Week Ending 08/03/24
Date: 26th Feb 2024 @ 8:59pm
Happy Friday and hello or should I say Ahoy there from our Pirate crew! It's been a busy week of discovering our new book for this half term called 'The Pirates Are Coming'. Through the next few weeks the children will learn everything there is to know about the life of a pirate by making ships, writing messages in bottles, sailing the seven seas and the treasures there are to uncover. Our Dormice and Hedgehog children are already enjoying their first week and have found the treasure chest that was hidden deep in the grounds of the school. This has inspired so much of our choosing as the children have created their own pirates, written messages to each other on scrolls (tea-stained paper) and written lists of what treasures they would put in their own chest. This was such a lovely activity as many of the children decided to put in their mums, dads, grandparents, friends, pets and teddy bears in! We thought about important things which all hold special meaning to us.
This week has been all about books! We also enjoyed dressing up for World Book Day, the costumes and comfy pjs were amazing! We shared our favourite stories and had fun with our friends talking about our favourite characters. Please look out for your World Book Day voucher in your child's book bag. We also had a secret mystery reader to end the day. Thank you to Miss Nicholas and Miss Jones for our super surprise.
Dates for the diary!
- Wednesday 27th March – Dormice class assembly (9am – school hall). If your child has volunteered to have a speaking role, we have sent their lines electronically as well as a physical copy in their book bags.
Comic Relief
Next Friday (15th March) is Comic Relief and we will be turning RED to celebrate Red Nose Day and we are asking you at school to go ‘red-to-toe’ too. There will also be a cake sale at the end of the day.
Please follow the link to our school donation page.
Cash donations can also be collected on the door at drop off by a member of the EYFS team.
Little Wandle (Phonics)
Please see the downloadable attachment below to practise the sounds/words we have been learning this week. Please can you have a quick look for any Little Wandle books you may have lying around at home. We seem to be missing a couple from a few sets of books. Thank you.
Kinetic Letters
Kinetic Letters is the first thing we do each morning as the children come into school. We focus on teaching the children letter formation and aim that it becomes automatic as soon as possible. Please can you ensure that your child is in school by 8:45am so they are not missing out on this important lesson.
Dough Disco with Shonette is a firm favourite in the Early Years as it focuses on strengthening our fine motor skills making it easier for writing. Here is the link if you want to have a go at home. There’s a pirate one too! https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=spread+the+happiness+dough+disco
Maths
This week we were introduced to ‘Octoblock’ or Number 8 because he has eight blocks altogether. We have been investigating different number bonds to 8 using the numicon. We have also been looking at creating numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 by finding 5 and his friend (5 + 1, 5 + 2, 5 + 3, 5 + 4, 5 + 5) We learnt that we didn't need to count our five fingers as we already knew we had five! This led us to introduce the strategy of counting on. How quickly can we show 6-10 without counting fingers? This is great to consolidate understanding of subitising (knowing a number without needing to count). Ask your child can they show you number 7 quickly by using 'five an a friend'. I have linked the video below. We have noticed that 'counting on' has been a tricky concept this week. We will continue to apply this to our mental starters each day to build on the learning we have done in class. Dominoes is a great resource for this. Ask your child to pick up a domino and subitise the two numbers on it. Then count on from the bottom number to find the total. For example, if the domino showed a 3 and 4. Your child would count four more after number 4, 5, 6, 7. The last number is how many are altogether.
Numberblocks (Five and friends) - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0bn5dz7/numberblocks-series-3-five-and-friends
On Monday, we came into find sand and big boot prints left in the orangery with a map which including compass marks. We discussed using the phrase ‘Never Eat Shredded Wheat’ to help us remember the four compass points. We then used real compasses during our choosing time to direct each other around the classroom. We now have lots of little pirates that make up our Reception crew.
On Tuesday, we predicted what the story might be about. We used our comprehension skills from our reading practice sessions to explain how we knew using the clues from the front cover. We then discussed what we already knew about Pirates. Arrrrrrr!
On Wednesday, we had to decode some clues left by the pirates and use the map to navigate where the treasure was buried. We explored what was inside and found out that this introduced us to our new book ‘The Pirates Are Coming’. Inside were coins, jewels, boots, an eye patch, a map, some sand, shells and a pirate hat! We then thought about what was precious to us and what we would include in our chest if we were a pirate.
On Thursday, we found a message in a bottle had been 'washed up' on the shores of Tarporley. It was from the Pirates who told us they were sailing nearby. We wrote messages on scrolls to send back to them. Some children wanted them to come ashore and play with them so sent some lovely replies back, others weren't so keen!
On Friday, we learnt about the Islam festival, Ramadan. We talked about how Muslims celebrate this special time by fasting, praying and giving to charity. We also practised our Gruffalo show - the children are so excited to show you!
Well done to our Stars of the Week, Faith and Sienna!
Our mystery reader this week was Penelope's Mum. Thank you for coming to share a story with us!
We have really enjoyed making Mother’s Day cards with the children this week. You will find this in your child's book bag. We hope you have a wonderful Mothering Sunday together this weekend.
Miss Selwyn and Miss Woodward
