We have a busy week this week full of Christmas activities and fun!
On Wednesday, it’s our Christmas party. Please provide your child with a small plate of snacks which is just for them. They will have their lunch as usual. Please label it with their name. We will also be having a visit from Father Christmas where the children will be receiving a gift.
Please continue to practise phonics sounds over the holidays. See QR code for some word time fun and see the links to practise some number songs.
This week, the children will be fully embracing Christmas. We will be writing cards, making Christmas lists, making Christmas crafts and reading Christmas stories.
We will be continuing to practise their Nativity play. If your child comes home with some words to learn for the Nativity in their reading diary then please practise these regularly so your child knows them and can read them from memory. We will not require you to provide a costume for the Nativity. We have all of the costumes in school so please do not go out and buy any costumes. Details on how to purchase tickets will be sent out to you nearer the time.
The children are all making great progress with their phonics. Thank you to all those parents who are hearing their child read or accessing the online videos. Remember to sign the diary every time your child reads and add a little comment to say how they are getting on or what you have done together. Please find some additional blending videos that you can watch together to help support the learning at home.
In Maths this week, the children will begin to explore composition by focusing on the preliminary skills: the concept of ‘wholes’ and ‘parts’. By investigating their own bodies and familiar toys they will begin to understand that whole things are often made up of smaller parts and that a whole is, therefore, bigger than its parts.
The children will then build on their understanding of the composition of numbers by investigating the composition of 3, 4 and 5. Composing and de-composing numbers involves the children investigating part–part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 3 can be composed of 1 and 2. Through practical experience, they will consolidate their understanding of a whole being made up of smaller parts. They will begin to recognise that numbers can be made by combining parts in different ways. A key focus will be the spatial arrangements that can be made with different combinations of the same number of objects.
With the weather so cold now please remember to send the children with named hats and gloves. We are encouraging the children to put the gloves in their pockets and hats in their sleeves to avoid these items becoming lost.
This week the children will be continuing to practise their Nativity play. They will get to choose what sort of part they would like to have in the play and will get the opportunity to practise a run through of the play in the hall with the stage. If your child comes home with some words to learn for the Nativity in their reading diary then please practice these regularly so your child knows them and can read them from memory. We will not require you to provide a costume for the Nativity. We have all of the costumes in school so please do not go out and buy any costumes. Details on how to purchase tickets will be sent out to you nearer the time.
On Thursday we will be going on our trip to Ash End Children’s farm. We are looking forward to an exciting day. You will have received an email regarding arrangements for the day. Please read carefully and ensure your child is dressed appropriately and has a packed lunch that can be thrown away afterwards not requiring boxes or bottles that need to be returned. Please only pack the usual amount of food that your child will eat as we will only be stopping for food once in the day. Children do not require any spending money. We will take lots of photos and these will be shared in next weeks Friday Focus.
The children are all making great progress with their phonics. Thank you to all those parents who are hearing their child read or accessing the online videos. This is the best way to help your child make progress with their reading. Remember to sign the diary every time your child reads and add a little comment to say how they are getting on or what you have done together. A message such as ” . . . . . . . went through all her sound letter cards and we made words that she was able to read such as sat, pin, tap.” Please find some additional blending videos that you can watch together to help support the learning at home.
This week the children will be encouraged to compare the number of objects in 2 sets by matching them 1:1. Seeing that objects in some sets can be matched without any being left over will draw the children’s attention to instances when the quantities of objects are equal.
Language is the key focus and we will reinforce the language of ‘more than’, ‘fewer than’ and ‘an equal number’ to describe how many objects there are in each set. As the focus this week is on countable things, ‘fewer than’ is used rather than ‘less than’ and ‘more than’ is used rather than ‘greater than’.
We would like to Welcome Mrs Beynon who will be working Monday’s and Mrs Frost-Townsend who will be working Tuesday – Friday in RKB. Both are experienced members of staff who have previously worked at Coundon Primary. We look forward to them joining the team and know they will fit in perfectly. Please pop along to say hello to both of them so that they can get to know you all.
The weather has got noticeably colder over the last week. Please make sure your child has a warm waterproof coat with a hood and help them to practice doing up their own zip so that they can do this in school for themselves. Your child will also need a hat and gloves (we don’t recommend scarfs as these can be dangerous on the equipment and usually spend more time on the floor than around children’s necks). All gloves and hats should be clearly named. We encourage the children to put their gloves in their coat pockets (not bags) and hats into their coat sleeve once they have taken it off. This prevents them from getting lost.
This week we will be continuing our work about ‘Celebrations’ and are beginning to look at our own Nativity. The children will be told the story of the Nativity and encouraged to learn the different songs that accompany our play. The children will have a go at remembering the lines to various songs and begin to practise the actions that accompany these too.
The children have been in their new phonics groups now for two weeks and are beginning week 3 this week. They will have brought home their reading diary and there will be some reading activities inside. If your child is not yet accessing the online reading scheme (Oxford Owl – check diaries as this will have been explained at the start of the diary) then please scan the QR codes in their reading diaries so the children can have a go at following the sound lessons for the phonemes they have been taught this week at home. Please sign the reading diary each time you do these activities with your child. Continue to go over the letters that have been sent home and make simple CVC words to practice word blending. Below are some blending videos to help with this.
This week in maths we will be learning all about more than and fewer than. The children will have a go at comparing different quantities and using the stem sentence ‘_____has more than ____I know this because ____ is greater than ____’. The children will use dice to compare who has the greatest quantity. Perhaps you could talk about who has more at dinner times or when playing with your child at home too, who has more blocks? The children will then be learning all about the number 5. They will learn to count 5 objects, recognise 5 by subitising and know when they have 5 or not 5 by using die frames.
Miss Blowers is leaving to start her maternity leave on Friday 21st November. She has thoroughly enjoyed teaching your little ones this year and is very proud of how well they have all settled in and the progress they have already made. We welcome Mrs Beynon and Mrs Frost-Townsend as teachers into RKB and are sure the children will continue to make great progress and show our new staff what brilliant pupils they are.
This week we are continuing with our work on celebrations. We will begin the week looking at Remembrance day. We will be talking about the significance of the day and why it is celebrated and the way that it is celebrated. The children will join in with a minutes silence to remember those that fought in the war. We will also talk about the war and when it happened in relation to our history. This would be a good opportunity to talk to your children about the poppy and why they are worn. We will also be talking about celebrating in other ways. We will have a focus on celebrating our differences and how we are all unique.
Last week the children were put into their new phonics group from the results of our assessment before the half term break. Your child will have brought home their reading diary on Friday containing the reading practice work your child’s phonics teacher would like them to do. We ask that you try to do these activities for a few minutes each day to get your child used to the routine of daily reading. Please sign the reading diary with a comment on how your child managed each time so we can see what practice your child is having at home so that we can support it in school. If your child has log in details at the front of their diary then please log in to see what work has been set for your child online to support the book/ditty sheet in their book bag. There are some more blending videos below for extra practice.
This week in Maths , the children will build on their subitising skills. They will be encouraged to look closely at small quantities and observe whether the quantity has changed or only the arrangement. When investigating the shapes made by Numberblock Four and making similar arrangements, children may also begin to develop their skills of ‘conceptual’ subitising. They will begin to notice the sub-groups that can be perceived within a larger set, and recognise the whole at the same time. For example, they will see that Numberblock Four can be arranged with 2 blocks on top of another 2 blocks or as a line of 3 with 1 on top, and connect both to 4. This will further develop their understanding of part–whole relations and the composition of number from previous weeks. The children will also be encouraged to represent quantities in different ways by using a number of fingers on one hand. Some children will be able to show an amount ‘all at once’ while others will need a lot more practice to be able to do this. Build confidence by allowing the children to ‘grow their fingers’ – putting up one finger at a time – before showing them, and gradually introduce the idea of making an amount ‘all at once’ when they become more familiar with finger patterns.
This week we will be celebrating Children in Need by raising money in a variety of ways. All details of the different activities can be found in this weeks Friday focus. On Friday we would like you to send in some cakes for a cake sale and the children can come dressed in their pyjamas for a donation of £1. Please remember children will need to wear sensible shoes as they will still be spending a portion of the day outside.
We’d like to welcome back all of our children for their second half term in Reception. We have lots of exciting activities planned for the coming weeks and are hoping the children are well rested and ready to begin learning lots of new skills again.
This week the children will be starting phonics in their new phonics groups. These have been chosen based on how well your child could recall the first 16 sounds we had taught prior to the half term holiday and how well they were aurally and orally blending words for reading. The children will continue to recap sounds we have already taught and learn new sounds depending on the group they are in. The groups in Reception are very fluid, so we welcome lots of practise at home so your child can make accelerated progress through the phonics groups.
In maths this week, we will be learning all about shapes. The children will begin the week investigating triangles and circles and looking at the properties of these shapes. The children will have a go at making some shape pictures using these shapes. We will then be comparing and finding these shapes in our environment. The children will progress to describing position using the language of under, below, between, next to, on and in. They will use these words to describe objects in pictures and in their learning environment too. We will end the week talking about direction, completing obstacle courses describing how we move using the words over, under, through and around. Your child could have a go spotting shapes in their homes or on the way to school. Can they describe how they get to school or nanny’s house? Do they go across the road? Past the park? Over the bridge?
This week we will be learning all about Bonfire Night. We will be taking about how people celebrate Bonfire Night, sharing the children’s own experiences. We will talk all about how to keep ourselves safe on Bonfire Night. The children will learn about why Bonfire Night is celebrated, learning all about Guy Fawkes and the story of the Gunpowder Plot. The children will read stories about Bonfire Night and will create lots of artwork about fireworks too.
This week we will be learning about the celebration of Diwali. The children will be learning about the celebration and how people celebrate and why. We will be learning about the story of Rama and Sita, making our own clay diva’s, making and designing rangoli patterns as well as tasting some Indian food. If your family celebrates Diwali please talk about it with your child so that they can share their celebrations with us all. If you are celebrating Diwali we hope you have a fantastic time and would love to see photo’s of your family’s celebration that we can then share with the children. Please send any photos to [email protected] or [email protected]
The children have all now been assessed on the first 16 sounds taught. These have been sent home with your child. If you have misplaced the cards then please speak to a member of the team. Alternatively if you would like to buy a more durable set of cards with all of the sounds, these can be purchased on Amazon for approximately £6 https://amzn.eu/d/4oH8i9z This week we will continue to recap the sounds and work on blending the sounds to make simple words. Pease watch the videos below with your child for extra practice. The children will start in their new phonic groups after the half term break.
This week, the children will explore how numbers can be composed of 1s and, from this, begin to investigate the composition of 3 and 4. Composing and de-composing numbers involves children investigating part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 3 can be composed of 1 and 2. The children will learn from practical experience that a ‘whole’ is made up of smaller parts and is, therefore, bigger than its parts. The children have experience of subitising small quantities and will use their skills to identify the numbers within 3 and 4. They will begin to recognise that 3 and 4 can be made by combining sets in different ways. When children are able to compose and flexibly de-compose numbers mentally, they will become more fluent in their knowledge of number bonds, and be able to use these efficiently when calculating in KS1 and KS2.
We break up for the Autumn term on Friday for a well deserved rest. The children have had a wonderful first half term in school and have already learned so much. Please continue to encourage your child to develop their independence by dressing themselves, wiping themself when they go to the toilet and walking rather than being carried or in a pushchair. Half term is an ideal opportunity to get out to a park and encourage your child to hang, swing and climb on equipment which will help to develop their shoulder strength which in turn will help them with their core strength and fine motor control which is essential for writing. Try to allow your child to take risks and not always lift them or hold them on equipment.
Have a wonderful week and we will see you on Monday 3rd November
This week we will be continuing our topic on Autumn. A huge thank you to all the children and parents who have bought natural items into school to enhance our activities. We are still welcoming donations of natural items such as conkers, coloured leaves, acorns, pine cones and twigs as we continue our Autumn topic this week. The children will be reading the book ‘Don’t Hog the Hedge’ this week and discussing kindness and sharing. We will also learn about animals who hibernate and be continuing to talk about changes that happen in the season. We have been talking about evergreen and deciduous trees too. Talk to your child about which trees are which when you are out and about, can they spot the signs of a deciduous tree? You could go on a tree hunt to spot different types of trees too.
This week the children will be reviewing the letter sounds they have learnt so far. We will then assess the children’s progress towards the end of the week, in order to target their phonics learning more effectively. They will continue blending the sounds together to make simple CVC words with the sounds taught such as t-i-n, b-a-g, n-e-t. This is something you could do at home with your child using the flashcards that have been sent home. Please continue to access the videos for sounds taught on previous blog posts, in order to help your child make even greater progress.
This week in maths, your child will be learning all about counting. We will focus on counting with 1:1 correspondence, recognising that object they touch represents an amount and the last number they say when counting is the total. We will also practise this by hearing how many objects are dropped into a cup. The children will use number wands to help them count and will also have a go at counting out an amount from a larger group of objects, recognising when they need to stop counting. You could help your child with this at home by encouraging them to help you count out objects to 5. They could set the table, counting out the correct number of forks, knives, spoons, plates. They could help you count how many toothbrushes are in the bathroom, how many shoes are by the door etc.
We will be continuing changing library books on a Friday afternoon. Please ensure your child has returned their library book to the named box outside the classroom door on a Friday morning in order for us to change your child’s library book and prevent any delay in them receiving a new one.
This week we will be starting our topic on Autumn. Please bring in any collections of natural items such as conkers, coloured leaves, acorns, pine cones and twigs. We will be using these for a wide variety of activities throughout the next few weeks. The children will be focusing on signs of Autumn and how the Autumn is different to other seasons. Talk to your child about the changes taking place and see if they can spot signs of Autumn.
This week the children have learned how to read and write the letter sounds g, o, c and k. They have also been blending the sounds together to make simple CVC words with the sounds previously taught such as s-a-t, g-o-t, m-a-n. This is something you could do at home with your child using the flashcards. Below are some videos to help with the letter sounds taught.
In Maths this week the children will explore different representations of 1, 2 and 3. The focus is on finding the representations rather than making them at this point. We start by ensuring children can confidently say the number names ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three’ out loud. Once they can do this, they will match the verbal number names to numerals and quantities. We will encourage the children to count to three using objects in different arrangements by touching each object as they count. They should recognise that the final number they say is the quantity in that set. You could encourage your child at home to identify sets of 1, 2 and 3.
This week the children will continue with their learning all about dinosaurs. We will be building on from what they have learned last week focusing more specifically on non-fiction dinosaur texts. The children will have a chance to complete a dinosaur hunt in the outdoor area and complete more dinosaur crafts in the creative area. They will be able to role play using some dinosaur masks and will practise using their new phonics knowledge writing on dinosaur eggs in the writing area. The children will think about how dinosaurs move and the noises they might of made, they will practise these when pretending to be dinosaurs.
Well done to all of those children that are continuing to use their flashcards and have been practicing at home over the last week. This continued practice will help your child become confident with their letter sounds and make blending words easier. Please check that these are not left in book bags and have been removed and folded into cards, as with extra practice at home, your child will really progress. This week the children will be introduced to g, o, c, k. They will also start to put the sounds taught so far together to blend and read simple words such as top, got, cat and dog etc. This is something you could now do with your child at home with the letter sound flashcards that have been sent home. Below are some videos to help with learning the new sounds.
In Math’s this week we are looking at patterns. In this small step, children will practise recognising patterns and continuing and creating their own patterns. They will make patterns using concrete resources such as cubes and bears, with sounds and also actions too. You could do this at home too using things you might have in the cupboards such as two different types of dried pasta, beads, buttons. See if your children can carry on the pattern you give them. Can they create their own pattern too?
Library Books
Your children have all come home with library books this week. Please enjoy sharing these with your children, reading the words, talking about the pictures and asking lots of questions to encourage them to think about what they have been read. These will be changed every Friday, please make sure they are back in school to enable us to issue your child with a new book each week.
Please remember to label all items of clothing, including shoes. If items get misplaced around the school going to P.E or the lunch hall then they can be returned if clearly named. Please also provide your child with a warm waterproof coat with a hood so that they are appropriately dressed for the ever changing British weather. If you haven’t yet sent your child to school with named wellies, could you please do so as soon as possible as the weather has been so unreliable. In Reception we go outside in every weather and your child spends a substantial part of the day outside so needs to be kept warm and dry.
Remember staff can be contacted on [email protected] or [email protected] or we are available for a chat most evenings at the end or start of the day on the door. Please be mindful of safeguarding procedures through please and allow us to welcome/dismiss the other children before having a chat.
