Our Learning

Reception

Welcome to Reception at Samuel Lucas

This is where the children’s learning journey starts with us and their unique combination of strengths, needs and experiences will provide the starting point for their education here.

The Foundation Stage area consists of 2 classrooms and an outdoor learning environment. There are 30 children in both reception classes.

Other student teachers and helpers may join us during the year and will support the children by working with individuals or small groups.

In the Reception year, your child will develop a range of important skills upon which their future education will be built. All children are unique and develop within different time frames and at different rates so there will always be a wide range of abilities within each class. Please see an overview of the curriculum here Early years Curriculum and EYFS Curriculum Goals 2021-2022.

Reception Class – Autumn Term 2024

Welcome to Lilac and Willow Class! We are very much looking forward to getting to know your children and working in partnership with you to ensure they get off to a great start at Samuel Lucas School.

Characteristics of Effective Learning: We will be thinking about the different skills needed to help us learn effectively. These will be threaded throughout all our learning. We will be introducing the children to Lenny’s Learning Zoo with Exploring Elephant, Go for it Gorilla, Choosing Chimp, Perservering Parrot, Proud Peacock, Analyzing Alligator, Slinky Linky Snake, Reflective Rhino and Creative Chameleon.

Personal Social and Emotional Development: We will be learning how to access the indoor and outdoor environments at school. We will be getting used to the school routines and expectations, learning the school rules and developing our classroom rules. Throughout Child Initiated Learning we will be learning to work co-operatively with our peers. We will be supporting the children to become independent in taking items of clothing on and off, using knives and forks effectively and developing good hygiene practices when washing hands etc. In line with the whole school we will be learning to self-regulate our feelings and emotions from developing an understanding of the Zones of Regulation, as well as working on the “Being in my world” piece of the Jigsaw PSHE curriculum.

Physical Development: We will be taking part in lots of fine motor activities that will, in time, will help us to form recognisable letters. We will be enjoying “dough disco” sessions to give our fingers a workout! We will be practising holding our pencil, using an established grip and practicing lots of pre-writing skills. We will be having PE sessions in the hall, with Mr. Smith, where we will get the opportunity to develop our gross motor skills.

Communication and Language: We will be practising how to listen carefully during short whole class sessions and small group times. Throughout Child Initiated Learning time we will provide the children with opportunities to develop their imaginary play and extend their story related vocabulary. We will listen to the children’s explanations, thoughts and ideas all throughout the school day and ask questions to challenge their thinking further.

Literacy: We will be listening to a wide range of stories and listening out for words that rhyme. We will be focusing on “pre reading behaviours” encouraging children to identify the title of books, track from left to right and notice that a sentence ends with a full stop. We will be making marks for meaning whilst playing in the role play area, such as making a shopping list or taking a telephone message. We will be recapping Phase 1 phonics, which will ensure that we have all the skills firmly in place to move onto Phase 2 once we are ready.

Maths: We will be learning lots of number rhymes that will help us to count forwards and backwards. We will be comparing amounts, thinking about when we have more, less or the same of something. We will be classifying objects in different ways, for example sorting vehicles into those that have wheels, those that have funnels and those that have both. We will be identifying patterns in the environment and creating our own patterns, using natural and other materials. We will be learning about subitising, by looking at familiar arrangements of numbers on dice, dominoes and playing cards.

Understanding of the world: We will be enjoying sharing the children’s summer treasure hunt activities with them, beginning to learn more about their families and experience. We

will be making observations of what’s going on in the natural world during the season of Autumn.

Expressive Art and Design: We will begin to draw, paint and collage as a medium to express our thoughts and ideas. We will begin to learn the process of designing, making, and reviewing as we take part in junk modelling activities. We will use the helicopter story approach to act out existing stories as well as those that we have created ourselves.

Reception Learning Blog