Author: Mrs Wood

To get us in the mood for autumn, we’ve been reading Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. We looked closely at the illustrations, drew a picture of our favourite part and created a word tree full of adjectives to describe what autumn leaves look and feel like.

Next week, we will use our word tree to help us make missing posters for Leaf Man.

We also went on a leaf hunt to see if we could find Leaf Man on our field.
The creative chilli challenge was to turn a bare tree into an autumn tree.
Next week, we will continue learning about the autumn changes.

Number 3!
In early years, we like to be really practical to help us with our learning. This week, we’ve played lots of fun and active games to help us learn all about the number 3.

We did some racing games and handed out medals to our friends to help us learn about ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd & 3rd)

We played the Three Billy Goats game.
The children used the cubes to build 3 towers to represent the 3 goats.
1 cube – littlest Billy goat
2 cubes – middle-sized Billy goat
3 cubes – biggest Billy goat
They then rolled a 1-3 die and moved the corresponding tower over the bridge. 
Played a track game.
We used hoops and beanbags to help us understand the parts that make 3. We threw 3 beanbags into a hoop and talked about how many landed inside and how many landed outside. The children were encouraged to record their learning in anyway they liked. Many of them chose to draw a picture of their hoop and where their beanbags landed.
Next week, we will recap numbers 1, 2 and 3 to finalise our learning.

Writing process
In phonics, we’ve started to write captions, e.g. a pin on a map or pat a pig.
To help us with the process, we follow six simple steps.
1. Think about what we want to write.

2. Say the caption aloud.
3. Count the words.

4. Segment each word on our phoneme fingers.
5. Write the words.
6. Check our writing makes sense.

When the children are confident at writing caption, they will begin to write sentences using capital letters and full stops.

Here are some more highlights from this week…

Finally…
I look forward to chatting to you about how well your child has settled at school at the parent-teacher meetings on Tuesday and Thursday next week.

 Home-Link Challenge
Their bag will be in their bookbag!
Thank you to all the parents who to do the home-link challenges. It is always lovely to receive emails of their amazing home learning moments!

Last Friday

Last Friday, a lot of children went home very muddy and this is why!

It was lovely to see the children sharing ideas, thinking critically, and most importantly having fun! One child set a trend by making bear prints. More children joined in and together they created their own bear hunt.

Reception just love to learn!

This week, our classroom has been bursting with positivity! I’m super proud of all the children.  At home time, the children are trying really hard to be independent and organise their own belongings. Independence is something we really encourage in Reception. When exploring the areas, new friendships are developing. Many children are wanting to challenge themselves and think of their own learning.  Take a look at the learning that has been taking place in our classroom this week:

In literacy, the children changed the main character and some of the obstacles the family went through on their bear hunt. Before drawing our versions of the story, we worked together to come up with lots of different ideas. The children came up with some fabulous suggestions. Below are some examples:

We’re Going on a Spider Hunt by CW
We’re Going on a Unicorn Hunt by PB
We’re Going on a Butterfly Hunt by DA

In maths, we moved on to learning the number 2. The children have been great at pairing the socks on the washing line in the home corner. We’ve explored 2 in lots of different ways…
We drew around our friends to spot pairs of body parts.

Counting pairs of animals into the Ark.

Using the part-whole model to support addition. See if your child can remember the parts to make 2.

We played a game where we had to get into groups of 1 or 2. An adult called out 1 or 2 and the children had to either stand in a hoop alone or in a pair.

Number 2 number stories

“First there was one wet me. Then Mummy came along. Now there is me and Mummy.”

“First there was one bird. Then it had a baby. Now there are two birds.”

“First there was one tree. Then another tree started to grow. Now there are two trees.”

Phonics
We’ve finished learning the first set of phase 2 sounds: s,a,t,p,i,n.
The children are brilliant at saying the pure sounds. It’s great to see lots of children beginning to blend. This week, the children were really excited when they received their first reading book. Please make sure you read with your child as much as possible.

Word passports
Today, your child will have brought home their word passport. This book is to stay at home. Every two weeks, your child will bring home a new set of words to stick in their passport. The new set of words will be in their book bag.

Important dates
Home-Link Challenge

Another busy week!

Reading Zoom meeting
Thank you to all the parents that attended the Zoom reading meeting. I hope you found it useful. For those parents that were unable to attend, click here to watch the recording.
Below are the links some of you requested during the meeting.
– Unfortunately, the pure sounds video created by two of our federation teachers is not working. However, click here to watch this video.
–  Jolly Phonics rhymes

Literacy
Our focus story is We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen.
On Tuesday, we went on our very own bear hunt around school and found a bear hiding in the pond area!
They had fun doing actions, using instruments, and drawing their own story maps. They were fantastic at remembering the order of the obstacles!
Click here to watch us retell the story.

One of the chilli challenges this week was to retell the story using the stick puppets. We witnessed some amazing retelling!
Next week, the children will be making up their own versions of the story by changing the main character and some of the obstacles.

Maths
Every week, the children will be introduced to a new focus number. This week, it was number one. We’ve explored what one is, watched the Numberblock 1 video, drew pictures of our own One Wonderful Worlds, and introduced the part-whole model.
One is a part. Zero is a part. One is the whole 
Zero is a part. One is a part. One is the whole.

Some examples of the children’s One Wonderful World pictures:
Library Time
Every Thursday, we visit our school library. The children really enjoy visiting the library, sharing books with their friends, and listening to a whole class story at the end.
Reminders!
– A sound book has been put in your child’s bookbag. Have fun practising the first three phonemes (s, a, t) at home.
– The cold weather is creeping in! Please make sure your child comes to school wearing a suitable coat.
– Next Wednesday, your child will need to come to school wearing their school uniform.

Home-Link Challenge

What have we been up to this week?

Maths
This week, we’ve been learning all about repeating patterns. We’ve been noticing patterns everywhere. The children even pointed out my patterned dress on Tuesday! Each day, the children were asked to make a repeating pattern using different objects/resources. They were fantastic at talking about their patterns and spotting mistakes – oops!

Phonics
This week, our daily phonics sessions have been a mixture of phase 1 activities. Phase 1 focuses on listening to different sounds and oral segmenting* and blending* skills. We went on a listening walk, made rhyming silly soups, and played I spy. Next week, we will begin phase 2. By the end of next week, the children will know the first three sounds: s, a, t.
PE
The children loved their first PE session! Mrs. Palmer will be teaching PE  every Wednesday morning. The children had lots of fun travelling around the hall like animals. Mrs Palmer was very impressed with their amazing listening skills – well done Reception! Even though we only do one PE session a week, in early years we make sure we stay active throughout the week.
Snacks and Water…
Please make sure your child’s water bottle only contains plain water.

Every day, we provide a healthy fruit or vegetable at snacktime. If your child would prefer to bring their own snack, please ensure this contains only fruit and/or vegetables. Snacks from home will stay in the children’s bookbags until snack time at 10 am.

If your child is having grapes for their snack, please ensure that the grapes are cut lengthways.

Chilli challenges
The children have been introduced to the chilli challenges. Each week, there will be six green chilli challenges in different areas. The children will be encouraged to complete the challenges and tick them off on their chilli challenge card (see below). There will also be some red chilli challenges. These challenges are to extend their learning further.

Home-Link Challenge

 

 

 

 

*Segmenting – breaking down a word into individual sounds. 
   Blending – combining all the sounds to read a word. 

Early Reading

Join us for our zoom session on Wednesday 29 September at 6 pm.
This zoom session will provide you with some information regarding the teaching of reading in Reception. You will find out what your child will be bringing home from school to help them on their reading journey and how you can support them in this process.

The session will start at 6 pm and last around 20-25 minutes, plus there will be a question and answer session at the end of around 5-10 minutes.

The link to this zoom session will be emailed to all parents and carers by Monday 27th September. If you do not receive a link and would like to attend please contact the school office.

Transition: Week 2

This week, we welcomed groups 2 and 3. It has been lovely to see the classroom full of busy children doing lots of fantastic learning.
Click here to see what groups 2 and 3 got up to this week.

On Thursday, we had a circle time session. We read the story All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold. We talked about the book’s key message. No matter what we look like, we all have a place in our school. The children were asked to work with a partner to spot things that were the same and things that were different.
Miss Marsden introduced the class bear to the children. They were asked to think of some names for the bear – we had a variety of names! We wrote their suggestions on the whiteboard and the children voted for their favourite. We counted the votes and Sparkle Shots won!
Isolation work
Next week, we will start emailing isolation work to your personal email addresses. Your child only needs to do this work if they are self-isolating.

PE
PE starts next Wednesday. Please make sure your child comes to school in their PE kit.

Parent Partners
This half-term, we’ll be learning about different families, where we live, and autumn changes. Alongside the main themes, we try to plan other areas of learning according to the children’s interests. To help us with this, Parent Partners are key in this process! Throughout the year, we really encourage that you send photos of any ‘WOW’ moments or new interests your child has at home. You can bring these moments into school or send them to stjameseyfs@speherefederation.org.

Reception Zoom session
Thank you to everyone who has attended our recent Zoom sessions to help you support your child at home. Watch the phonics session and the Early Years introduction. (And apologies for the distracting cursor in the latter – maybe that’s a nervous habit of Mr Roundtree!

Home-Link Challenge

 

Transition: Week 1

This week, we welcomed our first group of Reception children. It was lovely to see all of you in your new uniforms! They’ve settled so well and have already started to show us what amazing things they can do! As always, the Reception classroom is a busy learning environment.

Click here to watch what we’ve been up to.

Every morning, we will encourage your child to be independent when doing their daily jobs. The jobs include: hanging up their coat, finding their name, choosing their lunch, and voting for a story.  When you drop off your child, a member of staff will always be available for a quick chat.

 

Things to remember…

  • PE will be every Wednesday – your child should come to school in their PE kit. Our first PE session will be on Wednesday 22 September.
  • A pair of wellies are essential in Foundation! We go outside to play in all weather!
  • Your child will need a labelled water bottle each day. Please ensure the bottle only contains water – no juice, please!
  • The school day is 8.50 am – 3.15 pm.
  • Don’t forget to encourage independence when your child is getting ready for school!

Don’t forget to attend the Reception Zoom session next Wednesday.
It will provide an overview of some of the key aspects in early years.

We look forward to welcoming group 2 and 3 children next week!

Welcome!

I hope you’ve all had a happy and healthy summer. I’m looking forward to seeing you all and welcoming you into your new classroom.

Below is a list of key points to remember:

  • You will wait with your child in the Reception playground until the classroom door opens at 8:50am.
  • PE will be every Wednesday. Your child should come to school in PE kit every Wednesday. However, PE will not start straight away. We’ll let you know when we’ll be starting PE.
  • The school uniform policy is on our website. Please check if you are unsure about any items of clothing or footwear.

    What does my child need?

  • A waterproof coat
  • A pair of wellies
  • A water bottle
  • A small bag containing a full change of clothes (including a top, trousers/leggings, underwear and socks)
  • A sun hat on sunny days

Please make sure all of the above things are NAMED.

If you have any questions, please ask at the start or end of the day.

See you soon!