upload the completed work.
EYFS Curriculum
The EYFS curriculum is divided into seven different learning areas.
There are three prime areas which are essential to creating a strong foundation for the children's learning.
Prime Areas
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal and Social Development
Specific Areas
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design.
-As a Catholic school, we also teach RE.
Communication and Language
This area involves developing Listening, Attention, Understanding and Speaking skills.
We will be placing a big emphasis on using language in the classroom. We will be encouraging the children to develop their speaking skills through a wide range of activities across the curriculum and modelling language and vocabulary as they play. Sharing stories and songs at home will also help them to develop their language skills. As your child plays and you play with them, model the use of language and introduce new words.
Our role play areas inside and outside play an important part in developing children's communication and language skills. We will change these areas depending on children's interests and needs. For example, having a home corner, cafe, police station etc.
When talking to your child please encourage them to speak in full sentences, rather than giving one- or two-word answers.
Communication Activities: Please click on the link below for suggested activities and games that you can play with your child to develop the important skill of communication.
Physical Development
This area involves developing gross and fine motor skills.
We have PE on a Thursday, with a specialist PE teacher so please make sure your child comes to school in their PE kit every Thursday. Alongside this, we will be developing fine and gross motor skills through a range of activities. Activities such as play dough, using tweezers, hammers etc this will help to develop your child's fine motor skills, which is essential for developing a good writing grip.
To help develop children's handwriting we are focusing on developing their core strength. To do this we will be using the play village and outdoor climbing frames to develop the muscles which will help children when writing. We will also continue to practice the correct letter formation.
We use our outside area to develop gross motor skills using a wide range of apparatus. We use the climbing equipment, bicycles, hoops, sandpit etc.
Personal and Social and Emotional Development
This area involves developing Self-Regulation, Managing Self and Building Relationships.
We will focus on developing good relationships with the other children and staff, through various games and whilst facilitating play. We will also be encouraging your child to talk about how they feel and giving them strategies to use to deal with various feelings. To help with this we will be sharing lots of stories such as The Colour Monsters, Freya’s Funny Feeling and Ravi’s Roar.
Mathematics
This area involves learning Numbers and Numerical Patterns.
At OLM we use the Maths No Problem programme to help children in Reception begin to develop a deep and long-lasting understanding of the world of mathematics. In the autumn term we will be focusing on counting and recognising the numbers to ten.
It is really important that children understand the value of each number so counting socks, helping set the table for dinner whilst counting the number of plates, forks etc are good ways of making maths fun!
The Numberblocks series is a good way to develop your child's mathematical understanding. Please click the link to access more information, videos and PowerPoints: https://www.ncetm.org.uk/classroom-resources/ey-numberblocks-series-3/
Literacy
This area involves reading and writing (phonics)
This area involves comprehension, word reading and writing (phonics)
We use high quality core texts, recommended by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), to support our learning across all areas of the curriculum. We work with each text for approximately three weeks, before moving on to the next one.
The CLPE text we will be reading in autumn 1 is called Shh! We Have a Plan!
We will use this text to do cross-curricular activities. We will learn all about birds; where they live, what they eat and we will even go on a bird watch and make our very own nests and birds!
In autumn 2 we will be reading Puffin Peter and then The Girl with a Parrot on her Head. Puffin Peter allows us to learn all about puffins and to think about friendships.
Looking at 'The Girl with a Parrot on her Head' we will begin to think about objects such as a blanket or toy that are special to each child. This story also allows children to discuss friendships and feelings. The children will start to write simple sentences in the style of the book.
We will begin to teach phonics. We will be focusing on two sounds a week and will send home learning to consolidate the work that they do at school. This home learning will be on Google Classroom.
We will constantly recap and apply the sounds to begin to write simple words. We will continue to practise name writing over the course of the term. We will also begin to teach some of the tricky words known as common exception words.
Children will be encouraged to use their knowledge of the letter sounds to blend and sound out words. For example, they will learn to blend the sounds s-a-t to make the word sat. They will also continue learning to segment words. For example, they might be asked to say the letter sounds that make the word pin using their fingers.
Please encourage your child to use the sounds that they know to write simple words. The expectation at the end of the reception year is for children to write a short sentence independently, so your support will be vital in helping your child.
Our aim is to develop a love of reading; we will be sharing lots of stories in class and discussing what has happened in the story in the beginning, middle and end, how the characters are feeling, where the story takes place etc. We are also working on prediction skills based on the front cover, the title and prior knowledge.
Your child will bring reading books for you to share at home each week. This will consist of two reading scheme books and library books. In class, your child will read with an adult at least once a week. It is important that your child has a minimum of ten minutes reading time a day and that they are hearing adults read to them. Please sign and comment in the reading diaries so that we know that the children are reading at home with you.
Please make sure reading books are in the children's book bags each day.
Understanding the World
This area involves learning about Past and Present, People, Culture and Communities and The Natural World.
Children will explore the natural world around them, including visits to the Methodist Gardens, building up to visits to Coldfall Woods. Children will be encouraged to talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society.
Children will have access to a variety of technology resources such as light boxes, cameras, Ipads/tablets, recordable devices etc which they can use independently to extend their learning. Children will have the opportunity to visit the ICT suite to access a variety of computer programs to extend their learning. We will also be teaching children about E-safety and how to stay safe online. Parents will play a very important part in supporting children with this. The children will listen to stories that take place in the past and they will investigate artefacts from the past.
Expressive Arts and Design
This area involves Creating with Materials, and Being Imaginative and Expressive.
Children will have the opportunity to use a range of media both inside and outside to be creative and imaginative. This will be through drawing, painting, junk modelling, using building blocks, tools and role play.
We will be responding to music through dance, singing and using various musical instruments.
R.E
We follow the 'Come and See' scheme of work to teach R.E. Each topic usually lasts for four weeks. We begin each topic by exploring what each topic means to us before moving on to how it relates to religion. During the year we also learn about other faiths. At OLM we focus on Judaism and Islam. This is a brilliant way to teach respect for our community as a whole, regardless of cultures and beliefs.
The topics we will be covering in the Autumn term are as follows:
Topic 1: Myself
The children will begin to think about the importance of their name. They will understand that God knows them and loves them.
Topic 2: Welcome
The children will learn to recognise the importance of welcome, of feeling comfortable with new situations and belonging to new groups. They will understand that Baptism is a welcome to God's family.
Topic 3: Birthday
The children will know and understand what a birthday is. They will learn about Advent being a special time of looking forward to Christmas.
Judaism
The children will learn about a special days. We will talk about special days that we have and then we will learn about a special Jewish celebration called Hanukkah, The Feast of Lights. We will listen to the story of the oil lamp in the Temple and why Jewish people celebrate this special day.
Throughout the year, OLM focuses on different elements of Catholic Social Teaching (CST). Each term we look at a different value and discuss what each one means:
Autumn 1 - Care of Creation
Autumn 2 - Preferential Option for the Poor
Spring 1 - Solidarity and Peace
Spring 2 - Community and Participation
Summer 1 - Dignity of Workers
Summer 2 - Human Dignity
Other information
All uniform, including coats and water bottles need to be clearly named.
Can all parents and carers look at the school uniform list and make sure that your child has the correct items of clothing.
Please note that children should have school shoes and not boots or trainers.
Also, anyone who has long hair, must have it tied up in school. If they do not then we will get a hair band and tie it up for them.
Please encourage your child to dress, undress, feed and use the toilet independently as this will also help them hugely in school.
Tapestry APP
Tapestry is an online learning journal to show your child's learning journey and development in their Reception year. You will be able to access this from home in order to look at photographs, videos and notes following your child's time at school. Please check this regularly.
How to help at home
You can help your child's social and emotional development by:
- Talking with your child and encouraging your child to talk with other children and other adults.
- Encouraging and supporting your child to play cooperatively with other children.
- Regularly discussing with your child feelings and the consequences of different actions.
You can help your child with the early stages of reading, writing and mathematics by:
- Continuing to encourage an enjoyment of books, stories and poems; visiting the local library and sharing stories with your child.
- Continuing to encourage your child to join in with rhymes and songs.
- Practice the letters and sounds learnt in school. You can also help by sounding out a three letter word (segmenting) using the sounds that they have learnt so far and asking your child to put them back together (blending) to make the word.
- Continuing to provide your child with a variety of writing equipment to encourage drawing and writing skills, encouraging your child to give meanings to the marks that they make.
- Play I Spy with your child (good for identifying initial sounds)
- Phonics website for games: https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/
- Watch Alphablocks and discuss the episodes
- Watch Numberblocks and discuss the episodes
