This week: 29th - 3rd October

This week we have continued the Ourselves topic, learning about how we can keep ourselves healthy by exercising, eating healthy foods, having a good amount of sleep and looking after our teeth.  The children have enjoyed tasting lots of different healthy foods such as carrot, baby sweet corn, peppers, pea pods, pitta bread and dips. The children were really good at trying some foods they hadn’t had before or even trying something again they didn’t like. The children also had a look at different foods and had a go at making a healthy packed lunch. The children have continued with their ‘tots on tyres’ session and we are really impressed with the progress the children are making each week.

In Literacy this week, we have read a book called The Leaf Thief which the children really enjoyed, and have focused on finding the initial sound of a word & some even went further to spell simple CVC words which is fantastic!  We continue to focus on building fine motor skills, good pencil grip and correct letter formation on a daily basis.  Next week, we will continue to focus on finding the initial sound and spelling simple words. 

In phonics next week, we will learn the u, r & h phonemes and continue to learn to read our tricky words and, the & to, as well as introducing some new tricky words - no, go, I & into.  Please continue to read regularly with your children, practise these phonemes & tricky words and keep modelling and practising those blending skills, especially if your child isn't yet hearing that blend of sounds together to make words.  It will come - sometimes it just takes a bit longer. 

In Maths this week, we have focused on good counting skills, and next week we will continue this as well as looking at basic mathematical patterns and continuing these.

Next week is Life Skills week, and we have a fun-filled week for the children, learning and developing skills needed for life, such as using cutlery, learning about money, learning about road safety and good mental health, all in a very child-friendly way. 

Have a good weekend everyone & thank you for your continued support.

The Reception Team 

This week: 22nd  - 26th September

What a beautiful end to our week after all this rain! The children have definitely enjoyed being outdoors and we were super lucky to have the nice weather on Thursday for our 2^nd session of ‘tots on tyres’, let's hope for a bit more sunshine over the weekend.  This week in Reception class, we have continued to build upon and practise routines which the children are becoming much more familiar with now.  We are encouraging all our children to say good morning as they enter the classroom in a morning and use their pleases and thank yous throughout the day as it is important to instill these things at an early age.  We are also encouraging better listening in class time, ensuring children are looking and focused when someone is talking.

This week has been all about ourselves....we have enjoyed introducing our families to the class using pictures and we have also started looking at our bodies and the different parts that make up our bodies.  We have mainly been focusing on the parts we can see on the outside, such as our head, neck, shoulders, stomach, arms, elbows, knees etc, but we have had a little look on the inside too, discussing our brain, heart and lungs and how our bones protect these organs.  We have also looked at the 5 senses and how they help us make sense of the world around us and practised cutting skills slicing a variety of fruits using plastic safety knives.  

We have now finished our torn paper self portraits and they are all on display and looking fabulous!  We were really impressed how many of the children included details, such as teeth, glasses, lips, eyebrows and even eyelashes!  We have been singing the song Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes as part of our Literacy learning and have practised writing our names (focusing on correct letter formation and correct pencil grip) as well as drawing a little self portrait.  In Maths, we have introduced the term 'subitising' which simply means spotting how many items are in a small group without having to count them.  There is a much greater focus on this in Reception than on counting and though we do teach the correct way to count and order numbers, we do a lot of subitising.

In class, we have moved to a more structured timetable, especially in the morning.  Children are now used to having their daily phonics session and so far, we have covered the phonemes s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, g, o & c.  Next week we will cover phonemes k, ck & e.  We have covered the first 3 tricky words so far (and, the & to) and next week we will introduce the next 3 (no, go & I), reading them daily as flashcards.  Please help your child by going over the phonemes we have covered with your child to ensure they can say the sound on sight, and by reading the above tricky words.  Now we have introduced worded reading books with the children, please ensure children are reading each night and that you are modelling that blend to them if they can't yet hear it.  The more practise they have and the more they hear that s-i-t says 'sit', the quicker they will develop this skill for themselves.  Please continue to bring the books back each day, so we are able to listen to your child in school and change any necessary books.

We have been reading the book Oi Frog! to the children this week and we have enjoyed learning some new words and recognising the rhyming words.  Next week we will read Oi Cat! and in English, we will also be reading a story called The Leaf Thief and will focus on the skill of identifying the initial sound of a word (e.g. knowing that the word 'sock' begins with an 's' or the word 'leaf' begins with an 'l').  We will also be learning about how we can look after ourselves by being active, healthy eating, looking after our teeth and washing our hands properly - watch out for some pictures next week!

Have a lovely weekend!

The Reception Team

This week: 15th - 19th September

Our second full week in Reception and the children are now getting more into routines and independently organising themselves when they come in to school in a morning.  They have done so well to say they have only been in school for such a short space of time.  We are still getting to know their little personalities and have already had lots of funny moments because 4 year olds just tell it as it is!

This week we have finished our baseline assessments and are ready to begin some of our more formal teaching next week.  As well as our guided reading session and phonics lessons, we will also be teaching Literacy, Maths and having some afternoon teaching time based around 'Ourselves'.  In phonics, we have now completed the first 8 sounds (s, a, t, p, i, n, m & d) so please use your sound mat at home to continue to go over these sounds with the children because the more familiar they are with them, the easier they will find the reading that is to come.  Next week, we will move on to the next 4 sounds - g, o, c & k.  We have started blending sounds together (just 3 letter CVC - consonant vowel consonant - words such as s-i-t sit, t-a-p tap, m-a-n man etc) to read words and as yet, many children are finding this tricky.  Wordless books went home this week as we completed our first guided reading session.  Please do your best at home to listen to your child read every night, and build it into your home routine.  It is best to do this when children are at their least tired (so not right before bedtime - this is better saved for reading a picture book to your children so they can relax and listen), and away from any distractions, somewhere quiet.  10 minutes is fine at this stage and this is something you can build up as the children build up their attention span.  Please write in the yellow home reading diary at least 3 times a week. Next week, we will also start reading the first 3 tricky words - and, to & the.

We had our first Tots on Tyres session this week and a very successful one at that!  We are doing this much earlier in the Reception year this time, but the children have amazed us with their progress already!  We were lucky enough to purchase some brand new bikes at the back end of last year, so we will be able to use these to continue learning when the formal biking sessions have finished.  Thank you to all our parents for sending in your children with appropriate PE kit and a helmet where possible.  It really helped the day run more smoothly.  

We were lucky enough to welcome author Shane Hegarty into school on Wednesday, and the children absolutely loved his visit, and found him very funny!  And probably the first time some of our children will have heard an Irish accent.  Thank you to everyone who bought one of Shane's books, The One and Only You - a book signed by the author is definitely something to treasure.  Our book seller left 10 signed copies of Shane's book with us, so if there are any children who still would like to purchase a book, please send £8 into school in an envelope with the child's name and we will be able to send one home, on a first come, first served basis.

Thank you to everyone who has also emailed a family photo to the reception email address so we can show them next week when we begin talking about our families.  There is still time to send one in if you haven't already, to reception@lostockhallcps.co.uk.

Finally - have a wonderful weekend everyone.  Being in school full time, learning and playing is certainly taking it out of some of our young people, so please, please ensure they are getting adequate sleep at an early bed time.  Well rested children are happier and more ready to learn.

The Reception Team

This week: 8th - 12th September

Wow what a quick week we have had in Reception. Our children have finished their first full week and have been amazing! We would like to say thank you to all the parents who attended our curriculum meeting this week. The children whose parents could not attend will have received a pack of resources in their reading packs yesterday for you to refer to throughout the year. These packs are to be kept at home to support weekly homework. There is no need for these to be kept in reading bag. 

We have had a wonderful week this week starting to learn our first set of phonemes in phonics this week: s, a, t and p.  Next week we will also start to learn our next set of sounds: i, n and m. The children have started to form these letters which we will continue to practice in school. If you can start to use the wipe boards and pens we have provided that would be brilliant.

We have completed most of our Baseline assessments and the children have done really well settling in and following our daily routines.

Next week (Thursday) we will start our ‘tots on tyres’ sessions, please can the children come to school as per the letter sent home last week in their PE kit and bring a helmet if you have one. 

The children will also need to come to school on Friday in their PE kit as we will be starting our PE lessons from next week and this will continue every Friday. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Reception Team x

Our first week at school!

The end of the first week already and the end of the induction programme for our new Reception children.  The children have all managed so well learning their new routines and showing a real independence.  There is a lot to learn as the children start school, so you might find they are more tired than usual.  We are proud of how they've all managed their first few days and taken everything in their stride.  

Next week will be full time hours - 8.45am until 3.20pm.  In a morning, the children have a ten minute window in which to come to school, so the back Reception door will be open from 8.45am until 8.55am.  If you find your child is getting upset on a morning and showing some separation anxiety, it may be better to leave it until nearer 8.55am to come to school, when the playground will be less busy and most of the children are already in class.

A few reminders:

-Please name all uniform;

-Please also name shoes;

-Children will need to bring in their book bag, a named water bottle and a piece of fruit/veg in a named pot or bag (or just write on the skin of bananas and oranges);

- Morning snack needs to be only a piece of fruit or vegetable;

-Please don't put water bottles in book bags because sometimes they can leak and in previous years, reading books have been spoiled due to water leaking on them;

-At the end of the day, please wave only when your child is at the front of the line, otherwise it can take time locating the right parent which slows things down;

-If you are sending someone different to pick your child up who we have not seen before, please ensure they know the password & ring school to let us know in advance;

-Please try and always stand in the same place when picking up so we get used to where to look - this does help speed up the process;

-If you want to speak to us in a morning, please stand to one side and allow us to get the children in first - getting the children in safely and happily in a morning is our main priority and it can get very congested around the door if there are lots of parents giving us message.  We will be available to speak to anyone that needs to, but please stand to one side and wait until after the majority of the children are in, then we will come and speak to you.  

Thank you for your co-operation with the above - I know it seems like a lot, but the sooner we get into routines, the better and the smoother things will run.  Next week we will be carrying out baseline assessments with the children to assess their starting point for school and allow us to plan future learning.  The children will not realise they are doing assessments, because they are just little, child-friendly activities with the teacher.

Have a good weekend everyone - we hope to see as many of you as possible at the Reception Curriculum meeting on Weds (10th September), starting at 5pm.  We will give everyone a home learning pack and discuss how we teach the children and how you can support at home to give the children the best possible start.

The Reception Team