THIS IS LAST YEARS RECEPTION PAGE 2022-2023
to give you a flavour if what happens in our SMITH Reception over a school year! … working backwards as we upload half termly to keep families updated.
Welcome to Reception
Home of the Foxes and the Owls!
What can I expect in Reception at SMITH?
Check out our Reception Passport!
Summer 2
‘We are Heroes‘
Our main text focus is ‘Supertato‘ by Sue Henda and Paul Linnet. Over the three weeks we will:
- Create our own Superhero Vegetable or Fruit.
- Explore writing speech bubbles
- Evil Pea will be visiting children’s homes and causing chaos!
- Write a class story and learn some features needed to create a comic strip.
- We will continue to check our work makes sense by reading it aloud.
- Explore non-fiction texts about healthy eating and plants and flowers.
- Discuss questions like; If you were a superhero, what power would you have? Why? Would you rather be able to fly or have x-ray vision? If you could be a fruit what would you be?
Here is our Topic Web for Summer 2 (pdf doc)
Here are some photographs of us learning and exploring!
| Look at the fabulous things we create with teamwork! | |
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| Communication and Language | Physical Development | Personal, Social and Emotional Development |
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| Philosophy for children – voting for the question we want to discuss | Using our gross motor skills to transport friends around the playground | Playing with our friends – learning how to work together and include different ideas |
| Literacy | Maths | Understanding the World | Expressive Arts and Design |
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| Reading books with friends | We love buying our snack! | Exploring a map of our outdoors | We love role playing |
Summer 1
‘Walking on Sunshine‘
Our main text focus is ‘Silly Doggy’ by Adam Stower. Over the three weeks we will:
- Go on an animal hunt around our outdoor area!
- Orally retell the story
- Write an adaptation of ‘Silly Doggy’.
- Explore non fiction texts about animals, including fact files. Use ICT to support our research – National Geographic Kids website and videos via QR codes.
- Discuss questions like; Is it right to keep animals in the zoo? Should all animals set free into the wild? Would you rather have spots or stripes? Would you rather be able to swim or fly? Would you rather be a big animal or a small animal?
Here is our Topic Web for Summer 1. (PDF doc)
Here are some photographs of us learning and exploring!
| We ended the half term with a gorgeous stay and play with our families! | |
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| We celebrated King Charles’ Coronation | TEAMWORK – Look at our fantastic bus we made by working together! |
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| We loved exploring our SMITH values – each day we focused on one letter. What a super fun week we had as a whole school team! | |
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| Communication and Language | Physical Development | Personal, Social and Emotional Development |
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| Literacy | Maths | Understanding the World | Expressive Arts and Design |
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Spring 2
Come and have a cracking good time as we explore all things eggs!
‘True Colours‘
Our main text focus is ‘Hattie Peck: The Journey Home’. Over the three weeks we will:
- Go on an egg hunt around our outdoor area!
- Write an adaptation of ‘Hattie Peck: The Journey Home’.
- Explore non fiction texts : We will be learning about different animals that hatch from eggs
- Follow a set of instructions on how to make a bird feeder.
- Make a set of binoculars to observe livings things in our outdoor environment.
- Design their own egg… What will hatch out of it?
- Investigate eggs – What will happen when it is boiled for 1 minute, 3 ? What if we add heat ? What if we stir it? Will it go back to its original state?
- Discuss questions like; Was it right for Hattie to take the eggs? Would you rather be was chaotic or calm? Would you rather live on land or in the sea?
Here is our Topic Web for Spring 2.
Spring 2 2023 Topic Web – True Colours.docx(PDF doc)
Here are some photographs of us learning and exploring!
| Reception loved being a part of Fairtrade Friday! We learnt what Fairtrade is and took part in an an interesting smell test of different Fairtrade items! | |
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| Communication and Language | Physical Development | Personal, Social and Emotional Development |
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| Listening to the teacher and our class mates. Joining in with conversations. | Fine motor skills – Mark making (Lit) – Shrove Tuesday (PSED/RE) | Working together, overcoming problems, and persevering to make a model. |
| Literacy | Maths | Understanding the World | Expressive Arts and Design |
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| We love reading and finding key words in different books! | We can use dominoes to create number sentences | Exploring Animals in our local environment and beyond- which ones hatch from eggs? | Observational Drawings |
We love Maths games and challenges! |
We love our Monster Phonics Word Hunts! |
Spring 1
Happy 2023 everyone! Grab your ticket and jump onboard for an exciting half term!
‘Ticket to Ride‘
Our main text focus is ‘Emma Jane’s Aeroplane’. Over the three weeks we will:
- Receive a special ticket to go on a journey in our school minibus!
- Explore non fiction texts to learn about ‘How things go’.
- Write a recount of a journey.
- Explore and compare different places around the world.
- Learn and perform a poem about transport in PE.
- Find out about people who help us and the transport they use.
- Work as a team to make the future generations mode of transport!
- Discuss questions like; Would you rather fly through the sky or glide through the sea? Would you rather have wings, wheels or a parachute?
Here is our Topic Web for Spring 1.
Spring 1 2023Topic Web – Ticket to Ride. (PDF doc)
Take a look at our minibus ride and our exciting airlines so far!
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Here are more photographs of us in action!
| Communication and Language | Physical Development | Personal, Social and Emotional Development |
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| Following instructions to make a kite. | PE – Races | Friendship |
| Literacy | Maths | Understanding the World | Expressive Arts and Design |
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| Handwriting (PD) | Exploring capacity | Safer internet Day – How to stay safe online (PSED) | Making music using household equipment |
Look at our amazing art in the style of Kadinsky!
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Here’s our detailed Design Technology project – to make a terrific mode of transport.
Teamwork– Working together to make a super rocket!  |
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Some more fabulous picollages showcasing exploration, fun, curiosity and creativity in Reception!
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Knowsley Safari park came into Early Years to help us celebrate National Storytelling Week! We loved learning all about ‘Wildlife Wasteland’ and recycling.
Autumn 2
‘Somewhere Only We Know!’
Our main text focus is ‘I’m going to eat this ANT!’ Over the three weeks we will:
- Join in with alliteration.
- Explore non fiction texts to learn about insects and bugs.
- Make shopping lists and menus.
- Explore animals and their habitats.
- Learn and perform ‘When the ants go marching in’.
- Discuss questions like ‘Should we ever squish an ant?’
Here is our Topic Web for Autumn 2.
This half term, we started something new this term called ‘Directional Drawing‘. We revisit a letter, read a new book, draw something by following direction and then discuss a key question.
Just take a look at how fantastic the children are at listening, focusing and following directions. Their drawings are incredible. Well Done! 🙂
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To celebrate World Nursery Rhyme Week, the terrific Mr Tumble Liverpool came to visit us to sing and sign lots of nursery rhymes with us.
Just look at our amazing home made costumes! We had a mixture of characters from nursery rhymes and some Monster Phonics characters too!
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Building up to Christmas, we had a very special Parent stay and Play craft session. This was so lovely to see our families playing together. Thank you all so much for coming.
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Reception have enjoyed joining in with celebrations, including birthdays, diwali, bonfire night and going on a local trip to visit the Church to learn more about Christmas.
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Take a look at the photographs of our fabulous little ones in action to see more of what we have been getting up to in Reception…
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| Communication and Language | Physical Development | Personal, Social and Emotional Development |
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| Listening and following yoga instructions | Exploring ways of moving | Being a supportive friend |
| Literacy | Maths | Understanding the World | Expressive Arts and Design |
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| Practicing our sound of the day and scrubbing it away to clean the teeth (PSED and PD) | Reading a numeral and threading that number of pasta shapes (fine motor) | Exploring Hinduism and Diwali | Painting outdoors |
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| Listening to a text and responding | Numberblocks | Exploring how kites work and making our own one. | Dressing up as our favourite nursery rhyme and performing it |
Autumn 1
‘Don’t Stop Me Now!’
Our main text focus will be ‘The Gingerbread Man!’
- Here we will join in with rhyme and repetition.
- We will make gingerbread people and talk about our uniqueness and individuality and families.
- We will create obstacle courses to explore different ways of moving.
- We will create a healthy meal for the gingerbread person.
- We will also be focusing on building relationships and learning all about our feelings.
Here is our Autumn 1 ‘Don’t Stop Me Now!’ topic web.
Take a look at the photographs of our fabulous little ones in action…
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| Communication and Language | Physical Development | Personal, Social and Emotional Development |
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| Massage | Gross motor skills – Digging | Colour Monster Text – Exploring feelings |
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| Listening and responding to others | Fine motor skills – threading | Hello Yellow Day – Making a self soothe bag |
| Literacy | Maths | Understanding the World | Expressive Arts and Design |
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| Mark making in different textures | A human bar graph to show our favourite sandwich filling | Reflecting on The Queen’s death | Junk modelling – selecting and manipulating materials |
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| Exploring books with friends | Reading a numeral and counting out that many objects | Testing out our own boats – Will they float? | Dress up and dancing |
Phonics in Reception
In Reception we teach daily phonics. Phonics is all about how the alphabetic system works and exploring how to apply it in reading and spelling. Here at S.M.I.T.H. we follow Monster Phonics: a systematic approach, meaning that we teach in a logical progression, starting with single letter sounds to enable children to read and spell simple words, leading to consonant digraphs and vowel diagraphs and longer words.
How Monster Phonics Works | Monster Phonics
For more information on our phonic scheme please follow the links below!
If you have any questions regarding phonics please see your child’s class teacher.
Early Reading
Here at S.M.I.T.H we want to develop a life long love of reading.
We want our pupils passion and engagement with books to start from an early age. Keep your eyes peeled for our reading challenges – this is where we capture our pupils and their families love of books and reading. It is a lot of fun!
Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)
This is a short, interactive and practical assessment of your child’s early literacy, communication, language and mathematics skills when they begin school. It is statutory for all schools from September 2021. Your child will be participating in the reception baseline within the first 6 weeks of starting reception.
PLEASE DON’T WORRY: You do not need to do anything to prepare your child for the assessment. Your child is unlikely to even know that they are doing an assessment when they are completing the tasks.
For more information the link below takes you to the government information for parents pdf. If you have any further questions please speak with your child’s class teacher.
Keeping You Informed
Class Dojo
This is where you will find messages from your child’s class teacher. This updates most frequently and will let parents know about things happening in class such as; day trips, enrichment activities, special events and visitors. This is the most effective and responsive communication tool with your reception teacher.
Please also keep an eye on the school story, on here you will find messages, competitions and school events.
Other ways of Communication
Please register with Parentmail, as we will keep you up to date via texts and emails.
We also have a school twitter account @St_michael_ham where class teachers post pupils work, videos and positive messages for our community.
If you need to contact school the email address: ao@smhsch.co.uk these message will be answered promptly or forwarded to the relevant staff.
Other Activities to Help your child at Home
Helping your EYFS child at home with Maths
Helping your EYFS child at home with Maths
‘Teach Your Monsters To Read’ FREE online reading activities