Blog Week ending 23.09.21

Another end to a busy and productive week in Pear Class! The children have really begun to settle into Pear class routines and it is lovely to see that all children are beginning to independently have a go at accessing our classroom provision alongside our adult led learning tasks. 
 
In Read Write Inc, the children have been continuing their reading and writing journey with Sally and Sandy Sounds and have learnt the sounds d, t and i. Your worksheets will be sent home today it would be so beneficial to not only work on these ones over the weekend but to recap last week's sounds also on a continuous basis to embed this learning. We do not expect these sheets to be returned to school, they are to be kept at home for continuous revision and we really appreciate all of the efforts we know you are making to ensure the school - home learning link is well established. I have included a sound sheet with the rhymes included so that you can say the rhymes alongside your child which will help with accurate formation. At this stage this is key - the children know that they must always start at the top of their letters and say the sound rhyme as they write. 
 
 In our mathematical work we have began sorting. We have sorted objects by colour, shape and size concentrating on the words same and different.  Lots of children can easily sort when asked to, but lots of us need some prompts to think of our own groups when looking at objects. We know that certain socks are the same because they have the same pattern and colours on, but we find it difficult to create our own group with a sorting rule. It would be really helpful to play games at home like the odd one out, and allowing for lots of opportunities for sorting items into different bowls as well as  playing the game: 'guess my rule'.  The emphasis on maths in Reception is very much on the child to provide explanations, for example, why is this pencil not the same as all of the other pencils? (that pencil may be shorter, it might have a different pattern on it, it might have a different use). Next week we will continue to practice this skill and do lots of explaining and reasoning.
 
In our topic work we have been continuing our work around families - this time thinking about our extended families and our own family trees. One of the Early Learning Goals in Reception is for our children to have an understanding about the past and to be able to talk about people and places in their lives that are special to them. The past is a difficult concept for children and whilst many children could talk about their extended families- grandparents, Aunties etc, they did not understand that their own parents did not always live in the houses they now live in and that in the past their parents were also children! It would be fantastic if you could talk to your child about your experiences in the past and what you did when you were a child  - referring to the idea that the past is something that has already happened and it might have happened a long time ago or just yesterday. 
 
Alongside this work we have been thinking about our life here in Alnwick and learning some of our key vocabulary with the big wow word: commmunity. If you ask your child they should be able to tell you what this means! We have been looking at the local landmarks in Alnwick and discussing the places we have visited and enjoyed. All of us have noticed that whilst we love The Alnwick Gardens and The Castle, the big 'M' is a place we became most excited talking about! Excitingly Mrs Vicky created a map of Alnwick and we were able to work on our programming and direction skills as we instructed the  electronic Beebot around the map!
 
 In our PSHE work we have spent lots of time talking about our rights and responsibilities as members of pear class. We decided to make a class learning charter to help us understand what is expected of us. We are beginning to understand that we are responsible for making our learning environment a happy and kind place. Pear class decided we need to be kind, make our friends feel happy, use gentle hands and feet, listen to each other and work hard.
 
 We ended the week with a busy PE session where we enjoyed some team listening games and worked on our balance and landing skills on the benches - I was most impressed with our hopping skills. It would be hugely beneficial if over the weekend you could work on leg skipping with your child. It is easier to start this at walking pace with the leg raised into a hop, step, etc. It may be many years since you yourselves have skipped but I promise it is good for the soul!
 
Have a wonderful weekend,
 
Mrs H-S
 
 
Programming our Beebots!
Family Trees!