Reception year is also known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

We have two Reception classes

Mrs Coombes	Mrs Peters	Mrs Riley
RCP Class	RCP Class	RR Class

Topic Autumn 1 - Do you want to be friends?

Friends are the family you choose! Do you want to be friends? Would you like to play with me? It’s time to find out more about friendship, being kind and working together.

This half term, we’ll take a walk around our school to find out about the adults who work there and their workspaces, taking photos as we go. Back in the classroom, we’ll upload and print our photos to compile a ‘Who’s who?’ display of school staff. Working together, we’ll create friendship scenarios using Jelly Babies at the ‘Jelly Babies playground’, and we’ll create a ‘Class jobs board’, allocating responsibilities amongst ourselves. We’ll talk about friendship, being kind and helpful, loneliness, enemies, and the things we like. What is our most cherished possession? In our literacy lessons we’ll discover new words to describe ourselves, and write sentences to compare and contrast each other. In our mathematics lessons, we’ll share objects out fairly, and compare hand and foot sizes with our friends. Getting creative, we’ll use a gathering drum to tap out rhythms together, and paint our palms to make beautiful patterns to cut out and hang on a class friendship tree.

At the end of the project, we’ll write a thank you letter to someone who helps us at home. We’ll also make and bake salt dough hearts to present to a loved one.

Help your child prepare for their project
Friends are fabulous! Why not create a ‘friends and family tree’ together out of photos? Use different coloured lines to draw links that represent family, friends or acquaintances. You could also create a ‘treasure chest’ out of the things that make you ‘you’. Which possessions couldn’t you cope without? Alternatively, invite friends round for a get-together and discuss memories of happy experiences you have shared.

Memorable experience	Friendship scenarios
Innovate challenge	What does friendship look like?
CLD	Listening and attention; Understanding; Speaking
PD	Moving and handling; Health and self-care
PSED	Self-confidence and self-awareness; Managing feelings and behaviour; Making relationships
English	Reading; Writing
Maths	Numbers; Shape, space and measures
World	People and communities; The world; Technology
Exp A&D	Exploring and using media and materials; Being imaginative

Topic Autumn 2 - Why do squirrels hide their nuts?

Into the woods we go! Why do squirrels hide their nuts? Why do hedgehogs hibernate? It’s time to explore the seasonal changes in the natural world during autumn and winter.

This half term, we’ll visit a local woodland to observe and experience the enchanting autumnal environment, collecting autumn treasures as we crunch through piles of fallen leaves. Back in the classroom, we’ll sort our treasures into different categories, create land art, and dry and flatten leaves to decorate. We’ll learn about woodland animals and migration through movement and discuss the features that allow animals to survive through winter. In our literacy lessons, we’ll snuggle up and listen to autumnal stories and write woodland tales. In mathematics, we’ll thread and count conkers and dried fruit and collect and order sticks of different lengths. We’ll roll up our sleeves to make a clay owl or hedgehog, autumn-scented play dough, a delicious harvest soup and ‘squirrel muffins’ for our forest friends. Outside once more, we’ll observe food as it decays over time and go on a hedgerow hunt for blackberries. How will they smell and feel?

At the end of the project, we’ll invite you to sharing time, where we’ll show you what we’ve learned about woodland animals. Then we’ll talk about the changes that occur as autumn changes into winter. Can we relate them to our memories and experiences?

Help your child prepare for their project
Woodlands are wonderful! Why not explore a local woodland together to build a fairy house using twigs, leaves, nuts and berries? You could also cook some fabulous autumnal recipes such as pumpkin soup or toffee apple cakes. Alternatively, set up a mud kitchen in your garden. What ingredients from the garden can you mix together to create an autumn potion?

Memorable experience	Woodland visit
Innovate challenge	Squirrel's winter muffins
CLD	Listening and attention; Understanding; Speaking
PD	Moving and handling; Health and self-care
PSED	Managing feelings and behaviour; Making relationships
English	Reading; Writing
Maths	Numbers; Shape, space and measures
World	The world; Technology
Exp A&D	Exploring and using media and materials; Being imaginative

Early Years Foundation Stage Early Learning Goals

Each half term our EYFS team produce a newsletter which is displayed on our website and emailed to parents. Look out for our first newsletter for this term.