Odd socks day
Next week is Anti-Bullying Week.
This year’s theme is ‘United against bullying’ and we will be taking part in Odd Socks Day on Monday 16 November.
Odd socks day is to raise awareness of our differences, individuality and personal choice. There is no need for any payment – your child should simply wear odd socks and join in the fun!
Thank you for your support.
A busy week so far!
The children have returned to school confidently and ready to learn! We have been really impressed with their learning attitude and behaviour.
In maths, we read a book called ‘The button box’ and the children had a great time looking through my mum’s button tin!
We discussed what the button might be from and what it was made of.
We then sorted them using different criteria.
We have read lots of books with a witch theme and the children have written recipes for potions and witch’s soup.
There was great excitement when we discovered a real spider in the classroom! The children then designed and built a ‘spider house.’
Welcome back
We hope you had a great half term!
Here is some of the learning that will take place this half-term.
Phonics
We will continue to learn letters and sounds from Phase 2.
Set 3. g, o , c , k, ck
Set 4. ck, e, u, r
Set 5. h, b, f, ff, l, ll, ss
In addition, children will learn the ‘tricky words’ the, to, into, go, no.
We will be sending flashcards and words to practise at home.
English
This half term, we will be reading stories with an Autumn theme and encouraging children to retell them. They will be encouraged and supported to use their phonic knowledge to write labels for their drawings.
To celebrate World Nursery Rhyme week starting 16 November, we will learn five nursery rhymes.
You can find information about this and activities to try at home at
Maths
We will continue to learn numbers to 10 and introduce the idea that all numbers are made of smaller numbers(composition). Children will understand that as we count, each number is one more than the number before. As we count back, each number is one less than the previous number.
Don’t forget to email us with any questions.
moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
Parent Partnership
We recognise that you are the children’s first and most enduring educators and would like to encourage you to share your unique knowledge of them.
Please take a look at this workshop presentation to see how you can share your child’s ‘wow’ moments and achievements with us.
moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
Phonics
Reception are loving their phonics lessons and are all gaining confidence in forming letters and making words.
Please practise the phonemes at home and encourage them to practise writing the letters and their name.
You can see how we form our letters here.
Learn how we teach phonics.
Phonics
We have begun phase 2 of our phonics learning and have learnt the phonemes s, a, t, p.
This week we will continue with set 2 g, o , c, k, ck
Has your child been talking about ‘phonemes’ and ‘graphemes’ yet?
Don’t worry- you can learn about these terms and how we teach phonics here.
As we learn new letters and their sounds, we also learn how to write them.
You can see how we write the letters here.
If you have any questions please email and remember to let us know about those ‘wow’ moments at home.
moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
This week’s learning
Maths
This week we will continue sorting and comparing sets of objects and talk about which set has more and which has fewer.
We will also learn all about the number 2.
Why not watch Numberblocks with your child and talk about 2.
English
We will be reading the story, ‘Leafman’ and drawing a story map. The children will be encouraged to think about the events in the story and use language such as first, then, next and finally.
As children gain confidence in phonics, they will be encouraged to label their drawings.
Encourage your child to ‘have a go’ at writing their names and labels for drawings. Remember- at this stage we want to encourage their confidence in having a go.
One of your five a day
In Reception, Year 1 and 2, the children benefit from the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, a government programme that entitles every child to a piece of fruit or vegetable each school day.
Fruit and vegetables are key to a healthier lifestyle for all of us and experts recommend that everyone eats at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables in a day.
Eating fruit and vegetables every day helps children and teenagers grow and develop, boosts their vitality and can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases – such as heart disease, high blood pressure, some forms of cancer and being overweight or obese.
The children enjoy a variety of different fruit and vegetables and these all contribute to their 5 a day. We even tried radishes last week!
To ensure no food waste, sometimes the children may bring home a piece of fruit or vegetables. Change 4 life provides more ideas for achieving 5 a day.
If you would prefer, you are welcome to send a snack with your child for playtimes but this should only be fruit or vegetables.
Sorting
In maths this week, the children have taken part in different sorting activities.
Sorting is an important early maths skill.
By sorting, children understand that things are alike and different as well as that they can belong and be organized into certain groups. Lots of practice with sorting is important for developing numerical concepts.
Try some sorting activities at home. Children love sorting objects like buttons, small toys and coins. They could even help sort the laundry!
Please send some photos.
moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
This week’s learning
We are really impressed with how well the children have settled. They have quickly learnt the routines and are ready and eager to learn.
Reading
Your child will bring a book home this week. These books don’t contain any words at this stage. Please share the book with your child. Encourage them to talk about the characters and events and predict the ending.
Use the reading record book to write a short comment.
We will change books weekly, so please keep both the book and the record book in their bookbag.
Phonics
We will begin phase 2 of our phonics programme, ‘Letters and Sounds’ this week. In this phase children will be taught the phonemes (sounds) for a number of letters (graphemes), which phoneme is represented by which grapheme and that a phoneme can be represented by more than one letter, for example, /ll/ as in b-e-ll. We use Jolly Phonics actions to help children remember these phonemes.
We will be continuing with activities to help children identify the initial sounds in words. Games such as, ‘I spy’ are easy to play at home and when out and about.
Phase 2 phonemes:
Set 1: s a t p
Set 2: i n m d
Set 3: g o c k
Set 4: ck (as in duck) e u r
Set 5: h b l f
We will send one set of phonemes home each week to practise at home.
Next week I will post a presentation explaining how we teach early reading and writing and how to help at home.
If you have any questions please email me.
moortowneyfs@spherefedertion.org