Author: Mrs Wood

Phonics stay & Learn
Thank you to all the parents and carers who joined our phonics stay and learn on Wednesday. We hope you found it helpful! We’re sure you were impressed by the incredible progress the children have made—they really are phonics superstars! If you were unable to attend, we’ve put a copy of the presentation slides and any resources handed out during the stay & learn.

Please take a moment to complete the feedback form. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or raise them at your parent–teacher meeting next week.

Literacy
This week, we’ve been reading Great Fairies of the World by Stephanie Moss. This rhyming story introduces a range of fairy characters who have jobs that help others, such as an architect fairy, doctor fairy and engineer fairy, to name just a few!
We talked about what real-life heroes do and how they help people. Some of the children said they wanted to be real-life heroes when they’re older. They shared that they would like to be firefighters, doctors, police officers, vets, and lifeguards. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning about all the different jobs and the important roles these heroes play in helping others.

Ali – When I’m older, I would like to be a vet.
Oy – I would like to be a doctor to help people get better.
Fin – I would like to be a vet like my sister.
Imo – I would like to be a lifeguard.
Kai – I would like to be a police officer.

On Wednesday, we decided to create our own fairy wands to help us feel brave, strong, and magical in our classroom. The children enjoyed choosing their materials and decorating their wands.

In provision, we linked our fiction story to non-fiction learning by role-playing real-life heroes. The children took on different roles and explored how people in these jobs help others in the real world. We had lots of poorly patients in our role-play area!

Here’s a snapshot of fantastic learners busy tackling this week’s challenges!

Help at home: 

This week, we’ve been super busy being superheroes.
On Tuesday, the children arrived in the classroom to discover that the Evil Pea had been up to his mischievous tricks. He had trapped the super veggies in a bowl! We used our fantastic detective skills to search the classroom and spot clues he had left behind. We made wanted posters and displayed them around the school to help find him.
On Wednesday, the Evil Pea was up to his mischievous tricks once again! He had taped the super veggies to the window and left us a message saying, “Mwah ha ha! You can’t catch me!”
On Thursday, we couldn’t believe our eyes… the Evil Pea had trapped the super veggies up high in a basket. We really had to use our detective skills to help capture the Evil Pea.
What a busy week we’ve had! They’ve wowed us with their amazing creativity and imaginative play. From finding and writing signs for clues to designing and building traps, we’ve seen some fantastic teamwork.
Maths
In Maths, we continued to develop our understanding of composition. We used the Hungarian number pattern (die pattern) to explore ways of making 5. We sang 5 Little Aliens in a Flying Saucer to help remember the pairs of numbers that make 5.
On Wednesday, we noticed there wasn’t enough space on the die frame for 6 aliens. To extend our learning, we used a double dice frame to explore numbers 6 and 7, understanding them as 5 and a bit.

Help at home: Number bonds to 5 game

• Put 5 small things into a bag.
• Ask your adult to take some things out of the bag.
• Then, you take the rest of the things out of the bag.
• How many things does your adult have? How many do you have?
• How many altogether?

Phonics
This week, we learnt our final phase 3 graphemes (air, er) and tricky words (are, pure, sure)
Next half-term, we’ll revisit all of the phase 3 digraphs and trigraphs. We’ll also be reading words with:

• double letters (h-a-mm-er)
• two or more digraphs (ch-a-tt–er)
• ending in –ing (l-oo-k/i-ng)
• s /z/ in the middle (visit  sounds like v-i-z-i-t)
• s /s/ /z/ at the end (c-oo-k-s)
• es at the end (t-or-ch-es)

Reminders

• Phonics Phase 3 Stay & Learn – Wednesday 4th February
  9:00–9:20am – Phase 3 phonics presentation
  9:25–10:00am – Watch a Phase 3 phonics lesson
  Due to limited space, one adult per child may attend.
• Parent-teacher meetings – Tuesday 10th & Thursday 12th February
  I look forward to chatting to you all about your child’s learning.
• School trip – Wednesday 25th February

This week in our literacy lessons, we enjoyed reading Penguin Huddle by Ross Montgomery. In the story, the penguins huddled together during an icy storm, but it was so cold that they got stuck together and couldn’t break free!
Our word of the week was huddle. To help us understand the word, we made our own huddle in class. Ask your child if they can explain what huddle means and use it in a sentence.
We also talked about how Antarctica is different from the United Kingdom. We looked at photographs of Antarctica and compared them with images of the UK, identifying similarities and differences.
Maths – Composition

This week, the children consolidated their understanding of the composition of 5 using the familiar rhyme 5 Little Speckled Frogs. By singing the rhyme and moving the frogs during each verse, the children explored part–part–whole relationships. For example, they discovered that 5 can be made up of 3 and 2.

We talked through examples together:

There are 5 frogs on the log and 1 frog in the pool. 5 is made up of 4 and 1.
There are 3 frogs on the log and 2 frogs in the pool. 5 is made up of 3 and 2.

We also used our fingers to represent this, holding up 5 fingers and then putting one down each time. Fingers pointing up represented the frogs on the log, and fingers pointing down represented the frogs in the pool.
Phonics
In Spring 1, Week 3, we focused on the digraphs ur, ow, oi and the trigraph ear. We also learned the tricky words my, by, all. Tricky words are words that should be read by sight.
Help at home: Play Tricky Word Splat

• Write a selection of tricky words on paper or sticky notes
• Place them on the floor or table
• Say a tricky word for your child to splat
• You could jump on the words, splat them with a masher, or create your own fun ideas!

Here’s a snapshot of some of the learning that’s taken place across the areas this week.

Maths
This week, we continued to develop our counting skills. Our main focus was the stable order principle—understanding that numbers always stay in the same order. To explore this, we used cubes, marbles, bottle tops and counters to build staircase patterns. We also had to use our super fine motor skills, especially when working with the marbles!
When creating our staircase patterns, we discovered that each number has a value that is one more than the previous number.
Help at home: Try making a staircase pattern at home. What could you use?

Literacy
This week, we continued reading Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. For our writing activities, we created missing posters and drew pictures of items we would pack if we went on a journey to the South Pole. We also enjoyed watching the live penguin cam at Edinburgh Zoo.
On Wednesday, some of the children went on a walk around the school to take photos of signs of winter. We shared the photos with the class and discussed how we know it is winter.
Encouraging love of reading at home
Thank you for your continued support with reading at home. Sharing books regularly helps to build your child’s language, imagination and confidence, and most importantly, helps them develop a love of reading.

Even a few minutes each day makes a big difference. Letting children choose books they enjoy and talking about stories together helps reading feel fun and meaningful.

We would love it if you could share a photo of you and your child enjoying a story together so we can display it in our reading corner. Please send your photos to [email protected].

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

 

Happy New Year to all of our wonderful Reception families! We hope you had a lovely break and are feeling refreshed, recharged, and ready for an exciting half-term ahead!

Living & Learning
On Monday, we talked about how we can respect ourselves. Mrs Boulton shared lots of different examples of how we can look after our bodies, make good choices, and feel proud of who we are. Some of the children were eager to share how they respect themselves.

Ar – I respect myself when I don’t want to play someone’s game and I choose a different game to play with different people or I sit by myself.
Fin – I wear my helmet when I ride my bike.
Oy – I hold the railings when I walk to school to keep myself safe.
Meh – I respect myself when I cross the road and wait for the green light.

Maths
This week, we’ve been using our “fast eyes” to practise subitising (recognising quantities without counting) using more complex dot arrangements. The children looked carefully at the dots, took a “picture” with their eyes, closed their eyes, and then explained what they saw. We used spatial language to describe the arrangements, for example:
“There are 3 dots on the top and 2 dots on the bottom.”

Help at home:
Draw some linear and paired dot arrangements similar to the ones below for numbers 3 to 6.
Ask your child to:

1. Take a picture with their eyes
2. Close their eyes
3. Explain the arrangement
   They could even try drawing it in the air.

Literacy
Our focus story for the first two weeks is Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. On Wednesday, we talked about what we would do if we found a penguin. Some of the children’s ideas were:

If I found a penguin, I would…

Give it a hug
Ask Mummy to draw a map to help the penguin find its home
Make a cold area in the house
Help the penguin find its mummy
Be a good friend to the penguin

We’ve also been learning about Antarctica. We located England and Antarctica on a map, watched a clip from Frozen Planet, and discussed the differences between the climate in England and Antarctica.

Our word of the week was iceberg. We looked at pictures of icebergs and talked about what an iceberg is.
Help at home:
Ask your child if they can remember what an iceberg is.

Next week, we’re looking forward to learning more about winter and colder regions.

Take a look at some of this week’s winter learning in the areas of provision.
Reminder

• Library session has moved to Fridays
  Please make sure your child’s library book is returned every Friday.
• Every Thursday, we write in your child’s reading record. Please make sure you write a comment in your child’s reading record for us to celebrate in school.
• Phonics Phase 3 Stay & Learn – Wednesday 4th February
  9:00–9:20am – Phase 3 phonics presentation
  9:25–10:00am – Watch a Phase 3 phonics lesson
  Due to limited space, one adult per child may attend.

 

What a busy final week we’ve had in Reception! We’re so proud of all the Reception children for their fantastic singing — they’re all shining stars. Thank you to everyone who came to watch. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
On Monday, your child should have brought home a bag of reindeer food. The food is environmentally friendly. It is made from bird seed, porridge oats and sultanas. Don’t forget to sprinkle it outside on Christmas Eve for the hungry reindeers to enjoy.

Yesterday, we had lots of fun using the Christmas photobooth.
Things you could be doing to support learning over the Christmas holidays:

• Continue to read your eBooks together.
• Practise saying and writing the Phase 2 graphemes. Use the Little Wandle letter formation phrases to help.
• Practise reading all of the Phase 2 tricky words in your red phonics home-learning book.
• To support counting, involve your child in setting the table — How many forks? How many knives?
• To support fine motor skills, encourage your child to help an adult cut up vegetables.
• To support communication and language, make sure you have daily chats with your child. Regular interactions help to develop language skills.

Finally, we hope you have a happy and healthy break. Enjoy spending some quality time with friends and family.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of the Reception Team!

Literacy
This week, we have been learning all about The Christmas Story. We used actions to help us remember the events, and the children really enjoyed joining in. Click here to watch us.

We wrote our own sentences about a scene from The Christmas Story. The children used their segmenting skills to write the sounds they could hear. In Reception, we encourage them to try writing by themselves. Sometimes you will see words spelled phonetically – this is absolutely fine. It helps the children become confident, enthusiastic writers!

On Tuesday, we had great fun decorating the Christmas tree in the hall. It now looks wonderfully festive and ready for next week’s Christmas performances and parties!
Here’s a snapshot of some of the Christmas challenges we’ve been completing this week.
Christmas events happening next week

Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 – Christmas Production: Wriggly Nativity
Tuesday 16 December – 2:15pm–3:00pm
Wednesday 17 December – 9:30am–10:00am
Thursday 18 December – Christmas Lunch
Friday 19 December – Non-uniform Day & Christmas Party

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our role-play area. The children had great fun being elves and decorating the area ready for Christmas.
Owl Babies
This week, we have been reading Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. We remembered key phrases from the story and used actions to help us retell it. The children really enjoyed bringing the characters to life through movement and expression.

Check out our fluffy baby owls!
Phonics
This week, we revisited all of the Phase 2 phonemes and continued to build confidence in recognising and using them. We also practised reading words with the ‘s’ at the end. We talked about how it can change a word to mean “more than one.”
Help at home: Can your child blend (read) and segment (write) the following words?
ships, bags, cats, pots, cups, pins, digs

Tricky Words
We have now learnt all of the Phase 2 tricky words. These words can be challenging because they can’t be fully sounded out using phonics. Instead, the children learn to recognise them by sight. They have been working hard and are becoming increasingly confident at spotting these words in their reading.
Help at Home
Have fun finding tricky words around your house!

How to play:
• Write the Phase 2 tricky words on pieces of paper.
• Stick them up around your house.
• Go on a hunt! How many can you find? Don’t forget to read them aloud.
• You could even turn it into a race with someone at home.

Thank you to all the parents and carers who came to the Learning Journey drop-ins this week. We hope you enjoyed looking through your child’s book and seeing the amazing progress they have made in their first term at school.

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

Focus story/literacy learning
This week, we’ve been reading How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers. Together, we sequenced the story and talked about what happened at the beginning, middle, and end.

In the middle of the story, the boy sees a reflection of a star in the water. Reflection was our word of the week. We used mirrors to help us understand what a reflection is. The children had lots of fun pulling funny faces and discovering how reflections work!
On Wednesday, we learned about star constellations. After looking at some pictures of different star constellations, we had a go at drawing our own.
Art
Last Friday, Mrs Boulton created a mini art gallery to introduce this half-term’s featured artist, Howardena Pindell. The children spent time looking closely at some of her artwork and talking about the colours and patterns they could see.
This week, we used hole punchers, soft pads, and paint to create our own representations inspired by Pindell’s style. The children really enjoyed experimenting overlapping the colours.
Maths: Composition
We developed our understanding of the composition of numbers by investigating the composition of 3, 4 and 5. We consolidated our understanding of a whole being made up of smaller parts by using cubes to compose and de-compose numbers. We also introduced the part–part–whole model to the children.
We played the hats game to help us understand the parts of 3, 4 and 5.
How many children are holding a hat? (part)
How many children are not holding a hat? (part)
How many are there altogether? (whole)

We watched the Numberblocks Stampoline video and had a go at printing our own Stampoline patterns of 4. We also used double-sided counters to explore the compositions of 3, 4, and 5. The children enjoyed investigating the different ways these numbers can be made.
Help at home: Draw, paint or create your own Stampoline patterns at home.

Here’s a collage of some more amazing learning that’s happened in our classroom this week.
Christmas is coming!
We’ve started to practise the Christmas songs for our Christmas performance. We can’t wait for you to come and watch us sing on Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 December.

Reminders
– Learning journey drop in’s – Monday 01 or Thursday 04 December
3.00 – 3.30pm Thank you for signing up!
– The cold weather is here! Please make sure your child comes to school wearing a suitable coat.

In Literacy, we read Night Monkey, Day Monkey by Julia Donaldson. For our writing activity, the children drew and labelled pictures showing things they see and do during the day and at night time.
In provision, we investigated shadows through hands-on exploration. The children used torches to discover how shadows changed size when they moved the light source closer to and further away from objects. The chilli challenge to create shadow puppets captured the children’s imagination in the creative area, leading to lots of talk about shadows.
In maths, we introduced the children to  composition by focusing on the preliminary skills: the concept of ‘wholes’ and ‘parts’. We investigated composition using own bodies and familiar toys. We used this stem sentence My […] is a part of me and the whole of me is [name] to explain our parts. We hope you enjoyed watching our maths session on Tuesday!

Help at home: Look at the pictures. Can you see the parts?

Thank you for attending Tuesday’s maths stay and learn session. I hope you enjoyed watching our maths sessions all about composition. Your feedback is important to us, so please complete the parent feedback form when you can. If you couldn’t attend, you can view the slides here. As always, if you have any questions, please speak to me at the end of the day.

On Wednesday, we thoroughly enjoyed watching a live production performance called Hare and Tortoise.

Am – I liked it when they were singing.
Ayy – I liked it when we had to clap.
Im – That show was awesome! I enjoyed the clapping.
Sat – I liked it when the Hare went to sleep.
Fin – I enjoyed the running race.

Learning Journey Drop In’s
Monday 1st or Thursday 4th December 3.00 – 3.30pm
A sign-up letter is in your child’s bookbag. Please return the slip by Thursday 27th November. We look forward to sharing your child’s books with you.