Welcome to the Reception Blog
It was wonderful to see so many of you attending our Firework Display this week. It was a fantastic event which brought the school community together. Asher S was the lucky winner of our raffle, pressing the button to launch the fireworks.
Welcome back, we hope you had an enjoyable half term break and the children are feeling well rested. This term will be a busy one with lots to look forward to. Hopefully you received your letter about Ash End farm. This is a lovely trip for the children where they get to see and feed a range of animals as well as joining in with a range of Christmas activities such as the nativity story and a visit to see Father Christmas. We will let you know arrangements nearer the time. If you did not receive an email about the trip then please visit the admin team in the school office and they will be able to help.
This week we will be focusing on celebrations. We will be talking about celebrations that have already happened and will be having a focus on Bonfire night and Guy Fawkes. We will talk about how the children have celebrated bonfire night and will be learning about why we celebrate Guy Fawkes. The children will be involved in a range of creative and active activities and will be relating the celebrations to their own celebrations. On Wednesday evening the school is hosting a firework display. There will be a range of stalls available, hot food and a fantastic firework display for you all to enjoy. We hope to see you all there, tickets are still available from the school office.
The children have now all been assessed and have been allocated their new phonics groupings. They will begin working on the sounds they do not know and will then be introduced to new letter sounds. Continue to work on the letter sounds sent home and particularly on blending the sounds together to read words. We will be sending home reading diaries soon with links to home videos that we would like you to watch with your child. This will be your child’s reading homework so please sign the diary each time you watch a video or read some words to let us know how your child is getting on with the sounds at home. Below are some additional links to videos that you may want to watch with your child.
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/cTvEvnIF/3yOSqdsT
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/W10err0a/EkdZGqmq
This week in Maths we will begin to look at some 2D shapes and their properties and positional language. We will be focusing on circles and triangles. We will be talking about number of sides and identifying shapes in the environment. We will be reading Rosie’s walk and will be going on our own walk that focuses on over, under, on top, in front and behind. See if your child is confident with positional language. Play a game where you give them an instruction to stand in front, behind, on top etc, or they could place a toy in the positions. Can they tell you where the toy is?
Can we please remind all parents to check that all of their child’s clothes are labelled. We have a number of jumpers and cardigans without names on. Names written in pen wash off very quickly so please check them regularly.
We are looking forward to an exciting term in the run up to Christmas. The weather is likely to get much colder now so please make sure your child has a warm waterproof coat and they will need named gloves and a hat.
The Reception Team
This week we will be continuing on with our Autumn topic with a focus on hibernation. We will be looking at both fiction and non-fiction texts and will be finding out about different animals that hibernate and what they do. The children have been very excited this week at our resident squirrels who have been coming in to the Reception outdoor area and stealing our conkers and acorns. If out and about at the weekend talk to your children about Autumn and what they know. Ask them about hibernating animals and maybe you could make a den for your garden to encourage any wildlife that may need a home for the winter.
In phonics this week the children will be learning the sounds b, f, e, l, h. They will be learning how to say the sound correctly and will be learning how to form the letter. They will also start to read the sounds in simple words. On Friday your child should have brought home their next set of sounds. Remember to practise these each day and help your child to start to blend the sounds together to read simple words. Below are some videos that you could watch with your child and they will show you how to blend the sounds together.
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/5gQsA07O/jLfNiDQT
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/1ycf5BAw/nAcROMVj
This week in Maths we will be looking at the numbers 1, 2 and 3. We will be delving deep into the number so that the children can subitise (recognise amounts without the need to count). We will be looking at how the numbers are made up which will prepare the children for the work that comes later on number bonds and fully understanding number. When at home with your child, get them to look for items in groups of 1, 2 or 3. Use the language ‘what can you see?’ and ‘how do you see it?’ See if they can identify groups of 1, 2 or 3 in their every day life.
We are currently talking to the children about kindness and respect. A number of children are not showing kindness towards others or respect for the resources, the environment or each other. Please take the time to talk to your child about being kind and about how they should look after the equipment both in school and at home. Our budget is extremely tight and we will not be able to replace toys and equipment if they are not looked after. Our Rules in Reception are:
A large number of children are still struggling to put on and take off their own jumpers and coats. If your child still struggles please work with them to dress and undress themselves so that they are not always relying on an adult to help. We also have a lot of jumpers and cardigans without names. It is very important that all clothing is named so that we can return them when children leave them around the setting.
We are looking forward to meeting you all at Parents evening this week. Your child should have come home with a slip confirming your appointment time.
Have a lovely week,
The Reception Team
We are continuing with our topic on Autumn this week and will be reading the story “Don’t Hog the Hedge”. We will have a focus on animals and hibernation as well as being a good friend and learning to share. Can your child tell you about Autumn and some of the things they have learned. Take the time to look at signs of Autumn and collect some autumn foliage for our collection in school.
In Phonics the children have continued to learn new sounds. Keep going over all of the sounds sent home so that your child becomes confident in these letter sounds and can use them to build simple words. Below are some links for videos of some of the sounds the children have learned so far and how the children are learning to blend.
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/kxDzGr4R/kZHKxtWi
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/mKGMkvQ2/kXhuRsMW
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/eqmaSrc8/1NvVDAPI
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/puLrWFwz/g4Xu8x4D
This week in maths we will be looking at patterns. The children will be continuing patterns with what comes next as well as making their own patterns. Your child will be able to make a pattern with anything – it could be their toys or cutlery or even fruit. See if your child can continue the pattern. If confident see if they can continue a trickier pattern such as fork, knife, knife, fork . . . . . We have added a link below to a shape pattern game that your child may wish to play at home.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/shape-patterns
With the varied weather at the moment the children are wanting to put their jumpers on and off but many are struggling with this. Please work with your child to teach them how to put on and take off their jumper so that they can do this themselves instead of having to wait for an adult to be available. The staff are encouraging independence in the children so would really appreciate your help with this. Please ensure all jumpers and cardigans are named as the children have a tendency to leave them everywhere and we want to get clothing back to its rightful owner.
Have a wonderful week
The Reception Team
Welcome to the Reception Blog. We will regularly update this blog, sharing the different activities we will be doing during the week ahead. This will give you an insight into the activities your child is doing in class and will give you ideas of things you could do at home to support your child’s learning.
This week we will be starting our Autumn topic. The children will be learning all about Autumn and the changes that occur. We will be going on an Autumn walk around the school site looking for Autumn foliage to make a classroom collection and use the collection in both our play and learning times. If you are out and about on a walk please collect any leaves that have changed colours, acorns, conkers or any other Autumn foliage that we could use and send them in to school – all donations will be gratefully received. We will be looking at the story of ‘Leaf Man’ and will be making our own leaf people or animals. Talk to your child about the Autumn and the changes that occur. How is the Autumn different to summer that we just experienced. How do we dress in the Autumn?
The children have now completed their second week of Read, Write Inc phonics and have been introduced to a number of letter sounds. Your child should have brought home a print out of the letters covered so far. Please cut these out along the small dotted line and fold them so that the picture is on one side and the grapheme (letter) on the other side. Get into the habit of going through these every night as this is your child’s reading activity. Start putting the sounds together to make simple CVC words such as m-a-t and s-i-t. Your child will need to be fluent with all of the set 1 sounds and able to blend them into words before they move on to a reading book. The children bring a Library book home on a Friday for you to share. Please read this to your child and enjoy the story together several times over the week. Return the book each Friday so that your child can choose a new one.
In Maths this week we will be looking at comparison and using the correct language. We will be looking at more and less, tall and short, big and small and long and short. It is important that children understand the language of maths to be able to solve problems and explain their thinking. See if you can use this language with your child while they are playing. Can they find the big item and the small one? Can they identify which toy is taller or shorter or longer or shorter. Can they tell you which group has more and which has less?
That children have all settled in well to school and have been working hard to learn the routines and expectations. Over the year we will be working hard on helping the children develop their independence. You can help at home by encouraging your child to put their own shoes on and take them off, by dressing themselves, by tidying up their toys and by helping them to learn how to do things by themselves. Over the next few weeks the children will be encouraged to put on their own coats and try to do them up by themselves. Please work with your child on this so that they are not always waiting for an adult to this for them.
We would like to say a big thank you to all those parents that have been contributing the weekly 50p to help enhance our continuous provision. We have been using the money to make things like playdough and buying resources to support children’s creative play. Please contribute if you can so that we can offer a variety of experiences for the children and make their time in Reception as varied as possible.
From Monday 2nd of October Reception’s P.E day will change from a Friday to a Monday. Please send your child into school on Monday in their P.E kit. Can we also ask you to please check that all of your child’s clothes are named. We have already gained a selection of un-named items and if not named then it is difficult to know who to return them to. Please also name shoes as many of the children have the same shoes and they take them off weekly for yoga sessions.
If you have any problems or concerns then please speak to a member of the team or email [email protected] or [email protected]
Have a lovely week
The Reception Team
Welcome to a new academic year. Keep an eye on the blog this year as we share lots of your fantastic learning and experiences.
This week our topic is Summer holidays. We will learn about a typical sea side holiday. We will be exploring seaside holidays from the past and comparing them with holidays now.
This week the children will be recapping the phonics they have learnt. The children have made excellent progress. We won’t be sending reading books home this week but the children can do the online learning if they wish.
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/umYynzbs/NR8cRQVG
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/qAIKCOjU/gqlo4k5R
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/ho6KTQZu/pbOx50KR
In maths this week we will be doing a variety of fun summer themed maths activities. They will recap all the maths skills they have learnt this year.
We have lots of fun activities planned this week. On Wednesday we will be having a party day. In the afternoon we will be having a picnic. Please could you provide your child with a named small plate of snacks (not sandwiches) We will also be having ice cream so can you please let us know if your child is not allowed ice cream.
On Monday end of year reports will be going out and on Thursday the children will be sent home with their exercise books from this year.
Have a lovely last week of term.
The Reception Team
This week we will be linking a pirate theme to getting ready for our new classes in year one. We will be discussing our feelings about starting in year one and familiarising ourselves with our new classroom and environment. We will be drawing maps of how to get to our new classes, drawing our own pirate maps and following maps to find the buried treasure! Please ask your child who their new Teacher is and discuss any worries with them.
In maths this week we will be learning to tell the time in O’clock and half past the hour. We will be using money to recognise coins up to 10p and learning how to count coins to buy items of amounts up to 10p. We will also be recapping positional language. Can your child count around the clock and say O’clock times?
In phonics this week we will be assessing the children’s progress from this term ready for their new groups in September. The children all work incredibly hard in their phonics lessons so we are excited to see their results. Please continue to support your child by reading at home and completing their online homework.
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/umYynzbs/NR8cRQVG
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/qAIKCOjU/gqlo4k5R
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/ho6KTQZu/pbOx50KR
This week we will be making musical instruments. A letter will be going home to request that your child designs their instrument and if you can also provide the resources for them to make them in school. Please bring these in a named carrier bag.
On Monday the children will be meeting their new teachers. They will spend some time in their new classes getting to know their new Teacher.
Thank you for your continued support.
The Reception Team.
This week our topic is Habitats. We will learn about what a habitat is and what that means for the animals. We will be comparing contrasting habitats and looking at similarities and differences. We will be learning about the habitats of arctic and desert animals and looking at the animal habitats in our local environment. We will also learn about nocturnal and diurnal animals. What animals has your child seen in your local environment and what do they need to survive?
In maths, this week we will be learning about maps. We will be making our own maps of our journey to school. We will be using positional language to talk about our journeys. We will be designing our own treasure maps. At the end of the week we will be completing mazes and seeing how we can challenge ourselves to complete more complicated ones. Ask your child about their journey to school. Is it in a car, by foot and what do they see on the way?
We are working so hard in phonics and this being shown off in their writing and reading. An extra well done for those children who are doing their online work and practising their reading book at home. Those children who are consistently completing their online homework and reading regularly are the children who are making the best progress. Please continue to read every night at home as this gives your child the best support in helping them to move forward with their phonics.
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/umYynzbs/NR8cRQVG
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/qAIKCOjU/gqlo4k5R
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/ho6KTQZu/pbOx50KR
On Friday 14th July at 9.00 am it will be Reception’s sport’s day. Please come and join us if you can.
The weather is a bit unpredictable next week. Please could you provide your child with a waterproof so they can still enjoy the outside area.
Please can your child bring a water bottle to school as it is very warm in the classrooms. Can you also apply sun cream to your child before they come to school as we are unable to apply it on them. Many brands do an 8 hour cream which means your child doesn’t need to reapply it in school. Thanks for your support.
Have a great week.
The Reception Team
Our topic this week is houses. We will be going on a walk around our local area to look at the different buildings and learning about their history. We will be drawing our own maps of the route we take. We will be looking at houses from different eras and putting them on a time line. We will imagine our dream houses. We will listen to the story of The 3 Little Pigs and discuss the materials that they were made of and discuss which materials make strong houses. We will then investigate which materials would make a boat that could hold marbles and not sink. Discuss with your child what your house is made of and what type of house it is.
In maths we will be making predictions about whether there are more or few objects and comparing quantities. We will then be using our maths skills of addition and subtraction to solve a variety of problems. We will be making boats out of different materials and testing to find out which one will hold the most marbles before sinking. We will also be measuring objects in the classroom using non-standard measures. Can you child investigate which objects around the home will float and sink?
We are working so hard in phonics and this being shown off in their writing and reading. An extra well done for those children who are doing their online work and practising their reading book at home. Those children who are consistently completing their online homework and reading regularly are the children who are making the best progress. Please continue to read every night at home as this gives your child the best support in helping them to move forward with their phonics.
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/umYynzbs/NR8cRQVG
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/qAIKCOjU/gqlo4k5R
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/ho6KTQZu/pbOx50KR
On Tuesday 27th June we will be going on our walk around the local area. Please return the consent form by Tuesday morning so your child can participate. We can not take your child unless we have your permission.
Please can you check the cardigans and jumpers you chid brings home as many have gone missing and are named. Brooke Greenhill has two missing cardigans and her Mum would be grateful if they are found.
The lovely weather is set to continue so please can you provide your child with a named sunhat and a water bottle each day. There are still a few children coming to school without a water bottle . Please can you also apply sun cream to your child before they come to school as we are unable to apply it on them. Many brands do an 8 hour cream which means your child doesn’t need to reapply it in school. Thanks for your support.
Have a great week.
The Reception Team
