And that's a wrap!

And just like that we've reached the end of another Reception year.  We would just like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for all your very generous gifts, cards and thoughtful words at the end of term.  We appreciate each and every one of them and some of the words in the cards we received were just so lovely to read.

So a big thank you from us - for your help and support this year in helping your children to grow and learn and to your lovely children themselves for being their fabulous selves, being resilient, determined and keeping us all in good spirits throughout the year with their lovely smiles and positive attitudes.  We really will miss them all.

May we also take this opportunity to wish Miss Collins all the very best in her new role at her new school.  She has been a wonderful addition to our team this year and will be missed by us all.

Have a fabulous summer everyone, and thank you once again.

The Reception Team

This week: 11th - 15th July

What a crazy fast week this has been! 

This week the children have been doing their final assessments which include independent writing about our farm trip, sharing shells (dividing) and creating their very own mini-beast. These assessments are for our black books and these will follow children until they get to Year 6. The children have done fabulously on them! The children have remembered to use their capital letters, finger spaces and full stops! It is fantastic to see, we are all so proud! The children's mini-beast creations where brilliant! There are some very imaginative mini-beasts the children designed. 

On Thursday, we enjoyed our school French Day - Oooh La La! The children came in wearing red, white and blue and they all looked amazing! We learned how to say hello, good-bye, thank you, my name is, how are you in French and we also learned how to count to 10. The children have loved saying "Bonjour!" when we do the register. 

In provision the children have painted their own French flags and painted their own versions of the Eiffel Tower. 

We cannot believe there are only 2 more get ups! Where has this year gone! The children have grown up so much and they are all ready for Year 1! 

We cannot thank parents enough for your support this year, you have been amazing and we are so grateful. 

We hope you all have a fabulous weekend! 

The Reception Team

Sampler Day

On Wednesday 6th July the children will take part in a sampler day, where they get to experience their new learning environments and teachers. We are extremely excited to meet the new children coming into Year 1 and have an action packed day of fun and learning with them. Please see our 'Meet the Teacher' PowerPoint below to find out what our classrooms have to offer and more about the expectations as your child transitions into Year 1. 

At the end of the school day, please ensure your children know where you will be stood so they can confidently find you and the teachers can identify who you are. 

Many thanks, 

Mrs Mears, Mr Law and the Year 1 Team.

Smithill's Farm 4th July

What a fabulous time we've had at Smithill's today.  All the children really enjoyed themselves and their behaviour was excellent throughout.  We had a busy day feeding and petting the animals, watching the cows being milked, going on donkey rides and tractor rides, as well as fitting in a little bit of time for lunch!  We had a few tired children on the way home after such a busy day, having a little snooze on the bus on the way back.  Well done to everyone for such a fabulous day. ☺

This week: 27th June - 1st July

How are we in July already?! 

This week the children have been doing their keyword assessments. This is to see what keywords the children can read on sight, can segment and blend to read or if they are unsure of what that word says. This gives us a great indication to where the children are at and where they may need any extra support with word reading. Thank you so much for practicing the keywords with your child, we can see a huge difference from when we first did the keyword assessments; practicing at home really does help. 

The children have loved learning all about minibeasts and their habitats, we have continued to search for them in our outdoor area and really observing how they move. In topic this week we have looked at bees and how important they are to our planet. We even had one of the children save a bee today that was resting on the playground! The children are really taking acre of our wildlife and starting to understand how important it is to look after them. 

This week we have been writing minibeast riddles which has been so much fun! The children have loved it! They have been amazing at giving different clues as to what minibeast they may be, using capital letters, full stops and finger spaces more independently.

Unfortunately, our Axia fun day on Wednesday had to be cancelled due to the bad weather. The children had been practicing a dance for it called "Best Day of our Lives" on Kidz Bop. But we still got to perform our dance to Miss Duce and she was so impressed with how well the children did and gave all the children a special sticker. 

The children are so excited for their farm trip on Monday! We have been discussing what we might see and this week and as we have recapped our trigraph "ure" the children have learned what 'manure' is. They all found it very funny! They are all prepared for it to be a little smelly but they are so excited to see all the animals and to go on a tractor ride. 

**** On Monday, please send your child in their regular yellow T-shirt and green school jumper. The children can wear tracksuit bottoms, leggings or shorts and a comfy pair of shoes/trainers. ****

We cannot believe that we are now only 2 weeks away from the children finishing in reception! Where has this year gone? The children continue to amaze us everyday and make us smile and laugh :-) 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

The Reception Team

This week: 20th - 24th June

We have had such a busy but enjoyable STEAM week.  On Monday, we made some ice sculptures with natural materials, we made art prints also with natural materials and we also made some seed bombs with clay, soil and wildflower seeds which we have put in our planter outdoors to grow.  Thank you to you all for so many contributions of yoghurt pots and natural materials as it really helped these sessions to run smoothly.

Also this week, we have consolidated some of our learning on floating and sinking by working together to make a boat that floats on water using a range of available materials.  The children worked so well together to design and make their boat, even if they found it challenging in parts and they problem solved brilliantly when they came across obstacles, slightly adapting their boat designs to solve the problem.  Fantastic critical thinking skills demonstrated by our Reception children.  Young minds really do amaze us at times.

We have thoroughly enjoyed making pyramid structures with our empty yoghurt pots - who needs expensive toys when lots of empty yoghurt pots will suffice and create hours of entertainment?  The children have really honed their structural building skills, thinking about how best to create a pyramid shape that stands strong and tall.

We also continue to learn all about minibeasts and their habitats, searching for them in our outdoor area and looking more closely at them.  We have finished our writing topics on What the Ladybird Heard (a police report) and Caterpillar Shoes (letter writing).   The children have loved the Caterpillar Shoes short film - if you would like to take a look at it with your child at home, just click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYa6OLQHrEc.Our final writing task of the Reception year will be a riddle about a minibeast which we will start next week.

We had a fabulous time at the multisports event on Wednesday, at South Ribble Tennis Centre.  Even before we got there, the children were so, so excited to go on a bus and look at things out of the window.  Behaviour was excellent the whole time and we were very proud of all the children.  I'm sure there were a few tired children on Wednesday night, what with the amount of running about they did, coupled with the very warm weather!

Next week, we have our Axia fun day on Wednesday, where Reception children from all our Axia partner schools will visit us for the day and we will do a carousel of fun activities, finished off with a big group song & dance.  We are thoroughly looking foward to it and hope the rain stays off!   Please can children come to school in their PE kits for this day.  That means that next week, children will come to school in their PE kits on Wednesday and Friday.

Letters will come home shortly (probably tonight) about our impending school trip to Smithills on Monday, 4th July.  The trip is free, so it is just the permission forms that need filling in, as soon as possible please.  On the day of the trip, children can either bring their own (completely disposable) packed lunch, or they can have one made up from school.  All you need to do is indicate your preference on the reply slip and make a note of this.  Last year, we had a few children turning up on the day with a packed lunch when they had asked for a school lunch and a few who hadn't asked for a school lunch who didn't bring a packed one.  Luckily it worked out, but if you could make a note of your preference and then you know whether your child will need to bring one or not on the day of the trip.  There's a lot to sort out on the morning of a trip with Reception, so we would appreciate your help in ensuring all runs smoothly.  Thank you.

We cannot believe how near we are the end of our Reception year.  The children continue to make us smile and develop their independence in readiness for Year 1.  It will be here before we know it.  Have a lovely weekend everyone.

The Reception Team

This week: 13th - 17th June

What a busy but fantastic first full week we've had in Reception!  We have started our new topic on minibeasts and the children have been busy seeing what minibeasts they can find in our outdoor area. ☺

We were so proud of how well the children did on their first full sports day on Tuesday and it was great to see so many of you in attendance.  The children really impressed us with their positive attitudes and resilience.  Anyone who fell over just got straight back up and carried on, which shows real resilience at such a young age.  Please see some photos below - apologies that we didn't manage to capture all the races but sometimes we needed to be all hands on deck!

In phonics this week, we have recapped the 'ur' and 'or' phonemes.  We find the children sometimes find phonemes like this harder to remember, so please practise as much as you can at home.  We will be recapping 'air', 'ear', 'ure' and 'er' in the coming weeks, so please practise these also.

You will find that we are now sending tricky words home for handwriting / spelling.  We will put these in a random order each week and you will find that some are repeated from previous spelling tests / homework.  This is just to consolidate these spellings so they are not forgotten as the children move into Year 1 and become more independent writers.

We have also started to use our new trim trail.  One group have been on this week and we will take other groups on in the coming weeks so that all children get a turn, and hopefully more than once.  Those that went on did brilliantly, again showing resilience, perseverance, independence and courage.  And some fantastic physical skills too!

Next week, we have our trip to South Ribble Tennis Centre on Wednesday.  Children will need to come to school in their PE kits on Wednesday and Friday next week.  If you have not yet returned your permission slip, please do so by Monday.  Next week is also STEAM week (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) week.  We have some visitors coming in to do a workshop with the children on Monday, where we will need empty yoghurt pots (thank you to those who have already brought some in) so please send these into school by Monday if you have any.  The children will also need to bring in any foraged materials (leaves, twigs, grass etc), again on Monday please.

Don't forget also that Miss Duce's writing competition needs to be in on Monday.  We have had some brilliant entries so far! ☺

Have a fantastic weekend everyone and enjoy this lovely weather.  Thank you for your continued support.

The Reception Team

This week: 8th - 10th June

Welcome back everyone! ☺ 

We have had a lovely first week back! The children's reading is progressing fabulously and we can really see much more sight reading and the reading fluency is much better. All the reading over half term has really helped and made a big difference - thank you! 

We have not had any formal lessons this week with it being a short week, instead, we have been getting to grips with reading again, and we have completed activities in Phonics, Comprehension and Maths. Today, we have been practicing for our sports day which is this Tuesday 14th June. The children were fantastic and loved it! They are very excited to compete for real on Tuesday. 

*********************** We have an activity on the 20th June which requires yogurt/dessert pots. If you could please send any empty cartons with your child before the 20th June that would be fabulous! Thank you in advance. ***********************

++++++ Sports Day is on Tuesday 14th June starting at approx. 9:30am. Please send your child in on Tuesday in their PE kits. ++++++

Again, many thanks for your continued support, we hope you have a great weekend. 

The Reception Team

This week: 23rd - 26th May

Happy half term everyone! ☺  We have had a fun-filled Jubilee week this week, learning all about our queen and taking part in some fun continuous provision activities that the children have really got stuck in to.  We particularly enjoyed painting the queen and role playing a tea party with cakes and a pot of tea.  Needless to say, water went everywhere so we might work on our pouring skills a little more ☺ but the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Everyone looked fabulous on Wednesday, dressed up in red, white and blue.  We didn't bring our crowns home like the other year groups because we are saving them for our Axia fun day on the 29th June, where all the Reception children from our Axia partner schools will come to our school for a fun-filled day with lots of different activities.  We will be wearing our crowns at the end of the day to sing our song together.  After our fun day, the children will bring their crowns home.

We have also carried out our phonics assessment this week and are amazed by how much progress the children have made.  Thank you for all your help and support at home with this because it really does make a difference.

Finally, I would just like to say how absolutely proud we were of all the children in Monday's performance.  Everyone took part with so much enthusiasm, remembered all their words (and for 4 and 5 year olds, learning so many words is quite the challenge!) and projected their voices confidently.  Thank you to everyone who came to watch; the children were absolutely beaming to see you there to watch them after they had worked so hard.

Well, have a restful and enjoyable half term break everyone.  Remember, we are back to school on Wednesday, 8th June.

The Reception Team

This week: 16th - 20th May

We are really starting to show we are Year 1 ready in Reception.  The children have showed off their independent writing skills this week and we are so proud of the progress they have made.  Similarly, in reading, the children are just continuing to amaze us with how well they are progressing with their reading.  Their independence is really growing too. ☺

In Maths, we have started to look at the numbers 11-20, ensuring we can recognise them, order them and understand the composition of each number.  We will continue this focus next week.

We have done lots of practice of our poetry/singing performance this week and the children have done so well learning all their words and lines.  We look forward to welcoming you all on Monday afternoon next week.

We have also started to make preparations for our Queen's Jubilee Day next week, on Wednesday.  Remember that children can come to school on this day in red, white and blue clothes.  We have made some lovely crowns this week that we will wear on this day next week.  We will also continue to learn about what the Queen's Platinum Jublilee is and why it is a special day, and about some other countries in the Commonwealth.

There will be no spelling homework this week as we will be carrying out a short phonics assessment next week, and don't forget that next week, we finish on Thursday, rather than Friday.  We have also had a couple of children off school this week with chicken pox, so please be vigilant at home and don't send children into school if you feel they are unwell.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.  Have a lovely weekend everyone and we look forward to seeing you all on Monday.

The Reception Team

This week: 9th - 13th May

What a great week we have had in reception! We started off by playing cricket on Monday with some cricket coaches, we learned all about cricket bats and wickets. The children played lots of fun ball games and practiced rolling the ball to each other and throwing and catching. All the children thoroughly enjoyed it! 

We have been practicing our songs for our poetry performance which is coming up soon, the children are enjoying learning the new songs and doing the actions. They sound wonderful  We have also been learning how to use "BeeBots," these are child friendly robots and the children have to tell them where to go (forward, left, right) and by how many squares, the children had a map in order to direct the "BeeBots." They all absolutely loved it! The children have also been creating their own rockets as we have been learning all about Space this week; we have learned what the planets are, what the sun is made out of and what life would be like in Space. 

In Phonics, we continue to work on Phase 4 clusters.  Next week, we will be looking at end clusters again and recapping some of our already learned sounds.  Just a reminder to please ensure your child can read the key words on sight before we do a key word assessment for the end of the year. If possible, please spend some time using the pink flashcards we sent home to read the ones not yet known, on a little and often basis.  The most effective strategy we us is you say, they repeat, until they start to recognise them independently.  It really does help with reading when the children can recognise common words on sight, the reading flows much better. 

***Please ensure that next Friday 20th May your child comes in their school uniform. We have school photos so we will not be doing PE.***

Have a lovely weekend everyone and thank you for your continued support at home, it is making a real difference and it is fantastic to see the children progressing so well! 

The Reception Team

This week: 3rd - 6th May

On Monday this week was the celebration of Eid, so we have spent some of our time this week talking about how Eid is celebrated.  Some of the children in our classes whose families celebrate Eid have been sharing their experiences with us too. Having Mehndi patterns painted on the hands is all part of Eid celebrations, so we have been having a go at creating our own on hand templates this week, and have done an excellent job!  Those fine motor skills are really progressing well now, so we were able to create some really intricate patterns.

We have also been investigating floating and sinking this week, focusing on which materials tended to float and which tended to sink.  We made predictions first, based on the size, weight and material of the object, before checking if we were right.  We learnt a new word 'upthrust', which is what we feel when we push an object down towards the bottom of the water that would normally float.  It tries to push back up to the surface - upthrust.

In Phonics, we continue to work on Phase 4 clusters.  This next week, we will be looking at end clusters again, but this time with words containing vowel digraphs instead of simple vowels.  Words such as: toast, boost, paint, waist & burst.  Next week we will also look at the last of the Reception key words: what, by, some, and.  After this, we will have gone through them all, so before we do a key word assessment for the end of the year, please go through these words with your child and check that they can read them all on sight.  If not, please spend some time using the pink flashcards we sent home to read the ones not yet known, on a little and often basis.  You say, they repeat, until they start to recognise them independently.  It really does help with reading when the children can recognise common words on sight.

So many children are developing that independence now, and coming into school by themselves, so thank you with your support with this.  We continue to get them ready for Year 1 and talk about this often.  In the coming weeks and months, especially when we know our new teachers, we will start taking the children down to see their new environment, just to get them used to the changes that will come.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.  Thank you to those who have sent in pictures of journeys, either by email or as photos.  If you haven't done already and have a picture at home, please send this in.

The Reception Team

This week: 25th - 29th April

What a busy week in reception! The children are continuing to impress us by how much independence they are showing with coming into school by themselves and taking ownership of their things. The children are working very hard and putting lots of effort into their work. Well done!   

In English, we are continuing describing where the treasure is from a treasure map, retelling the story of Little Red Riding Hood, writing factual sentences about the seasons and writing about what we might see out of the window on a train journey. The children are writing some fabulous sentences and most are independent! Some are even remembering their capital letters and full stops! Amazing! 

In Maths this week, we have looked at number bonds to 10, and learning different ways to make 10 such as 8 + 2 = 10, 7 + 3 = 10 etc but also practising that 10 - 8 must be 2  or 10 - 2 must be 8, using our understanding of the number bond to 10.  If you can practice some of these number bonds at home, that will massively benefit your child! Next week, we are looking at adding 1 digit numbers together and practicing lots of different ways in which we can do this. 

In Phonics next week, we will be looking at Phase 4 CCVC words again, the children have done fabulously this week with their Phase 4 sounds! Again, practicing at home is so beneficial for your child to embed the learning. 

We are continuing our journeys topic next week. Thank you to those who have brought photos in! They have been wonderful to see, the children get so excited to discuss where they have been.  Please continue to send your child in with a photo of themselves on holiday, on a plane, boat etc. We have looked at transport this week, we have looked at transport from the past and present and labelled different types of transport. 

Next week, we will be learning all about Eid and why Muslims celebrate it after Ramadan, we have lots of different activities for the children to do to join in with the festivities. 

Have a lovely bank holiday weekend! 

The Reception Team

This week: 19th - 22nd April

Welcome back to all our children and families after the Easter break.  We hope you all enjoyed the Easter holidays and that the children were able to have a well needed rest and enjoy some family activities.

We are so impressed with how well the children have returned to school after the Easter holidays.  They seem to have grown, both in physical size and also in maturity and independence.  It is now that we will really start seeing children getting ready for the next stage in their school journey - Year 1.  So that's what this term will be all about; preparing children for their transition to Year 1 and slightly more formal education.  A huge part of this is building independence.  We are really encouraging children now to become more independent writers and this week we have been impressed with a few children who have done some excellent independent writing in the continuous provision.  It's not often children will choose to write when they can choose what to play with in the continuous provision, so by celebrating this we are hoping we can encourage more children to have the confidence to try some writing by themselves.  Well done to Idal P and Louie R who both completed a super 'message in a bottle' all by themselves with no adult support at all - I will attach pictures below.

In English over the coming weeks, we will be describing where the treasure is from a treasure map, retelling the story of Little Red Riding Hood, writing factual sentences about the seasons and writing about what we might see out of the window on a train journey.

In Maths this week, we have looked at numbers 9 and 10.  Next week, we will begin to look at number bonds to 10, ensuring we become confident and fluent in these number facts.  Understanding that 8 + 2 = 10 but also then eventually knowing that 10 - 8 must be 2  or 10 - 2 must be 8, using our understanding of the number bond to 10.  Any discussions you can have around this at home will be more than beneficial to help your child understand number relationships.

In Phonics next week, we will still be looking at Phase 4 CCVC words that begin with two consonants, but this time the words will have a digraph (two letters making one sound) in the middle instead of a single vowel.  So, for example, words like: float, start, spoon etc.  

Our topic for the half term is journeys, so much of our afternoon topic work will be related to this.  We started this week by looking at our journey to school.  It would be nice to look at journeys the children have been on, so if you have a photo at home of a journey (either on the journey, a plane, a train, a boat etc) or on the holiday/trip, please send these in with a little explanation of the journey on the back.  It would be nice if we could keep these in school so we can stick them in our big floor book and the children can look at them and talk about them.

Enjoy the lovely weather everyone and have a lovely weekend.

The Reception Team

This week: 28th March - 1st April

How is it the Easter holidays already?! The children have worked very hard this term and are in need of some well deserved rest! (The staff too ☺). 

We have enjoyed looking at life cycles, learning all about Easter and creating our beautiful Easter cards and Easter baskets. The children loved taking part in the Easter Egg hunt. 

We continued learning all about odd and even numbers in Maths this week. The children are really getting to grips with this now and are starting to understand it more and more. We even enjoyed an outdoor Maths lesson this week! 

The children tried very hard with their spellings this week, some of them were very tricky but the children are really grasping how words are spelt now which is great! 

After Easter half term we will be looking at Phase 4 phonics which include CCVC and CVCC words (C- Consonant, V- Vowels). The spellings reflect the words we will be learning that first week back so please practice when you can. 

Thank you for your continued support with reading, writing and spellings with your children; it really does make a big difference and the progress is fantastic to see! 

Just a reminder that on Friday's, children will be coming to school dressed in their PE kits. This is ensure we have more time to spend in PE.

Have an amazing Easter break and we will see you on Tuesday 19th April. 

Note about PE

We sent PE kits home last week because we will now be requesting that our Reception children now come to school already dressed in their PE kits on a Friday.  They will then stay in their PE kits all day and will come home in them.  Therefore, we request that PE kits stay at home from now until the end of the year.  Children will not be doing PE this Friday (1st April) - don't forget it is odd socks for Autism Acceptance Week on Friday.  This Friday, children are to come to school in their normal school uniform and odd socks.  The first Friday back at school after the Easter break (Friday 22nd April), children are to come to school already dressed in their PE kits.  We have taken this decision to allow more time for PE and try to avoid time taken up looking for items of clothing that have been mixed up whilst the children are getting changed for PE.  Any questions, please ask.

The Reception Team

This week: 21st - 25th March

Almost the Easter holidays already - where does the time go?  I know we say this nearly every week, but it really does fly by.  We have really enjoyed getting to know our ducklings this week - they have oodles of personality and are just wonderful to be around.  We have enjoyed watching them swimming and splashing in their pool, preening and cleaning themselves and waddling around chirping.  

We have started learning all about life cycles of living things this week (and will continue this into next week too) and have enjoyed our spring walk, looking for signs of spring.  We had a clear sign this week with the weather improving and a little sunshine gracing our skies! ☺

We have also enjoyed learning all about odd and even numbers in Maths this week - see if the children can tell you which numbers are odd and which numbers are even, and how they know this.  We have become more skilled in spotting 'double' numbers, so this has helped in our understanding of even numbers.

In writing, we continue to try and build independence.  We want the children segmenting (splitting words up into their individual sounds) words themselves now and knowing how to spell the digraphs and trigraphs they have had for homework.  We would also like to see them using finger spaces to clearly separate their words.  We have also been working hard on letter formation because it is so important the correct formation becomes fluent before children go into Year 1.  Children still find the formation of a, d, g and o tricky, so this is something to perhaps check on and practise at home to complement what we are doing at school.  All of these letters start as a 'c' first.

Next week, we will be learning the final Phase 3 phonemes: ure and er.  Another group will be learning the digraph 'ar'.  We will be having a recap week in Maths and beginning to learn the alphabet and matching up lowercase letters with their capital in Literacy.  We will continue to learn all about Easter, spring and life cycles in our topic and will be designing and creating our own Easter baskets in the afternoons, which we will bring home (hopefully with some treats in) at the end of the week.

Thank you for your continued support - have a lovely weekend everyone.

This week: 14th - 18th March

Well, what an exciting week we've had!  No doubt you'll have heard all about our new friends the ducklings this week.  And they are just adorable.  We watched 4 of them hatch from their eggs in the incubator on the first day they arrived (Tuesday) and the following 2 hatched the day after.  So we have 6 very cute little ducklings in our classroom at the moment.  We saw that it requires a lot of effort hatching out of their eggs, so they are very weak and tired at first.  They are also quite wet from being inside their egg.  It takes them a little while to gain some energy and also to 'fluff up'.  We have named all 6 of our ducklings with some help from the children: Derek, Waddles, Dave, Daffy, Goldie and John.  We don't know whether they are girls or boys yet as it takes a few weeks to be able to tell.  The children have enjoyed watching them this week and will hopefully get the opportunity to hold one next week.

We have also had multicultural week this week and have been looking at what makes 'us' us.  We talked about the differences between us all and how we look different, enjoy different things, have different experiences and have different likes and dislikes.  And that these differences make us who we are and are to be celebrated; we are all unique and special in our own way.  Our ducklings are all very different too, both in their personalities and how they look.  

We took part in a music workshop with Mrs Cookson, using instruments from around the world and we also had a workshop with a visitor (and Gerald the Giraffe!) learning more about ourselves.  We have been starting to look at the Christian celebration of Easter this week, how Easter is celebrated, the Easter story and we have made our own Easter cards which we will send home soon.

We have enjoyed learning all about how to double numbers this week (doubling 1-5) - it has sparked a real interest, so hopefully you can continue this momentum and interest at home.  Next week we will look at sorting, before looking at 'odd' and 'even' numbers and sorting these correctly, which will be a nice link to learning from this week.  We will continue to recap previous phonemes (oi and ar) next week before we move on the week after.  Spelling homework for next week, which will be given out tonight, is a recap of Phase 2 tricky words.  As we have already done many of these words and it is a recap, we are hopeful that the children will be quite confident in spelling them.

Next week we will begin looking for signs of spring and we will also be making some special cards for someone special.  We will look at the life cycle of different animals too.  And of course, we will hopefully get the opportunity to handle our ducklings gently and observe them more closely.  On a final note, as we are now trying to encourage our children to have more independence ready for Year 1, we would like, where possible, the children to walk to the Reception door themselves on a morning.  If parents could say their goodbyes from the middle of the playground and encourage children to come in themselves (I know some already do this), that would be great.  It would encourage a little more independence and also ease congestion at the doorway.  Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Have a lovely weekend everyone - and enjoy this beautiful weather.

The Reception Team

This week: 7th - 11th March

We have had another good week in Reception this week.  We've been learning all about how plants grow and change and discussing what plants need in order to grow well.  We are currently growing seeds in two places - one on the windowsill where there is plenty of light and the other in a dark cupboard.  We will watch them as they grow and talk about the changes we see and why this might be.  

The children have done amazingly well in the phonics and Maths assessments this week.  It's fabulous to think how far they have come since starting in September.  Many children are now blending longer words in their reading and a number of children are also beginning to read most of the words on sight which is brilliant seeing as we still have a term and a bit to go before the end of the year.  It is really good to see how the children are recalling and remembering those early number bonds in Maths and can tell us different ways to make 5, 6 & 7.  Do continue to support this at home, looking at different ways we can make any number up to 10.  If this is embedded, it really helps with number calculations later on through school.  We are still aiming to embed the '5 and a bit' pattern also, for numbers 6 to 10.  This is easily reinforced using our fingers, thinking about the easiest way to show 6 (5 fingers on one hand, 1 finger on the other), 7 (5 fingers and 2 fingers) and so on.

Next week there will be no spelling challenge on Friday so we will not be sending home any spelling homework this week.  We will be recapping some previously learnt phonemes in phonics: or and ur.  Another group will look at the phoneme 'oa'.  Next weeks' key words will be got, not & back.  

Next week is Multicultural Week.  We will be looking at ourselves and our own identity, thinking about all the different groups we belong to.  We will celebrate all our differences and the different cultures within our society.  We will also begin looking at the Christian celebration of Easter and making our own Easter cards.  We will be welcoming some new little visitors to our classroom next week but do keep it a surprise from the children for now - on Tuesday we will have a delivery of duck eggs which we will be placing in an incubator to hatch at school.  Hopefully the children will enjoy watching our little duckling friends grow as part of our Growth and Change topic.

As ever, thank you so much for your continued support at home.  Have a fabulous (homework free ☺) weekend everyone.

The Reception Team

This week: 28th Feb - 4th March

March already! The time is certainly flying by in the blink of an eye.  It was fantastic to catch up with you all at parent's evening this week; it is wonderful to see how much you are supporting learning at home, so thank you for this.  We have been celebrating our love of books this week and have been talking about what an author is.  We have looked at books by 2 authors: Julia Donaldson and Sue Hendra.  We have enjoyed reading lots of stories and on World Book Day itself, the Year 5 children came down and read stories to the Reception children.  It was really lovely to see them reading together and interacting.  We loved seeing all the children in their fabulous outfits for World Book Day, they looked just brilliant and we do appreciate you supporting this.

In phonics next week it is all about the trigraphs!  A trigraph is a group of 3 letters together that make one sound. We will be learning the trigraphs 'ear' and 'air' and another group will look at the trigraph 'igh'.  The key words for next week will be this, then & for.  Don't forget, if you feel your child can already read all the Reception key words on sight, we can give you the next set to be working on - just get in touch with us via email.

We have noticed a few children being a bit run down this week, and quite a few looking tired with runny noses.  Please do keep children off if they are not well so that we can keep germs to a minimum and children can get the rest they need to start feeling better.  They will not learn as well if they are feeling run down and not very well.

Next week we will be learning all about how plants grow as part of our Growth & Change topic.  We will be carrying out a short phonics assessment to seeing which phonemes the children know (and have remembered!) in both Phase 2 and 3.  We will also be carrying out our spring term Maths assessment to see how well the children have progressed since their last assessment.  As always, these will be carried out in a fun and interactive way with resources so the children won't realise they are doing assessments.

Thank you for your continued support and have a great weekend everyone.  Let's hope the sun continues to shine. ☺

This week: 21st Feb - 25th Feb

We have had a fantastic first week back! All the children seem happy to back and they were all raring to go!

We enjoyed our topic this week learning all about growth and change. We have created portraits of ourselves using a mirror, learned all about the life cycle of a human and Miss Collins brought in some photos of herself as a baby, child, teen and adult. We have also been looking at how we develop and change over time, the children have loved giving their ideas of what they will do when they grow up! We had lots of driving red cars and being able to able to ride a motorbike. 

In Literacy, we have been writing instructions on how to plant a sunflower with Miss Collins, writing about the Evil Pea with Mrs Parker, writing about the troll from Billy Goats Gruff with Mrs Hesmondalgh and looking at Spring poems with Miss Goldsmith. The children have been using some excellent vocabulary, adjectives and writing fabulous sentences using capital letters and full stops. 

In Maths, we have been ordering quantities and numerals to 10. The children have done some fantastic work and they seem to be building their confidence with sequencing numbers which is great to see! 

This week we have looked at the phonemes 'or' and 'ur'. The other phonics group have looked at the 'igh' and 'oa' trigraphs/digraphs and all the children have tried very hard this week. 

We have sent home some more spellings for the children to practice and these spellings will incorporate next weeks phonics; the next spelling test will be on the 4th March. The children are doing really well with their spellings and it really helps if they practice these at home. 

Next week is a very exciting week! We have Shrove Tuesday (pancake day) on the 1st March and World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March. The children are very excited and they have told us what they are going to dress up as. We can't wait to see everyone in their costumes! We will be doing lots of reading next week and exploring different authors, stories and comparing books and seeing which the children like best. 

Thank you for your continued support at home.  Have a fabulous weekend!

The Reception Team

This week: 7th Feb - 11th Feb

We have enjoyed our new topic this week all about winter, the children have been out on a winter walk to discover what animals they may see, looking at the trees and plants and seeing what the weather is like. We have also been looking at ice and looking at strategies how we can melt the ice quicker, the children came up with some fantastic ideas such as putting our pots on radiators, pouring on salt, using our warm hands and using our breath. 

In Maths, we have been looking at the length and weight of objects and the children loved going around the classroom to compare items in length and weight. They were all amazed in knowing that big doesn't always mean heavy. 

This week we have looked at the 'igh' phoneme again and introduced the new phoneme 'ar'. The other phonics group have looked at the 'th' and 'ng' digraphs and all the children have tried very hard this week. 

We have sent home some more spellings for the children to practice; this can be done over half term or when the children are back at school, the next spelling test will be on the 25th February. The children are doing really well with their spellings and it really helps if they practice these at home. 

We have been so impressed with the children's reading this week! They have all come on so well and they are trying so hard with segmenting and blending and sight reading their keywords. It really does make a huge difference when they practice reading at home 

After half term we will be in Spring 2, this year is going so fast already! In this term we will be looking at growth and change and how we change as we grow up. 

Thank you for your continued support at home.  Have a fabulous half term!

The Reception Team

This week: 31st Jan - 4th Feb

We have enjoyed learning all about the Chinese New Year this week, making lanterns, spiral dragons, playing in the Chinese restaurant role play, trying Chinese food and reading books all about Chinese New Year.  We have even tried using chopsticks in the finger gym - it is certainly quite tricky! ☺

Only one week to go before half term and as we reach the end of a 6 week term, we are finding that the children are getting tired now so lots of early nights are needed. ☺  The children will have their first spelling challenge tomorrow, so thank you for all your support in practising these words at home.

Next week we will be consolidating the 'igh' phoneme and introducing new phoneme 'ar'.  These will be linked to our spelling.  Another group will be learning the 'th' and 'ng' digraphs.  Half termly homework is due in shortly also.

We will not have any new key words next week but continuing to practise the ones we've already covered.

Next week we will be learning all about winter, going on a winter walk and investigating ice in more depth.  We will learn about some animals hibernating or migrating south in the winter and talking about what happens to the surrounding environment in this season.  We will also talk about the daylight hours being shorter in the winter.

Thank you for your continued support at home.  Have a lovely weekend everyone.

The Reception Team

This week: 24th - 28th January

Another week has flown by and that's January nearly over! ☺ This week, we have been looking at different religious buildings, having a go at drawing them (and finding we have some super artists!), describing what they look like and discussing why people visit religious buildings, sharing our own experiences.  We have also been looking at the differences between homes in the past and present, using words like 'old' and 'modern', looking at the shapes of the building and what materials have been used.  We found that more modern homes tend to have more glass, whereas older homes used stone and only glass for windows.  We also looked at how the shape has changed and that more modern buildings can sometimes be built in interesting shapes.

We have completed our writing assessments this week and are impressed as to how much progress the children have made, which is wonderful to see.  We are continuing to try and build independence in writing all the time, so that by the end of the year, the children can write a sentence completely unaided.  We have looked at the 'igh' and 'oa' phonemes this week, using the words 'trigraph' and 'digraph' (a trigraph is 3 letters that make only one sound, like 'igh' and a digraph is 2 letters together that make only one sound, like 'oa').  Next week, we will look at the 'oo' phoneme, which is also a digraph, looking at the long oo as in 'room' and the short oo as in 'book'.  With this in mind, we will be sending out spellings for the first time tonight.  This is still in handwriting books, so that children also continue practising their handwriting, but it is recommended that children practise each day on their whiteboard at home too.  Writing them out just once every day (should be no more than 10-15 minutes and this should get quicker as children become more confident with the spelling of the words) will mean that children become confident in spelling them, ready for their spelling challenge next Friday.  This homework is only due in on a Thursday now so children can have an extra day to practise.

Next week is Chinese New Year, so all our afternoon activities will be based around this.  We will also be trying some Chinese food in school.  We have converted our role play into a Chinese restaurant and I'm sure the children will enjoy this, role playing being in a restaurant.  We will be making Chinese lanterns and Chinese dragon decorations.

Finally, please, please make sure everything is labelled.  Some of the trousers got mixed up when we did our football session on Monday, so please check whether your child has the right trousers because we still haven't got to the bottom of it! ☺  Getting 30 children changed for PE without getting their clothes mixed up can be quite a challenge ☺ so you can help this by ensuring everything is labelled.  Sometimes, if labels have been written in, this can fade in time, so please just double check this weekend that all clothing (even coats) is clearly labelled so things don't get mixed up.  Please also label snack pots.  Full pieces of fruit, like apples will also need to be in a labelled bag or container which we will return at the end of the day so that they can be reused.

Thank you for your continued support.  Have a lovely weekend everyone.

This week: 17th - 21st January

This week we have been carrying on from our topic last week "Into the Artic". We have been looking at contrasting habitats such as the desert, aquatic and the artic; we have been discovering which animals live in these different places and comparing them to our own homes. The children sorted the different animals into the habitats they thought they lived, and they all did very well at this. We have also been looking at how we keep ourselves safe in our homes; the children came up with some fantastic ideas such as don't touch the kettle, don't put your fingers in plug sockets and make sure an adult is always with you when you are having a bath. 

We are continuing with our English units based on The Three Little Pigs, Owl Babies, non-fiction homes (labelling etc) and animals who live in the polar regions.  In phonics, we have been recapping phonemes learned in phase 2 and 3, this week we have moved on to ai and ee.  In Maths, we have concentrated on the number 5 and finding out how many ways we can make 5; the children have got on really well with this and really enjoyed it. 

Next week is assessment week, we will be doing some independent writing about dinosaurs. We have been practicing writing sentences using capital letters, using finger spaces and full stops. The children will also use their phonological knowledge to spell words in their sentence and hopefully use some keywords too ☺ We will also be assessing Maths and going over what we have learned. This is nothing to worry about, this shows us the progress your child is making in school. 

Please keep practicing keywords at home if possible, we can see that this is being done as the children are starting to recognise keywords in their reading which is fantastic! Please also continue to read reading books sent home each night. Reading at home really makes a huge difference and we can see that the children are getting more confident with their reading which is fabulous! ☺ 

We hope you all have a lovely weekend and we will see you on Monday. 

The Reception Team. 

This week: 10th - 14th January

This week we have been looking at our new topic called "Into the Artic". We have been learning all about Igloos and what they are made out of, we have been comparing Igloos to our own homes and seeing what differences there are. We also ran our very own ice experiment, we put some ice cubes in a bowl and we predicted what might happen to them; the ice cubes were different sizes so we predicted which might melt the quickest and which might take the longest. We watched the ice slowly melt into water and the children loved it! Especially when they got their predictions correct! The children have loved getting to know which animals live in the Artic, they seem to particularly love polar bears and penguins. On Wednesdays, we now have a book system where children can take different books home. This will encourage children to get excited about reading and books, it will develop a broader vocabulary and hopefully these books will be enjoyed together with your child.  

We are continuing with our English units based on The Three Little Pigs, Owl Babies, non-fiction homes (labelling etc) and animals who live in the polar regions.  In phonics, we have been recapping phonemes learned but especially sh and ch, this week we have moved on to th and ng and next week we will be focussing on ai, ee and igh.  In Maths, we have been ordering numerals 1 to 5 and ordering these amounts to match; the children have got on really well with this and are starting to become more confident with their numbers. 

Next week, we will start to look at a contrasting environments such as the artic, desert and aquatic habitats.  We will compare these with each other and discover what animals live in these different environments, and how they manage to survive in the cold, hot and water.

We practise our keywords daily at school, but it is so important that you reinforce this at home as it really helps the children with their reading when they can recognise more and more words on sight. It is very clear that this is being done as the children are starting to recognise keywords in their reading which is fantastic! Please also continue to read reading books sent home each night. Reading at home really makes a huge difference and hopefully the children will be back into their routines now ☺

As a side note, my apologies that RN's homework did not get sent out this afternoon. This will be put in on Monday and instead of it being due back on Wednesday, it will be due in on Thursday 20th January. My apologies again -

Miss Collins. 

We hope you all have a fabulous weekend and we will see you on Monday. 

The Reception Team. 

This week: 4th - 7th January

It has been wonderful to welcome all our children back into school this week.  It's been lovely to listen to their excitement over Christmas, and they all had lots to tell us. ☺  This week we have started our topic on buildings by looking at our own homes to begin with.  We have started English units based on The Three Little Pigs, Owl Babies, non-fiction homes (labelling etc) and animals who live in the polar regions.  In phonics, we have been recapping sh and ch this week before moving on to th and ng next week.  In Maths, we have looked at composition of numbers to 5 which we will touch upon again in the coming weeks, with the aim of children becoming fluent in these early number bonds.  Next week, we will look at ordering and counting.

We will also start to look at a contrasting environment next week - the cold, polar regions.  We will compare it with our own immediate environment and also look at the animals that live there, and how they manage to survive in the cold.

Next week's key words will be they, my and mum, so please continue to practise all the key words we have looked at so far regularly at home, on the pink card flashcards we sent home.  We practise daily at school, but it is so important that you reinforce this at home as it really helps the children with their reading when they can recognise more and more words on sight.  Please also continue to read reading books sent home each night.  Little and often really works and we would like the children to get back into good habits again now we are back into a routine after the Christmas break.

It was fantastic to enjoy our PJ day on Thursday this week and all the children took part with enthusiasm as they usually do. ☺  They enjoyed the pantomime of Beauty and the Beast and having a bit of fun at school to just celebrate our wonderful school family.  Here are a few pictures of our week.

Thank you! ☺

On behalf of the Reception team, we'd just like to say a huge thank you for all your very generous gifts, cards and kind words as we break up for the Christmas holidays, each and every one very much appreciated.  We have had a fabulous final week in school with an equally fab Christmas party on Tuesday where we played some fun party games and danced our socks off! ☺  All the children looked super smart in all their party clothes.  We have enjoyed getting to know our new classes this first term and are so proud of all our fabulous children and how far they have come already.  

So, have a wonderful Christmas holiday everyone - relax, have fun, smile, and most of all, enjoy spending time together at this special time of year.  We will look forward to seeing you all in January. ☺

The Reception Team

This week: 6th - 10th December

We are in full Christmas preparation mode here in Reception, especially after this week's Christmas jumper and Christmas lunch day. ☺  We have started making our Christmas cards and making calendars for the new year.  We have continued to look at how Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus and have had a go at making a Christingle in groups.  The children have also been sharing their half termly homework with the class this week and we have been really impressed by the super homework and activities that the children have completed.

In English, we have continued to work on our writing skills and in Maths we have looked at finding one more and one less than a given number.  This has proved quite a tricky concept for the children to understand, so we will be continuing to work on this in the new year.

We have also started learning our Phase 3 digraphs (two letters that make one sound) and have so far looked at qu, sh and ch.  The next phonemes we will learn are th and ng, early in the new year.  Please start to reinforce these phonemes on your Phase 3 sound mat that we sent home in the learning packs at the beginning of the year.  It is important that children recognise these as only one sound, rather than sounding out the 'c' and the 'h' separately, for example and that they know how to spell it when they want to write a word that contains one of these digraphs.

We do have lots of tired children at school at the moment. ☺  The excitement of Christmas preparation, as well as it being the end of term has meant a few tears here and there, so lots of rest and early nights at home will certainly help the children manage the last week with a smile on their face.  Nearly there now - I think everyone is ready for a break.  Thank you all for your continued support. ☺

29th November - 3rd December 2021

This week has been an exciting week! We have put our Christmas tree up in the classroom and some of the children helped Mrs Hesmondhalgh with the decorations which they loved! 

We have also turned our reading shed into a stable and nativity scene, the children have enjoyed listening to the story of the first Christmas and hearing all about Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. The children have had the opportunity to dress up and recreate the story in their own words. 

This week the children have been making their very own candy canes using beads and pipe cleaners, writing their own Christmas cards to family and friends and making mini Christmas trees using lollypop sticks. 

In phonics this week we have been learning sounds y, z, zz and qu; please keep practicing these sounds at home. 

All children have been reading very well this week, please keep practicing reading with your child at home, it really makes a massive difference. 

With regards to reading, we are missing some reading books. If you have any at home, please send these in with your child in their reading pack. If we don't get these back it means we don't have a full set and children cannot read these books at home or in guided reading at school. 

In your child's reading packs this week we have added in some more handwriting homework, this is due in on Wednesday 8th December. We have also added in some keywords that we would like you to practice reading with your child, this is to encourage sight reading and it is important that your child knows these keywords. We practice these keywords twice a day in class. 

Have a fantastic weekend! 

The Reception Team. 

This week: 22nd - 26th November

This week we have been learning all about Australia.  We have looked at the flag, types of houses, the weather, whereabouts it is, Australian foods, animals, songs and art!  We talked about the Aboriginees who were the first people to ever live in Australia and looked at a traditional Aboriginal dance.  We have had a go at creating our own Aboriginal artwork, through paint, by chalking on the floor outside and also on the computer, working hard on our mouse control skills at the same time.

We continue to work hard on our reading and writing, so please continue to support both of these at home.  The handwriting homework that came back this week was phenomenal and really blew us away, so thank you so much for supporting this at home.  We are really starting to see differences in the children's writing and the independence they are gaining, which is just brilliant.  

Next week we will look at the phonemes ch and sh.  We will explain these as digraphs, because it's two letters that make one sound together.  Please go over these phonemes as much as you can at home because they are ones that children get confused with in the early stages of learning.  Our new key words will be you, all & be.

We will continue looking at whole and parts in Maths, looking at how numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 can be split into parts, forming the early understanding of number bonds.

In the coming weeks, we will now be looking towards Christmas and doing lots of fun activities around this very special time of year.  Please don't forget that handwriting homework is due in on the following Wednesday and that the half termly homework will be due in soon also.

Thank you for your continued support.  Have a lovely weekend.

This week: 15th - 19th November

This week we have been learning all about Africa. We have been finding Africa on a map and comparing it to the UK. We have had some fantastic discussions with the children about what it might be like to live in Africa. We have also been looking at African instruments and hearing what different sounds they make; we have been dancing to traditional African music with the instruments and the children loved it! The children have made African necklaces in one of their activities this week and have been painting African masks which they have enjoyed. We have learnt the phonemes l, ll, ff & ss and continue to read our key words twice a day.  It is important that the children start to recognise these key words now in their reading books, this is to assist with the speed of reading and allow some sight recognition. Some children are doing this already which is excellent!

This week was anti-bullying week and we have talked a lot about how we can be kind to others and the children came up with some lovely ideas on how to be kind. These included saying good morning, helping someone when they fall over, giving someone a compliment and if they see someone sad ask if they are OK.

Our assessments last week went really well. The children did so well and tried very hard and its lovely to see the progress the children are making. We will be sending home key word assessments in the coming weeks, with key words on mini flashcards so you can practise at home. These key words are extremely important, and it would be amazing if you practised these key words as much as possible with your child at home. We are continuing to be impressed with the handwriting homework coming in. Please ensure this is in on time so me and Mrs Parker can mark it and get the next homework ready for the week after. Try to encourage good pencil control (using the tripod grip) and the correct letter formation, as this really then benefits the children in school.

Today is Children in Need and wear what you want day. We will make sure we have lots of Children in Need fun at school and hopefully raise some money for an amazing charity!

Next week, we will be learning phonemes j, v, w & x. Please go through these phonemes with your children at home.  We will also begin looking at the country of Australia. We will look at the different animals that reside in Australia, as well as the difference in weather and seasons to us and also the traditional Aboriginal art and dance.

Have a great weekend everyone. ☺

The Reception Team

This week: 8th - 12th November

This week we have been learning all about people who help us, and we thought of so many different people who do jobs to help us in one way or another.  We were lucky enough to have a visit from the police this week; James and Ben came in to speak to us about the job they do and showed us all around their police car.  We really enjoyed their visit, though the siren was a little loud!  The children have enjoyed dressing up as police officers and firefighters in the continuous provision and this has led to some fantastic, imaginative role play.  We have also been painting people who help us as well as doing some sorting activities and building a fire engine in the large construction. 

This week we have also carried out our first assessments, to see what the children have learnt so far.  We will be sending home key word assessments in the coming weeks, with key words on mini flashcards so you can practise at home.  We were really impressed with the first handwriting homework this week.  We will send home another sheet tonight (continuing to focus on letters in the 'c' family, ensuring they are all formed as a 'c' first so children are forming them correctly and become more secure or further pencil control activities), so please ensure it is completed in pencil and handed in no later than Wednesday next week.  

Of course it has also been Rememberance Day this week and we have talked about this in school in as child friendly a way as possible.  We looked at some pictures and talked about what we could see. The whole school observed a 2 minute silence on Thursday and Reception sat beautifully for the whole 2 minutes.  We were very proud of them.

Next week, we will be learning phonemes l, ll, ff & ss.  We will look at the key words am, an & he.  Please go through these phonemes and particularly key words with your children at home.  We will also begin looking at the continent of Africa, learning about African culture, dance & art.  It is also Anti-Bullying week next week, with a theme of One Kind World. As part of this, it is Odd Socks day on Monday, which looks at celebrating difference, so it would be wonderful if our Reception children could come to school in vibrant odd socks and show them off at school.

Last but certainly not least, thank you for all your continued support and have a fabulous weekend. ☺

The Reception Team

This week: 1st - 5th November

We have had a fun week this week, learning all about India and also the festival of Diwali.  One of our activities this week was to make a clay Diwali lamp with a pattern of colourful sequins on.  We will send these home when they are dry - the children have done a wonderful job and created some beautiful lamps with care.  We have learnt about the celebration of Diwali and looked at similarities to other celebrations and festivals we know.  We have also had lots of fun in the mud kitchen this week, making lots of different delicious meals.  On Thursday, we tried some Indian food.

We have learnt the phonemes h, b & f and continue to read our key words so far each day.  It is important that the children start to recognise these key words now in their reading books, to assist the speed of reading and allow some sight recognition.  Some children are already doing this which is just fantastic.  

Tonight we will send home two sets of homework - the half termly homework which needs to be returned in 4 weeks and also phonics/handwriting homework which needs to be returned on Wednesday next week.  This will now be given out each Friday and we will build the letter formation up slowly to allow children to gain more confidence in how to form each letter.  It is so important that children form the letters in their homework correctly, even if they need support to do so.  Re-learning the correct formation at a later date when children have got into the habit of forming a letter in a different way can prove more difficult.  If you experience some resistence with children not wanting or refusing to do their homework, please persevere! ☺  Learning to write is tricky at first, but the more confidence the children gain and the easier they find it, the happier they are to do it and it can give them a real boost when they 'can do', especially in school.  A little and often approach works best - maybe complete a line each night so it doesn't feel like such a big task all at once.  Lots of praise and encouragement too.

Next week will be assessment week, where we will do a little writing piece describing fireworks and see how many phonemes and key words the children know.  We will also be doing some Maths activities to assess progress so far.  In the afternoons, we will be looking at people who help us and Ben the police officer will be visiting us on Monday to talk about what he does. ☺

Have a great weekend everyone, and thank you as always, for your continued support.  Pictures will be posted later.

This week: 18th - 22nd October

We have finally reached the end of the first half term and I think everyone is more than ready for a break.  The children have done so so well in their first half term and many are tired and ready for a rest now.  This week has been life skills week and we have done lots of learning which we will continue into the coming weeks and months.  We have started learning how to use a knife and fork, so we will be encouraging this as much as we can at dinner time, so if you can encourage this at home too that would be great.  It's never too early to learn these skills.  We have also been practising zipping up our coats and using scissors correctly.

The children continue to make super steps of progress in their phonics and reading, which is wonderful.  Many of you have now read some books on Rising Stars too and completed the quizzes, so thank you for such support at home.  It means the children are gaining confidence in school all the time as their skills and knowledge develop.  A week off can sometimes mean some children forget the phonemes they have learnt so, although the main priority in the half term break is to rest, relax and have fun, could we ask that you go over the sounds on the Phase 2 sound mat up to r and read at least twice.  This will hopefully ensure children are ready to keep moving forward with their phonics after the half term break rather than having to go back over previously learnt sounds that have been forgotten.

After half term, we will be looking at India and the festival of Diwali, as well as bonfire night celebrations and safety.  We will aim to cover the phonemes h, b, f & l and key words can, get & up (quite apt as we start back after half term and have to get up early again! ☺).  In English, we will begin developing writing more as we complete activities based on Elmer, Percy the Park Keeper, Handa's Surprise and Hugo Monkey (this is an older Cbeebies song/poem which is lots of fun and here is the link if you'd like to have a look beforehand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHp3lQKS6lo).  In Maths, we will be continuing to develop our understanding of number, looking more at the composition and all the ways you can make 3, 4 and 5.

As always, thank you for your continued support.  Have a wonderful half term break. ☺☺☺

This week: 11th - 15th October

This week we have concentrated on our health, discussing healthy food choices, trying a range of fruits (including taking on the lemon challenge), talking about how exercising is good for us and trying different ones to see what effect this had on our heart beat and breathing.  We have also talked about looking after our teeth well (you should have received a small toothbrush and toothpaste which we sent home this week) and also good hygiene, including how to wash our hands properly, especially since there have been a few people off with illness this week.  It is even more important than ever that we encourage good hygiene, so if you could go through good handwashing with your children at home, that would be much appreciated.  It is important children remember to wet hands first, get a squirt of soap then rub hands thoroughly all over before rinsing off.  We are finding that children are putting soap on first and then just rubbing their hands together under the water straight away so they aren't getting washed properly.  Getting 60 children toileted and hand washed before dinner is a task in itself so it is important that the children already know how to wash their hands properly to help this along.

In Maths we have been learning a new word - subitising! ☺  See if your child can remember what it means...the children continue to work hard and develop their vocabulary in Maths and it is good to see them making those connections between numbers.  In Phonics we have been learning the phonemes g, o, c, k and as we are going through the phonemes quite quickly now, it is important you go over them at home too to help embed these sounds and make it easier for the children to remember.  

Next week we will be learning the sounds ck, e, u & r and key words as, at & his.  It is also Life Skills week next week, so we will be practising skills of putting on (and zipping up!) our own coats, beginning to learn how to use a knife and fork and also using scissors correctly.  We will be looking at celebrating difference next week in PSHE and also talking about how we can look after our mental health in a child friendly way.  We will also be talking about road safety & online safety.   Phew - a very busy week! ☺  Last week before a much needed half term break for everyone.  Homework is due in next week - please send in books even if you have posted on Tapestry.  It is also non-uniform day next Friday - wear something red in aid of Show Racism the Red Card. 

Thank you for all your continued support, particularly with reading - it makes a huge difference and allows your child to make the best possible start to their school journey.  I know it can seem like the blending is a slow process at first, but lots of practise and modelling of good sounding out and the children will get there.  ☺  Have a wonderful weekend everybody.

Rising Stars

We are now properly up and running with Rising Stars.  If you have signed up, you should now be able to access some books, so happy reading!  Don't forget you can access it via a tablet or on the computer (use Google Chrome rather than any other browsers if possible) and complete the quiz at the end to earn stars.  If you haven't yet responded to your Rising Stars activation email, please do so because this is a fantastic resource to help your child progress in reading.  Thank you for all your continued support at home.

The Reception Te

Water Bottles

Some children have been bringing their water bottles to school inside their book bags. Please can we just remind parents to keep bottles out of the children's bags to avoid any spillages. 

Thank you 

The Reception Team

This Week - 04/10/21 - 08/10/21

This week we have continued to look at the books 'Monkey Puzzle' and 'The Gingerbread Man', aswell as 'Tiddler' and 'Grinny Granny Donkey' in English. In Maths we have explored repeating patterns, with different body parts and with different objects.  The children have also all enjoyed their first 'Wear what you like' day at school and all looked fabulous!  We have opened our quiet  / reading corner and the children have loved being in there, sharing a book together in a quiet, comfortable environment.

Next week in phonics we will be looking at the sounds g, o , c and k and we will be continuing to revisit the key words the, I, to, no and go as well as introducing into, is & it.  Please practise these sounds and words at home.

Tapestry and Rising Stars

Hi everyone - we have now emailed everyone who has returned their Tapestry and Rising Stars slip to us.  Please look out for an email from the reception email address for your Rising Stars registration link.  Once you self-register, you will also need to confirm your account by responding to another email they will send you.  For everyone already registered, we have assigned about 3 books which you should see when you log on to Rising Stars.  If you are unable to access any of these books, please let us know by emailing reception@lostockhallcps.co.uk and we will aim to sort this out for you.  For your Tapestry registration, please look out for an email from Tapestry rather than from us, and this will guide you through setting up an account.  It has been wonderful to see all the entries on Tapestry already, with all the wonderful things you have been doing at home.  Thank you for your continued support.

**If you haven't yet come across your email, please check in your junk mail/spam folder as the emails could have been delivered there rather than to your inbox.  If, after checking, you still can't find an email, please email reception@lostockhallcps.co.uk and we will try to send further activation emails.  Thank you.**

Also, please don't forget that tomorrow (Friday, 08.10.21), it the PTFA 'Wear what you like' day for a £1 donation.  Please can children come in something sensible, because, although we won't be getting changed for PE, children still need to be able to be independent when going to the toilet etc.

27/09/21-01/10/21

Wow! We are now in October and the Reception children have been with us for a month already! This week we learned about our five senses; hearing, seeing, touching, tasting and smelling. Children have investigated and explored a range of objects using their different senses. In Maths we have been comparing size, height and weight and practising using words such as longer and shorter. We have begun looking at a range of different books in English, which we will be continuing to do over the next few weeks, including The Gingerbread Man and Monkey Puzzle. Today we have done P.E for the first time and all of the children tried their best to get changed in and out of their P.E kits. If there are any children who have not got a P.E kit yet then please can parents  bring them in for next weeks P.E session. Thank you again to those who have signed up to Rising Stars and Tapestry. A book has been assigned on Rising Stars and it has been lovely to see photos of children's learning at home on Tapestry. 

In phonics next week we  will be learning the sounds i, n, m, d and we will be continuing to practise the key words I, to, no and go.

Have a lovely weekend! 

Tapestry and Rising Stars

Thank you to parents for returning their reply slips for setting up a Tapestry and Rising Stars  account. Those parents who have provided us with their email address should have received links to set up both of these accounts, so please check your emails for these (including junk mail). Parents who have recently had siblings in Reception will already have a Tapestry account set up therefore may not need another account. If you are having any problems accessing/ setting up your accounts please let the Reception Team know. 

Thank you 

20/09/21 - 24/09/21

We have had a busy week in Reception. Children have continued to get to know routines and have been settling in to their new groups. We have also started joining the Key Stage 1 children during lunch and playtimes, which means lots of children have enjoyed seeing and playing with their siblings on the playground. All children should have received their first reading book this week aswell as this half term's homework. During lessons we have been practising rhyming in English, counting in Maths and we have started learning the sounds 's' and 'a' in phonics. Also, in our topic work we have been talking about our families. 

The sounds we will be learning in phonics this week are 't' and 'p' and the key words we will be practising over the next few weeks are I, to, no, go, the.

This week: 13th - 17th September

We are coming to the end of our very first full week in Reception!  The children are settling really well into their routines now and this will continue into the coming weeks.  It is also lovely to see new friendships continuing to blossom as the children find their feet and gain a little more confidence interacting with their new classmates.  We have carried out our baseline assessments this week, to gauge our starting points in terms of our learning.  We just class them as 'activities' and the children are unaware they are taking assessments, as they are all child-friendly and age appropriate.  It was wonderful to see so many of you at the Reception Curriculum meeting on Tuesday.  We hope you find the packs we provided useful in supporting your child's learning at home. 

Next week, we will begin our teaching in Literacy, Mathematics, Phonics & Topic.  We will begin by teaching the phonemes s & a.

You may find now that tiredness has started to kick in a little, so if you have a reluctant, teary or grumpy child on your hands, please do not worry! ☺ These first few weeks in Reception are a lot to take in and it does take it out of them, so lots of rest and early bedtimes will do wonders.  Here are a few photos of our week.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Tots on Tyres

Today we started our 'Tots on Tyres' programme. The children had a wonderful time learning how to ride pedal bikes. As there are 60 children in Reception, not all children will get the opportunity to participate every week. The coaches managed to give all the children in class RN a turn on the bikes this week and will be offering it to class RP next week. Please see photos below.

Baseline Information 

In reception next week we will be starting baseline assessments. These are statutory assessments all schools do at the beginning of reception, designed to give teachers an understanding of the stage each child is at when they start school. These assessments are interactive and it gives teachers a chance to spend some one to one time with your child. For more information, please see the document below. 

First week at school 

This week the children have been learning school routines such as sitting on the carpet for registration, lining up for lunch time and what we need to do at tidy up time. All children have settled really well into school life and making new friends. During our carpet times we have been discussing how to be kind to each other and how to play nicely. The children have really enjoyed their first week of school. 

Note to parents: when it is home time, please can you give teachers a big wave so we can see you clearly and if possible come as close to the reception doors as possible so we know your child has been picked up safely. Thank you. 

Settling In

We are so proud of our fabulous new Reception starters!  They have come into school so well, with super smiles and we have really enjoyed getting to know them all.  Thank you for all your support with the smooth transition into the first few days of school.  It has been lovely to see new friendships forming and tomorrow, when we have our final group starting (our Pre School children), we will finally have our full classes in.  Here are a few pictures of our first couple of days.