Term 1

This term, we begin our Reception journey by getting to know each other and settling into our new school environment. Our topic is “All About Me”, and we will spend time learning about ourselves, our families, our friendships and the people who are important to us.

Through stories such as The Great Big Book of Families, All Are Welcome and Super Duper You, we will talk about what makes us unique and celebrate the different families and experiences within our class. We will create self-portraits, explore family trees, talk about our homes and develop our understanding of feelings, friendships, role models and responsibilities.

As we become more settled, we will begin exploring the natural world and the changing season of Autumn. We will go on sensory walks, explore natural materials and use leaves, conkers and other resources in our learning. We will investigate patterns, sorting, measuring and capacity through practical activities and outdoor experiences.

Stories will play an important part in our learning this term. We will explore Owl Babies and Room on the Broom, developing our ability to listen to and retell stories, create story maps, describe characters and begin to write simple words and captions. We will also explore traditional tales such as The Magic Porridge Pot and develop our imaginations through role-play, small-world play and storytelling.

In Maths, we will develop our early understanding of number through matching, sorting, comparing quantities and making sets. We will explore numbers 1, 2 and 3, including subitising, composing numbers and finding one more and one less. We will also investigate shape, pattern, size, length and capacity through practical experiences.

In Phonics, we will begin with Phase 1 listening activities before developing our knowledge of the sounds in our early phonics programme. We will begin to recognise sounds, hear initial sounds in words and use our developing phonics knowledge when reading and writing.

Our memorable experience this term will be a pumpkin hunt, alongside sensory pumpkin activities and making pumpkin soup together.

Term 2

This term, our topic is “Celebrations”. We will explore celebrations including Diwali, Bonfire Night, birthdays, Remembrance Day, Eid and Christmas, learning about different traditions and communities through stories, role-play, music, creative activities and practical experiences.

We will develop our phonics, reading and writing by applying sounds to meaningful activities such as writing invitations, cards, recipes, captions and letters. We will continue learning new sounds and reviewing those we need to practise.

In Maths, we will explore numbers to 5, focusing on one more and one less, subitising, shapes and repeating patterns through practical activities.

Children will enjoy a range of creative, sensory and outdoor experiences, including making Rangoli patterns and Diya lamps, creating fireworks, building, baking and celebration-themed role-play. We will also look forward to our birthday party, Stay and Play and Christmas performance.

Term 3

During this term, we will be learning all about 'Space'! Children will learn the names and properties of planets in our solar system and learn about astronauts such as Mae Jemison, Kalpana Chawla and Neil Armstrong. Children will enjoy learning about the differences between Earth and Space and the changes that astronauts need to make in order to survive on their journeys. Children will be fascinated to learn about food that astronauts eat in space, and we will even expereince making our very own astronaut's chocolate pudding!

We will really look forward to Space Day as our memorable experience this term in which we will dress up as something space related (astronauts, planets, stars etc!). 

Term 4

During Term 4, our topic will be “Are Eggs Alive?” in which we will be celebrating Springtime and growing! 

We are very excited to have the opportunity of observing duck eggs hatch in our classrooms. While we are looking after them, we will create observational diaries to record the daily changes we see. We will look after our ducklings by keeping them warm, changing their water and sawdust and giving them some food. This topic will support our learning to look closely at the natural world, discuss what we see and talk about changes that take place over time.  

Throughout this topic, we will also be learning about the growth of plants, the functions of different parts of a plant and what plants need to grow. We will be taking part in a visit to a virtual farm where we will learn about important processes that happen on the farm to look after plants and animals.  

We will be reading the following books: 

Week 1 & 2 – The Green Giant 

Week 3 & 4 – The Little Red Hen 

Week 4 & 5 – Chicken Licken 

In Maths, we will be exploring the number 10 including finding number bonds, and subtraction facts to 10. We will also be exploring 3D shapes and participating in problem solving opportunities such as constructing animal homes fit for purpose using our maths skills.  

Term 5

This term our topic is “Once upon a time” and we will be focusing on traditional tales and fairy tales from around the world. We will be constructing castles and towers, discussing the components of a traditional tale and having debates on who the baddies and goodies are in our story! We will be retelling the stories we’ve read and we will have lots of opportunities to create our own stories. 

We will be reading the following books

- The Three Little Pigs

- The Gingerbread Man

- Goldilocks and the Three Bears

In Maths this term we will continue to work our way through our numbers. This term the focus will be on numbers 6, 7, 8. We will also be looking at 3D shapes and measuring length. We will be practising our addition and subtraction skills practically as well as looking at halving, doubling and sharing.

Term 6

We're all going to the seaside! During this topic, we will learn all about life under the ocean, or at the beach! Children will research lots of information to find facts about different ocean animals and learn about adaptations they have to survive under the sea. 

Children will learn about the Great Barrier Reef and about the pollution our oceans are facing and the damage that is sadly being caused.