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We are starting our new half term with the topic of Summer. We will be learning about changes in the weather, sun safety, signs of Summer, our senses , what to wear and learning some Summer songs. Look out for signs of Summer when you are out and about, what can you see, hear, smell, touch and taste?

In Maths, children will build on their knowledge of simple AB patterns from the autumn term. They will be introduced to more complex patterns such as ABC and ABCD, where all the elements are different. This can then progress to AABB, AAB and ABB patterns. Pattern structures are seen to be easier when all the elements repeat, so children may find AABB easier than AAB. They will then explore patterns with the same start and end point, such as ABBA, which are more complex. Children may naturally join in with sound patterns that fit different structures, and this is all part of learning. It is important to encourage them to listen carefully to adults or music-making sound patterns and identify which structure is being used. Can you sing and make up silly songs that follow different structures, such as, ‘stomp, dinosaur, dinosaur, stomp’ for ABBA, so that children recognise that this can be audible as well as visual.

In phonics, the children will start work in their new phonics groups. They are continuing to make great progress and you may notice your child has a new colour book indicating that they have moved up a group. Continue to go over the sounds your child has been taught so far this year and put the sounds into words to ensure your child is able to read the sounds within words confidently. Remember that a book is sent home each week and an online book and quiz is set to support your child’s learning. Please encourage your child to complete this work.

As the weather warms up please ensure that your child comes to school each day with a water bottle and a hat. Please can you also apply sun cream to your child before they come to school as we are unable to do this for them.

Have a great week.

The Reception Team

This week we will be continuing our topic of a ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ We will learn about different ways we can stay healthy such as being active, understanding what a healthy plate looks like, the importance of sleep, how to keep a healthy mind and mindfulness. We will also look at reducing screen time.

In Maths the children will begin to develop an understanding of sharing. They will investigate what sharing is and describe equal sharing as fair and unequal sharing as unfair. Within this block, we explore sharing and grouping, which are both different methods of division. Sharing involves dividing a set equally between a certain number of groups. Grouping involves dividing a set by placing a certain number of items in each group. Activities such as sharing snacks or playing group games are great opportunities for children to notice when it is fair. These practical activities help children see whether items have been shared equally and whether everyone has the same. Children may remember from previous steps the concepts of even and odd numbers relating to this, which will be focused on in later steps. Exposing children to this concept of sharing into groups and beginning to identify when these groups are equal will ensure that children are ready to move on to the next step.​

The children are all working well in their phonic groups with most of the children having now been taught their set 2 sounds of ay, ee, igh, ow, oo, oo, ar, or, air, ir, ou and oy. Please continue to go over these sounds regularly and make sure your child can read these words fluently. Add the sounds to the set 1 sounds already learned and see if your child can read words such as sheep, fight, part etc.

To conclude our topic on ‘Being Healthy’ we will be having a wheels day on Friday 15^th May. On this day, your child may bring a wheeled item into school. This could be a bike, scooter, skateboard or pram. Please provide any safety equipment such as bike helmets. The children will aim to do 10 laps of the school playground  as part of our learning on keeping active. 

All children will be taking part in the day, if they do not have a wheeled item then please speak to a member of the team and we will sort a resource in school.  

Have a great week

The Reception Team

Welcome to the Summer term, this week we will be focusing on new life. We will learn about the life-cycles of frogs, hens and butterflies and about which animals are born at this time of year. We will read a variety of Non-Fiction books to learn more about these animals.

In Maths, children will be encouraged to build on their conceptual subitising, ‘1 more’ and ‘1 less’ skills by focusing on the composition of numbers to 10. As children’s number sense develops, they learn to see greater numbers as a whole number and its parts at the same time. The children will explore number bonds to 10 using real objects in different contexts and build 10 using two parts.

At home, explore different ways of building the bonds to 10, for example, parking 10 toy cars in two car parks. Use egg boxes with 10 holes that can be partially filled with objects. Ask children how many more we need to make 10. Seasonal songs also support children making bonds, using actions with fingers to represent making 10​.

See the number bonds to 10 song to practise on the link below.

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=number+bonds+to+10+images&mid=684B76BB06FC334964A1684B76BB06FC334964A1&FORM=VIRE#:~:text=3%3A38-,Number%20Bonds%20to%20Ten%20Song!%20A%20Fun%20Way%20to%20Learn%20Number%20Bonds%20for%20Kids!,-YouTube

The children will start their new groups this week. You may find your child is on a new colour book and may have different work set online. Please check reading diaries for work set at the end of this week. Please continue to listen to your child read and support them with completing their homework.

This week we will be taking part in the Mini London Marathon , Reception will complete a 2 mile run over the course of 4 days.

Now that the weather has taken a turn for the better the children are enjoying being outside for even longer periods. Please remember to send in a waterproof coat with a hood into school each day so that our child can still access the outside area even in Spring showers and when the weather turns a bit chilly.

Have a great week.

The Reception Team

This week we will be learning all about Spring. We will be going on a Spring walk to spot the signs of Spring, spotting changes in the weather and in nature. Can your child spot the signs of Spring when you are out and about?

In Maths, the children will continue to practise recalling the composition of numbers as doubles. Then, towards the end of the week, the children will apply their sorting skills to numbers and will investigate ways to sort the Number blocks. They will use their previous experience of investigating doubles to begin to practically explore even and odd numbers. Within the context of building Number blocks characters, they will investigate when a number can be composed of 2 equal parts. It is anticipated that the children will quickly identify that even numbers can be composed as doubles, through their experience of seeing numbers composed of 2 equal parts. ​Practise recalling the doubles to 5 with your child.

The children have now been in their new groups for a couple of weeks and are moving forward with their learning. They are recapping over sounds already learned and are learning new sounds. Every child now has an online login in their reading diaries. Please make sure you follow the link to Oxford Owl and assist your child to access the learning set for them. Your child will also have either a reading book or Ditty sheets to read alongside this online work. Please try to find time each night to do one of these reading activities and sign the reading diary to say how your child read.

Have a great week

The Reception Team

This week is Science week. Children across the school will be taking part in a range of different science activities and learning opportunities. In Reception we will be focusing on planting and growth. The children will be involved in a live lesson online as well as carrying out an experiment involving cress. Each child will also plant their own bean to go alongside our focus story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. As we move into the season of Spring we will be talking about new growth and different signs of Spring. This is something you could talk to your child about and look for when out and about.

The children have now been in their new groups for a couple of weeks and are moving forward with their learning. They are recapping over sounds already learned and are learning new sounds. Every child now has an online login in their reading diaries. Please make sure you follow the link to Oxford Owl and assist your child to access the learning set for them. Your child will also have either a reading book or Ditty sheets to read alongside this online work. Please try to find time each night to do one of these reading activities and sign the reading diary to say how your child read.

Scan this QR code with a phone or tablet or follow the link for extra practice videos. https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/resources/vc-pathways/373069/bEaieYkDTo8l5a3Q

In Maths this week, 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. At home you could prompt your child to notice doubles by playing games such as dominoes, where they 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!”

Doubles rap https://youtu.be/Ik_-OAgzD-8?t=1

At last we have started to see some better weather with the sun making a welcome appearance. We ask that you still send your child into school with a waterproof coat with a hood, even if the weather forecast is saying there is no rain. As you know the British weather is unpredictable and can become wet or cold without much warning. As the children have access to outside throughout the day and spend a good portion of their lunch time outside, it is essential they have a coat if it is needed. They get very upset if they can not go and play with friends or do the activities available outside because they do not have protection from the weather.

Have a wonderful week

The Reception Team