Reception

Welcome to Reception's Learning Page

MEET THE TEAM

Mrs Littlewood

Mrs Dalby (Maternity Leave)

Miss Hunter

Miss McLoud

Miss Harrison

Mrs Wilson

Our main driver project this half term is:

This project explores the differences in the world at night compared to during the day. It teaches children about the importance of a good night’s sleep, and helps them to discover what is happening in the world while they are sleeping, including finding out about nocturnal animals.

Support your child at home by:

1. Communication & Language

Talk about the night sky: What can you see? How does it make you feel?

Learn and use new words: star, moon, dark, shiny, glow, sky

Retell a bedtime story set at night using toys or pictures

2. Physical Development

Make star shapes using playdough
Use tweezers or fingers to pick up “stars” (paper dots) and place them on a sky picture
Dance slowly like floating stars, then fast like shooting stars

3. Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Share how night-time makes you feel (happy, calm, sleepy, scared)

Create a bedtime routine chart

Work together with a family member to create a night sky picture

4. Literacy
Read bedtime or night-themed books (e.g. Whatever Next, Owl Babies)
Write or mark-make stars, moons, or your name in a “night sky” notebook
Match star pictures to simple words (star, moon, sky)

5. Mathematics
Count stars on a picture or ceiling
Sort stars by size or colour
Make repeating patterns using stars and moons ⭐🌙⭐🌙

6. Understanding the World

Look at the night sky with an adult and talk about what you see

Learn about day and night

Use a torch to explore light and darkness

Talk about nocturnal animals (owls, bats)

7. Expressive Arts & Design

Create a Starry Night picture using paint, cotton buds, or sponges

Make a moon from foil or paper

Listen to calm music and paint how it makes you feel

Build a starry sky using blocks and lights

Children can access home learning activities by logging onto Seesaw. These are updated on a regular basis and support learning that is taking place in the classroom.

Our companion project is:

This project teaches children about the changes that happen during winter, including the types of weather associated with winter. It also explores places that have snow all year round and the types of animals that live there.

Support your child at home by:

1. Communication & Language

Talk about winter weather (cold, snow, ice, frost)

Read winter stories together and ask questions

Describe pictures of winter scenes using full sentences

Play “I spy” with winter objects

2. Physical Development

Practice putting on winter clothes (zips, buttons, scarves)

Cut out snowflakes using child-safe scissors

Make big arm movements pretending to build a snowman

Play indoor obstacle courses like “walking on ice”

3. Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Talk about how winter makes you feel

Practice taking turns in winter-themed games

Discuss how to keep safe in cold weather

Encourage independence (tidying up winter toys)

4. Literacy

Read winter stories

Write or trace winter words (snow, ice, cold)

Make a winter picture and label it

Practice letter sounds using winter objects

5. Mathematics

Count snowflakes, buttons, or cotton balls

Sort winter items by size or colour

Measure scarves or compare glove sizes

Talk about shapes seen in snowflakes

6. Understanding the World

Learn about seasonal changes (winter vs summer)

Explore ice melting and freezing

Talk about animals in winter and hibernation

Look at winter celebrations around the world

7. Expressive Arts & Design

Paint snowy scenes using white paint

Make snowmen from paper, cotton wool, or socks

Sing winter songs and rhymes

Act out winter stories and role-play

Again, don't forget to look out for the fun, weekly activities on Seesaw and also look what we have been up to in class on class dojo.

Maths

Here is our overview for this term:

Key books that we'd recommend that will support your child(ren's) understanding in this terms maths:

• Zero is the Leaves on the Tree by Betsy Franco • None the Number by Oliver Jeffers • Anno’s Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno • I Spy Numbers by Jean Marzollo • The Ugly Five by Julia Donaldson • Five Small Stars by Elizabeth Matterson and Madge Bugden • Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson • Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen • Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh • A Beach for Albert by Eleanor May • Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne • Sidney the Silly Who Only Eats 6 by M.W. Penn • Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore • 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo by Eric Carle • Kipper’s Toybox by Mick Inkpen • Quack and Count by Keith Baker • Simon Sock by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet

Literacy

This half term we will be focusing on:

Giving meanings to marks as they draw.
Recognising and writing own name.
Writing recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed.
Forming lower-case and capital letters correctly.
Reading simple phrases and sentences made up of words with known letter–sound correspondences and, where necessary, a few exception words.
Reading individual letters by saying the sounds for them.
Using one-handed tools and equipment, for example, making snips in paper with scissors.
Using a comfortable grip with good control when holding pens and pencils.
Drawing story maps.
Using phonic knowledge to write captions and sentences.
Using stories to create opportunities for writing across the areas of provision.
Re-reading what they have written to check that it makes sense.
Writing short sentences with words with known sound-letter correspondences using a capital letter and full stop.

Reading and Phonics

We are continuing our ELS phonics journey. Your child has learnt all the phase 2 sounds and is now learning the phase 3 sounds now.

We will continue recognising phase 2 and 3 sounds segmenting words with sounds we have learnt, then blending the sounds together.

We will continue to practice to read the harder to read and spell words daily.

Books are changed every Friday and we ask that children practice reading at least four times a week.

Check out the following links to help at home:

How to pronounce pure sounds

How to blend words to read

This grapheme sheet and harder to spell and read words have been sent home but click the button below to see it online.

Key Days:

Both Reception classes will be doing PE on a Friday this half term.

Reading books will need to be returned by Thursday in order to send out a new book on a Friday. Please ensure you bring your child's reading book to school every day to support reading in school.

Grapheme Sheet for Parents

Grapheme Sheet for Parents

Harder to Read and Spell Words

Here is our Reception Class Charter challenge sheet. You can also download a copy by clicking on the image.

Download all the Charters as a PDF file