21.10.22
And so we come to the end of a busy first half term in Reception!
We are incredibly proud of how the children have adapted to the learning environment in Reception – they have all made great strides towards becoming independent and resilient learners and we look forward to seeing the foundations that have begun this term continue to be built on throughout the course of the year.
This week in our maths learning we have been learning about repeating patterns. We found it easy to create AB patterns immediately after being taught and so we had a go at applying this skill in different contexts. The children have had a go at printing repeating patterns, creating repeating patterns with Autumn materials, colours, body movements, pictures and shapes too. We will continue to embed this skill over the coming months as this is an important precursor to understanding number patterns. Impressively, some of our children were able to extend their learning this week, creating more complex repeating patterns such as ABBA or ABC – why don’t you encourage your child to create repeating patterns at home over the holidays using every day items such as the utensils at dinner time?
In our RWInc sessions, we have almost finished learning set 1 sounds. After half term we will learn the sounds ng and nk before regrouping. After carrying out some assessment, we have a better understanding of which stage the children are at and therefore we will be able to regroup. We will let you know which group your child is in and you will be sent home the corresponding home learning materials based on where your child is on their RWI journey. Again, thank you for your support in practicing and embedding those sounds and formation at home – it is greatly appreciated.
In topic this week, we have been thinking about that Wheat that the Combine Harvesters cut up and thresh from the farmer’s fields. We enjoyed reading the story The Little Red Hen, a story about a hen who decides to grow her own grain, cut up the wheat once it has grown and take it to the mill to grind the grain into flour and then bake her own bread. The other animals on the farm refused to help the little red hen until it came to eating the bread- then they were very interested in taking part! We enjoyed discussing the morality of this story through sustained shared thinking. We put this situation into our own context – is it fair that some friends refuse to tidy up at tidy up time but still get to play with all of our classroom toys? Many of the children felt that actually, if you don’t help to look after the classroom then why should you get to play with the toys in it? They also felt that the little red hen was right to refuse to share her bread with the other animals, as they would not help her with the hard work along the way. Other children however, decided that sharing is always the right thing to do, so if they were the little red hen they would have shared.
In response to this story, the children created story maps and were able to demonstrate their sequencing and story recall. It was very impressive that many of the children were able to use our vocabulary from last week – they knew that the little red hen did not have a Combine Harvester, but she still needed to thresh the wheat to remove the grain and that she needed to grind this into flour. Excitingly, after this, we made our own bread. We mixed some flour, salt, water and yeast and kneaded the ingredients before leaving them to prove. We then shaped our dough into hedgehogs before enjoying the finished baked product! We showed off our emerging writing skills by having a go at writing the list of ingredients for our recipe – over the holidays see if your child is able to help you write your shopping list. At this stage, they may only be able to hear and write the initial sounds in words, but any writing for purpose is helpful at building confidence!
Later in the week Plum class have been consolidating all of their skills in moving like different jungle animals. They crawled, leaped, jumped, flew, flapped, slithered and pounced using increasingly challenging P.E apparatus and the space available in the hall. To warm up before the session, our children enjoyed a game of dishes and domes. Each week the children particularly love playing our warm up games! It is clear to see how much the children have developed this half term- well done Plums!
Our music session on Thursday was an upbeat one; with children listening to and responding to 'Our house' by Madness. They listened to the tune and helped to clap to the beat. They enjoyed perfecting their final performances of the songs they have been learning this half term- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and This Old Man.
Our RE learning for this week has been 'Special People'. The children heard all about the story of Moses. Pear class thought about Moses being a good role model for Jews, who they believe was given ten rules from God (commandments) to show them how to live their lives. This led on to us thinking about class rules. Why do we have rules? What are our rules? were excellent questions for discussion. We came up with some really sensible rules to follow in Plum class in order to keep everyone safe and happy.
Your child has been given their login for school 360. They are very keen to show you their avatar and work with you at home to choose an outfit! All children have been awarded 360 points which they can use to choose clothes and accessories for their avatars. If you have any problem logging in please let a member of staff know.
And lastly, thank you for your continued support this half term as your child has started their Reception journey. It has been lovely seeing lots of familiar families and welcoming those families who are new to us. We know we will all work together to ensure the best possible progress for all of your children.
Have a relaxing and safe half term holiday,
See you soon...
Miss Freeman