Category: Reception Blog

We would like to warmly welcome all of the children back to school, for their first full week of the year and new term. We have enjoyed hearing all about the children’s Christmas break and the exciting events and activities they have taken part in. The children have settled back into the rules and routines of the school day and are happy to be back with their friends.

In phonics this week, the children will be settling into their new phonics groups and meeting their new phonics teacher. Each group will be focusing on the specific learning set for their group. All of the children have covered the set 1 sounds and will be using their knowledge to segment and blend words. Some children will be recapping the ‘special friends’ (two letters that make one sound) that they have learned, last term. The children will need to continue to practise these at home with the sound cards that were sent out before Christmas, as this will help them progress through the phonics programme. On Friday, the children will be sent home with a reading record and reading materials suitable for their phonics level. Notes and comments of the children’s reading at home, needs to be recorded in their reading record book and brought back to school every Wednesday.

In maths this week, we are learning about how we compose 5 in different ways. The children will be using 5 frames to help them discover different ways we can compose 5 and any patterns they notice. We will also be introducing the children to addition. We will be looking at two different amounts of objects and how we can find out how many there are altogether. The children will then move onto to looking at the part-part-whole model. If the whole is 5, how many could the two parts be? The children will be learning how they can record this using concrete resources, or numerals on the model.

In the wider curriculum this week, we will be learning all about winter. The children will be discussing the different things they might wear now we are in winter, and what the weather is like. We will be taking the children on a walk around the school grounds and asking them to think about what changes they notice from autumn. We will also be discussing our senses and how we can use our senses to describe the different seasons. We will be using these ideas to create our own winter senses poem.

A reminder, that all children need appropriate coats and warm clothing when coming into school, as we spend a lot of our time outside and the weather is getting very cold.

Have a fabulous week!

The reception team

Well done this week to our two phonic superstars

In phonics this week, we will be continuing our learning on single sounds, special friends and Fred-talk. Some of the phonics groups will have learned all the set 1 special friends, therefore, will spend time recapping and securing the knowledge on them. The children will also be assessed, this week, for appropriate reading books. These books will be given to the children when they return from their Christmas break.

In maths this week, we will be introducing the children to 4-sided shapes. We will be looking at squares and rectangles and discussing how a square is a special type of rectangle. We will also be hunting for squares and rectangles in the environment and to see how many we can find inside and outside of the classroom. We will also be learning about night and day and the children will be sorting the types of activities and routines they do at night time and in the day time.

In the wider curriculum, we will be reading Christmas stories and discussing different traditions families take part in, during Christmas time. We will be asking the children what traditions are important to them and their families. We will be talking about how spending time with our families and giving to others, is just as as important as receiving gifts at Christmas time.

The children are very excited to perform their first Nativity to you all, this week. They have been working so hard practising the songs and their roles. Please remember to bring your masks with you, as you will not be allowed to watch your child without one.

Have a great week!

The Reception team

The children had a fantastic time at the farm, yesterday! They fed the animals, met Santa and listened to and performed the Nativity story! We would like to say a very big well done to all of the children for behaving so well at the farm, they showed great resilience and maturity throughout the day.

In phonics this week, we will be continuing our Read Write Inc learning and ‘special friends’. The children will be sent home their special friend sound cards, on Friday. Try and practise these as much as you can at home.

In maths this week, we will be continuing our learning on 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. We will be focusing on adding and taking away from these numbers. We will be singing the song ‘5 green bottles’ and discussing how each time a bottle falls off the wall, we are taking one away. In pairs, the children will have the opportunity to create their own nursery rhyme about adding one more. We will ask the children to try and link their song to the trip to the farm e.g. ‘one pig was rolling in the mud’. When the children have practised their song they will have the opportunity to perform it to the rest of the class.

In the wider curriculum this week, we will be looking at different stories about the farm and comparing and contrasting the different texts. We will also be creating our small world into a farm and giving the children an opportunity to delve deeper into their learning of the animals and farm environment. We will also be rehearsing our Nativity in the hall for the first time, this week. The children will also be assigned their role and speaking parts.

Have a great week!

The reception team

In phonics this week, the children will be recapping the single sounds that they have already learned and writing them down using the correct letter formation. Some of the children will be learning/recapping ‘special friends’ (two letters that represent one sound) . They will be using these ‘special friends’ in some words and Fred-talk. The children will also be using their word time to spell out letters, either by writing them down or using magnetic letters, depending on their phonics group. The children will be asked to use their ‘Fred fingers’ to count the sounds and then to pinch each sound (finger) to help them spell the word.

In maths this week, we will be learning the different ways we can represent 4 and 5. We will be reading stories to the children about numbers in the environment, such as buttons and candles on a birthday cake. We will also be making links between numbers and shapes – a square has 4 sides, this is another way we can represent the number 4. The children will be using unifix cubes to create as many shapes as they can with 4 and 5 cubes. We will be discussing what they notice and any patterns they can find between the numbers.

In the wider curriculum this week, we will be learning about the Christmas story and why many people celebrate Christmas, all over the world. We will be linking this to our Nativity play and how we are re-enacting the story of when Jesus was born. We will also be asking the children whether they would like to speak in the play and assigning roles and lines to the children. We will be rehearsing our Nativity script and songs throughout the week, so you may find the children singing along to the songs at home!

A reminder, it is non-school uniform for the chocolate tombola on Thursday 25th November and teacher day on Friday 26th November, so the children will not be coming to school.

Farm trip Monday 29th November – children can come to school in their own clothes for the farm. We do ask that the children are wrapped up as warm as possible, as it can get very cold during the day. Children can wear wellies, however, the duration of the trip will be on hard ground and we are hoping to access the playground at some point during the day, so the children may find this difficult if wearing wellies. Thick socks and sensible walking shoes are more than sufficient for the trip. Any other questions regarding the trip, please ask a member of staff.

Have a great week!

The Reception team