WELCOME TO RECEPTION ORANGE

Our topic this half term is..

All About Me!

Welcome to Reception Orange, your first class at Bewsey Lodge . We are all very excited to have you with us and look forward to learning lots more about you.

Below you can find out all about the learning journey we will be taking in the first half term. To the left, you will find information about the day to day running of the class. If you can't find what you're looking for, please ask a member of staff, we are always happy to help!

Settling In

During the first half term of school, our main priority is settling the children. In order to learn to the best of their abilities, they need to feel safe, secure and happy within the setting.

Initially, we will have lots of quiet circle times, where the children will be encouraged to take turns listening to the thoughts and feelings of their peers as they talk about their likes and dislikes, their families and what they do outside of school. The children will be supported in accessing the resources available to them in both the indoor and outdoor classrooms with a focus on cooperative play and good communication. 

Once the children are happy and settled, we will be carrying out baseline assessments. These are small activities that allow the children the opportunity to 'show off' the skills they are bringing with them to Reception. This is a government requirement and will allow us to plan the children's individual next steps accurately. You can find a parent information booklet link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64f5e8b29ee0f2000db7be4f/2023_Information_for_parents_reception_baseline_assessment_WEBHO.pdf

Curriculum

At Bewsey Lodge, we use Development Matters as a starting point from which we deliver and broad and balanced curriculum that incorporates all areas of learning and aims to provide the children with experiences and insights into the world in which we live.

At the end of Reception, the children will be assessed, those who are working at age related expectations will achieve their Early Learning Goals for each of the areas of the curriculum.

Early Learning Goals

To support them in their learning, here is a little more information about what we will be covering this half term;

Communication and Language - During our settling in time, the children will be doing lots of small group work to help them to find their voices amongst their new friends. They will be taking turns in group discussions, practising good listening and how to be respectful of each other’s thoughts, feelings and ideas whilst offering relevant comments and ideas of their own.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development - With a heavy Personal, Social and Emotional Development focus, this topic will predominately centre around the children themselves and their lives including in RE, where the children will be thinking about 'Special People' and what makes them special including family, friends and role models.

This half term's Jigsaw topic is: Being Me in My World!

Learning will include;

• Understanding how it feels to belong and that we are similar and     different.

• Beginning to recognise and manage our own feelings. 

• Working with others to make school a good place to be.

• Understand why it is good to be kind and have gentle hands.

• Beginning to understand children’s rights and this means we should all be allowed to learn and play.

• Learning what being responsible means. 

Physical Development - The children will have weekly PE lessons led by Mr Riley, these will mainly focus on gross motor skills as well as listening, following simple instructions and working as a team. Within the classroom setting, the children will be developing both their fine and gross motor skills with opportunities in all areas both inside and out. They will be focussing on how to use the equipment available to them both safely and appropriately.

Literacy (Reading and Writing) - The first half term will have a big focus on encouraging a love of reading and writing in the children. Using the phonics scheme ‘Read, Write Inc’, the children will be introduced to the sounds and appearance of each of the letters of the alphabet whilst having endless opportunity to practise formation and recognition across a variety of media. They will share many wonderful books as a class linking with different aspects of their learning as well as being able to access our reading area independently throughout the day.

Maths - In maths this half term, the children will be consolidating their prior learning with skills including matching, sorting, comparing and ordering before applying their secured knowledge to pattern continuation and creation. The children will be looking closely at different objects including their size, shape and colour in order to sort them accordingly in lots of different ways. 

Vocabulary we will be using includes:

Same, different, match, pair, large, small, big, little, straight, round, rough, smooth, shiny, square, spiky, furry, red, blue, green, yellow, Same, different, alike, sort, group, match, go together, belong together, odd, odd one out, medium, medium-sized, sort, same, different, match, red, yellow, blue, green, set, family, group, tall, taller, tallest, short, shorter, shortest, large, larger, largest, small, smaller, smallest, long, longer, longest, first, second, third, then, next, after, before, earlier, later, last, pattern, match, shape, first, second, last, next, repeat, loud, quiet, one, two, up, down, pointy, spotty, round, hard, soft, spiky, repeat. 

Expressive Arts and Design (Music, Art and Design Technology) - The children will be working collaboratively to make different familiar structures including houses, schools and other local buildings. They will also explore their feelings and represent them in a variety of media and song. As a little extra, the children might even bake a birthday cake for a special friend in their new class.

Understanding the World (History, Geography and Science) - The children will be describing where they live and their own homes before comparing them to different homes around the world. They will talk about the jobs people in our community do to help protect it. During the school year, the children will be spending lots of time outside in order to best understand and describe the changing seasons using their senses to explore their surroundings.

Important Dates!

See school diary for more information!

Coming soon!

Phonics

From Autumn 2, your children will be in groups for Read Write Inc according to the sounds they know.

Here are some useful links for phonics games that can be completed on a laptop or tablet.

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/Phase2Menu.htm

https://www.phonicsbloom.com

To Further Support your child this half term you can:

• Write your their name in ALL of their belongings, it can be very difficult for the children to keep track of their belongings initially therefore unnamed items are easily lost. 

• Ensure that your child is appropriately dressed for the weather - we access our outdoor classroom whatever the weather. 

• Practise reading and writing the Reception High Frequency words with your child.

• Share lots of books including your child's reading book, each night. 

• Practise getting dressed and undressed independently, for example taking a jumper off can be very tricky.