Author: Coundon Admin

This week we are continuing to think about Autumn and will be talking about the festivals that occur in Autumn. We will be focusing on Diwali the festival of light. The children will learn all about Diwali, the people that celebrate it and how it is celebrated. We will have a wide range of activities across the week and will be making Rangoli patterns, divas, learning songs and dances and will act out the story. It is important that children learn about a wide range of religions and celebrations and understand that people have different beliefs and cultures. Diwali is due to fall on October 24th this year. If you see anything about it on the T.V or hear fireworks around this time, ask your child to share with you what they have learned about Diwali.

This week the children have been assessed on the letter sounds they have already been introduced to. After half term the children will be split into groups as a result of these assessments. The children that confidently know their letter sounds and are able to blend words will begin on simple reading books or Ditty sheets. Those children that are less confident will recap over the sounds already taught and will work on their blending skills. Please continue to support your child at home with these important skills. We have added some videos below for the sounds we have covered this week. Watch these with your child so that they recap the sounds taught in school. We will continue to add videos throughout the year to support the children’s learning at home.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/IbOw3TpA/yXzmffPC

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/K2wkTXp9/Sc5uxC6q

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/QCupyr9c/Z0j21krd

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/mqhjXTvl/SjjJNfFH

This week we are coming to the end of our topic ‘Just Like Me’. Over the last few weeks we have done a lot of work on comparing and patterns. This week we are trying hard to make our own repeating patterns. We are all able to do a simple A,B,A,B,A,B pattern but we did find A,B,C,A,B,C,A,B,C and A,A,B,A,A,B patterns a little trickier. Maybe you could practise this at home by getting some objects from outside such as conkers, leaves and acorns or even things from the cupboards such as fork, knife and spoon. See if you can make some different patterns.

Miss Masterson is now back with us in Reception. The children are staff very happy to see her and she will be spending the week getting to know all of the children. Please bare with her while she gets to know all of the parents faces at pick up time. We would like to say a big thank you to Miss Frost and Mrs Brindley for their help and support over the last few weeks.

Now that the children have settled and feel comfortable in their surroundings we have noticed that some children are beginning to push the boundaries and are ignoring some of the rules. This is something we will work on continuously in Reception as the children develop their independence. We operate a system in Reception where the children are responsible for their own behaviour and are encouraged to make the right choices. If they make the wrong choices they have some time out to reflect on their behaviour before being able to go back into their child initiated learning time. We ask that you support us on this at home so that we can work together to share the same message about making the right choice.

After half term we will be learning about the celebration of Bonfire night. Could you please collect empty kitchen roll and toilet roll tubes for us and send them in after half term for our art activities.

Have a wonderful half term break. Stay safe and have lots of fun

The Reception Team

This week we have continued on with our work on Autumn. We have been looking at the story ‘Don’t Hog the Hedge’ and have been focusing on hibernation and what this means. We have also had a focus on sharing as part of the story, We are learning what ‘sharing’ means and how to be a good friend in Reception just like Hattie the hedgehog was in the story. We have been sorting our Autumn collections and have made patterns, transient art and different types of pictures with all of the foliage collected.

This week we are learning the sounds o, c, k,u. Add the flashcards sent home on Friday to your collection and continue to practise going through the sounds every night. Remember to put 2 or 3 of the sounds together to make words and use your FRED talk to read them e.g. c-a-t, c-u-p. Can a grown up say a word and you have a go at writing it? The children will be assessed on their sounds next week and will be placed into Phonics groups to continue with the Read Write Inc programme. Once your child knows their sounds and can segment to read they will start on a reading book. Please also read the library book brought home with you child on Friday. Reading to children is one of the most important ways to instil a love of reading in your child. Please return all library books on Friday so they can choose a new book.

In Maths this week we have continued with comparing. We have looked at length by comparing string of different lengths using the language shortest and longest. Size using the language bigger and smaller and will be looking at repeating patterns.

As the weather is getting colder please ensure your child comes into school in a warm waterproof coat as they spend a good portion of the day outside. If your child is bringing in a hat or gloves then please make sure these are named. Can we also remind parents that children should only bring water in their water bottles each day please.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week we have started to learn all about Autumn. We have been talking about the things we already know and finding out some new facts. We are going on an Autumn walk looking for signs of Autumn and are trying to collect some Autumn foliage. If you spot any Autumn foliage such as coloured leaves, conkers, acorns or pine cones then please collect them and bring them in to add to our collection in school.

This week in Phonics we have been introduced to the phonemes p and g. We now know the sounds m,a,s,d,t,i,n, p and g. Please go through the flashcards sent home on Friday. One side should have the picture and rhyme and the other side should just show the phoneme. Practise these so that you know them all. You could then start putting the sounds together to read simple words such as mat, sit, pan etc. This is the first stage of your child’s reading journey. Once they know all of their set 1 sounds correctly and can blend them together to read words they will begin on reading books. Try to get into the habit of doing your reading activities every night.

This week in Maths we have been sorting and comparing. We have been looking at different ways to sort objects looking for similarities and differences. We have also been comparing amounts, size and height and length. Can you find a way to sort some items at home? How did you sort them?

We will be having photos on Wednesday this week. There is an opportunity for family photos at the end of the day. Please see your Friday focus for details. Continue to help support your child’s independent skills by letting them dress and undress themselves and put on their own shoes and coats.

The children enjoyed learning about dinosaurs last week and are continuing to develop some key role play skills. We have had some very loud and noisy dinosaurs outside!

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week we have started to look at the topic of Dinosaurs. Many of the children have enjoyed playing with dinosaurs over the last few weeks so we wanted to enhance their learning. You may have noticed our lovely dinosaur den outside where the children can explore the different dinosaurs and act like dinosaurs. This week we will be reading stories, singing songs and learn some facts about dinosaurs.

We have started the Read Write Inc Phonics program in Reception. We are starting to learn the set 1 sounds and how to write these letters. We have also started to blend the letters together to make simple words. Shortly your child will come home with some of the letters they have learned. Try to get into the habit of going over these every night with your child. They could also practise writing the letters and have a go at reading simple words by putting some of the letters together e.g. m-a-t. Once the children have been introduced to all of the set 1 sounds and can blend the words confidently to read they will bring home a reading book.

This week we are completing our baseline assessments and will be beginning our White Rose Maths scheme. We are starting on the topic ‘Just Like Me’ and will be focusing on sorting. We will be looking for similarities and differences and identifying different ways to sort. This could be by colour, size, shape or item. Have a go at sorting some items at home – how have you sorted them?

The children have settled very well into Reception and are working hard at learning the routines and rules of the settling. They are being encouraged to be much more independent. Please support this at home by getting your child to do some things by themselves such as dressing themselves, going to the toilet and wiping themselves. Getting their own shoes and coats on and carrying their own belongings. This will all help with them becoming more independent in school.

Please be aware that as the week goes on the children do become very tired. It is absolutely normal for them to struggle a little so don’t be alarmed if they say they don’t want to come to school, its just their way of dealing with their emotions. Try and keep to regular bedtimes or even get them into bed a little earlier. They are all doing brilliantly and are using lots of energy learning and playing.

Have a good week

The Reception Team