Jack and The Beanstalk
It’s been another busy week in reception!
Jack and the Beanstalk
This week, we’ve been reading the traditional story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’.
We discussed how this story has been re-told many times and some versions of the story are different. Just by looking at the front covers, we could spot similarities and differences. We’ve been orally rehearsing the story and we’ve begun to use a story map to help us.
This week, our word of the week was gigantic. We discussed other new and interesting vocabulary from our story too: poor, crumbling, clutched, furious.
Writing sentences based on the story:
“Jack is coming up.”
Building a beanstalk and reading the tricky words:
Tricky words can be just that-tricky! We’ve previously introduced a few fun games you can play at home to practice tricky words. Here’s another you could try.
Tricky Word Jigsaw
A game to help the spelling of tricky words
- Write 5 tricky words on paper.
- Chop the words into individual graphemes.
- Ask your child to reconstruct the tricky words, by calling them out one at a time.
It doesn’t need to be as fancy as the picture above, a plain piece of paper and hand-writing the words will work just as well!
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. We talk to the children about how this can help us become better readers. This week’s poem is Spring Wind.
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.
Maths
One of our Rainbow Challenges this week was to create a pattern and represent it in our own way. The children have been very creative in thinking up their own patterns.
Outdoor play
The sun has finally decided to share it’s rays with us. We’ve enjoyed some time outdoors this week looking at and enjoying the Spring weather.
We’ve also been using amazing team work to create and adapt our own obstacle courses. We listened to each other’s ideas and negotiated where we could place the resources within the obstacle course.
Help at home: Look for the signs of Spring when you are out and about. Think of new or interesting words to label and describe your surroundings eg warm, sunny, sun-drenched, breezy, colourful, tulip, daffodil, blooming, sprouting, blossom, floral etc
Dates for your diary:
This coming week we have two learning journey drop ins where you can come and look at your child’s learning journey book. The dates are Tuesday 24th and Thursday 26th.
Red nose day
We’ve had a fantastic day today for Red Nose Day! Thank you to all parents and carers for sending children in with non-uniform and a donation to the Comic Relief charity.
Help at home by discussing what Comic Relief is all about an how the money raised supports those living in poverty.
When is Red Nose Day in 2026 and how did it start? – BBC Bitesize
Celebrating your child’s reading: eBooks
We hope that you’re enjoying listening to your child read their eBook at home and that your child is enjoying celebrating their super reading skills!
At school, your child reads a physical book four times a week – with a focus on teaching phonics skills. This is then sent home as an eBook. The purpose of the eBook at home is to celebrate your child’s success (in phonics skills). Your child should be able to read most of this book confidently and really feel like a reader.
We’ve chosen to use eBooks at home for many benefits. Allocating eBooks frees up about two hours of teacher or TA time changing books – now spent teaching reading!
Here’s some information on how to access eBooks but if you’re having any problems please speak to your child’s class teacher.
Happy reading!
The Hundred Decker Rocket
We have been reading the book The Hundred Decker Rocket.
This story is about a girl called Ivy who sets off on a mission to space. On the way, she meets some very messy aliens. When her rocket breaks down, all the aliens help to fix it and make their own deck.
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog along the play bar and turn off autoplay – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
We have designed our own ‘Hundred Decker Rockets’ with a deck each.
“Mine needs a swimming pool so we can all go swimming!”
“I’m going to have unicorns and yummy food!”
PE
We were lucky enough to get outside in the sunshine at the beginning of the week for our PE. We’ve been working on our ball skills with early games of ‘Mouse Trap’
Phonics
We’ve been recapping the digraphs we’ve learnt previously, looking at longer words we may have to chunk such as ‘farm/yard’ or ‘sun/set’. Chunking mean breaking the word into smaller parts (chunks) to help children read it more easily.
Maths
We found lots of different ways to represent number 7 and number 8 this week. We even explored the different parts to 7 and 8.
Help at home
Ask you child to find a way to represent 7 or 8 at home. They might count out 8 Lego pieces.
Reminder: Reception parent/carer survey
If you haven’t already and you’re a parent of a child in Reception, please complete this short survey. Thank you to those of you who have already completed the survey.
At Scholes (Elmet) Primary, we’re always trying to keep getting better and better. Your views help us to do that. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete and you’ve got until Wednesday 18 March to complete. (If you’d like us to follow-up any of your responses with you, we can only do this if you leave your name.)
We can’t guarantee to meet the needs and wants of every parent / carer, but we do assure you that we consider all the points raised and aim to act on specific points that are raised by many, or a useful idea raised by just a few.
Previously, based on your feedback, for example, we alternated the days Stay and Learns were held – to give all parents an opportunity to attend.
Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. We’re looking forward to reading your views.
The Hundred Decker Bus
The Hundred Decker Bus
This week, we enjoyed reading ‘The Hundred Decker Bus‘ by Mike Smith. In the story, a bus driver who is bored of his everyday routine decides to take his passengers on an unexpected adventure. As more and more passengers hop on board, extra decks have to be built onto the bus, creating a very tall and unusual ride!
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog along the play bar and turn off autoplay – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
Linked to the story, we’ve been learning about the differences and similarities between cities/towns and the countryside. The children have shared their ideas about what life might be like in each place and discussed what they might see, hear and do there.
Our Word of the Week is countryside. We’ve explored what this word means and how it compares to living in a busy town or city.
Phonics
This week in phonics, we’ve been reviewing our Phase 3 sounds and practising reading words that contain two or more digraphs (two letters that make one sound). We also review tricky words every day. Tricky words are words that cannot easily be sounded out, so children need to recognise and remember them.
Help at home: We’ve previously introduced a few fun games you can play at home to practice tricky words. Here’s another you could try…
Tricky word stick person (a modified version of the ‘hangman’ game)
Write the correct number of dashes for your chosen tricky word and let your child make guesses. Encourage your child to use letter names rather than sounds for spelling tricky words. Draw a part of the stick man for each incorrect guess- you can give extra chances by adding a hat, shoes, gloves etc. to the stick person!
Focus Artist – Michael Craig-Martin
This week, we also learned about a new artist, Michael Craig-Martin. He is a contemporary artist known for his bold, colourful artworks and simple line drawings of everyday objects. His work often features bright colours with strong outlines, turning ordinary items into striking pieces of art. Inspired by his style, we created our own artwork based on a transport theme, using bright colours and clear outlines to design our pictures.
PE – Multi-skills
Rainbow and Sunshine Class loved joining together for PE outside on Tuesday in the spring sunshine. The children worked in pairs to practise their ball control skills, rolling the ball – or “mouse” – backwards and forwards to each other. As their control improved, they challenged themselves to roll the mouse through a “mouse hole”, which they created using cones. The children showed great teamwork and concentration while developing their coordination skills. We’re looking forward to developing this game over the next few weeks.
Reminders
Reception Class assembly – Thursday 12 March at 2.45-3.15pm
This is an opportunity to come into school to find out what your child has been learning about and to see some photos from our visit to This Green Moon.
Reception parent/carer survey
If you’re a parent of a child in Reception, please complete this short survey.
At Scholes (Elmet) Primary, we’re always trying to keep getting better and better. Your views help us to do that. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete and you’ve got until Wednesday 18 March to complete. (If you’d like us to follow-up any of your responses with you, we can only do this if you leave your name.)
We can’t guarantee to meet the needs and wants of every parent / carer, but we do assure you that we consider all the points raised and aim to act on specific points that are raised by many, or a useful idea raised by just a few.
Previously, based on your feedback, for example, we alternated the days Stay and Learns were held – to give all parents an opportunity to attend.
Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. We’re looking forward to reading your views.
This Green Moon
The Train Ride
We’re starting the half term with a focus on transport. This week, we’ve been reading The Train Ride by June Crebbin.
This story is about things that are seen out of the window, on a train journey. We noticed that the rhythm of the book’s repeated/rhyming lines start fast and repetitive (much like the sound of a train chugging along a track) and then as the train approaches the station, the lines become longer and the pace slows down until the train reaches is destination. Destination is our ‘word of the week’.
Historical links
We looked at pictures of the early steam locomotive- Robert Stephenson’s Rocket. We compared it to the trains we use today.
Phonics
Spring 2 week 1 has been a review of phase 3 sounds: ai, ee, igh, oa, oo, ar, or, ur, oo, ow, oi, ear, in words and sentences. We review tricky words daily.
Tricky words can be just that-tricky! Here’s a game we play at school that you could try at home.
Roll and Read
You will need a die for this game. You may wish to print the boards or display them on a screen.
- Roll the die
- Count the spots, match to the correct row
- Choose a word to read on the row
- Cover the word when read correctly
- Repeat
Who will be the first to complete a row?
Maths: Comparison
We’ve been comparing groups of objects and toys, saying which has more and which has fewer. We’ve been noticing and explaining why size, colour and other factors do not matter when comparing ‘how many’.
In the classroom, children have been making 6 using Numicon frames.
This Green Moon
This week was a very special week for our Reception class as we went on our very first class trip to This Green Moon! As soon as we opened the doors in the morning the children were buzzing with excitement.
When we arrived at Green Moon, we were warmly greeted by the two leaders, Paul and Matt. They led the activities and supported us throughout the day – they were fantastically engaging and fun.
We thoroughly enjoyed spending the day outdoors, exploring the natural world around us. The children took part in so many exciting activities: making a fire, creating sculptures using potatoes, designing bracelets with pieces of coloured wool we found in the forest, and even working together to create a giant piece of artwork. It was fantastic to see their creativity and curiosity shining through.
What a fantastic day full of learning, laughter and adventure. Well done, Reception – we’re so proud of you all!
Let’s grow
Phase 3 Stay and Learn
Thank you to all parents and carers who attended the Stay and Learn this week. Hopefully you found the ‘Phase 3 Phonics’ presentation and lesson informative and that you enjoyed playing the phonics games with your child in class. If you’ve any questions about the information you heard/saw during the session, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Please take a short few moments to feedback on the Stay and Learn session by copying this link and pasting it into your browser:
https://forms.gle/JWgXSyfTj53kx6Em9
