In Reception we enjoy choosing our learning indoors and outdoors, following our interests through our play-based curriculum. Starting with a story leads to us exploring different themes through a range of fun activities. We aim to learn a number of stories and rhymes off-by-heart over the year and look forward to performing them to you. We enjoy cooking and often bring home tasty bakes. Use the Tapestry application on your android device at home to see all the interesting things your child is involved in and how their learning is developing. Look out for our open parent sessions and remember our door is always open if you have any questions or concerns.
Rock Steady Music School Assembly – Thursday 10th May 2018
The children were part of a rock concert and participated too. They clapped the beat of songs, 1234. We learnt about different rock star instruments and resources they need to play tunes! We learnt about different types of music.
We had great fun and of course a rocking time! And it’s part of working towards the Artsmark award.
Spring Term 2018 Learning
Owls Class – General Information
Welcome to Owls class!
As you enter the classroom, please put coats and bags on their pegs. Water bottles and lunch boxes are placed on the trolley. Book bags are put in trays. Their first activity is to look at a book, complete a puzzle or have a go at their phonics or maths booklets in their tray.
Please let me know on a Monday morning what your child would like for dinner each week.
Please make sure your child has these things in school every day.
All items must be clearly named.
- water bottle
- wellies
- book bag with reading book and record in
- suitable coat for the season/weather (you may wish to provide your child with their own waterproof suit for messy outdoor play)
- craft apron (could be an old shirt or t-shirt
- P.E. kit
- a spare set of clothes on their peg
Library books
P.E. and library time will be on a Friday afternoon. Please remember to bring back library books on a Friday so your child can choose a new book.
Nature Explorers and Cooking/Tasting
On a Wednesday afternoon, every fortnight, the children will have an outdoor learning session based on the ideas of Forest Schools. This may involve a craft using natural materials, cooking on a campfire or going on a nature trail.
Nature Explorers will coincide with cooking or tasting opportunities which will also take place fortnightly.
Reading records
Your child should have brought home a reading book and reading record. Please write in the reading record when you share a book together. At this stage, encourage your child to tell the story by talking through the pictures, answering questions about the story and recognising letter sounds and perhaps even words.
Open mornings
You are welcome to join us every Friday after celebration assembly for Maths games in the classroom. (9.15am-9.30am) Younger siblings welcome.
Each half term we will hold a Reading café. You will be able to watch a mini performance and share a craft based on a story with your child and enjoy refreshments.
Thank you for your support.
Phonics in EYFS
Read Write Inc. Phonemes Pronunciation Guide
Thank you to all the parents of children in EYFS who came to our meeting about phonics. We hope you found it useful. The main things we covered were:
- What phonics is
- How we teach it in Nursery and Reception
- How you can support your child at home
Phonics, the teaching of letters and sounds, has been shown to be the best way to start teaching early reading and spelling.
The first stage is for a child to be able to listen to sounds and tell the difference between them, for example a car driving past or a plane flying overhead. Then they can start listening for sounds in words and join in with making those sounds. Nursery rhymes and songs are a great way of encouraging children to listen for patterns, such as rhyming words and words starting with the same letter. Talking to children and positioning yourself so they can see your face is so important for modelling clear speech so they can copy the shapes their mouths need to make.
By the time they enter Reception, most children are ready to start matching letter sounds to written letters. We have a sound of the day. The children hear the letter name and sound, see how it is written, think of words with that sound in and practise writing the letter. When they children have learned a set of sounds, they can put them together to make words (sounding and blending). For example “p..a..t.” The final stage is being able to break a word into sounds (segmenting) to help spell it.
It is important to use pure sounds. We hope this video will help.
Some words cannot be sounded and blended. We call them ‘tricky words’. Reception children will be given a book mark with words like ‘the’ and ‘go’ on, to help them remember these words.
Phonics is taught in a fun way through using actions, songs and games. We may send home activities for your child to practise. We hope the parents of children in Reception find the leaflet, ‘Learning Through Play: Letter and Sounds’ useful for ideas of activities you can use to support your child’s phonics learning. Please use Tapestry to let us know if you notice your child using their phonics skills at home in their reading and writing.
There are free games at www.phonicsplay.co.uk
