Category: Reception Blog

This week we will be beginning a topic on ‘Healthy Me’. The children will be learning about different ways to stay healthy including exercising, eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep and looking after our own mental health. The children will understand what it means to be healthy and how they can make healthy choices. Please talk about staying healthy at home and help your child to make healthy choices.

RMT will be performing their class assembly on Wednesday 21st May. All RMT parents are invited to attend. It will take place in the school hall at 8.55 am. We look forward to seeing you there.

Read Write Inc phonics will be cancelled in school next week due to support staff being needed for Year 6 SAT’s. The children will still have a phonics lesson each day and will be heard to read by a member of staff. There will be no online work set but your child will be bringing home a book that is at their phonic level. Please continue to read at home each night and sign the diary.

In this small step, children build on their understanding as they explore the change structure of subtraction by taking away. Children will have experience of taking away objects in everyday life and this is built on by focusing on taking away more than 1 object. The focus is on decreasing a quantity by a given amount, while continuing to work within 10 Encourage children to use real objects to see that the quantity of a group can be changed by taking some away. Children will remove the items and then count or subitise to see how many are left. The ‘first, then, now’ structure is an effective way to help build their understanding by creating mathematical stories in meaningful contexts, using ten frames, number tracks and their fingers.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week we will continue with our topic of superheroes. This week we will be focusing on the qualities of a superhero and how we can all be superheroes in the way that we act and behave. The children will learn about real life superheroes and we will learn about Florence Nightingale and why she is considered a superhero. On Friday we are asking the children to dress up as a superhero. They can come in wearing a costume they already have or can come in representing a superpower such as spreading happiness and wear yellow, or sparkle power and wear sequins. Please do not go out and buy a costume specifically for the day. Talk with your child about their power so they can talk about it in school.

Last week the children started in their new phonic groups and have been working hard to learn new sounds. Continue to read with your child at home every evening and sign their diary each time. Your child will also have a book and quiz set online on Oxford Owl that they need to complete. Below are some extra videos for practice at home.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/bQH7253c/QeCHrdQP

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/3zxhlGKK/X1AE0Q6c

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/vgXUffo9/QszyT7MY

This week in Math’s the children will be looking at numbers to 20 and counting, demonstrating a knowledge of the number one more and one less. They will also use the language of First, Next, Then to tell addition sums. They will use pictures/ toys to tell a simple addition story e.g. First there were 2 frogs on the log. Then 2 more frogs came on the log. Then there were 4 frogs on the log.

The children enjoyed the lovely summer weather last week and spent a lot of time outside. We noticed that a large number of children are not coming into school with the right protection. Please apply sun cream to your child before they come to school and provide them with sun cream that they can reapply themselves during the day. If they struggle with this then it may be worth applying an 8 hr cream so they are protected for the day. Children should also come into school with a named sunhat and a refillable bottle of water (not juice). Children should also come into school with a waterproof jacket with a hood so that they have it available should the weather change. Thank you for your help and support with this in helping to keep your child safe in the sun.

On Wednesday 21st May RMT will be performing their class assembly to parents. Please come to the school hall for 8.50 on the day.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

Welcome back! we hope you had a lovely Easter break and had the opportunity for a rest. This coming half term is a short one, so we have lots to try and squeeze in before we break up in May. The children will be working hard over the next few weeks and we often find this is the time of the year where their learning really starts to make an impact and they will show how much they have learned and what they can do. I’m sure you will be noticing this too. We have parents evenings on the 6th and 7th of May. please make sure you book your appointment slot. All details have been outlined in the Friday focus.

The children were assessed before the Easter break and will be starting in their new phonic groups this week. The majority of children have made great progress and will be starting on a new book colour. If your child is on the same colour as before the break then they need more practice at this stage. Please make sure you read with your child every night, do the online work set and go through the letter sounds that have previously been sent home. Below are some videos that you could watch with your child to further strengthen their phonic and reading knowledge.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/RM4pWyuq/HIGHnREz

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/UJubQhJY/bi15sCtX

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/qSwNVYZL/gCquTjf3

This week in Maths

This week we will be beginning our topic on ‘Superheroes’. The children will learn to recognise the qualities of a superhero and will start to think about how they can be superheroes in their everyday life. They will be joining superhero school and will complete some different superhero challenges every day to become a superhero. Maybe you could talk to your child about how they can be a superhero in the home and how they could help out.

Hopefully the weather will now start to warm up. We ask that you send your child into school with a sun hat and sun cream. These can stay in their bag so that they are there when they need them. Please apply sun cream before your child comes to school and if you wish them to reapply then please show them how to do this as staff are not permitted to do so. We also ask that you send a coat in every day as the British weather is very changeable. This can be a fold away rain mac and can stay in their bag but again will be there if they need it. Please tell your child that it is in their bag so that they know where to find it.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week we will continue learning about the celebration of Easter. The children will be involved in lots of Easter crafts and will be listening to different Easter stories. We will also have an egg and spoon race, an easter egg hunt and will be making chocolate Easter nests. The children will talk about all of the things they have learned about Easter and will talk about what they are looking forward to over the Easter break.

This week the children will be assessed on their reading and writing of sounds and words that they have been taught so far. They will then be assigned a new phonic group for after the holiday. We are looking for the children to recognise all of the sounds they have been taught so far and to be able to read these sounds in words.

This week we will be recapping shapes and their properties.

The children break up from school for two weeks on Friday. We hope you have a wonderful break and that you and your child get the opportunity to relax and recharge for the summer term. We will see you after the holiday for a short but busy half term

The Reception Team

This week we will be introducing the children to the celebration of Easter. We will talk about all of the other celebrations we have looked at and find out why Christians celebrate Easter. The children will learn about the Easter story as well as how people celebrate and will compare this to how other festivals are celebrated looking at similarities and differences. They will be involved in a range of Easter activities across the week and will also have the opportunity to taste hot cross buns!

This week will be the children’s last week of phonics before their next assessment. They will be tested on the sounds they have been taught as well as how they segment and blend these sounds to read words. Continue to practice all of the sounds sent home which can be found at the front of the online book and continue to read very night. Remember to log in to Oxford owl to do the reading activities on there also. Below are some additional videos to help support learning at home

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/fhjVkLxK/NpyEOCQV

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/TdXLGLna/XOHQDjWv

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/ZxcI7gPc/n0zpJOiC

This week in Maths, children will develop their conceptual subitising skills and start to recognise the groups in numbers to 10. Children use conceptual subitising to identify a whole quantity within 10 by subitising the smaller groups that make up that number. This skill will support children to develop mental images for addition and subtraction, which helps children to move away from counting on and counting back. You could prompt your child to recognise a number by grouping it into smaller sets and then saying each amount before confirming the whole number.

The children have all been given one ticket as an entry into the Easter chocolate raffle. If you would like to purchase extra tickets then please send in money in an envelope so that your child can purchase additional tickets. The draw will take place on the last day of term. Each ticket is 50p. Good luck!

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week we will continue with our Spring topic and will be focusing on life cycles. The children will learn about the life cycles of a butterfly, frog and hen. The will understand how the process is a cycle and happens again over and over. When our and about encourage your child to look for signs of Spring and see if they can see any butterflies or frogs in the environment.

The children have all now been introduced to all of their set one sounds and many of them are learning their set two sounds. Continue to practice all of the sounds. These can be found at the front of the online reading book and your child has been sent home with a copy of all of the sounds. If you have misplaced the sounds then speak to your child’s class teacher so that they can print you off a new set. Continue to read and go through the sounds every night and remember to do the online activities on Oxford Owl if your child has log in details on the front of their diary. Below are some more blending activities for you to do with your child.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/kt7qQb0O/rakiI09w

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/0B324Nge/orxunDVd

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/M6B6s559/yW4SjOmV

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/myUjkaAA/RIy6XiWW

This week the children will explore different representations of 9 and 10. As in previous blocks, the focus is on finding the representations rather than making them. they will match the verbal number names to numerals and quantities. The children will count to 10 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.

Key questions

• Where can you see 9/10?

• How many ways can you find 9/10?

• How many are there altogether?

The children are loving the resources in our creative area and are making some wonderful models. We are always in need of junk modelling materials. Please save us your recycling (no glass jars please) and send them in for the children to use in their model making.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week we will be looking at the story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ to start our work on Spring. We will be focusing on growing and the children will plant their own bean to grow their own beanstalk. We will send these home in a few weeks for your child to continue looking after. Please send in photos of your child’s beanstalk as it continues to grow. We will be talking about the conditions needed to help a plant grow and will be discussing the changes to the seed as they grow.

Last week the children had a focus on oral hygiene. Your child was given a toothbrush and some information about how to keep their teeth healthy. Please ensure your child brushes their teeth every morning and every night before going to bed. We also talked about foods and drinks that are not good for our teeth and contribute towards decay. Please try to make healthy choices for your child and limit the amount of sugary foods and drinks that you give to them. Water bottles for school should only contain water as juice should only be drank with a meal. Please only send water in your child’s water bottle.

The majority of children now have log in details on the front of their diary for set activities/ books on Oxford owl. Please log in throughout the week to do these reading activities with your child. Once you have finished the book you can click on Fred the Frog to go back to all previous books read so that books can be reread over and over to help with your child’s reading fluency. Continue practising the letter sounds that have been sent home with your child since they started their reading journey in September and make 3, 4 and 5 sound words with them to develop their blending skills.

In Maths this week, the children are introduced to the concept of doubling and they learn that this means ‘twice as many’. They will be given opportunities to see a range of visual representations of doubles and to find them in patterns, in pictures and in arrangements of manipulatives. Books involving doubles are a good way to introduce this concept. It is important for children to build on this skill over time using smaller numbers first. You could prompt your child to notice doubles by playing games such as dominoes, where children can use their previous knowledge to match the same number of dots. Model finding doubles, for example, on a dice: “There are 3 here and 3 here, so double 3 makes 6!”

It has been lovely over the last week with the change in the weather. The children have loved being outside in the sunshine. Although the weather has improved we do still ask that your child brings a waterproof coat into school every day even if there is no rain forecasted. The weather often changes throughout the day and your child spends a good portion of the day outside. If their coat stays on their peg all day that’s fine but it means they have it if it becomes cold or wet.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week we will continue with our topic of people who help us with a particular focus on dentists. We will be talking about the importance of oral hygiene and the children will learn how to brush their teeth correctly. We ask that you support this at home by helping your child brush their teeth both in the morning and before bed- it is recommend that an adult supports brushing until a child is at least 7 years of age. The children will learn about the impact that a high sugar diet has on our teeth and will learn about foods and drinks that are healthy for our teeth and will help to prevent tooth decay. This would be a good time to book a dental appointment for your child to have their teeth checked. In discussions last week a number of children said they had never been to the dentist! It is really important that you have your child’s teeth checked every 6 months.

The children all started in their new phonic groups last week. They will continue to recap on any gaps they may have with sounds and will learn new phonic sounds when ready. Once your child has learned all of the set one sounds with special friends they will be working on blending those sounds in 3 and 4 sound words such as sh-o-p, s-t-o-p etc. Use the letter sound flashcards that have been sent home with your child to make 3 then 4 sound words and see if they can do special friend i.e. sh, fred talk i.e. sh-o-p read the word i.e. shop. Those children who are competent with this are now learning set 2 sounds and these will be sent home with your child. Continue to read the book or ditty sheets that your child brings home on a Friday and don’t forget to log on to Oxford owl if your child has log in details on the front of their diary. There are some videos to watch for extra phonic practise.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/Y0P08aZV/hVJs6iRi

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/pFSrZn0T/8ezRzON5

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/7FfXyBGe/PS7ssREv

This week, the children will consolidate their understanding of the composition of numbers by investigating the numbers within 7 and 8. Composing and de-composing numbers involves the children investigating part–part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 7 can be made of 5 and 2. The children will deepen their understanding of a whole being made up of smaller parts through games and practical experiences, such as investigating the number of ducks on a pond. They will begin to recognise that numbers can be made by combining parts in different ways, and will be encouraged to make links by considering similarities and differences in the various ways of making 7 and 8. A key focus will be on partitioning 7 and 8 (splitting it into parts) and thinking about the missing part.

It is world book day on Thursday 6th March. Children can come in dressed as a book character. Please do not go to additional expense for a costume. A blue dress and headband would make a Matilda costume, a blue T-Shirt and bandage around the head would make a good Mr Bump costume or children can just come in wearing pyjamas for the polar express or bring their favourite bedtime reading book. If struggling for a costume please speak to a member of the Reception team.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

Welcome back from the half term break. We hope you had a lovely break and the children had the opportunity to rest. We have a busy half term ahead and will be moving the children’s learning forward. All of the rules should now be embedded and the children will be expected to show increased independence. Please encourage this at home so we are working together and have the same expectations. We will be reminding the children of our school values of Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Kindness and will be expecting this in everything they do.

This week we are beginning our topic on People who help us. The children will be learning about different jobs in our community and what their role entails. We will be talking about how these people help us and how they are important to society. The children will act out roles and be involved in a range of activities to help support their learning. Talk to your child about the people that help them and discuss who they should speak to if they need help with different problems.

The children will move into their new phonics group this week following on from their assessments before the half term break. The children will either be learning new sounds or consolidating the sounds already taught with a focus on reading CCVC or CVCC words. With your sound cards at home practise reading these words e.g. stop, chimp etc. Your child will bring their new reading book or activity home on Friday. Remember if your child has log in details for Oxford owl then they can click on Fred Frog and reread any of their past books. Below are some more videos to help practise blending.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/j9z7dU96/SUVSQAgw

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/7sJ8oKrj/VAyjykyR

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/3nkAiMVk/4IHjodaz

This week, the children will continue to engage with activities that draw attention to the purpose of counting – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are. The children will also revisit the concept of cardinality – the idea that the last number in the count tells us how many things there are altogether. They will continue to be provided with opportunities to hear, join in with and develop their knowledge of the counting sequence and to become secure enough with their counting skills to be able to count out a set of objects from a larger set, remembering the ‘stopping number’ and knowing that this means they have selected the correct number. A key focus this week will be to consolidate the ‘stable order principle’ – rehearsing the order of the first 10 numbers and understanding that the position that each number holds in our number sequence does not change. While working with numbers to 10, the children will develop their understanding of the ordinal aspect by consolidating their understanding that each number has a value of ‘1 more’ than the previous number

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week we are focusing on the story ‘Aliens Love Underpants’. We will read and sequence the story and will also identify the rhyming words in the story. We will design our own underpants and will write a letter to the aliens. Throughout the week we will do different challenges based around the story such as making our own rocket and naming an alien. We will also be doing some pants work where we talk about how our pants are private and we should not be silly with our pants. This would be a great time to talk to your child about keeping their pant area private.

This week the children will be assessed on all of the sounds they have been taught so far and how well they are doing with their blending of sounds to read words. The results will then be used to see if children are ready to move on to the next stage of the reading scheme or whether they need further consolidation on what they have already learned. Continue to practice the sounds and go through the activities sent home with your child. There are also some blending activities below to provide further practice.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/hrM7p9EE/aG1dSzLL

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/gXFWynDz/3nkWfs1N

The comparison of quantities is something that children begin to do as babies. When comparing, children notice attributes and begin to understand differences and similarities. The activities this week will focus on further developing this innate skill as the children are encouraged to focus exclusively on the numerosity of sets, without being diverted by colour, shape or size. They will then be encouraged to notice when quantities are equal or unequal, and will begin to consider how they can manipulate the number of objects in 2 sets to make them equal. Language is a key focus and adults will reinforce the language of ‘more than’, ‘fewer than’ and ‘an equal number’ to describe how many objects there are in each set. ‘Fewer than’ is used rather than ‘less than’, as the focus is on countable things.

Over the last few weeks we have had a few children using inappropriate language. The staff have spoken to all of the children explaining how these words shouldn’t be used by children and should never be used in school. Please talk to your child about the use of inappropriate words and how they need to make the right choice and not use language they know they should not use. Please also be mindful of the language that you use when around your child as they listen to everything that is said and like to emulate what their parents say. Your help would be greatly appreciated with this matter.

Have a lovely week,

The Reception Team