Reception

Welcome back, Reception!

An exciting half term lies ahead, with pupils taking a journey to Africa. They will be investigating the continent and some of the countries within it using ‘Handa’s Surprise’ and ‘Africa’. Engaging with both fiction and non-fiction texts, pupils will be able to use both their imagination and their recall skills to discuss what they have learned.

Pupils will be using their growing sound knowledge to write captions and sentences about the many different elements that the continent of Africa has to offer. There will be numerous opportunities for them to apply both their reading and writing skills independently throughout the learning environment.

One role-play area in Reception this half term will be a traditional African home. Here, pupils will be reading, following and making recipes for salads and smoothies using fruit and vegetables native to the African continent. They will have the chance to read and explore different stories and texts and look at maps to locate and compare countries.

Another role play area will be a Post Office. In this area, pupils will be using their previous knowledge of buying, selling and sharing. This will include opportunities for using money, writing and reading letters and making and sending parcels using different materials. Pupils will explore the importance of the Post Office within the community and using their previous knowledge of important people to make links in their learning.

In the outdoor area, there will be a Safari Zone, where pupils can discover a variety of animals from the African continent. They will have the opportunity to make animal fact files, create artistic pieces and compare what they have seen with animals that are familiar to them. Pupils will be buying tickets for themselves and their peers, applying their maths skills in practical and imaginative situations.

Maths will continue to focus on recognising and ordering numbers to and beyond 10. There will be lots of focus on number bonds to 10, along with finding patterns in number such as doubles and odd and even numbers. Opportunities for using number will also be available throughout the environment using different resources and games.

Pupils will also continue to have opportunities to express their creativity through different media such as drawing, painting, construction, performance and the use of musical instruments. They will use song and rhyme across the areas of learning, and have the opportunity to create and perform dances and songs during their Topic lessons, directly linked to the African continent.

PE lessons will continue to be held every Friday, so please make sure that your child is dressed in the correct PE kit on Fridays. 

We are looking forward to another busy and exciting half term ahead.