weekly news 28th November

This week we have been learning the sounds l, f, b and j. We have also learnt the tricky words he and she. We have been reading the sounds we have leant so far in our sound books and we have learnt the tricky words he and she this week. Check the back of our sound books to see which sounds we know on the stickers we have been given. If your child has 4 or more stickers, we have sent home a word bag for them to practise segmenting and blending words which are made up from the sounds we have learnt so far. you can then change these bag yourself in the mornings once they are confident at reading the current bag.

We have been learning all about the numbers 19 and 20 and finding different ways to make these numbers. We have also practised ordering and making a number line from 1 to 20 and then playing a missing number game where our puppets Hattie, Ricky and Percy would turn over a card and we would look carefully to work out which number was missing by looking at the numbers either side to give us clues finding one more and one less. We then wrote the numbers down to practise our number formation using the number rhymes
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We have read some more of our ‘Power of Reading’ book ‘Owl Babies’ and have been writing wanted posters to try and find mummy owl as well as writing her a letter to ask her to come back to her babies.

The children may be using the field at lunch times, If they fall over they may get wet so please make sure your child has a spare change of clothes in their bag in case we need to change them as we don’t have many spare trousers left. If your child has borrowed a pair, please can you send them back in once they have been washed and dried.

Request for unusual vehicles... our next topic is ‘Are we there yet?’ It focuses on different types of transport. We are having a vehicle launch week for our memorable experience on the week beginning 13th January. If you or a family member has an unusual type of transport such as a vintage car or tractor or anything else you think we would love to look at and you would be happy to bring in, we would be very grateful. Please have a word with one of the teachers to arrange a day that week.

Request for our making area.... We have some boxes in our creative area that are a bit empty at the moment. If you have anything to donate that you no longer need we would be very grateful. The children love making models and pictures with little treasures! For example wool, shiny papers we can chop up, bottle tops, fabric, etc

weekly news 22nd November

This week we have been learning to hear and read the sounds h  e  r  and  u. We have been learning the tricky words no go and I. We have continued to create our own stories and increasingly we are using the sounds and tricky words when we write. We have been thinking about which characters we need in our story and have drawn simple pictures of them to remind us how many of our classmates we will need to help us act out our story. Several children have amazed us by wanting to do the writing for themselves this time ! Don't forget to take a look at your child's story on their display space.
In Maths this week our focus has been on the numbers 16,17 and 18. The children have been learning to recognise them, count the corresponding number of objects, find the numbers on a number line and in the environment and to write the number. We have also been encouraging the children to talk about what they know about each number eg. is it an odd or even number ? is it bigger or smaller than a certain number ? has it got 1 digit or more ? what is 1 more, or 1 less than the number ? how many different ways can we show the number with our fingers, with numicon, with cubes ? etc These sort of questions develop the children's powers of reasoning and understanding about the value of each number.
We have been continuing our 'Power of Reading' book 'Owl Babies' and trying to imagine what it mus have felt like when the owl babies woke up to find that their mother had gone. We encouraged the children to think about and express, times when they have felt worried, sad or alone.

Each week the children enjoy our 'Write Dance' sessions in the hall with Mrs.Sutcliffe. These lessons encourage the children to move in different ways which helps to develop their gross motor skills and also within these sessions the children draw large shapes and lines and pictures with both their hands. This helps the children with their fine motor skills too.

Weekly news 14th November

This week in Reception we have been learning the sounds g o c k and ck. We have also learnt to read the tricky words to and the which can’t be sounded out and please see if your child can spot these when reading books at home.  We have given the children their tricky word tag to keep in their book bags and to practise at home along with reading the sounds in their sounds book.  We have also continued writing stories with the children this week and they have been adding in the sounds they know and have enjoyed acting them out with friends.

The numbers we have learnt about this week are 13, 14 and 15. We have also been listening to some teen number songs to remind children that all teen numbers start with a 1. You may want to practise writing these down and seeing if your child can recognise them.

We have started our new Power of  Reading book, ‘Owl Babies’. The first session introduced the story by setting the scene in a darkened classroom and we handed out finger torches. We showed the children a picture from the story with no writing. The picture was of the three baby owls and the mummy owl in the background. The children had to think about what they could see in the picture, what is happening and where they owls were. They also thought about what the owls might think of the dark and how the owls might be feeling. This brought up a discussion about nocturnal animals.

We have been working with the children to make a shape owl on a dark background where the children have selected different coloured shapes and practised their cutting skills. They are looking fantastic and will be displayed.

We now do the shaker at 9am and therefore the gate will be locked by 9.05am. Please can we ask you to say goodbye to your child by the time we do the shaker so that you have time to get through the gate before it is locked.

weekly news 6th November

This week in Letters and Sounds we have been learning to hear, read and write the letters i n m and d. We are starting to blend the sounds that we know to read simple words. We have been practising the sounds in our sound books with our teachers and if we are confident at reading the sounds we will be given a sound sticker. You will find this sticker on the back of your child's sound book if they have been given it. Please help your child to develop their reading skills by practising their sounds and looking out for them wherever you go ! 
During the next 2 weeks the children will be creating their next story with their teacher. We will encourage the children to write any sounds that they know in their story and the children are very keen to act out their story with their friends. Keep an eye out for your child's next story which will be pinned up on their display board.
In maths we have been continuing to learn all about the numbers to 20 and our focus this week has been the numbers 10, 11 and 12. Could you help your child to spot these numbers at home or when you are out and about ? Perhaps you could ask your child what they have learnt about these numbers.
We are very grateful to the relatives who have been teaching the children to do sewing. The children have been developing resilience whilst learning a simple running stitch. 

The other very useful skill that the children have been learning is woodwork. Mr.Boot one of our students, has started to teach all the children how to use a hammer and nails, a screwdriver and he will go on to teach the children how to use a simple saw.

 We would love to offer the children the chance to develop other skills so please do let us know if you are able/willing to come into school to help.

It has been great to see so many parents and relatives at our 'Come and Play' sessions this week. The children have been very excited to show you the pot they have decorated and to plant a tulip or daffodil bulb to look after at home. The children enjoyed making cereal bird feeders to so let's hope we all get to see lots of birds in our garden's over the coming months.