Reception Class News

This week in Reception

The last two weeks of the term are always really busy. As we head towards Christmas we will begin our mini-topic of Christmas by decorating our home corner.

Phonics

This week we will learn the phonemes z, qu and ch.  The children will be taught the term ‘digraph’- two letters making one sound.

We are really impressed with how well the children are doing with their phonics learning. Please keep practising the phonemes and listening to your child read at home.

Literacy

The class have been enjoying listening to Julia Donaldson stories and talking about their favourites.

Christmas events

Guess how many ‘reindeer poos’ are in the jar.

The children have seen the jar and have made some guesses about how many ‘reindeer poos’ they think there are. You can enter the competition on the app.

Skipping ropes for sale

This year we are continuing to work with Skipping School to develop the children’s skipping skills. Skipping School ropes (KS1 ropes and longer KS2 ropes) are now available to buy from the office.

Potions!

The children enjoyed making potions in our ‘Potions Lab.’

We made a bubbling potion and children watched what happened when we mixed some magic ingredients (bicarbonate of soda and vinegar) together.

Phonics

This week we will be learning the phonemes j, v, w, x. Please continue to read with your child at home. They have read their reading book three times before bringing it home. Extra reading will increase their confidence.

This week’s story is ‘Room on the broom’ by Julia Donaldson. The children will invent a new character for the story.

Maths

We are continuing to investigate the composition of numbers to 5 as well as learning to count to higher numbers.

We will be comparing size, mass and capacity and using the language heavier, lighter, taller, shorter.

Girls rugby opportunity

Leos Junior Rugby Club are hosting a girls only training session, open to all girls in Reception to Year 6, on Sunday 28th November, with the aim of setting up a girls only rugby team in the area. Please see below for more information.

It’s magic!

This week we start our mini-topic-‘It’s magic’.

Our roleplay area has been transformed into a witch’s kitchen based on the fantastic book, ‘What’s in the witch’s kitchen’ by Nick Sharratt.

The children will be scientists this week making their own potions and observing what happens when different ingredients are mixed together.

Phonics

We have finished the first sets of letters and will be recapping them this week. Please continue to practise blending and segmenting words at home and learning the tricky words to, the, I, no, go, into. When we teach these words,  we look at which part of the word is ‘tricky’.  The children can still use their phonic knowledge to decode them.

Maths

We are continuing to investigate the number 5 and learning which numbers can be used to make 5.

We will also be investigating capacity and building on children’s understanding of full, empty, half full, nearly full and nearly empty.

They will make direct comparisons by pouring from one container to another and indirect comparisons by counting how many pots it takes to fill each container.

Expressive arts and design

Last week the children looked at ‘The Starry Night’ by Vincent Van Gogh and produced their own version using a printing technique.

Don’t forget our drop-in session on Wednesday.

We look forward to seeing you all.

This week in Reception

This week is World Nursery Rhyme Week.

A nursery rhyme is a simple traditional poem or song for children. They date back to the late 1700s when the earliest versions were lullabies that mothers would sing to their babies.

Learning and singing nursery rhymes is beneficial for:

• boosting vocabulary and language development
•  helping children  develop literacy skills
•  providing a fun way to support early numeracy skills
•  helping children develop social, physical and emotional skills

We will be learning five nursery rhymes.

Sleeping bunnies, Incy Wincy Spider, Wind the bobbin up, Down in the jungle and Head, shoulders, knees and toes.

You can find links to all these rhymes at www.worldnurseryrhymeweek.com/

Phonics

The children are really enjoying their phonics lessons and beginning to use the letters and sounds they have learnt to blend and segment words independently. This week we will belearning the phonemes b, f, ff, l,ll. The tricky words are I, no and go.

Maths

Thank you to everyone who attended our maths presentation. I hope you found it useful. If you have any questions, please ask.

This week, the children will continue to engage with activities that draw attention to the purpose of counting – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are. They will develop their understanding of the concept of cardinality (that the last number in the count tells us ‘how many’ things there are altogether).

Children In Need

Friday is a non-uniform day to raise money for Children In Need.

Don’t forget to let us know of any ‘wow’ moments at home. Is your child beginning to notice and read words? Do they try to read signs when out and about?

Please let us know of any achievements.

moortownreception@spherefederation.org

Drop in session

Odd socks day

Next week is Anti-Bullying Week.

This year’s theme is ‘One Kind Word’ and we will be taking part in Odd Socks Day on Monday 15 November.

Odd socks day is to raise awareness of our differences, individuality and personal choice. Come to school wearing your odd socks to celebrate what makes us all unique.

This year, the Junior Leadership Team have requested a voluntary donation of £1 on the day to raise money for our school charity, Dog’s Trust.

Thank you for your support.

A busy first week back!

This week has been really busy!

We made Rangoli patterns and Diwas to celebrate Diwali.

The children are really enjoying their roleplay area which we have turned into an Indian restaurant!

This week’s learning

Phonics

We are continuing to learn letters and their sounds. This week’s letters are e,u,r and we are learning the ‘tricky words’ to and the.

Most children are now bringing home a book with words. The children will be able to read these books as they only contain words with the phonemes we have learnt. They also have a word book containing words to blend. We will send new words home to add to the book each week.

Please read with your child and practise blending each day. Keep the reading book and reading record book in your child’s bookbag so we can read with your child and change their book.

Please ask if you have any questions about reading and phonics.

Maths

This week we will be learning all about the number 5 and building on their understanding of composition by decomposing numbers  by investigating the  composition of 3, 4 and 5. Composing and de-composing numbers involves the children investigating part–part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 3 can be composed of 1 and 2. Through practical experience, they will consolidate their understanding of a whole being made up of smaller parts. They will begin to recognise that numbers can be made by combining parts in different ways.

Don’t forget our Maths Presentation on Tuesday.  This session will give you some guidance on how we teach Maths in Reception and how you can support your child at home.

The session starts at 6pm and will last around 20-25 minutes. There will be a question and answer session at the end of around 5-10 minutes.

Please ask if you have not received the details of the meeting.

Welcome back!

We hope you had a great half-term break!

This term our themes will be ‘Light and Dark’ and ‘It’s magic’.

Phonics

We are continuing to learn letters and their sounds. This week’s letters are e, u,r,h.  We will also learn the first ‘tricky words'(words that are not phonetic)- the, to.

Please keep practising these phonemes and using them to blend(read) and segment(spell).

Maths