Autumn Term 2017

Welcome to Reception class!

W/C 11th December

This week has been all about our Nativity. We have practiced our little hearts away but fully enjoyed performing it to the whole school and to our wonderful parents.

We hope you agree that the children did us proud and have made Christmas very special. 

Here are some pictures from our dress rehearsal and photos from our actual show will follow once we have downloaded them. 

W/C 4th December

We have been working hard in Maths this week.  Sorting baubles has been one of our favourites. Firstly, we sorted them into colours which was far too easy for us. To challenge them further we looked at the differences of each bauble. Some of us found it difficult to see past  the colours. However, after a discussion we were able to sort them into glitter/no glitter, bumpy/smooth, big/small.

Fantastic sorting everyone!

We also enjoyed our work on positional Language. To make it exciting we used the large parachute. We sang songs which involved the children moving on top, under, next to, behind. We listened very well to the instructions and by the end of the activity nearly all the children understood the positional language.

We continue to learn our set 1 sounds and some of us have started to learn our set 2 sounds, which is great progress.  We hope your are practicing the red words that we have been sending home. Here is a reminder:

Thankyou for your support.

W/C 27th November

We have had another super week in Reception.

We are still working hard even though Christmas is around the corner. We performed our first whole class rehearsal for our Christmas Nativity this week. The children did a fantastic job and have some surprises in stall for you. We sent home slips this week to inform you of the part your child is playing and if they need a costume. If you didn’t receive a slip please let us know.

To follow on from our Pirate theme we read the story ‘The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch’. We then provided the children with different activities linking to the story.

One of our favourites was exploring electricity circuits. The challenge was to build a circuit using batteries, wires and light bulbs to make the lighthouse light up. The children did a fantastic job and demonstrated great perseverance and concentration to complete the challenge.

Some of the children also did some fantastic writing about Mr. Grinlings Sandwich. We are improving every week and continue to perfect out letter formation.

Next week, we will be sending out the updated list of red words for you to practice at home with your child.

Thank you to all the parents that read at home with your child. Please make sure that their book is in school every day. Reading books get changed on a Monday and Friday.

W/C 20th November

Pirates have been a popular theme this week. To support the children’s interest we have linked our learning to it. One of our favorite activities has been sorting out treasure. We had to read CVC words on the golden coins and decide whether they go in the treasure chest or the rubbish bin.

We have also created our own Mermaids using playdough. We were very impressed with the amount of detail some of the mermaids had. One mermaid even had scales created by lots of fingerprints.

Our learning on 3D shapes has been very successful. We have explored and investigated which shapes can stack and which shapes cannot. We did this by building rockets and then sorting them into two groups. Ask you child why a cube is a good shape to stack. Can they tell you some 3D shape names?

We continue to revise our red words. We hope you are finding them helpful at home. We will not be sending home any new red words next week as we are going to practice the ones learnt so far.

We will be sending home a slip very soon with details of any Nativity costumes that your child will need.

Thank you

Kelly and Anne

W/C 13^th November 17

We will apologize now if your child is already singing Christmas songs at home, our Nativity practice is in full swing. The children are really enjoying learning the songs and acting out the scenes. We have spotted some budding Actors already!

This week we have continued to revise the key words and letters/sounds we have learnt so far. Next week, we will be sending home the next set of red words to learn by sight. 

Some children have been given a reading book to read at home. Please read a couple of pages with your children every night.

Please don’t worry if your child has not brought home a reading book- they will when we think they are ready for this next stage.

Reading books will be changed on a Monday and Friday each week.

In Maths this week we have been learning about 2D shapes. We can now name the more common 2D shapes and are beginning to talk about their properties.  We have sorted shapes and had a go at creating our own 2D shapes using lollipop sticks.  We had some super shapes including hexagons and Pentagons!

Thank you for all the parents that supported Children in Need. We raised £184 for the fantastic charity. What a great event!

W/C 6th November.

This week, the children have been finding out about Poppy Day. They have watched a short video clip about the importance of the Poppy and what it means.  We created some fantastic Poppies using scrunched up tissue paper.  We need to find a spare display board to put them up!

The children have also used the iPads this week to create firework pictures. Lots of wonderful discussions took place with Hayley. It sounds like the children had lots of fun watching bonfires and fireworks in the night sky. We even had some of the children create their own fireworks using different junk modeling materials.  Well done, everyone.

In Maths we have explored creating repeating patterns. We shared the story of ‘Elmer the Elephant’ and discussed the patterns on her skin. We then created our own patterns. The children were encouraged to create a pattern that is repeating e..g. Blue, green, blue or blue, green, red, blue, green, red.

This week in Phonics we are continuing to revise our tricky words/sounds we have learned so far.

This week we will be sending home the tricky words learnt so far. Please practice them on a daily basis. Thank you. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents who attended the Phonics Workshop on Wednesday. We hope you found it beneficial for you and your child.  Any questions please ask Kelly or Anne.

Please keep checking your child's book bag for the 'What are we learning' letter for this Term.

Thank you for your support.

W/C 9th October

Thank you for all the parents that attended parents evening. It was lovely to talk to you about how your child has settled into school and begin to build our relationship.

We have had a great week and one of our highlights has been the following learning opportunity:

Kelly put out a basketball net in the outdoor area. A group of boys showed an interest in playing the game. To extend their learning Kelly encouraged the boys to record their points using a bingo marker. The boys were very keen and each had a sheet of paper with their name on. Every time they scored they put a mark on their paper. At the end we counted all the points to find out the winner. A great game with an engaging Maths opportunity.

We have been working hard on letter formation during Phonics. We can see great progress in such a short space of time. The children are really motivated to keep practicing when we leave out our teaching board and pens. On Wednesday, the children spent all afternoon forming letters and helping each other. Fantastic learning!

Please continue to support your child with writing letters at home.

Thank you Kelly and Anne

W/C 2nd October

Wow!

We really have been inspired by Zulu Nation. To extend the children’s learning we decided to learn about South Africa.  We did this by learning about different safari animals and looking closely at their patterns. We created some African Art pieces and performed our own Zulu dance. The children remembered the moves and enjoyed dancing to the beat of our African music. Mr. Clay really enjoyed watching our show!

We had the pleasure of Mark Bamford from the Sleaford Museum visit us. The children really enjoyed listening to his story of King John and some exciting facts about Lincoln Castle. We then had the opportunity to decorate our own swords, shields and crowns. The children then used them to do some acting.

Skittles has been a popular game this week. The children created their own game using numbered wooden bamboo containers.  This game was prefect for number recognition. It would be great if you could help your child to recognise numbers to 10 at home.

Please remember to book in a Parents Evening slot for Tuesday 10^th October.

W/C 25^th September

We have had very exciting week and lots of learning has taken place. We have taken part in lots of activities that have supported our learning on Harvest. We have been planting, digging up vegetables and learning about Combine Harvesters.  We watched a video on grain being harvested. This led to a big discussion on how bread is made. We then spent the rest of the week making bread right from making the dough. The children had lots of fun and it was very yummy to eat! Thank you Hayley.

We continue to learn our letter sounds and attempt to write them. Some of the children are beginning to write the first sounds in words and some are now writing words e.g. cat, pig- Fantastic progress!

Please work with us to help your child to recognise its own name and to independently write it.

On Friday the children were fortunate enough to watch a performance by Zulu Nation.  It was very loud and exciting and our children fully enjoyed. It was a fantastic experience and we will continue to learn about the Zulu culture next week.

Please remember to return Parents Evening and Phonics Workshop slip ASAP.

Thank you 

W/C 18^th September

This week we have continued our work on the skeleton. The children have loved learning about it. We have created some fantastic skeleton art work- come and see our display.

We also set up an Archeology area for the children to explore bones.  We heard some lovely scientific chatter about our skeleton. Here are some snippets-

 “ This is the back bone.”              “This leg bone helps you walk.!

 “Our ribs look after our lungs.”      “The head is the skull and protects our brain.”

We have also enjoyed dancing to the skeleton song. Follow the link and have a sing- along at home.

Skeleton Dance song

The children are still enjoying Phonic and Maths group times.  We have sent home a letter sound pack for you to practice with your child. Learning the sounds at home will give your child a great start to being able to read and write.

Please keep a look out for a letter being sent home inviting you to a Phonics Workshop. The aim of the workshop will be to inform you of how we teach Phonics in school and how you can support at home. Working together is key to ensuring your child meets their Early Learning Goals.

Next Thursday is our Harvest Festival. We have been practicing our song that we will be singing at the festival. We hope to see you all there!

Wednesday 27^th September is individual/family photo day.

W/C 11th September 

We hope you agree that the children have come in a lot more settled this week, highlighting that they are beginning to develop positive relationships with both adults and children.

This week we have began our Phonic and Maths groups times. The children have demonstrated their enthusiasm to learn through their eagerness when they know it is group time.

We would love it if you can help us on the following things at home to support their learning in class: 

• To recognise and write their name
• To begin to write letter sounds (we will be sending out a pack of sounds shortly)
• Number recognition to 10 then 20
• To carefully count objects to 10 and beyond

To support our work on Autumn please could you collect conkers, pinecones and anything else Autumn related and bring them into class.

 Thank you for your support

 Kelly and Anne

W/C 5th September

We have had a fantastic first week and we are very proud of how well the children have settled into our routines. Already the children have inspired us with their ideas and learning has got off to a flying start.

This Termlet we will be focusing on the following:

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• Settling your child into school and our daily routines
• Developing positive relationships with you and your child
• Building friendships
• Creating an engaging learning environment with your child
• Setting boundaries and rules that need to be followed to ensure a happy and safe learning environment
• Building a positive self- esteem and mindset- ‘can do’ attitude.
• Developing confidence to share ideas in a group situation

Phonics/Literacy

• Listening to stories with increasing attention
• Recognising letter sounds
• Developing the skill to oral blend e.g. “Fred says, c-a-t, we say cat”.
• Name recognition and writing own name
• Writing some clearly identifiable letters
• Developing confidence to share ideas in a group situation
• Talk about stories that have been read

 Maths

• Number recognition to 10
• Careful counting to 6 then 10+
• Representing numbers 0-10 in different ways
• Counting back from 10
• Matching numbers to quantity
• Addition to 6
• Ordering numbers 0-6 then 0-10+

Thank you for all the parents that attended our ‘meet and greet’ session. If you were unable to make it then here is some important information. 

- School begins at 8:45am.

- Please ensure names are in all items of clothing.

- Full uniform must be worn including school shoes.

- Please send clothing suitable for the weather (e.g. - rain/cold = coat, sunny = hat etc.)

- Please let us or the office know if someone different will be collecting your child from school.

- P.E is on a Monday and Wednesday. Please make sure your child has a P.E bag in for the week.

-Please bring some spare clothes- we still learn through sensory materials!

- If your child has not eaten lunch a note will be put in their bag to inform you. Bringing in a packed lunch must be agreed by Mr. Clay.

If you would like to learn more about our EYFS curriculum.  Please follow the link below-

https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2014/08/EYFS_Parents_Guide-amended.pdf

Thank you :)