Reception (Cygnets )
Summer Term 2023/24
Topic – Sunshine and Sunflowers
In the Sunshine and Sunflowers project your child will explore their local environment and see how it has changed throughout the year. They will grow flowers, fruit and vegetables in the garden area. They will learn how to care for plants and animals, identifying some different types. They will take part in outdoor learning activities and find out how to stay safe in the sun.
Supporting your child at home
- Grow some quick growing plants together, such as salad leaves, radishes or cress.
- Plan and go on a picnic.
- Go on a local walk and talk about the changes that have happened to living things throughout the year.
- Share and discuss the Did you know? resource.
| Maths: | Number; Numerical patterns |
| PD | Gross motor skills; Fine motor skills |
| PSED | Self-regulation; Managing self; Building relationships |
| World | People, culture and communities; The natural world |
| Exp A&D | Creating with materials; Being imaginative and expressive |
| CL | Listening, attention and understanding; Speaking |
| Literacy | Comprehension; Word reading; Writing |
| Memorable experience | Outside explorers |
| Innovate challenge | Planning a picnic |
Spring Term – 2023/24
Topic – Once Upon a Time
During the Spring Term our topic will be called Once Upon a Time. We will learn to develop a love of stories and reading. It encourages us to learn, retell and act out familiar and traditional tales including Cinderella, Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
We will also be learning all about the celebrations that take place during the autumn and winter seasons, and focus on the significance and symbolism of light at this time of year.
Once Upon a Time – Home Learning
Once Upon a Time – Did-You-Know
Autumn Term – 2023/24
Topic – Let’s Explore
In the Let’s Explore project, your child will explore their class environment and school grounds so that they feel settled and happy in their new surroundings. They will learn about the local environment and find out about places they have visited on holiday. They will look at and create maps for journeys.
Supporting your child at home
- Use Google Earth to explore the locality.
- Go on a walk around your local community and talk about the things that you see.
- Encourage your child to talk about the activities they enjoy doing at school.
- Share and discuss the Did you know facts resource.
Let’s Explore – home learning ideas
Let’s Explore – Did You Know facts
Reception – Spring Term – January 2023 – Once Upon a Time
This project supports children to develop a love of stories and reading. It encourages children to learn, retell and act out familiar and traditional tales including Cinderella, Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
How to help your child at home
Here are a few ideas of how to help your child. You could watch a pantomime together or read a favourite story. Discuss the storyline and different characters. Recorded pantomimes can be found online. Read or watch the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Afterwards, make porridge together using porridge oats and milk or water. . Read or watch the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Afterwards, make porridge together using porridge oats and milk or water.
Year 1 – Spring Term – January 2023 – Bright Lights, Big City
Put on your best outfit because you’re invited to have tea with the Queen. Use your best manners and comb your hair, as one will not be amused if you don’t! What do you know about England’s capital city? Let’s find out all about London, including its history, transport and famous landmarks. Step back in time and discover what happened in the Great Fire of London. Where did it start? How did it end? Create a model of the bakery on Pudding Lane, then burn it to the ground to recreate the Great Fire. Stand well back and watch how the flames spread. London’s burning! London’s burning! Fire, fire! Fire, fire! Hang on, there’s someone new in town. Plan a tour for Marley the Meerkat (he’s come all the way from Zambia, you know) making sure he takes in all the sights and sounds of London before he finally meets his family at London Zoo. Are you ready for the bright lights of the big city? Hop in a black cab and enjoy the ride.
How to help your child at home
Have a think about London, have you ever been or seen London on the television? These activities are for you to do at home with an adult. You can do all of them or choose the ones that you find most interesting. You could use an atlas, map or the internet to find out the names of each of the four countries and the surrounding seas and oceans. Who is the current monarch of the United Kingdom? Find out as much as you can about them, using a range of sources. Draw a picture of them and write a list of facts to go with your illustration. A map is a picture of an area of land or sea that shows the human and physical features of a place. Explore London on a map, using Google Maps or OS maps online. What human and physical features can you see on the map? Draw a simple sketch of a section of the map and label the physical and human features.
For further topic reading, please click the links below…
Autumn Term Topic Reception and Year 1 – September 2022 – Paws, Claws & Whiskers
Soft fur, sharp claws and twitching whiskers. What’s your favourite animal? One that meows? One that barks? Or maybe one that scurries or slithers?
From pets at home to animals in the zoo, let’s find out what animals like to eat and where they like to sleep. Do you know how to look after a rabbit? A cat? Or even a snake?
Find out how the elephant got his trunk and how the rhinoceros got his leathery skin. Perhaps you know how the dog got his waggy tail?
Can you make a food chain to show who eats who? Who is a herbivore and who is a carnivore?
When a gaggle of mysterious pets arrive at the local pet shop, it’s up to you to take care of them. Feed them, clean them and discover their daily needs. After all that work, curl up and take a cat nap.
If you would like some creative ideas to explore this topic at home then follow the link below…
Reception and Year 1 – Autumn 2022 – Paws, Claws and Whiskers
Reception Curriculum Overview
In Reception, we provide a broad, balanced and rich education that encourages children to be independent learners. We teach the children how to learn through ‘Lenny Lion’s Learning Zoo’. Each animal in the zoo has a different way of learning and Lenny the Lion encourages all of the animals to learn through exploring, choosing different things, being creative, having a ‘Go for it!’ attitude, persevering, concentrating, making links and using what they already know.
Lenny Lion’s Learning Zoo
- Go For It Gorilla – I will have a go
- Persevering Parrot – I keep trying.
- Slinky Linky Snake – I can make links.
- Proud Peacock – I am proud of what I do.
- Creative Chameleon – I have my own ideas.
- Exploring Elephant – I am an explorer.
- Concentrating Crocodile – I join in and concentrate.
- I Know Rhino – I play with what I know.
- Choosing Chimp – I choose ways to do things.
The learning environment is set up to develop children’s skills and support progress in all of the main areas of learning.
All of the learning in Reception will link to children’s interests, books and events happening throughout the year. We will also explore animals, seasons, celebrations, places, families, friendships and environments.
Creativity runs through the whole curriculum, offering opportunities for children to make choices, think through solutions to problems and find unique ways of expressing their ideas. This may be through talking, drawing, painting, making models, making music, singing, dancing and moving, enabling them to become confident and independent learners.
Children will be learning phonics (sounds) to support their reading and writing in short interactive daily sessions. At Kents Hill School, we use Read, Write, Inc. to teach phonics and start in autumn term exploring and playing with sounds.
