Category: Reception Blog

In phonics this week, we are continuing our learning in our phonics groups. All the children in reception, are now reading the Read Write Inc. books, although these are still differentiated depending on the specified reading level. Before the half term break, the children were reassessed and have either stayed in their phonics level group, or moved up a group. If your child has been sent home with the same reading book they have already read, this could mean they are not consistent in their progress and has remained in the same group. Remember, to keep logging onto the online learning and to record your child’s progress in their reading records, each week.

In maths this week, we are learning about 3D shapes. The children will be introduced to some 3D shapes and will be learning the names of them. At the start of the week, we will be showing the children the different shapes and allowing them to investigate what they look like, if they can be stacked on top of each other and if they can roll. We will then be showing the children that these shapes can be found in our environment. The children will be investigating tin cans, balls, party hats, cardboard boxes etc. and placing them in the correct shape category. At the end of the week, the children will be using the 3D shapes to make prints and patterns. They will be investigating the different ways the properties of the shapes create different marks on the paper.

In the wider curriculum, we are learning all about healthy teeth. At the start of the week, we will be discussing visiting the dentist and the children’s personal experiences of visiting the dentist. We will then be talking about the different ways we keep our teeth healthy. We will be asking the children about the different foods and drinks we can eat to keep our teeth healthy. The children will also have the opportunity to create an instruction poster, on how we brush our teeth, and some children will get to present their poster to the nursery children and discuss with them what they have learned.

On the theme of ‘healthy teeth’, can we please remind parents that children should be coming into school with water to drink throughout the day, rather than squash. We appreciate that some children may prefer to drink sweet drinks, however, it is crucial for their oral health that they minimise their sugar intake throughout the day.

Have a fabulous week!

The reception team

This week we are beginning our Topic on ‘People Who Help Us’. We will be learning about different job roles and how these people help us. We will be reading stories about a firefighter and a vet and will be looking at information about different jobs. Our reading shelter outside has been made into a fire station and we taking on the role of firefighters in our challenges by squirting water to put out the phonic fires.

Before the holiday we were assessed on our Phonic sounds and some of us have moved phonics groups. We are working hard on learning our special friends (two letters that make one sound). Any phonemes we are learning will be clear to see in your child’s reading book online. The online book is a book that the children have read in school so when reading at home they should be doing so with some fluency. Any book bag books sent home are an extra practise of the phonemes and words being covered in school. Please read both books more than once. The more often your child reads the more confident and fluent they become. Ensure you log on to the online book and quiz each week and read the book several times until your child is reading it fluently.

In Maths this week we are continuing with our topic building 9 and 10. We are working hard to understand the composition of 9 and 10 and are learning our number bonds to 10. The children have been set the challenge of learning their number bonds to 10 off by heart for extra dojo’s! We are also learning about numbers that are near to and far away from each other and using the language of more and fewer.

Thursday is world book day in school. Please come to school dressed as a favourite book character. We will be involved in different activities for world book day throughout the day. If your child would like to bring in a favourite book to share then we would love to see them. We can’t wait to see your wonderful costumes.

Reception children making the most out of the windy weather 🙂

In phonics this week, the children will be assessed on the progress they have made and whether they will need to move into a different phonics group, after half term. Well done to all the children that have accessed their phonics materials online, it really does make a huge impact on their reading. As well as reading, keep practising letter formation and simple caption writing, at home. The children need to work on the use of finger spaces and presentation of their writing, so as much practise as possible, is fantastic!

In maths this week, we are introducing 9 and 10. The children will be learning to recognise different representations of 9 and 10 and what they notice when we place 9 and 10 counters on a tens frame. Are there any gaps? Is our tens frame full? What does that tell us? The children will then move on to learn about the way we can compose 9 and 10, using double sided counters. To extend their learning, they will try and write a number sentence to show how they have composed the numbers in different ways. We will also be learning how to order numbers 1-10 and then 10-1. The children will order numbers 1-10 with a partner. Their partner will jumble up some numbers when their partner isn’t looking – can they spot the mistake?

In the wider curriculum this week, we will be reading the story ‘Alien’s Love Underpants’. The children will be discussing the structure of the story – what happens at the beginning/middle/end? Later in the week, the children will be designing their own underpants! But uh-oh! Some cheeky aliens will be coming to steal the children’s underpants, in replace of a letter. At the end of the week, we will write a letter back to the aliens, using the children’s ideas on what they would like to say to them.

Please remember to keep reading with your child at home and accessing the phonics materials online. When reading to your child at home, discuss the different characters, settings and events. Delve deeper into the story and broaden their understanding of different texts.

Have a fabulous week and well deserved half term break!

The reception team

This week the children should have accessed their on line account with Oxford owl and should have done the activities set. Well done to those children that have read their book more than once. Make sure you also read any book bag reading books that have been sent also. Library books are separate to this and should be read by an adult. This does not need to be recorded in the reading diary. The reading diary is just for the books and online activities that your child is reading. Keep going through the letter sounds regularly with your child especially the special friends ch, sh, th, qu, ng, nk and ck as these are the ones they keep getting stuck on. Get your child to make words with the cards to help develop their blending and segmenting skills.

This week in Maths we are focusing on Measure. The children will be building tall and short towers, long and short snakes and will be looking at time. We will be talking about the sequence of the day, days of the week and introduce o’clock playing ‘whats the time Mr Wolf’. To develop mastery we will be asking questions such as ‘how many bricks taller is the tower?’, ‘What’s the difference between the two snakes?’, ‘How do you know?’, ‘What day comes after Tuesday?’ etc

In the wider curriculum we will be continuing on with our work on Chinese New Year and the year of the Tiger. We will be learning about Tigers and their significance. We will learn some facts about Tigers and will be focusing on the story of ‘The Tiger who Came to Tea’. RMT will be practising their class assembly on Chinese New Year which will be posted on TEAMs later in the week.

Our challenges this week are: To copy a caption using finger spaces, To roll two dice and say the number sum, To discuss with an adult about different celebrations, to cut out a spiral tiger and balance a bean bag as they walk around the wooden posts.

Please encourage your child to dress and undress themselves each day to develop their independence. This is a key developmental skill that Reception children should be able to manage and would be usually addressed when getting changed for P.E. Your help with this would be most appreciated.

In phonics this week, the children will be continuing their learning in their specific phonics groups. It has been lovely to see that most of them have been participating in their reading and phonics activities at home. Keep up the hard work! Can we remind all parents that the library books that get sent home on a Friday, do not need to be recorded in the reading records. These books are for you to read to your child throughout the week. Each child will have specific phonics materials in their record, depending on their phonics group. These will be sent home every Friday. This may be a barcode with online activities, reading booklets or a phonics book. Your child should spend time reading and completing the activities throughout the week, and these to be noted down by a grown-up, regarding when and how they got on with them.

In maths this week, we will be delving deeper into our learning of 6, 7 and 8. We will be focusing on our number bonds and adding different numbers to get to 6, 7 and 8. The children will also be playing games, such as the memory game, to learn how to recognise these numbers in different ways. They will also be creating their own memory game to play with a friend, using their number bonds to help them. The children will also be using a tens frame to support their understanding. They will be discussing what they notice when different amounts of counters, cubes etc. are placed on the frame. What do you notice? How many gaps?

In the wider curriculum this week, we will be learning all about the Chinese New Year. We will start the week looking at how people in China prepare for the New Year and how they might celebrate it. We will discuss our own celebrations and how they might differ from other people’s. The children will then learn about where the Chinese New Year tradition originated, and will listen to the story about the animals crossing the river. We will also be making Chinese lanterns and dragons throughout the week, for the children to send home. At the end of the week, the children will have the opportunity to try some Chinese food and discuss their likes and dislikes after trying them.

Have a great week!

The reception team