Autumn Term 1

Throughout Reception we follow the 'Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage' to shape our curriculum and learning experiences for children.

In Autumn term 1 we focus on the key question of 'Who am I?' and this involves learning about the children as individuals and their families. It covers making new friends and thinking about themselves and other children around the world. Settling into school routines and developing our personal and social skills is an especially important part of our learning in the first few weeks.

We celebrate Autumn and Harvest by exploring the school grounds to notice the changes in season, picking our school grown apples and making a crumble! Our visits to church also enable us to join in with simple acts of worship to thank God for our wonderful world and the fruits of the Harvest.

Reading and sharing books is a very important aspect of our learning and we have some key texts that we delve into in greater depth. These include,

Going to School

Lucy And Tom Go To School

When Grandad Was At School

Little Red Hen

Traditional Nursery Rhymes

My World, Your World.

We also organise a family visit to Poulton library after school where we can share a special book together and join the library if you haven't already got a library card. We really hope you can attend and details will be shared with you about the event in due course.

We begin the whole school approach to phonics through the 'Little Wandle' scheme. The children will learn the letter sounds within phase 2 and these are detailed in your child's reading diary. They include -s,a,t,p,i,n,m,d,g,o,c,k,ck,e,u,r,h,b,f,l. We introduce how to 'blend' letter sounds into words when reading and also learn some 'tricky words' which do not follow the rules. Your child will most likely bring home a wordless reading book to begin with until they are confident in recognising and using the sounds taught. I plan to run a parents information evening about phonics and the early stages of learning to read and write. this will also detail how you can support your child at home to develop their literacy skills - look out for more details coming soon! 

In Mathematics we will be learning to...

Match, sort and compare.

Talk about measure and patterns.

Explore the numbers of '1,2,3 -It's me!'.

Our Religious Education sessions will be built around the theme of 'Creation and Covenant' where we explore God's beautiful world.  We will learn that God made each one of us as a unique person, He loves us and we are part of His family. We will experience how to look after people and the world around us. We will also learn the words and actions of the sign of the cross and some school prayers.

In our Physical Education learning the children take part in physical activities both inside and outside the classroom daily through our continuous provision and use of the outdoor learning area. This helps develop co-ordination and control both in small movements (e.g. holding a pencil and using tools such as scissors) as well as larger whole-body movements. Throughout the year children will develop fundamental movement skills of running, jumping, dancing, catching and throwing, hopping, skipping and climbing. We enjoy playing games and taking part in age-appropriate sports during our whole class PE time. In this first half term we will use the adventure playground area, balance bikes and develop our physical skills through a focus on the 'Elmer' story.

In our learning in the area of Understanding the World we will explore the school grounds and plant bulbs for spring time flowering. We will also talk about the important people in our lives and the special experiences we share together.

While developing knowledge and skills in the area of Expressive Arts and Design we will be making self portraits using different media. We will explore the mark making of Jackson Pollock and how nature is used in the art work of Andy Goldsworthy. In music, we will be singing nursery rhymes and following the theme of 'Me!'.

Our flexible curriculum allows us to follow the motivations and interests of the children and we will follow their lead and enthusiasms as they emerge!

For a complete overview of the long term plan for the year please open the document below for a summary of each half term.