Reception Topics - 2022/23

Below are the whole school topics for the year in which all children in Reception will participate. In addition to these planned activities, children will regularly be encouraged to think of some of their own ideas, which we will incorporate into our planning. Children’s ideas are collected through weekly class discussions and observations. We value all children’s contributions towards our planning, and by allowing children to share their own interests and ideas they continue to be motivated learners. Alongside the topics below, we also look at a wide range of seasonal and religious festivals throughout the year such as Diwali, Harvest, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Easter, Holi and Tanabata.

Autumn Term (First Half)

Welcome and Over the Rainbow

Core Books: All are Welcome and Freddie the Fairy

Starting school is an exciting but daunting time for everybody!  This is why we spend the first few weeks of Reception getting used to the new environment, meeting new people and focusing on our wellbeing. The children will play games with their new class, have time to explore their new environment and have opportunities to talk about their feelings. The children will gradually be introduced to the Zones of Regulation and learn how different feelings have different colours. The following weeks will be spent looking at Over the Rainbow, where we will be creating our very own rainbows, mixing colours and creating colour patterns. We will also talk about healthy and not healthy foods, and will be finding out about different colourful fruits and vegetables. The children will have regular opportunities to develop maths and literacy language in their environment, as well as practise mark making and develop their number recognition and counting.

Autumn Term (Second Half)

What a Wonderful World!

Core Books: The Lion Inside and Let’s Celebrate

We will be exploring the world around us and finding out about different people and animals in different countries. We will be using books such as Let's Celebrate to help us learn about cultures and reflect on how they are similar or different to our own. Throughout the topic, children will have opportunities to look at a range of books, record and write their ideas and questions and extend their vocabulary. Maths will be embedded into weekly provision but children will also learn about 1:1 correspondence and using the language of more and less. As we move into the festive period, we will focus more on winter and how Christmas. The children will be talking about their own traditions and experiences as well as learning about Christmas around the world!

Spring Term (First Half)

To Infinity and Beyond!

Core Books: Journey and Whatever Next

Let’s blast off into space! We will explore space through various storybooks, including Whatever Next and Journey, and we will retell these stories in our own words. We will be learning about astronauts and the children will have opportunities to participate in space role-play. The children will create their own aliens using a variety of media and create their own stories with them! We will have the opportunity to create and design different space transport using junk modelling and other materials. The children will develop shape knowledge and be introduced to addition, as well as measuring linked to the weekly theme.

Spring Term (Second Half)

Awesome Authors

Core Books: Traditional Tales and Lost and Found

We LOVE books at Chestnut Lane, so why not celebrate their awesome authors?! This half term we will dive into traditional tales and explore the worlds of Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. We will celebrate World Book Day by dressing up as a book character and will be able to share our favourite stories. During this half term the children will also explore different types of stories, including comic strips, and will have the opportunity to create their own superhero character! The children will have ample opportunities to develop their number knowledge and explore number composition in detail. We will end the half term by learning about some of our favourite Early Years authors, including Julia Donaldson and Oliver Jeffers.

Summer Term (First Half)

Home Sweet Habitat

Core Books: Monkey Puzzle and Oi Frog

We’re going on a habitat hunt! Come and join us for the first part of Summer to explore nature and take a breath of fresh air! The children will learn about plants, minibeasts and other animals, and think about what we can do to take care of them. They will grow seeds, explore minibeast habitats and nature and observe all the wonderful changes that occur in nature. We will have opportunities to create minibeast hotels, explore different rocks and hunt for fossils! We will also create our own wormery and snail homes, where we will observe the minibeasts and what they do. We will be challenging ourselves to learn about how we can manipulate shapes in different ways, explore numerical patterns and different forms of measurement, and we will practise persevering through these challenges!

Summer Term (Second Half)

Fabulour Figures

Who is your role model? For our last half term in Reception we will be thinking about who is important to us and who we aspire to be like. We will also be learning about people who help us and will explore different emergency services! We will be using role-play opportunities to identify how fire fighters, police and health care professionals help others and keep people safe. We will work on solidifying our number knowledge and understanding to ensure we have the best start for the next school year. Towards the end of the summer term, the children will start to think about moving up to Year 1 and will reflect on their fantastic year in Reception. We will participate in a range of exciting transition activities, which will prepare the children for the next part of their learning journey.