How to catch a star
This week, we’ve been reading the book How to catch a star by Oliver Jeffers.
We’ve been retelling the story in sequence and adding actions to our retelling.
Maths
In maths, we’ve been extending our understanding of the parts that make a whole, through number composition games. The children were introduced to the part-whole model, as a way of investigating the smaller numbers (parts) that make a whole number.
Three is a part, one is a part. Four is the whole number.
We watched the ‘Stampolines’ episode of Numberblocks, linked to this week’s learning. The children have represented different patterns of four, using multilink cubes and stamping paint squares.
Phonics
This week, we learnt the digraphs (two letters that make one sound) sh, th, ng, nk. These phonemes are some of the most challenging to learn and it’s really important that we pronounce them correctly (‘th’ even has two different pronunciations; voiced and unvoiced!) The children have been superstars working on this daily, both in our phonics sessions and at other times too.
To help your child with the correct pronunciation at home, the Little Wandle website has some fantastic resources for parents. This includes videos on how to say each phoneme. Click here to find out more.
We’ve also learnt three new tricky words this week: she, he, of.
A new ‘learn at home’ phonics sheet was sent home today. Please use this and previously issued sheets, for continued learning at home.
Poetry Picnic
Each week, we will be learning a new poem. We’ll recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud, we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line.
This week’s poem is Mice
Ask your child to say the poem to you at home! The words were sent home with your child on Friday. Can they remember it?
Music/ Christmas Production Preparations!
The children are enjoying our Christmas production rehearsals; learning songs and getting to know their parts. We’re looking forward to rehearsing on the big stage next week. We’re sure many of you will have been treated to a few songs at home too! Everyone is doing brilliantly. Please continue to say lines at home if your child has a speaking part. This will give them that little extra confidence, when it’s their time to shine!
Take a look at more learning from this week!
Reminders
-Swimming Dates
Please send swimming kits on the following dates:
Autumn 2
Rainbow Class- 2 Nov, 16 Nov, 30 Nov
Sunshine Class- 9 Nov, 23 Nov, 7 Dec
There will be no swimming 14 Dec
Spring 1
Rainbow Class- 4 Jan, 18 Jan, 1 Feb
Sunshine Class- 11 Jan, 25 Jan, 8 Feb
-Reception Christmas performances. 08.12.22 10am, 09.12.22 1.30pm
Please return slips for tickets to our Christmas performance, if you haven’t done so already.
– Learning Journey Drop in.
- Monday 12.12.22, 9.00-9.30am
- Tuesday 13.12.22, 9.00-9.30am
- Thursday 15.12.22, 3.30-4.00pm
An invitation for parents/carers to come into the classroom and take a look at your child’s learning journey.
-Reception Christmas Party day. 16.12.22
Your child can come to school in party clothes on this day.
Nursery Rhyme Week
This week in literacy we have been reading the book Each Peach Pear Plum with a focus on rhyming words. We enjoyed spotting the characters on each page.
I spy the witch in the sky. Ellie
I spy Jill behind the tree. Hattie
I spy the man in the tree. Eddy
I spy Bo Peep on the hill. Lenny
Listen to the story. Can your child hear any rhyming words?
Tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog (it’s along the play bar) and turn off auto play – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
Maths
This week, we have been exploring the concept of ‘wholes’ and ‘parts’. We investigated this using our own bodies and toys to understand that whole things are often made up of smaller parts and that a whole is, therefore, bigger than it’s parts.
My legs are a part. My body is the whole.
My head is a part. My body is the whole.
Using the stem sentence, can your child say what parts make the whole?
The ____ is/are a part. The cat is the whole.
___ is a part. Three is the whole.
This week’s maths challenge was to explore one less using familiar nursery rhymes – 10 green bottles and 10 in a bed.
Phonics
This week, the children have learnt the phonemes z, qu, ch. (the sound a letter makes) . They’ve also been practicing writing the graphemes (the written letters). We have been challenging the children by asking them to spell words using the letters that they know. This week your child has been spelling the words; can, back, run, had and sun. Can your child tell you what phonemes (the sound a letter makes) they can hear in these words?
quick chip zip chop quit zap
This week, your child has learnt the tricky words; go no to and into. A tricky word is a word you cannot sound out – you just have to know it by sight!
Poetry Picnic
This week, Poetry Picnic was a little bit different as it was Nursery Rhyme week. Each day we have sung a new or familiar nursery rhyme.
Music
We were joined my Mr Nash and his guitar for some singing! Using our knowledge of rhyming words we sang lots of wonderful and funny songs.
Our favourite was Down By the Bay as it had lots of funny rhyming parts, such as a ghost eating toast.
Maths Stay and Play
Thank you for all the grown-up that were able to attended our stay and play on Thursday. It was wonderful to see the children proudly showing off their learning.
If you haven’t done so already, please remember to bring back your feedback form as this helps us to develop our sessions in the future.
Home link
As the weather has taken a turn, it is a great opportunity for your child to become more independent in their own self care by learning to zip their coat up and put on hats, gloves and scarves.
Please support your child to zip their own coat up independently if they are not able to do so yet.
A special visitor!
A special visitor!
We had a zoom call with Abbey House Museum. We learnt lots about what it was like living in the past (Victorian era). The children were fascinated and learnt lots! We learnt about how they went to the toilet, washed their clothes, brushed their teeth and kept warm.
“There were no toilets so they went in a potty” Olivia.
“They scraped soap on a grater” Zachary.
“They brushed their teeth with their fingers” Ella.
“The grown-ups slept downstairs and the children slept upstairs” Seb.
Ask your child what they have learnt about the ‘past’ this week. You could send an email with their quote.
Night monkey, day monkey
This week in literacy we have been reading the book ‘night monkey, day monkey’ by Julia Donaldson. We talked about animals we might see in the day and night. The children learnt the word ‘nocturnal’ and have been confidently using this in their speech when discussing different animals.
“It’s a bat – its nocturnal” Daniel said.
“Day monkey wouldn’t see it (the owl) because it’s nocturnal!” Georgie said.
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog (it’s along the play bar) and turn off auto play – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
Maths – comparison
This week, we have been comparing groups of objects. We have been using the words ‘more than’, ‘fewer than’ and ‘equal number’ when comparing groups of objects.
This week’s maths challenge was to compare two Numicon pieces using weighing scales and say which number is more, fewer or equal.
We also played the game ‘who has more’. The children had to guess who had more counters in their hand without peeking. They then explained why they thought this.
“Mrs Flynn, you have a bigger hand so you can get more” Mila explained.
“Maddison has a little hand, so she has less” Thomas said.
Try and compare groups of objects when sitting down to eat. For example, you could compare who has more pieces of broccoli on their plate – or even who has eaten more!
Phonics
This week, the children have learnt the phonemes (the sound a letter makes) v,w,x and y. They’ve also been practicing writing the graphemes (the written letters). We have been challenging the children by asking them to spell words using the letters that they know. This week your child has been spelling the words; sock, hug, sad and rock. Can your child tell you what phonemes (the sound a letter makes) they can hear in these words?
This week, your child has learnt the tricky words; and, has and his. A tricky word is a word you cannot sound out – you just have to know it by sight!
Phonics home-link activity
Play tricky word BOO!
What you will need:
- the following tricky words written on individual pieces of paper; and, as, I, is, the, and, has, his.
- the word BOO written on a few pieces of paper
- 1 cup (to put the words in)
How to play:
- Take it in turns to pick a word out of the cup.
- Read the word.
- If you pick BOO you have to put all of your words back!
- The person who has collected the most ‘tricky words’ at the end wins!
Poetry Picnic
Each week, we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. This week’s poem is ‘a basket of apples’.
We talk about how a poem sometimes has rhyming words and sometimes doesn’t. Can your child tell you the rhyming words in this week’s poem? We also talk about how a poem can have a fast rhythm or a slow rhythm. Can your child tell you if this week’s poem is fast or slow?
Challenges
This week, we’ve introduced your child to challenges. Challenging activities are around the classroom for your child to complete to earn a brick. The aim is to get a tower of bricks taller than five. Challenges include the learning we’re focusing on throughout the week.
Ask your child what challenges they’ve done this week.
At the end of the week, we talked about who had more and who had fewer bricks. If your child’s tower is more than five, your child will come home with a certificate!
Reminder
Next week, Thursday 17th November (9.00-9.30) you are invited to a Marvellous maths stay and learn. This is an opportunity for you to come into school to find out about the Early Years Curriculum and watch your child learning in school.
Please fill in and return your invitation to confirm your attendance. It is important that we know you are attending so that we can ensure your child is in the correct classroom area to greet you.
Lighting the way into Autumn 2!
We’ve whizzed into Autumn 2, with a super busy week! We’ve been learning about Diwali, Guy Fawkes; The Gunpowder Plot (linked to Bonfire Night) and fire safety.
Diwali
During half term, there was a very special celebration- Diwali! We watched a video of children celebrating the Hindu ‘Festival of Lights’ and read the story Binny’s Diwali by Thrity Umrigar, which tells the story of a child sharing the celebration with her class.
We’ve been exploring the Diwali interest table, making Rangoli patterns, designing and painting Mehndi on a friend’s hand and making diya lamps at the dough table.
What can your child tell you about the festival of Diwali?
Phonics
This week, the children have learnt the digraphs (two letters that make one sound) ff, ll, ss and the phoneme j. They’ve also been practising writing the graphemes (the written letters)
Can your child tell you where you would find these digraphs (ff, ll, ss); the beginning, middle or end of a word?
You could challenge your child to write these words, by supporting them to segment the sounds that they can hear:
Maths
This week, we’ve been composing 5. We often use our fingers to represent numbers and to practise our subitising skills. Using a ‘high five’ hand, the children were introduced to an easy way to represent the number. We used hand images to make collections of 5, placing an object on each finger. We also used five frames, die frames and objects of different colours to explore which numbers can be added together to make 5.
“I have three green pom poms and two blue pom poms… that makes five!”
Light and shadows
We’ve been exploring how light can be used to create shadows! We made large models and projected a light across them, observing the shadows made on the whiteboard. Next week, we’ll be looking at light again, as we explore the differences between day and night.
Fire safety
On Thursday, we met some real life superheroes! As part of our whole school ‘Me and my community’ week, local firefighters came to talk to Reception. We were lucky enough to take a look at the fire appliance and the firefighters equipment and we even got to use the powerful hose (with a little help from the firefighters, of course!)
The children were keen to share their knowledge:
“I know about fire alarms…the smoke goes in them and it sets off an alarm for the fire”- Keira
“You save people in the water!”- Daniel
“Those are called ‘jaws of life’”- Jack
And they asked some questions about things they’d like to know:
“Have you got a mask for breathing?”- Alyzah
“Do you have a life boat?”- Bethany
“How do you get people out of water?”- Olivia S
The firefighters spoke to the children about fire alarms. We learnt that they should be tested every month.
We also spoke about fire safety on Bonfire Night. Can your child talk about some of the ways to keep safe?
You can find out more about how to keep safe this Bonfire Night, here
Poetry Picnic
Each week, we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line.
This week’s poem is Pointy Hat
Ask your child to tell you the poem at home! Can they remember it by heart?
Learn at home phonics sheet
Today, your child has come home with a ‘learn at home’ phonics sheet. The sheets link to our current learning in phonics and will be sent home each Friday. Please support your child by practising their new sounds and reading skills at home.
Home-link challenge
Following on from our maths learning this week, please support your child to make a collection of 5 at home.
Discuss what you can see- is it 5 of the same object? If not, how many are the same/ how many are different? Your collection of 5 could be made from objects of two different colours. What does your collection tell you about the numbers we can add together, to make 5?
Reminders
Early Maths- Supporting your child to become a confident mathematician 14.11.22, 6.00pm
Attendance via Zoom- a link will be sent next week.
Maths Stay and Play 17.11.22, 9.00-9.30am
Join your child in the classroom and explore some maths activities together.
Swimming Dates
Please send swimming kits on the following dates:
Rainbow Class- 2 Nov, 16 Nov, 30 Nov
Sunshine Class- 9 Nov, 23 Nov, 7 Dec
Autumn Days
Thank you for all your autumn walk collections! The children have really loved sharing these with the class.
We spoke about why we often find lots of items on the ground and who might pick them up.
Squirrels collect them, bury them and hibernate. Grace
It’s autumn so they (leaves) were on the floor. Jack
The leaves are red, orange and green. Millie
Phonics
This week, the children have reviewed all the phonemes from the half term. They’ve also been practicing writing the graphemes (the written letters). We have been challenging the children by asking them to spell words using the letters that they know. Can your child tell you what phonemes (the sound a letter makes) they can hear in these words?
| b-a-t | l-i-p | b-i-g | h-a-t | f-i-n |
Maths
This week, we have used language of comparison to describe sets of objects that we can see. Using the vocabulary ‘more than’ and ‘fewer than’, we described how many objects were in each set.
Using these sentence stems, can your child compare these sets?
___ has more than___
___ has fewer than ___
Leaf Man
We have been listening to the story Leaf Man.
We enjoyed an autumn walk around our school field to explore signs of autumn. The children were inspired to create their own leaf man and artwork using leaves.
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog (it’s along the play bar) and turn off auto play – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
Poetry Picnic
Each week, we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line.
This week’s poem is Five Little Pumpkins.
Ask your child to say the poem to you at home! The words were sent home with your child on Friday. Can they remember it?
Another fantastic week!
Phonics
This week, the children have learnt the phonemes (the sound a letter makes) h, b, f and l. They’ve also been practicing writing the graphemes (the written letters). We have been challenging the children by asking them to spell words using the letters that they know. This week your child has been spelling the words; dog, ten, red, mum and kid. Can your child tell you what phonemes (the sound a letter makes) they can hear in these words?
|
d-o-g |
t-e-n | r-e-d | m-u-m |
k-i-d |
This week, your child has learnt the tricky word; the. A tricky word is a word you cannot sound out – you just have to know it by sight! The children now know THREE tricky words; I, is and the. You could write these words on paper and stick them around your house. Keep challenging your child to read the tricky words. The more practice the better since they need to be learnt by sight!
Maths
This week, we have been listening to sounds on a drum and counting the beats we can hear. The children have been practicing counting these in their head quickly too! They have also been exploring how they can show a number on their fingers in different ways.
Clap slowly and ask your child how many claps they heard. Ask them to show you on their fingers how many claps they heard. Can they show you in a different way on their fingers?
Henri Matisse
We have been listening to the story Henri’s scissors and have learnt about the artist Henri Matisse. The children have enjoyed looking at his artwork which has inspired their own creative work!
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog (it’s along the play bar) and turn off auto play – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
Poetry Picnic
Each week, we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line.
This week’s poem is Leaves are falling.
Ask your child to say the poem to you at home! The words were sent home with your child on Friday. Can they remember it?
Phonics stay and play
Thank you to all parents who came to the stay and play on Wednesday. It was fantastic to see so many of you there! We hope you went away with ideas of how you can support your child’s learning at home. The children were really proud to show you their classroom and fantastic learning. Any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
If you were unable to attend, you should have received an information booklet – we hope this helps. There are lots more stay and plays planned throughout the year too:-
Stay and Play sessions
This is an opportunity for you to come into school to find out about the Early Years Curriculum and watch your child learning in school.
Marvellous Maths – Thursday 17 November 9.00 – 9.30
Funky Phonics Phase 3 – Monday 16 January 9.00 – 9.30
Fiddly Fingers – Friday 03 February 2.50 – 3.20
World Book Day – Thursday 02 March 9.00 – 9.30
Learn at home phonics sheet
Today, your child has come home with a ‘learn at home’ phonics sheet. The sheets link to our current learning in phonics and will be sent home each Friday. Please support your child by practising their new sounds and reading skills at home.
Home link
Your child will have received an autumn collecting bag on Friday. Please enjoy going on a walk together over the next few days and see what ‘autumn treasure’ you can find. When you’ve filled your bag, please return it to Reception for us to share and talk about. Next week, we will be learning lots about seasonal changes, autumn and reading the story the Leaf man.
Where we live
Phonics
This week, the children have learnt the phonemes (the sound a letter makes) ck, e, u, r. The introduction of ‘ck’ was also our first digraph (two letters that make one sound) The children have been listening to and saying words that begin or end with these phonemes. They’ve also been practicing writing the graphemes (the written letters).
You may choose to play an I Spy game at home using these new phonemes.
Maths
This week has been all about the number three! We’ve been noticing patterns of three, making three collections and representing three!
Maps- Where we live
We’ve loved exploring maps of our local area- Scholes!
We started the week by looking at a simple map with symbols and a key. We watched a video on how to use maps.
On Wednesday, we went for a local walk. We followed our own map and stopped at all the points along the way:
On the walk, the children discussed things they noticed or remembered about our area:
“My house is up there!”- Jacob
“I used to go to that doctor’s and now I go to a different one”- Arthur
“My uncle lives near here!”- Jack
“I went to this church when I was a little kid!”- Alfie
“I’ve been here for ‘Little Fishes’ (church)”- Bethany
“This is to remember people in the war” (War memorial)- Georgie
We finished our walk at a special place in the Scholes community- St Philips Church. The children discovered the names of different objects and areas within the church. They also looked at the Harvest Festival activities and collections that are currently taking place.
Throughout the week, the children have been having a go at drawing their own maps of the street that they live on. Some of them have even been drawing big maps with the chalks outside!
Did you know?…
Did you know that we have a special ‘Parent Partnership’ board in both Sunshine and Rainbow Class? Here, we note down what your child has been interested in at school. There’s also a space for you to write your child’s interests from home. There are lots of ways you can share interests from home. You can come in and write on their special postcard or you can fill in a ‘learning at home’ or ‘wow sheet’ and bring it in. You can find the sheets here
Poetry Picnic
Each week, we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line.
This week’s poem is Falling Apples
Ask your child to tell you the poem at home! Can they remember it by heart?
Learn at home phonics sheet
Today, your child has come home with a ‘learn at home’ phonics sheet. The sheets link to our current learning in phonics and will be sent home each Friday. Please support your child by practising their new sounds and reading skills at home.
Reminders
Funky Phonics Stay and Play 12.10.22
Please only attend if you have sent in your RSVP slip or have spoken to the class teacher. This is to ensure we have adequate space in the classroom for teaching. We can’t wait to share our learning with you!
Individual School Photos 12.10.22
Please send your child into school in school uniform, not PE kits on this day. Don’t forget to bring your swimming kit too, if your child is in Rainbow class.
The Everywhere Bear
Phonics
This week the children have learnt the phonemes (the sound a letter makes) o,g,c and k. The children have been listening to and saying words that begin with these phonemes (the sound a letter makes). They have also been practicing writing the graphemes (the written letter).
You may choose to play an I Spy game at home using these new phonemes (the sound a letter makes).
Maths
This week we have been focussing on our counting skills – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are.
We have explored how all sorts of things can be counted, including sounds. By singing rhymes, we have enjoyed developing our knowledge of the counting sequence.
The Everywhere Bear
We have loved listening to the story – The Everywhere Bear.
We have created our own story maps using key events from the story.
Swimming
Rainbow class have had their first swimming lesson this week. They have had lots of fun!
Poetry Picnic
Each week, we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line.
Our first poem is Chop Chop.
Check out our other learning…
Learn at home phonics sheet
Today, your child has come home with a new ‘learn at home’ phonics sheet. The sheets link to our current learning in phonics and will be sent home each Friday. Please support your child by practising their new sounds and reading skills at home.
Home-Link
Autumn is here and the children have enjoyed exploring acorns and conkers.
Go on an autumn walk and collect, draw or discuss all the signs of autumn. You may choose to collect items to bring into school or email pictures.
A fantastic start to Reception!
What a fantastic week we have had in Reception. For a lot of children this will be their first full week at school – we are very proud of their learning!
Phonics
This week the children have learnt the phonemes (the sound a letter makes) i, n, m and d. The children have been listening to and saying words that begin with these phonemes (the sound a letter makes). They have also been practicing writing the graphemes (the written letter).
Your child could write the letters at home using a letter formation sheet.
Super subitising
This week we have been practicing our subitising skills. This means, we have been looking and saying how many objects we can see – without counting one by one! Ask your child how many spots they can see by subitising.
Families
Thank you to all of the parents who have emailed photographs of their child’s family. The children have really enjoyed sharing their home experiences with their friends! We have been reading ‘the big book of families’ where we have talked about how different families can look.
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog (it’s along the play bar) and turn off auto play – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
Swimming
Sunshine class have had their first swimming lesson this week. They have had lots of fun and the swimming teacher (Miss Joicey) was very impressed with their listening skills.
Learn at home phonics sheet
Today, your child has come home with a ‘learn at home’ phonics sheet. The sheets link to our current learning in phonics and will be sent home each Friday. Please support your child by practising their new sounds and reading skills at home.
Reminders
Welcome to Reception- week 2
Reception have had another fantastic week of settling into the classroom and getting to know eachother. We’re doing so well at remembering our morning routines and classroom rules, such as ‘3,2,1,stop’
We’ve particularly enjoyed outdoor explorations, planting some flowers and finding vegetables that have grown in our garden planters. We have some real nature lovers in Reception, who have been carefully handling worms, wood lice and spiders and sharing facts about them.
We’ve been using our artistic skills to paint and draw self-portraits and have been having a go at writing our name every day.
We also started our phonics lessons this week. The children have shown great listening and were proud to learn their first four sounds (s,a,t,p) We’ve been having a go at writing them too!
In music, the children made their very own marching band with Mrs Myers and had so much fun marching around the classrooms and outdoor area.
Take a peek at even more learning from this week:
Learn at home phonics sheet…
Today, your child has come home with a ‘learn at home’ phonics sheet. The sheets link to our current learning in phonics and will be sent home each Friday. Please support your child by practising their new sounds and reading skills at home.
Home link…
Next week, we’ll be talking about our families and using the book The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith, as our talking point. To help the children in our discussions, please send in a photograph of your child with their family. You can send the photos to the Reception email address.
Reminders…
- PE lessons start on Wednesday. Don’t forget to come to school in PE kits on Wednesday and Friday. If you’re in Sunshine Class, you’ll also need your swimming kit on Wednesday. Thank you.