Weekly Blog 13/10/23
Date: 10th Oct 2023 @ 7:11pm
Happy Friday! Just like that another week has flown by and our Reception children have let their imaginations run wild. This week we have started our new Pathways story, The Gingerbread Man. We really got the week off to a flying start with some flour footprints that had been left in the classroom. Throughout the week we have been coming into the classroom with lots of clues left by a certain biscuit! The children have absolutely loved all the things the Gingerbread Man has been getting up to and we can't wait to see what he does next on his adventure. Keep a look out on our Twitter for more updates in the coming weeks!
Dates for the Diary:
- Pupil Progress Meetings (Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th Oct) – I will be discussing your child’s baseline assessment, how they’ve settled into Reception and the next steps in their learning.
- Careers Week (Monday 6th -10th November) - please see me if you would like to come into school to talk to the children about your profession!
- Stay and Play - Wednesday 8th November 2:30pm. In Reception we do not have books, instead we use Tapestry to update you on your child's progress each week through observations. Therefore, we are inviting you in to spend some time in your child's classroom and enjoy some time choosing to learn where they do each day. This will then finish at normal time (3:20pm).
- Imagine That Trip – Thursday 9th November. Please ensure you have given permission online. We still need two parent volunteers to assist us on the day. Please let me know if you'd like to join us.
Cauliflower Cards
A final reminder to complete your cauliflower cards design and return it to school once you have placed your online order, thank you. The deadline is next Friday (20th October).
Little Wandle – Phonics
This week we learnt our final four sounds of this half term, H, B, F and L using the new Little Wandle grapheme cards and phrases. After half term, we will be introducing more sounds with an increase in digraphs. The pace will begin to increase after half term so it is imperative that the children become secure in the sounds they have learnt this half term. We have also learnt the tricky word 'THE'. ‘Tricky words’ are words that cannot easily be decoded (‘sounded out’ and read). These words need to be learnt by heart. Please see the downloadable attachment below to practise the sounds/words we have been learning this week.
Phonics Assessment
Next week we will be completing a short phonics assessment with your child which will consist of recognising the grapheme (letter) we have learnt so far (S,A,T, P, I, N, M, D, G, O, C, K, CK, E, U, R, H, B, F, L) and being able to orally blend and read simple CVC words which contain these sounds. In your child’s reading folder this week, I have placed a helpful sheet of all the sounds we have learnt so far with their correct pronunciation. Please ignore the formation column as we we have not starting writing yet.
In your reading record you will find two ticks and an arrow which will be the next step in their learning. You will find your child’s percentage in their reading records; 80% is on track and able to move onto the next set of books. Please keep reading with your child as often as possible to build up fluency and speak to your me if you have concerns about their progress. Please can you ensure you write in your reading record once your child has read to you. This is another form of communication between home and school where you can see how your child is getting on with their reading.
You can also look at the following resources on the Little Wandle website to find out more about phonics: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
In Maths, we have been learning how to count accurately using 1:1 correspondence by following Number 5's three rules of counting.
- Say the numbers in the right order.
- Count everything once. (Put them in a line to help with this).
- The last number is how many.
Being able to say one number name for each object you count is an important skill that children often demonstrate with small numbers but not larger ones. For example, can your child count the stairs by saying one number for each step? Or can they do ten jumps and say one number each time they jump? These are simple ways to integrate counting into your everyday life. Can they count a Lego tower accurately? Can they count the peas on their dinner plate? If you see your child counting accurately at home then upload your observation to Tapestry. We love showing you what your child can do at school but we also like to see your child using their learning at home. Think about moments that make you say ‘WOW!’
We have had plenty of opportunities to explore counting of different objects. Some children decided to use their choosing time to count the loose parts in the construction area. We have also been consolidating recognising our numbers 1-5. Counting is such an important skill and by following the three rules you can never go wrong! You may want to practise counting at home and this can be with anything...counting the number of bricks in a Lego tower, counting the number of socks in your drawer or counting the number of steps on your stairs. The opportunities for counting are endless.
On Monday, we came into the classroom to find some mysterious footprints had been left which led us to a recipe. We talked about the things we might find in a bakery too. We were inspired to draw our own Gingerbread Men. We have a lot of creative minds in EYFS!
On Tuesday, the gingerbread man had left even more footprints! He also left us a video for us to watch where he had stolen our Lego. To get them back we had to create our own traps. In the afternoon we performed our song ‘See the Farmer’ at the Harvest Festival at St Helen’s Church. Thank you to everyone who came to watch us! Next up, Nativity!
On Wednesday, Jack told us the story of baby Moses where the children learnt about how God always watches over us and will protect us from harm.
On Thursday, we played lots of phonics activities where we focused on initial sounds and oral blending with images from our new book. We finally found our stolen toys which were being closely guarded. This led us to The Gingerbread Man and we read the first few pages of our new book.
On Friday, we read the story 'We're Going on a Leaf Hunt' and created our very own Leaf Man portraits using natural materials. They looked very realistic!
Congratulations to our Star of the Week, Gabriella!
Our Mystery Reader was Wren’s Mum! Thank you for coming to share your story with us!
Have a wonderful weekend! Fingers crossed the weather improves.
Miss Selwyn
