EYFS September Roundup!

EYFS - September 2026

What a busy and exciting first few weeks we have had in Reception! The children have settled beautifully into school life and are becoming increasingly confident with our routines. We have seen lots of playing, exploring, creating, talking and learning taking place, and it has been wonderful to watch the children beginning to develop their independence and curiosity.

With September coming to a close, we thought we would share a little snapshot of what we have been getting up to over the past fortnight.

Maths

Last week, we began our maths learning and had the pleasure of welcoming Mrs Davies into our classroom to spend some special maths time with us.

One of our first focuses has been learning to subitise. Subitising means being able to recognise how many objects there are without needing to count them one by one. We have been practising subitising amounts up to 3 using our fingers, objects and, of course, the wonderful Numberblocks!

We follow the NCETM Mastering Number programme in Reception. Mastering Number is a programme developed by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), which aims to develop children's strong understanding of number and confidence with mathematical thinking. The programme uses the familiar Numberblocks characters and their representations to help children see the relationships between numbers and develop a secure understanding of early mathematical concepts.

We have been having lots of fun spotting small amounts, recognising numbers quickly and talking about what we can see. The children have been encouraged to explain their mathematical thinking, make connections and notice patterns for themselves – all important foundations for becoming confident mathematicians.

Music

We had our very first music lesson with Miss Hooper, and it was great fun! The children enjoyed exploring music together, listening carefully, responding to what they heard and joining in.

We are looking forward to developing our musical skills and confidence throughout the year, while encouraging the children to express themselves, have a go and respond creatively to music.

Construction playdough

Our playdough was given a construction makeover! We explored construction-themed play and even had a go at making our own 'cement' using cornflour, sand and shaving foam.

Activities such as this provide wonderful opportunities for children to develop their fine motor skills while also encouraging them to experiment, problem-solve and explore materials. As always, the children's ideas and conversations were just as important as the finished creations!

Caring for our babies

Outside, the children have taken a keen interest in our baby dolls. This led us to create our very own baby care station, where the children could wash, change and care for the babies.

Through this imaginative play, the children have been developing their communication and cooperation skills, using language to share ideas and negotiate roles. They have also been exploring relationships, responsibility and experiences that are familiar to them from their own lives.

This is a lovely example of how children's interests can develop into rich learning opportunities. We follow their lead, observe what they are interested in and then carefully enhance our provision to extend their learning further.

Names, names, names!

Inside the classroom, we have had a particular focus on name recognition and name writing. The children are becoming increasingly familiar with recognising their own names and are beginning to develop the skills needed to write them.

There has been lots of careful looking, noticing and practising as the children begin to recognise the letters in their names and develop greater control when making marks. We encourage the children to have a go, celebrate their attempts and develop their skills through meaningful, purposeful opportunities.

Getting started with phonics

The week before, we began our phonics learning. Please have a look at our other news article for more information about what we have been learning and how our Little Wandle phonics sessions work.

We have also started our very important Squiggle While You Wiggle sessions!

Squiggle While You Wiggle is a fun, movement-based programme which helps children develop the physical skills they need to become confident writers. We use big movements, music and lots of energetic actions to work on our 'big muscles' – including our shoulders, arms, backs and core.

The children already know that we are working on making our big muscles strong so that, as we progress through Reception, we can develop the strength, control and coordination needed to use our 'small muscles', particularly those in our hands and fingers. This will help us to develop the fine motor control needed for drawing, writing and using tools effectively.

So, when you hear about us doing lots of big squiggles and energetic movements, there is lots of important learning taking place!

Snack time and oracy

We are now very familiar with our snack-time routine and the children are becoming wonderfully independent.

The children help to serve one another our fruit, crunchy snack and milk, and they are becoming very good at cleaning up afterwards. They even know to separate the rubbish from the food waste so that we can compost our food waste!

Snack time is also a valuable opportunity to develop our oracy skills. We practise taking turns in conversations, listening carefully to what others have to say and responding appropriately. These everyday conversations are an important part of developing children's confidence, vocabulary and ability to communicate with others.

Our Story Vote

We have also introduced our Story Vote!

Each day, before lunchtime, the children take turns placing a shiny gem into the basket next to the book they would like us to read. Once everyone has voted, we look at the results together and choose our winning story.

Our Story Vote has lots of learning hidden inside it! We practise counting, comparing quantities, recognising more and less, and talking about bigger and smaller numbers. It also provides an early introduction to the idea of democracy – having a choice, expressing an opinion and understanding that our collective decision determines what happens.

Most importantly, we get to enjoy lots of wonderful stories together!

RSHE - Being Me in My World

We have also begun our RSHE learning. We follow the Jigsaw scheme, and our first unit is called 'Being Me in My World'.

So far, we have been talking about belonging and what it means to belong to something. We have explored the idea that each of us belongs to our lovely Reception class, our school and our wider communities.

We have also started thinking about emotions and have been learning to identify emotions in ourselves and in other people. The children have been introduced to our special Jigsaw friend, Jenie, who will be joining us throughout our Jigsaw learning.

We have also enjoyed some Calm Me time, practising deep breathing and learning how to take our lovely 'rainbow breaths'. These simple techniques help children begin to recognise ways they can calm their bodies and prepare themselves for learning.

Getting active

We have spent lots of time outside developing our gross motor skills. The trim trail, bikes and scooters have all been very popular!

Climbing, balancing, pedalling, pushing, pulling and navigating obstacles all help children to develop strength, coordination, balance and body control. These physical experiences are also important foundations for developing the strength and control needed for future fine motor activities such as writing.

Playing, making and exploring

And, of course, we have done A LOT of playing, making and exploring!

Play is at the heart of our EYFS classroom. Our continuous provision and planned enhancements are carefully considered to provide meaningful opportunities for children to practise, apply and extend their learning. Whether they are building, creating, imagining, talking, investigating, writing, counting, negotiating or simply exploring something that has caught their interest, there is always learning taking place.

As children play, we look for opportunities to nurture the three Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning: playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically.

We want our children to be curious enough to have a go, resilient enough to keep trying when something is tricky, and confident enough to follow their own ideas. We encourage them to make choices, solve problems, explore possibilities and reflect on what they have discovered.

All of our provision and enhancements are carefully planned and considered to support children at every stage of their development, while giving them the freedom to follow their interests and learn through play. Everything we do is building towards the Early Learning Goals and, more importantly, helping our children to become happy, confident, independent and enthusiastic learners.

It has been a wonderful start to the year, and we are incredibly proud of how well the children are settling into school life. We are already seeing so many examples of their curiosity, independence and growing confidence, and we can't wait to see where their learning takes us next!

Mrs Collins :)