Welcome back! We hope you had a great holiday.
This term in Reception, our themes will be ‘Fire and Ice’, ‘Superheroes’ and ‘Chinese New Year’.
Frozen planet
Our return to school often coincides with frosty weather. We use this as a stimulus for learning. As a scientist, your child will investigate ice: making it and melting it. They will use their senses to describe how the weather has changed and the effects on their environment. Linking to Geography, your child will find out which are the coldest regions on Earth, using globes or maps of the world. They’ll learn about animals which live in these places and what it’s like to live there.
Superheroes
This theme is all about different superheroes! At first, your child will use their imagination to create their own fictional superhero stories using small world resources to develop their ideas. Your child will then learn that superheroes are in their lives every day. Developing their drama skills, they’ll take on the role of doctors, paramedics and police during role-play times. Your child will also consider what makes them special, learning how important and individual we all are.
Chinese New Year
This theme takes place during the week that Chinese New Year occurs each year. As a geographer, your child will find China on a globe or world map. They will find out about the story relating to Chinese New Year, learning about customs and traditions. They will watch dragon dances and create their own versions of these with their friends.
Phonics
We will continue to learn digraphs(two letters that make one sound) in phonics. This week the new phonemes are sh and ch. The children will be learning how to blend plurals eg cats, naps, hits.
Literacy
The children will be encouraged to continue to use their phonic knowledge to write labels and captions for their drawings. They will begin to write sentences.
These are the main books we will be reading and retelling this half term.
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
The Magic Paintbrush by Julia Donaldson
Supertato by Paul Linnet and Sue Hendra
Maths
The children will be encouraged to continue representing quantities in different ways, including by showing amounts on 1 hand ‘all at once’. There will also be a new focus on the symbolic representation of number and the children will work on their recognition of numerals to 5, matching numerals to correct quantities in various games.
They will play games which involve counting on and use number tracks (with numbers placed in equal spaces in ascending order) to play dice-based games. Playing games with dice will consolidate the children’s understanding of the stable order of numbers.
Why not play some board games at home?
