Category: Reception Blog

This week we are continuing with our topic of ‘Winter’. We are discussing Fairy tales and are focusing on the story ‘The Snow Queen’. The children will be listening to the story, retelling the story and sequencing the story. They will also be helping to write a story mountain for our own winter story. We will be concluding our winter topic on Friday with a ‘Frozen’ day. The children can come in dressed in cloths that represent the word ‘Frozen’. Please do not go out and buy anything for this, wearing winter colours will be fine. If your child is wearing dress up such as an Elsa dress, please bare in mind they will be outside for a large portion of the day so ensure they have warm clothing and sensible shoes.

The children have settled back into their phonics groups very well and it is lovely to see them using their phonics in their play – we have a number of budding teachers on our hands playing schools! Please try to do the online activities each night and continue to go through the letter sounds. The children are making great progress with their writing and need a good knowledge of the sounds to help them write. Please remember to return reading books and diaries on a Wednesday so that the books can be sorted and changed ready for Friday.

This week in Maths the children are learning about weight and capacity. They are focusing on the language of heavier, lighter, full, empty, half full, nearly full, nearly empty. See if your child can use these words around the house. Can they find something that is heavier than a . . . . . or lighter than a . .. . . . . . . ? Can they describe how full the cup of water is? Can they show half full with a cup of water etc.

As the weather as got colder this week, children should come into school with a warm waterproof coat, a hat and gloves – please make sure these are named. We are looking forward to a fun end to the week with our Frozen day and have some lovely activities planned.

Keep warm,

The Reception Team

This week we are on the final countdown to Christmas. We have finished our Read Write Inc phonics for the term so will be doing some class based revision games to practise the sounds and words we have been taught. Please continue to read your on line books and remember to click on Fred the Frog to go back and read any books you may have already read. Keep going over your phonic sounds and see if you can read words quickly. Follow the links below for some videos that you can practise with.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/aa7wPjs5/Sfre26dm

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/0W5jH3SF/bbOzYX2D

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/XxfrfW9M/erZriSes

The children will be having their party day on Wednesday 13th December. Children can come in wearing their Christmas Jumper or party wear ( please be mindful of the weather as they will be spending a large portion of time outside and it is very cold). The children will be getting the opportunity to see Father Christmas during the party. Please send in your £1 towards the cost of a gift in a named envelope.

The temperature has dropped massively over the last few weeks. Please ensure your child comes to school in a warm waterproof coat and a hat and gloves. These should all be named and children should be encouraged to put their gloves in their coat pocket and their hat in the sleeve of their coat when not wearing them. The children have 3 sessions outside during the day so need to be warm.

We are looking forward to a lovely last few days before the Christmas break. Thank you all for working with your children on their phonic sounds and reading as it is having a positive effect. We hope you all have a healthy and safe Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

The Reception Team

This week we are getting ready for our Christmas Nativity play. We are rehearsing our songs and words so that we are ready to perform to you all. If your child brought words home on Friday please practise these every night so that your child is confident saying their lines. If they are struggling don’t worry as the staff will help. We also tried our costumes this week and are looking forward to showing you how great we look. Our performances are on Wednesday 7th at 2.15 and Thursday 8th at 9.15. This is a ticketed event so please make sure you have your tickets as we would hate for you to miss out.

This week our Read Write Inc teachers will be assessing us to see if we have retained the sounds we have learned so and are able to blend the sounds into words. These assessments will then be used to set our phonics groups for after Christmas. Please make sure you go on line every day so your child can read their book and do the quiz as well as reading any of the activities sent home in their reading diary. Please sign the diary every time your child reads or does one of the activities. Watch these videos and have a go to help reinforce the learning done in school.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/8a9ZHJ8G/zvK3tdRp

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/zqP0CCgu/BRZosMxZ

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/4MW6hZDD/aACLNWgG

We have been focusing on shapes with 4 sides and 4 corners this week. We have been using the shapes in different ways and talking about their properties. We are also looking at sequencing and beginning to talk about time.

While getting ready for the Christmas performance this week, we have noticed that there are still a large number of children who struggle with getting themselves dressed and undressed. This is a developmental milestone that children of Reception age should be able to achieve. Please encourage your child to get themselves dressed and undressed as often as possible please. Can we also ask that you help your child to learn how to pull their sleeves out the correct way and how to turn clothing the right way if inside out. If you are always doing it for them they will rely on staff to always do it for them in school also and then get upset when we ask them to try.

Next week we will be carrying out a wide range of different Christmas activities ( please see the email sent on Friday 2nd Dec). We will be having our Christmas party on Wednesday 14th December. Your child can come into school in their Christmas jumper or party wear ( please remember the children will be outside for large periods of the day so will need warm clothing and sensible footwear). They should also bring in a named paper plate of party snacks to enjoy in the afternoon ( they will have lunch as normal so do not need sandwiches and large amounts of food). We will play a range of games and the children will get the opportunity to meet Father Christmas. We are asking for a £1 donation towards the cost of providing presents for all of the children. Please send your £1 into school in an envelope.

On Monday and Tuesday next week we will be walking to the post-box on Southbank road to post our letters to Father Christmas. If you do not want your child to go on the walk, please let a member of staff know. We are looking forward to having lots of fun over the next couple of weeks and look forward to seeing you all at our Christmas Nativity.

The Reception Team

This week we have continued our work on celebrations, this time we focussed on Advent. We had a look at traditional ways people may celebrate advent in the UK. We found out that advent starts on the nearest Sunday to November 30th and lasts for four weeks leading up to Christmas. Some people use Advent calendars to help count this down, and much to our surprise, not all of them contain chocolate! We also looked at how other countries celebrate advent. Germany was our favourite as we found out that sweets get hidden insider your shoes!

The children are continuing to progress well with their sounds and are now starting to blend these sounds together to make words. This week they have been reviewing the sounds taught and will be continuing learning their ‘special friends’ (two letters that make one sound). Please watch the videos below with your child to review some of these sounds and support the work in class. Just like last week, please follow the log in instructions for Oxford owl to read the online book and quiz as well as reading the book bag book or ditty sheets that your child brings home in their diary. Those children with QR codes should have a go at the activities in the video. Remember to sign your child’s diary every time they read with you (this includes the online videos). We are very impressed with how well the children are doing with their phonics! Well done!

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/ICPXGgdf/RcEjAg2V

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/jvVLl9g4/IBzCZE6i

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/2VelQRXn/WY15D2zg

In maths this week we have been continuing our work on the numbers 4 and 5. We have been experimenting with showing these numbers in lots of different ways, as well as being introduced to five frames to help us see how many of an object we have. We have looked at one more and one less nursery rhymes, exploring how the number increases or decreases by one each time. We used this knowledge to come up with our very own one more and one less nursery rhyme. We have also explored four sided shapes and have had lot’s of fun spotting these in our learning environment.

Miss Masterson will continue the after school library session on Monday 5th December This week it is RKM’s turn. Please come to the main school Reception once you have picked up your child and you will be invited in once the session begins. Your child can then choose a book and listen to a story telling session. Bring your book back to school on your next library session (every two weeks).

It’s showtime! Reception are very excited to be performing our Nativity play ‘The very first Christmas’ on the 7th and 8th of December. Just a reminder that this is ticket only so if you do want to come and watch, please purchase these from the school office. We are also providing children with a costume to wear so please do not worry about this.

Another lovely week in Reception, we are very much looking forward to seeing what next week has in store! Have a great week, from all of us in the Reception team.

This week we have continued our work on celebrations, this week focussing on The Christmas Story. We have used this story to create our Nativity performance and we now have roles to play. We are still practising our songs, getting our voices pitch perfect for our performance to our grown ups in the next couple of weeks. Just a reminder not to worry about costumes as we try very hard to use what we currently already have in reception.

The children are continuing to progress well with their sounds and are now starting to blend these sounds together to make words. This week they have been reviewing the sounds taught and will be continuing learning their ‘special friends’ (two letters that make one sound). Please watch the videos below with your child to review some of these sounds and support the work in class. Just like last week, please follow the log in instructions for Oxford owl to read the online book and quiz as well as reading the book bag book or ditty sheets that your child brings home in their diary. Those children with QR codes should have a go at the activities in the video. Remember to sign your child’s diary every time they read with you (this includes the online videos). We are very impressed with how well the children are doing with their phonics! Well done!

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/knn7t8oz/mUlg4zyu

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/DwnizN1I/Re8smhpQ

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/qr9lZ9cI/HOXSJaey

In maths this week we haver been focussing on the numbers 4 and 5. We have been experimenting with showing these numbers in lots of different ways, as well as being introduced to five frames to help us see how many of an object we have. We have also had as go at estimating this week. We are really enjoying our maths lessons, and each week we are getting stronger with our counting.

Miss Masterson will continue the after school library session on Monday 29th November. This week it is RMT’s turn. Please come to the main school Reception once you have picked up your child and you will be invited in once the session begins. Your child can then choose a book and listen to a story telling session. Bring your book back to school on your next library session (every two weeks).

Now the weather is getting colder and wetter, please feel free to send your child in with a named hat, scarf and pair of gloves for them to wear outside. Make sure to remind the children to pop their things in their bags/pockets to keep them safe when they are not using them. If you notice its raining outside your child cab also bring in a pair of named wellies to stop the from getting soggy socks.

Thanks again for all of your support, have a lovely week!

This week we are continuing to work on celebrations. We are looking at our school value of ‘Kindness’ and how we celebrate this. We are learning how to be a kind friend and are celebrating the ways in which people demonstrate kindness. We are also starting to think about the celebration of Christmas. The children are being introduced to the Nativity and we are stating to learn the songs. Next week the children will be learning more about the Nativity and will be given a role for the performance in December (more details to follow in the Friday Focus). Please do not worry about costumes we will let you know if we need anything but we do try to use the costumes we have in school.

The children are progressing well with their sounds and working hard to blend sounds together. This week they have been reviewing the sounds taught and will be beginning their ‘special friends’ (two letters that make one sound). Please watch the videos below with your child to review some of these sounds and support the work in class. From Friday, your child will come home with a reading diary, please follow the log in instructions for Oxford owl to read the online book and quiz as well as reading the book bag book or ditty sheets that your child brings home in their diary. Those children with QR codes should have a go at the activities in the video. Remember to sign your child’s diary every time they read with you (this includes the online videos).

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/aI0n0swy/9pNyOKvh

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/fvZ4SJlr/QoKIUujv

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/SFYzbNoB/3j6qVGgg

This week in |Maths we are consolidating our understanding of 1,2,3. We have been looking at shapes – triangles and circles and recognising the number of properties in these shapes e.g. a triangle has 3 vertices and 3 straight sides, a circle has one continuous curved edge. We have been making shape pictures using these shapes and have looked at orientating the shapes in different ways and have looked for shapes in the environment. We are also looking at positional language with a focus on ‘on top, in front, behind, to the side and under.

Miss Masterson will start the after school library session on Monday 21st November. She will begin with RKM. Please come to the main school Reception once you have picked up your child and you will be invited in once the session begins. Your child can then choose a book and listen to a story telling session. Bring your book back to school on your next library session (every two weeks). RMT’s library session will begin on Monday 28th November and carry on every two weeks after.

Don’t forget that Friday is ‘Children in Need’. Children can come to school in their pyjamas or in something spotty for a donation of £1.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week we are continuing with our topic of celebrations. We will be focusing on bonfire night. We will be learning about bonfire night and Guy Fawkes and why we celebrate bonfire night. We will be singing songs, reading stories, move like fireworks, make a guy and a pretend bonfire and will learn about how to stay safe on bonfire night. We hope to see you all at our firework display on Wednesday evening – if you haven’t got your tickets then please speak to the staff in the school office.

This week we have split into our new phonics groups. Some of the children are having to go back over the sounds that have previously been taught as they are not secure. Please continue to practise going over the letter sounds cards that have been sent home with your child, every night. Once secure with the sounds please start putting the cards together to make simple cvc (consonant, vowel, consonant) words such as s-a-t, p-i-n, d-o-g etc. The rest of the children will continue to learn the rest of the set 1 sounds and will be using these sounds to read and write words. Again continue practising the sound cards every night and make cvc or ccvc (consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant) words such as c-l-a-p, or cvcc word such as j-u-m-p. Some of the children will be bringing a simple book or ditty sheets home. These are to be read every night. Please sign your child’s reading diary each time you hear your child read. We have added some more phonic videos for your child to watch and have a go at below:

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/LF3oojPV/lMFmA4M9

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/vE1lbJlv/A2HSkqkx

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/tBeMBIbs/mUeHIndB

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/27m540kn/oPj02C8v

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/9qvmIJ7j/1jntgSrW

This week in maths we are starting to focus on 1, 2, 3. The children are looking for the amounts in different ways without having to rely on counting e.g. recognising what the numbers look like on a dice, on fingers, on dominoes, as a numeral. as a group. We will also be looking at and developing our understanding of how these amounts are made up. A deep understanding of our numbers will help us as we move on to larger numbers. See if you can notice amounts of 1, 2 and 3 around your house or out in the environment. Can you spot 1, 2 or 3 in different ways?

Have a wonderful bonfire night and remember to stay safe.

The Reception Team

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