Welcome to Reception at Laughton J&I!

We have an exciting year of topics planned for our class which will motive and engage them. Alongside these themes we will learn key life skills and also respond to the children's interests and have a flexible approach to ensure that they love to learn using all of their senses!

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What are our topics and why are we teaching these?

We have an exciting year of topics planned which will motive and inspire through child-centred learning. Our themes in Reception have been chosen based on the interests of our Reception children but also to expose them to new experiences and to develop new interests that our children have not yet been introduced to. Topics are explored though good quality focus key stories or texts to inspire, engage and develop language and imagination.

 

Autumn Term 1 - Marvellous Me!

This topic is centred around the child celebrating what makes them unique. We feel that it is important that children learn about the body and how to stay healthy. We also focus on emotional well-being, recognising feelings of themselves and those of others. As a class we learn about our families and the different ways that these can be made up. We learn about how the acceptance of others is important and other people’s opinions and beliefs are valued. Children also love to learn about the emergency services such as the NHS, fire service and police! The themed role-play areas both indoors and outdoors will develop their imagination and storytelling skills as well as support their understanding of how important these roles are in the community.

 

Autumn Term 2 - What a Wonderful Time of Year

This focuses on the meaning behind Christmas and all the lovely things that can happen at this time of year. Celebration is the focus of this topic and we look at not only how the children celebrate Christmas in their own homes but how others celebrate in different ways too. We will also be looking at how the weather changes as we move into the winter months and explore how the world outside changes.

 

Spring Term 1 - Tell me a Story

This term the children will be focussing on the art of story telling and sharing stories with each other. Children will explore a variety of books and retell these to each other using different methods. This is a language rich topic and will focus on introducing lots of new

vocabulary to the children in exciting ways. Within this topic we use lots of quality texts that can be shared both in school and at home.

 

Spring Term 2 - Growing and Planting

This term explores the natural world which creates wonder and awe. As Spring approaches, we will be observing the changes in the environment and observing plants grow in our school garden and allotment. We will be investigating lifecycles, exploring seeds and learning about the world around us.

 

Summer Term 1 - Animals Big and Small

We are excited to share this topic where the children get to find out about a wide range of animals from across the world. We will be looking at where these amazing creatures live and what food they have to survive. We will be using stories, pictures and adventures to explore these animals in their environments.

 

Summer Term 2– Our Wonderful World

Children love fairy tale stories and will be excited to learn that Laughton once had its own castle. We will be talking about castles long ago and visiting the site of Laughton Castle on a local walk. It is important that children have an understanding of local history in the place where they live. The children will also be creating their own castle adventure stories using story language such as 'Once upon a time'...

Sea life is fascinating for children and we will be finding out facts about different sea creatures. We will have a focus on boats and travelling by sea to France.

Children will build on their knowledge from the previous topics to secure their understanding of the different places and landscapes around us. This will focus on the local environment both in history and up to present day but will also compare these local places with places further afield.

 

What are our mini-topics and why are we teaching these?

Autumn - Key Life-Skills

We feel that alongside the characteristics of effective learning it is important that children develop independence. We have chosen the following key skills for our Reception class so that they are prepared and confident for the transition into Y1

I can zip up my coat

I always have good manners

I can fasten buttons

I can put on my shoes

I can use a knife and fork

I can prepare my own snack e.g. peel and orange/banana

I know how to cross the road safely

 

Spring Term – Imaginary Worlds

During this mini-topic the children will learn about using their imagination and how far this can take them. The children will look at countries which may be different to ours and come up with their own exciting worlds to explore.

 

Summer Term – Global Issue: Litter in my Village

The intent behind this mini-topic is to develop pride in their environment and how they can make a difference to improve where they live. The children take part in a litter pick day with people in the local community.

 

What are you trying to achieve in your year group?

In Reception class, we build on the skills that we have learnt throughout Nursery and at home. Our Reception curriculum is part of our whole EYFS curriculum that has been designed with the children of Laughton at the heart of it. Children begin to learn about themselves, the community and how their environment compares to other places, cultures and nature locally and in other parts of the world. Having positive friendships and good relationships with key adults is vital and understanding feelings with empathy towards others ensure they have the foundations to be good citizens as they grow older. We want to ensure that all children leaving the Reception Year are Y1 ready and are confident, independent and engaged learners!