Category: Reception Blog

This week we will be starting to learn about the season of Summer. We will be talking about summer and the changes that will occur. We will also talk about the differences between summer and the other seasons. Encourage your child to talk about what they know about the other seasons and how Summer will be different.

The children have been working well in their new phonic groups. Please continue to hear your child read every night, either the book bag book or reading activities sent in their diary or the online book or quiz. Sign the diary every time you hear your child read. Below are some set 2 videos to help with learning the set 2 sounds.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/wrQ3V3pY/vRqEC22O

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/3BWGwXlp/NZyKzqKK

In Maths this week we will be looking at

Thank you to all of those parents that came to RMT’s class assembly. We hope you enjoyed seeing your children talk about some of the things they have been learning in Reception. This week RCG will be performing their class assembly on Wednesday 12th June. All RCG parents are invited to come along and watch – it would be lovely to see you there.

Now that the weather is beginning to warm up please remember to send in a waterproof jacket every day as we know the weather changes all of the time. Please put sun cream on your child before school, we recommend using an all day cream. If you want your child to reapply sun cream then please teach them how to reapply and provide them with a named bottle of sun cream to keep in their bag. Children will also need a named hat. We would rather children not wear sun glasses as these can be dangerous on the large equipment and also have a tendency to get lost or broken.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

The children had a fabulous time doing their sponsored wheels run. They cycled, scooted and pushed their way around 10 laps of the playground in the drizzly rain. We hope this encourages the children to get out on their bikes or scooters more and enjoy exercising to help they stay healthy. A big thank you to all of the parents for supplying bikes, scooters and pushchairs. The children were very excited to have them in school. Thank you for all of the sponsor money sent in so far. Please send in the money as soon as you can and we will let you know the total. Pass on our gratitude to all of the people who sponsored your children it is very much appreciated.

This week is culture week across the school. Early Years will be focusing on the country of Spain and its culture. The children will be involved in a wide variety of different activities across the week. They will be learning all about Spain and where in the world it is. They will be learning different Spanish greetings, how to count in Spanish as well as learning to flamenco dance. At the end of the week the children are encouraged to come into school dressed in traditional Spanish clothing or to wear the colours of the Spanish flag which are red and yellow. We are also hoping to end the week with a delicious Spanish treat of churros.

This week we will be assessing the children in their phonics to see if they have retained the sounds taught this half term and can segment and blend words containing those sounds to see if they are ready to move into the next Phonics group. Please continue to go over the sounds your child has learned. Although no books were set on line this week you can access all previous books set by clicking on Fred the frog on Oxford owl once your child has logged in. If you are looking for your own set of sound cards these can be purchased quite reasonably on Amazon.

https://amzn.eu/d/3An56eW

https://amzn.eu/d/bL7vgZ1

We will also be assessing the children in Maths this week in a fun practical way to check their knowledge and understanding of all of the topics taught this year. We will then use this information to plan for the rest of the summer term so that we can plug any gaps the children may have. If you would like to try a range of Maths activities with your child, Topmarks maths has a wide variety of games covering a variety of topics which the children love to play.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=16&AgeGroup=1

Can we please remind you once again to send your child into school with a waterproof coat with a hood. Even if the forecast is saying it is going to be dry the weather can change easily and children are getting cold and wet. When doing our sponsored wheels run many children had non waterproof jackets such as denim jackets or did not have a jacket at all. It is better that your child has a jacket if they need it as it can stay on their peg rather than not having a jacket and not being able to join in the activities they want to join with. Remember unless it is raining heavily the children will be outside at lunchtime.

School breaks up for the half term holiday on Friday 24th May. Enjoy your break

The Reception Team

We are currently enjoying our ‘Healthy Me’ topic. The children have been discovering different ways of keeping healthy such as eating healthy food, exercising, getting a good nights sleep, visiting the dentist, limiting time on technology and even made our own fruit kebabs. This week we are continuing to look at a balanced diet and making good food choices. Use this time as an opportunity to explore healthy food with your child and encourage them to tell you what they have learned.

This week we will not be having Read Write Inc. sessions as some of the staff are needed to support Year 6 SAT’s. We will be having whole class phonics recapping on the sounds already taught ready for our next assessment the following week. Please support this at home by continuing to practise the sounds and reading words using ‘special friends, Fred talk, read the word’. Your child will be bringing home a reading book that is slightly different to their normal book. This book will have the sounds in that your child should already know and will be a good opportunity for you to see how your child is progressing in their reading – are they using their strategies to read the word? Are they recognising words that are not new to them and reading them speedily? Remember to ask your child to read the book more than once until they are reading it speedily and fluently. There will be no online work set.

This week in Maths we will be focusing on grouping and sharing. We will be looking at putting amounts into different sized groups and will be sharing amounts out equally between groups. This is the early stages of multiplication and division and is essential before we move on to children reciting times tables or division facts as they need to understand what the terms mean. You could support this work at home by encouraging your child to share items into groups of . . . . . . . and group items into groups of . . . . . . . your child could then finish the sentence stem such as 8 can be shared between . . . . . . groups of 2.

The sun has finally come out and is hopefully here to stay. Please make sure your child has a sun hat, a water bottle containing only water please, not squash and apply sun cream before they come to school. We recommend using an all day sun cream as the children struggle with applying their own cream and often make quite a mess of themselves and the surrounding area. We also ask that your child brings a waterproof coat to school everyday. The British weather is ever changing so it is better that your child has the right clothing with them if it gets colder or rains. Remember the children in Reception spend a large portion of the day outside and we go out in all weathers.

On Thursday the children will be taking part in a sponsored wheeled event. You should have received an email all about it. Please send your child in to school on Thursday with a bike, scooter or pram to join in with our event. Th children will pedal, push or scoot around the playground 10 times to encourage them to be active and to show them that exercising can be fun. Sponsor sheets can be obtained from your child’s class teacher or from the school office or you can print off a copy that was sent with the email. Speak to a member of the team if you are struggling to provide a wheeled item and we will do our best to help.

Enjoy the lovely sunshine

The Reception Team

This week we are continuing with our superhero topic with a focus on real life superheroes. We will be talking about the different qualities people show that makes them a superhero. This will include occupations such as police, doctors, teachers etc. On Thursday the children have been asked to come into school dressed as a superhero. This does not need to be a pre bought costume. We do not want you to go to any extra expense. Children can come in dressed as a certain colour or theme e.g. rainbow colours or sparkles or all one colour. We would like you to talk to your child about the quality that their superhero will have e.g. kindness, happiness, love, sunshine so they can talk about it with the class. Children do not need to have a cape or facemask but if your child would like one they can easily be made with a pillow case and some cardboard. Please speak to a member of staff if you are struggling for ideas.

In Maths this week we will be looking at shapes and how they can be manipulated. We will be looking at tangram puzzles and will be giving the children the challenge of copying some pictures and then using the shapes to make their own tangram pictures. The children will be focusing on how to rotate the orientation of shapes to change them.. We will also be looking at what different shapes we can make out of other shapes such as putting two triangles together to make a square.

The children are working hard in their phonic groups and most of them have now been introduced to all of the set 2 sounds. We are working hard on using the sounds to both read and write words. Continue to go through the sounds at the front of the on line reading book to check that your child knows all of the set two sounds and work on any that they are less confident of. Its lovely to see so many children doing their online work as well as their book bag book. Remember to sign your child’s diary every time they read with you.

The children are enjoying using the junk modelling to create their own models but we are often running low on supplies. Please send in any appropriate recycling for the children to use as it will always be used. We would like to say a big thank you to all of the parents who continue to contribute 50p each week. This money helps us to enhance the children’s learning with each of our new topics. Next week we will be making fruit kebabs and will need to purchase fruit for the children to be able to make these so all contributions are vital to help us provide these experiences for the children.

Can we please remind parents that your children should not be playing on or with the equipment at the start or end of the day. The equipment in the outdoor area is for the children’s learning and can easily get damaged by children not playing with it appropriately. Please supervise your children when waiting in the playground and remove them from any equipment if they begin to play on or with it. Your help with this is very much appreciated.

Have a lovely week,

The Reception Team

This week the children will become superheroes! We will be learning all about the qualities of a superhero and what makes someone a superhero. We will read stories, sing songs and even make our own class superhero thinking about the qualities that we would like to see in our class superhero. The children will also attend Superhero school, where they will have to complete a range of tasks to become a superhero. Talk to your child about what makes a superhero. How could they be a superhero at home?

The children will be continuing with their phonic lessons and will be learning new sounds. Those children in purple and green groups will be recapping all of the set 2 sounds to help embed them. Continue to work at home going through the sound cards, reading the book bag book and doing the online task. Remember to sign the book every time your child does a reading activity with you at home. Below are a few more videos that recap on some of the set 2 sounds learned.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/jZ9OZOCt/4Ybq7rav

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/bMC5Gsgo/dqLEJ2e4

This week in Maths we will be focusing on subtraction and will be using number stories to help us work out the answer. We are trying to encourage the children to use their knowledge of number bonds to help them answer questions rather than counting, as counting is where children tend to make the most mistakes. The children have been working on the subitising so should understand that if 3+2=5 then 5-3=2 without the need to count amounts. Try this with your child. Can they answer simple subtraction sums without the need to use their fingers? If they can see if they can subtract above 10. e.g. 17-3=11. Can they explain how they got their answer?

It was lovely to see so many parents attend our parent consultations last week. If you didn’t manage to make an appointment then please speak to your child’s class teacher to arrange an alternative date. Over the next few weeks we will be working hard towards the early learning goals. If you would like to read through the early learning goals then please click the link below.

We are really hoping that the weather now warms up. Please continue to send your child to school with a waterproof coat with a hood. Your child would also benefit from having a sunhat in their bag for those days when the sun does come out. We would rather children didn’t bring sunglasses into school as they easily get lost or broken and are not really needed in the setting. Please remember to label any new coats, hats or summer wear. We are still getting lots of jumpers and hoodies without names on.

Have a lovely week and we hope the children are celebrating a sky blue win to start the week off on a high.

The Reception Team

This week we will continue to learn about Spring with a focus on new life. We will be learning about the life cycle of a butterfly, a frog and a hen. We will learn what is meant by a life cycle and will grow a deeper understanding of the process different animals go through. We will do a variety of crafts and role play and the children should be able to tell you about a life cycle. Talk about it with your child and see if they can explain what happens. If you are out and about for a walk get your child to tell you what they know about spring. Can they spot any signs of spring around them?

The children have been working in their new phonics groups and are continuing to learn new sounds and are using these sounds to blend words. Your child will bring their diary and any reading activity home on a Friday. Please go through the ditty sheets or book in the diary several times over the week and log on to Oxford owl to do the online activity. Remember your child can redo the book set on line by clicking on Fred the Frog. There are some videos below to help with some of the new sounds. Remember to sign the diary every time your child reads.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/mzomjmmP/bF0TWzEA

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/j1Q0NNj4/oQIWtCI4

This week in Maths we are continuing with numbers to 20. The children have learned the numbers to 20 and should now know that numbers above 10 are a ten and so many ones. We will look at ordering numbers to and from 20, finding missing numbers and simple addition to 20. Can your child tell you how to make numbers to 20 e.g. 14 is 10 and 4. Can your child use what they know about number to calculate an amount e.g. 14 + 3. “4 and 3 make 7 so 10 and 7 is seventeen. Is your child able to count to 20 accurately without mixing the numbers 14, 15, 16? Say some numbers in order and make a mistake. Can they recognise the mistake e.g. 15, 16, 18. 17 19?

Finally it looks like the weather might be warming up. As your child should be able to tell you, Spring weather is very changeable. Please ensure your child comes to school with a waterproof coat with a hood. Children should also be wearing suitable school shoes that support their feet and keep them dry if it rains. We are noticing a lot of the children are wearing fabric type trainers rather that school shoes. These do not provide the best support for children’s feet and are not waterproof so result in children having wet feet. On those days that are not P.E days your child should be wearing suitable school shoes. Please also check your child’s clothing to make sure they are clearly named so that we can return lost items to their rightful owners. The children have a tendency to leave their jumpers wherever they go and it is difficult to return them without a name.

Thank you to those parents who have emailed pictures of their child’s bean plant it has been lovely seeing them grow and sharing them with the class. We would also love to see any photos of your Eid celebrations and would like to share these with the other children to help them learn about the celebration. Send any photos to

[email protected] or [email protected]

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team.

Welcome back! We hope you have a lovely relaxing Easter break. This week we will be looking at the season of Spring and the changes that occur. We will go out on a Spring walk looking for signs of spring, we will learn all about the season of Spring and will do a range of spring crafts. Talk to your child about the season and see if they can tell you how Spring is different to winter and Autumn. This is a good time to plant some flowers with your child. Start by replanting the bean that your child brought home for the Easter break. Keep a log of how it grows by sending photos in to school at [email protected] or [email protected]

This week the children will be moving in to their new phonics groups. A number of children have not made the expected progress and have remained in the same level phonic group. Please ensure you hear your child read every night and go through their phonic sound cards paying particular attention to the special friends (two letters that make one sound such as ch, sh etc). The children are now using the phonic sounds they know to write. They are writing simple words and sentences by segmenting words to then write them. If your child is confident reading CVC words, then see if they can write them. Below are some more videos for set 2 sounds to practise over the break.

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/Vd1Og1RF/U5ghCNNa

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/9dIMLnyh/jRcdVhgv

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/NhPlFHMc/72FP54Ex

This week in Maths we will be looking at the numbers to 20. We will be ordering the numbers, counting to 20 and making amounts. We will look at representations of the numbers and will play different games to ensure we have the numbers in the correct order. Can your child count to 20 accurately? Can they tell you what number comes next? Before? If you count and miss a number out can they tell you the number?

As you know the weather in the spring time can be a little bit changeable. Can we ask that you send your child in to school every day with a waterproof coat with a hood. The children get very upset if they can’t go outside when all their friends are outside, because they haven’t got a coat. The weather can often be sunny in the morning but can turn cold and wet by the afternoon. Please also label any new jackets, sun hats or uniform so that any misplaced items can be returned to you.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team

This week is British Science week. The focus this year is ‘Time’. We will be tying this in with the beginning of our Spring work. In Reception we will be looking at the story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk. We will learn the story, act it out and talk about alternative stories. During the week we will be planting our own bean to grow a beanstalk in our own greenhouses. We will monitor how the beans grow over time and will record this information. We will then take our beanstalks home to replant and look after and hopefully they will grow some beans. This would be an excellent opportunity for you to talk to your child about plants and what they need and you could even plant some seeds of your own. Don’t forget to send in any pictures of your planting so that we can share them with the class.

All of the children are now taking home a reading book or ditty sheets as their reading homework. Please try to get into the habit of hearing your child read every night. This is a lovely time to share together and gets your child into a good habit for moving through school. Most of the children will also have work set online on Oxford Owl. Please use your log in details (on the front of the diary) to do the activities set. To redo the book just click on Fred Frog. Children do not need to read their online book and their book bag book every night. Chose one to focus on rather than making them do too much which may put them off reading. Don’t forget to sign the diary each time you do a reading activity. You do not need to sign the diary when you read the library book with your child.

This week we are looking at time. This will tie in with our Science week. We will be looking at periods of time such as the week, using the language of time and will be seeing what activities we can do in a certain period of time. We will also look at the clock and will be learning about o’clock. We will finish the week playing what’s the time Mr Wolf looking at the o’clock time. Can your child identify the days of the week? Do they know what day comes after Wednesday? What day comes before Saturday? Do they understand what the term weekend means?

Although we have entered the season of Spring it has been very cold this week. Please make sure your child continues to come to school in a warm waterproof coat. It is better that their coat stays on their peg if the day warms up rather than them having no coat or only a thin coat when the weather is colder. The children all spend lunchtime outside and have access to the outside area throughout the day.

This years Red Nose Day is March the 15th. Children can come into school in non-uniform and crazy hair for a donation of £1.

Have a lovely week

The Reception Team