Willow - Reception 2026 - 2027

Welcome to Willow class        

We are 25 wonderful, bright and curious children and together we are Willow Class. Mrs Heath is our class teacher and we are very lucky to have support from Mrs Harper, Mrs Connor, Mrs Coxon and Mr Blears.

Throughout the year we will be having endless amounts of fun exploring, investigating and learning through play. Our curriculum is based around seven key areas which consist of  Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Communication and Language, Literacy, Mathematics, Expressive Arts and Design and Understanding the World. At times, our learing can be messy but we LOVE that because it fosters curiosity and imagination, it develops our language and communication and it enhances our physical development. We ask that children bring in a puddlesuit and wellies that can be left in school so that they can truely immerse themself in the EYFS provision.



Welcome to Willow!

A new school year and a wonderful new bunch of Willow Class learners. 

This first term is all about routines and Smallwood life. We will be establishing those daily routines, our 'Star Sitting', new friendships and our Smallwood values. Not forgetting beginning to build on and devleop those fundamental skills to support life long learning. 

We will begin our Phonics journey in Autumn 1 by developing and enhancing our listening skills and exploring envivonmental sounds. We will learn that every letter has a name and a sound and we will begin to sound words out and blend these sounds together. 

Our mark making and early writing skills will be supported by 'Drawing Club'. In our daily Drawing Club sessions, we will explore lots of different quality stories and traditional tales, along with some animation and cartoons. Our Drawing Club sessions often take us on an adventure to give us the opportunity to share our ideas and let our imaginations run wild. We love exploring the words in books and this helps us to develop and expand our language and vocabulary. 

In Maths, we will be looking at similarities and differences. We will look at how we could sort and group things. We will also be unpicking the numbers 1,2 and 3. Whilst we want to be super at counting and count beyond 3... we also want to show off a really deep understanding of these numbers. What does one more look like?  What does one less look like? Could we represent 3 in a different way? How do we form the number 2? What does this number look like in Willow Class?

Our topic this term is 'Friends With 2 Legs and More.'
Throughout the term, we will be exploring and discussing
- Classroom rules and routines
- Our Learning Zones
- Our Families
-Our Friendships
- Our feelings and what they may look like
- How we can manage our big feelings
-Who are trusted adults are
- Pets and beyond


Reading stories, singing and Show and Tell are a big part of Willow Class. Each day we will read and share many high quality texts, some of this terms favourites include 
- The Leaf Thief
- The Colour Monster
-The Something
- We're Going On a Bear Hunt
- Blue Chameleon 
and...
- One Is A Snail. Ten Is a Crab. 


On Friday's we have Show and Tell. This is an opportunity for the children to share any homework projects that they may have completed or share some exciting news/ achievements.
. 

Important dates for this term include...

10th September - Meet The Teacher
11th September - Welcome Service
25th September -McMillan Coffee Morning 
27th September - Harvest Festival
30th September - SSP meetings 

Outdoor learning.

We are fortunate to have an outdoor provision. This is open in all weathers. We kindly ask that children keep a pair of wellies and a puddle/splash suit in school at all times so that they can fully immerse themselves into their learning. Often, messy play and water play tends to be the best kind of play!  

P.E.

Our P.E. lessons take place every Tuesday afternoon. PE kits are kept in school and sent home every half term to be washed and refreshed.

Extras.
As the weather begins to change, we ask that the children arrive to school each day with a  warm waterproof coat. Please feel free to send in a hat, gloves and scarf as the temperature begins to drop. We ask that all clothing brought into school is clearly labelled. 
Water bottles are to be brought into school each day. 

Helping your child at home

Reading: Please read regularly at home with your child and our school expectation is to read a minimum of 4 times weekly. Allow your child to listen to you read, as well as listening to them. 

Writing: Use lots of opportunities to write; shopping lists, cooking and baking, writing instructions. Any mark making is valuable to children forming letters.

Maths: When out and about look out for numbers on doors, packets, signs and clocks. At home count when you are laying the table, going upstairs and when playing games. Try making patterns using different natural items such as pine cones and leaves.

If at any point throughout the year you have anything you wish to speak to me about please do not hesitate to get in touch via ClassDojo.
Thank you for your support.

We have got an exciting year ahead!

Mrs Heath x