This week we will continue our work on Autumn and the changing season. We will be looking at the stories ‘Don’t Hog the Hedge’ and ‘Little acorns’. The children will discuss the stories and will talk about similarities and differences in the texts. They will focus a lot this week on hibernation and how some animals prepare for the upcoming winter during the Autumn season. We will continue with a range of Autumn activities both inside and outside and will even do some pumpkin bashing. With the weather changing we would like to remind you to please send your child into school with a waterproof coat with a hood. Please name their coat so if your child leaves it in the canteen by mistake it can be returned to them.
This week the children will be recapping on all the sounds taught over the last few weeks ready for their assessments next week. Please remember to go through all of the sounds sent home each day so that your children is able to say the sounds speedily. If confident with the sounds then start to put the sounds to gether to make simple CVC words for your child to blend. e.g. s-a-t, sat. There is a video below to watch with your child to encourage them to join in with blending sounds and to show you how we teach this in school.
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/ioc2eQ9s/nloCvPni
This week, the children will engage with activities that draw attention to the purpose of counting – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are. They have used subitising to identify the number in a set; they will now develop their counting skills to enable them to identify how many there are in a set that cannot be subitised. This connects subitising and counting to cardinality whereby the last number in the count tells us ‘how many’ things there are altogether. Using a ‘circling’ gesture to indicate all of the objects in a set will support children to develop an understanding of cardinality. They will also practise developing 1:1 correspondence, by counting numbers at the same time as moving or tagging the objects. The children will also explore how all sorts of things can be counted, including sounds. To support this at home you could sing different number songs with your child. Follow the link below for an example of a counting song.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/articles/zkfxwty
We have noticed recently that some children are finding it difficult to listen to adults and are sometimes responding with “no” when asked to follow an instruction. We would really appreciate your support in reinforcing the same expectations at home. Please remind your child that when an adult is speaking to them, they need to stop, listen and follow the instruction they have been given. We regularly remind the children that the adults in school are there to help them learn, keep them safe and make sure they have the best possible time at school. By working together and having the same expectations at home and school, we can help the children to develop these important listening and behaviour skills.
A little reminder that now we have reached week 6 the children are becoming very tired. It is not unusual for children to start saying they do not want to come to school. It has been a very busy time for them where they have already learned so much and they are beginning to feel a little bit tired. Unfortunately this half term is eight weeks long so they have a couple of weeks to go. Try to ensure your child has a regular bedtime and is getting enough sleep. Try to keep evenings and weekends less busy so they have the chance to recharge ready for the week ahead. They are all doing amazingly and have settled in to Reception very well. Thank you for all the support with bringing your child to school each day. If your child is struggling throughout the day then we would let you know so be assured that once in school they are usually fine. If you have any concerns then speak to staff at the end of the day or email on [email protected] or [email protected]
Have a wonderful week,
The Reception Team