Reception at Peakirk- cum-Glinton

EYFS Welcome to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which is how the Government and early years professionals describe the time in your child’s life between birth and age 5.

The EYFS Framework explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development. Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.

Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are: Communication and language; Physical development; and Personal, social and emotional development. These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.

Communication and Language Listening and attention Understanding Speaking

Physical development Moving and handling: includes gross and fine motor skills Ideas for gross motor skills: digging in the garden, Hop Scotch, Simon Says, wheelbarrow walking, walk or climb over unstable surfaces, catching and balancing, obstacle courses, playground climbing and swinging, swimming. Ideas for fine motor skills: hamma beads, play dough, threading beads, picking up objects using oversized tongs and tweezers activating and playing with wind-up toys spinning small hand-held tops popping bubble plastic with thumb and index finger drawing in the sand with a stick, feathers, or straws using clothes pegs to help hang up clothes or pictures using squirt guns or squeeze-trigger containers. Health and self care

Personal, Social and Emotional Development Making relationships Self confidence and self awareness Managing feelings and behaviour

As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are: Literacy; Mathematics; Understanding the world; and Expressive arts and design.

Literacy Reading Writing

Maths Number Shape, space and measures

Understanding the world People and communities The world Technology

Expressive arts and design Exploring and Using media and materials Being imaginative

These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. It is flexible so that we can follow your child's unique needs and interests. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside.

Continuous provision and short focussed teaching time. Continuous provision: all 7 areas are continuously provided for in the classroom and garden: children have ‘free’ access to these. Learning through play is vital. Staff make observations, and join in with and extend children’s play. Children also have short carpet sessions and small group work where they are taught new skills.

An outline of the day Children come into the classroom and play with activities for a few minutes. Parents leave and we do the register. Short focussed carpet time: Literacy Play and learn: children learn through play; adults observe, join in and extend. As time goes on we will teach children in small groups at this time. Break time Rolling snack Maths input on the carpet. Play and learn Phonics Lunchtime Topic input Play and learn Story time/ singing Home time

Phonics: useful definitions Phoneme: sound Grapheme: the way the sound is written down eg s Segmenting: breaking up sounds in a word eg s-a-t Blending: putting the sounds back together Digraph: two letters together which make one sound eg ph or ay

Phonics Letters and Sounds: letters-and-sounds.htmlhttp:// letters-and-sounds.html Phase 2: Jolly Phonics Reading stories together Reading and Writing across the provision

Letter formation

Reading books To begin with children will take home a sharing book. Soon they will also take home a reading book. These will be just pictures to start with and will then contain simple sentences, depending on their ability. We will change books every Monday and Friday and gradually teach the children to change their own books as needed. Children will read with an adult at school. We will send home a reading diary for you and us to record what your child has been reading and how they are getting on. We will check these daily in case you have put a note in for us. Try to read with your child at home, little and often. Continue to read to them and talk about the story or information. As time goes on, ask them to point out any letters that they recognise and any words they know.

Development Matters Matters-FINAL-PRINT-AMENDED.pdf Matters-FINAL-PRINT-AMENDED.pdf

Ideas for home:- Talk about the numbers, colours, words and letters you see when you are out and about Sing and tell nursery rhymes Allow your child to cut out and stick pictures from magazines Plant seeds or bulbs in a pot or garden patch Cook / bake together Use the weather – shadows, rain puddles, snow, wind, mist and sun – to extend your child’s vocabulary Explore the park at a different time of the year – go off the beaten track Talk to your child at every opportunity – e.g. what you are doing that day Share a book On a trip to the supermarket, talk about all the different packaging shapes Work on gross and fine motor skills

Wow Stars If your child does something at home you would like to share with us, please write it on a wow star and add it to our parents’ notice board. These will be added to the profiles.

Any concerns about your child’s eating: please pop into the kitchen and see Mrs Howard.