Welcome to Year R!

2023-24

In Year R, our teachers are Mrs Baker (Class 1), Mrs Fowlds (Class 2), Miss Draper (Class 3) and Miss King. Mrs Searle oversees all three classes as Assistant Headteacher and Early Years Manager. We are also supported by our dedicated Learning Support Assistant (LSA): Miss Drury, Miss Speller, Mrs Bright, Miss Croft, Mrs Eldridge, Mrs Jandula and Mrs Howlett. 

If you have any questions, please speak with your child's class teacher. You can speak to your child’s class teacher by phoning the school and requesting an appointment if they are not around at pick-up.

Keep referring back to this page for regular updates about the children's learning. 

Curriculum Newsletters

• Year R Curriculum Newsletter - Summer Term
• Year R Curriculum Newsletter - Spring Term

Update - Friday 5th July 2024

This week, we have been reading and exploring the book Lost & Found. We have been looking at the animals that live in the polar regions. We decided whether the animals lived in the Arctic or Antarctica. We made our own polar scene using different materials, made penguins from recycled items, and wrote our own thought bubbles about what the characters from the book might be thinking.

In phonics, we read new words ending with the suffixes -est and - er, for example, brighter, greenest, sweetest, and boaster. We have recapped the tricky words: to, into, all, are they, one, out and today. We read different sentences and wrote: You are the brightest star.

In maths, we have been looking at addition and subtraction. The children started writing their own calculations, using the = and + signs. We recapped the language 'all together' and 'how many left'. The children had the opportunity to add and subtract practically in the classroom.

Updated - Friday 28th June 2024

This week, we continued our topic of African safaris by looking at the zoo. We focused on the book Dear Zoo, wrote sentences about the animals we saw during our trip to Marwell Zoo, and examined whether they had fur, feathers, or scales. We also tried creating our own maps of Marwell Zoo.

In phonics, we have been reading new words focussing on plurals ending in 's', for example, torches, fishes, wish, boxes, fizzes, spears, and sports crowds. We read many sentences and wrote: I am painting the moon.

In maths, we focused on exploring different maps, such as physical, nautical, thematic, and road maps. Some maps are aerial maps(taken from above), and some are represented in 3-D to visualise how we would walk through an area.

Update - Friday 21st June 2024

This week, we have been exploring African savannas as a habitat. We have been looking at the animals that live in the jungle and rainforest, finding out where Africa is in relation to Basingstoke, and looking at the natural and man-made features of these places. We explored the weather of Africa, what animals are native to Africa, and those native to England. We also explored the work of Abdoulaye Konate and created our version of his artwork. Handa's Surprise was our supporting text.

In phonics, we have been reading new words ending with 's', such as dresses, screeches, splashes, speeches, crunches, and scrunches. We have recapped the tricky words: put, pull, full, push, my by, like some come love do. We read different sentences and wrote: The frogs hop in the pond.

In maths, we have been looking at Visualising, building, and mapping. The children focused on spatial reasoning. They replicated scenes in the small world and construction areas, developing their thinking about where objects are in relation to each other.

Update - Friday 14th June 2024

This week, we continued our new topic of animal safari by looking at the Amazon rainforest and jungle. We focused on deforestation and how it affects the planet, what animals live there, and their young. We created our own 'Save the Rainforests’ posters, made animal masks, and collaged different animals.

In phonics, we have been reading new words, such as slight, screech, three, scoop, fright sprain, and tree. We have recapped the tricky words: are, pure, sure, says, one, and here. We read different sentences and wrote, ' The star lights up the night’.

In maths, we have been looking at Visualisation, building, and mapping. The children created their own patterns and could tell each other about them and the pattern rules. They could also identify their units of repetition. 

We practised the letters f, j, and r during handwriting. If you can, practice these at home, too.

Update - Friday 7th June 2024

This week, we began our new topic of African safari by looking at the farm. We have focused on what is grown on the farm and what animals live there and have written about what wheat and oats turn into. We have created our own farm scenes, made animal masks, and collaged different animals. 

In phonics, we have been reading new words, for example, bleed, growl, toast, joint, burnt, spark, boast, paint, speech, bright, flight, spoon, storm, and broom. We have recapped the tricky words: we, he, she, me, be, of, says, there, when, what, one. We have read different sentences and written the sentence: I like toast with jam. 

In maths, we have been looking at grouping and doubling. We have learnt to say I have 2 groups of 3, instead of counting all the objects. We learnt a doubles rhyme: double 1 is 2 tap it on your shoe, double 2 is 4 stamp them on the floor, double 3 is 6 do the finger clicks, double 4 is 8 put your arms out straight, double 5 is 10 let’s do it all again.  

During handwriting we have practised the letters f, j and r. Practise these at home too, if you can.

Update - Friday 24th May 2024

In our last week of half term, the time is going quickly! To finish off our topic of traditional tales, we continued our book of Goldilocks and the Three Bears but instead focused on the historical side of the kitchen equipment. We have looked at timelines of the different books we have read, along with when I was born compared to the children in the class, to see how long the first Goldilocks story was written. We have sequenced our day at school, drawn our kitchens at home and sorted pictures into present and past.

In phonics, we completed the Little Wandle end-of-term assessments; the children did amazingly! For the rest of the week, we consolidated learning and practised tricky words. We also learnt the new words plumpest, strongest, freshest, stamped, jumping, helping, and helping.

In maths, we have been looking at sharing with odd and even amounts and grouping. We have been focusing on why amounts are equal and what sharing fairly
looks like.

Have a lovely, safe, sunny half-term, and share everything you have been doing so we can look through the pictures together on Tapestry.

Update - Friday 17th May 2024

This week, we started learning about the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We have sequenced and written about the story and made our versions. We wrote letters from Goldilocks to Baby Bear and sequenced how to make porridge. Additionally, we mixed red and white to create the pink for Goldilocks' dress, painted her yellow hair, and created our version of the story.

In maths, we have been exploring shapes; we created patterns with shapes and had to describe them to our partners so they could recreate them. We also looked for 2D shapes within 3D shapes and explored everyday objects that are 3D shapes, e.g. a box of cereal or glue stick.

We have been practising our handwriting again this week, focusing on tunnel letters - n, m, h and u. Please encourage your child to practise these at home and get them to repeat the letter several times to increase confidence and correct formation.

In phonics this week, we have been revisiting tricky words and words we learned this half-term. On Monday, we will complete the Little Wandle phonics assessment for this half-term. I will email you to let you know your child’s achievement afterwards.

Remember to check your child’s book bag for their reading books and return them on Monday, along with their reading diary.

Update - Friday 10th May 2024

This week, we have been using the book Jack and the Beanstalk to inform our learning both inside and outside the classroom. We looked at some unfamiliar vocabulary in the book, such as axe, widow, disgust, crumbling, and cottage, sequenced the story, and thought about how to describe the giant. The children thought of some brilliant words to describe the giant, for example, mean, enormous, gigantic, selfish, and unkind.

We made beanstalks differently, using paper chains and folding paper to create a concertina. We added clouds and castles to our beanstalks to create some 3D art.

We have also been playing instruction games with our friends. The children had a partner, one of them built a tower using multilink bricks, they sat back to back with their partner and had to describe their tower so their partner could create one the same.

In maths, we have been exploring addition and subtraction. We have been using Numicon and cubes to help us do this and have been looking at addition and subtraction problems. For example, I had 8 current buns, Max took 3 away, and how many did I have left?

In phonics, we have learnt the tricky words - were, here, says and little. We have been focusing on reading and writing CCVCC, CCCVC and CCCVCC words such as - crust, splat and strong.

Update - Friday 3rd May 2024

This week, to continue our topic of traditional tales, we have been looking at the Jack and the Beanstalk story. We have written sentences about different parts of the story, described the giant, and created our own beanstalk with paper chains! The children have really enjoyed Jack and the Beanstalk this week.

In phonics, we have been reading phase 4 words, for example, stamp, spend, crept, crunch, crust, squelch, sprint, strict, splat, strong, scrub, blend, and crisp. We have learnt the tricky words: here, little, were, says. We have focused on why these words are tricky and practised reading them sightly.

In maths, we have been looking at addition and subtraction. We have been identifying how many have been added or taken away from a group, writing our own number sentences for the calculations, and playing a game with a friend to see if they can work out how many numbers have been taken away or added.

Children will have come home with a new book this week, please make sure this is returned on Monday with their reading diaries.

Update - Friday 26th April 2024

This week, we have continued our story of the Gingerbread man by looking at how kitchens have changed. We have looked at different kitchen equipment and spoken about what we have and do in our kitchens. We looked at what year the original gingerbread man was created and placed this on a timeline, along with when the children were born, to develop the understanding that this was written a long time ago.

In maths, we have been looking at the numbers 16-20, remembering that these numbers are 10 and 6, NOT 1 and 6. Number blocks have some nice videos on these numbers, which we have been watching at the end of our maths lesson.

In phonics, we have been focusing on word reading, for example, thorn, chump, chimp, shift, queens, wishes, and wizzes. We have had 4 new tricky words this week: some, come, love and do. We have looked at why these words are tricky and practised writing them.

The children will have come home with a new reading book this week. Please read it over the weekend and ensure that it is back in school, along with their reading diary, on Monday.

Update - Friday 19th April 2024

Hearing about the children’s activities over half term has been a lovely week. This week, we have been looking at the story The Gingerbread Man. We smelt ginger, created bridges, and sequenced the story. We also wrote conversations between the fox and the gingerbread man, which the children did amazingly!

In maths, we have been looking at numbers beyond 10, which this week have been 11-15. We have been looking at how these numbers can be represented in different ways and where these numbers of things are in the environment. It is important to remember that 12 is not 1 and 2; it is 10 and 2. Number blocks have some good videos on these numbers, which we have looked at in class. 

In phonics, we have been focusing on CVCC words, such as ‘jump,’ to ensure that children are helping the m and p as different sounds and not mixing them together. We have learnt the new tricky words said, so, have, and like and have focused on why these words are tricky and can’t be sounded out. 

It has been a great first week back, thank you as always for your hard work at home, the children are doing so well so it is all worth it. They will have come home with a reading book on Wednesday, and please ensure that this is returned along with their reading diaries on Monday.

Update - Thursday 28th March 2024

This week we have been looking at the Easter story, we have read this and sequenced it. We have been decorating our eggs, writing descriptive sentences about eggs and been creating cracked eggs with a chick popping out. 

This week we completed the phonics assessment for this half term, the children did so well and I am so proud of them! I have sent out emails regarding the areas that children need to work on, so please do this over the half term. We have also been reading longer words, for example: winking, mammoth, farmyard and earring. Children need to be confident with their digraphs and trigraphs to read these words so please keep practising at home. 

In maths we have been looking at number bonds to 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. We have been playing games with our friends where one friend holds up one part of the number bonds and the other holds up the other part (one person holds up 3 fingers and the other holds up 2 to make number bonds to 5). Jack Hartman does great videos on these number bonds that the children really enjoy watching, we have watched these in school so the children will recognise them. 

Have a lovely Easter half term, please share all the exciting things you get up to so that we can share these as a class when we are back after the break! 

Update - Friday 22nd March 2024

We have been exploring Spring. We have been looking at signs of Spring and what Spring means to us. We have learnt about pollination and migration, as well as identifying daffodils, buds, crocuses, and blossoms. We also found out why lambs are born during Spring.

On Tuesday, we sowed some cress seeds and monitored them in the classroom. Then, on Thursday, we sequenced the sowing process and wrote about it using instructions.  In maths we have been looking at number bonds to 8, we used part whole models and counters, as well as numicon to help us.

On the art table, we created a spring garden using shapes to create flowers, drew our own spring landscape, and made tube bees.

We have been practising writing numbers, as many of the children have been reversing them. They have been practising the numbers 3, 7, 8, and 5. If you can continue practising at home, it would be greatly appreciated. We have also been working hard to recognise and read tricky words. The children loved it when I had them stuck all over me, so I created some stickers for them. They had great fun challenging their friends' tricky word recognition.

Have a lovely weekend, and remember to send back reading books for Monday.

Update - Friday 15th March 2024

This week we continued our topic of ‘dinosaurs’, using the story ‘That’s not my dinosaur’.

The children have been learning how to recognise carnivores and herbivores, labelled dinosaurs and wrote their own ‘That’s not my dinosaur’ sentences. We have made our own fossils and used the iPad to take photos of them.

We have been practising reading longer words and words that end in -ing during phonics, as well as keeping up with the tricky words we have learnt.

Update - Friday 8th March 2024

This week, we had a mysterious egg delivery in the classroom. The egg hatched and made footprints all over the table. We wrote sentences to say what we thought was in the egg to practise writing sentences, remembering our capital letters and dull stops. We then had a surprise visit from a dinosaur, which the children found very exciting!

In phonics, we have continued to read longer words and spot the digraphs or trigraphs in them. We have also reviewed the tricky words to, go, into, of, and no. Please practise these at home to ensure children are confident with them.

In maths, we have been looking at numbers up to 10, their arrangements, and the number bonds to 10. Please continue to practise these at home.

We had lots of fun on World Book Day, and the children’s costumes looked amazing! The day focused on The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which the children enjoyed.

Update - Friday 1st March 2024

This week we have been looking at people who help us, with this week the focus being on nurses. We have looked at Florence Nightingale and read the Little People's Big Dreams book about her. The children have really enjoyed learning about Florence, what she did, and where she was born/ worked on the map. They have made their X-rays, sorted new and old pictures of nurses, and written captions to show the differences between nurses when Florence was alive and today.

In phonics, we have again used our knowledge to read longer words. This week we have focused on the tricky words: full, push, and, go, no, of. We have been reading longer sentences, practising spelling longer words, and recapping the tricky words this week.

In maths, we have followed our learning of 9 and 10. We have been looking at the composition of these numbers, representing one more and one less than numbers up to 8 and conceptual subitising to 10.

Update - Friday 23rd February 2024

For our first week back after half term and to introduce our new topic this half term, we have been reading ‘The Jolly Postman’. The children have really enjoyed reading this book, especially after sending and receiving their letters in half term. We have sequenced the story, looked at different stamps and posted digraph letters into the correct post box.

We have been reading longer words in phonics with the digraphs and trigraphs we have learnt. We have been reviewing the tricky words: the, I, put, pull, and full, focusing on why they are tricky and learning to memorise them.

In maths, we have been learning about the numbers 9 and 10. We have been looking at how to represent these numbers, form them and notice things in the environment comprising 9 or 10 things.

Update - Friday 9th February 2024

This week, we met ‘Keith the Cat with the Silly Hat’, another of our favourite Sue Hendra stories.  We created our own silly hats on the art table, and on the cutting table, we cut and matched hats to people who helped us.

In maths, Class 1 has been looking at height and length, remembering the vocabulary we previously learned in the school year. We have been using the words shortest/shorter/short and tallest/taller/tall to describe height and longest/longer/long to describe length.  We have been looking at ways to make towers that are taller, shorter or the same height as everyday objects.

We have been recapping all the phonemes, digraphs, and trigraphs we have learned and focusing on reading longer words in phonics.

We also had a trip to the local postbox this week. We walked there as a class and posted something special to you. 

Update - Friday 2nd February 2024

This week, we have continued our Sue Hendra topic with the book ‘Barry the Fish with Fingers’. The children have enjoyed this story and have made different fingers for Barry, sequenced the story and wrote their speech bubbles and captions for Barry.

In maths this week, we have been looking at odd and even, how to know if a number is odd or even and sorting numicon into odd or even columns. We have been looking at making doubles and finding numbers double.

In phonics this week, we have been reading longer words with the digraphs and trigraphs we have learnt, for example, sunset, laptop, chicken, magnet, market, chair, and ladder. We have been focusing on our tricky words: are, was, they, you and by.

Update - Friday 19th January 2024

This week, we have been looking at another Sue Hendra book: No-Bot, the Robot with No Bottom. The children enjoyed reading this story and found it funny that the robot had lost his bottom. In class, we have been painting our robots on tin foil, sequencing the robot story, writing labels for pictures from the story and creating collaborative pieces of work.

In phonics this week, we have learnt the digraphs (two letters that make one sound): ur, ow and or. We also learnt the trigraph (three letters that make one sound): ear. We have learnt the tricky words my, by and all, focusing on what part of these words is tricky.

In maths, we have been looking at mass and capacity. The children have been using scales to see which objects are heavier and lighter with a partner, understanding the capacity of containers, and have had the chance to explore these concepts independently.

Update - Friday 6th January 2024

What a lovely welcome-back week we have had after Christmas! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas break and wish you all health and happiness for 2024. 

This week, we started our topic with the author, Sue Hendra. Our first book to start this topic is Supertato, which we have been focusing our learning around this week. The children have enjoyed creating their Supertatos using potatoes, sequencing the story and creating speech bubbles for the characters in the story. 

We have been looking at digraphs (2 letters that make one sound) in phonics. We have learnt: ai, ee, igh and oa. Words we can make with these digraphs are, for example, rain, sheep, light, and boat. 

We have used stickers to construct sentences describing Supertato, e.g. Supertato has a red cape. The stickers showed pictures (for Supertato, colours and clothes) or words (has, a). We had to think very carefully about the order of our words and do lots of re-reading to ensure the sentences made sense.

In maths, we have been practising our subitising skills, explored the composition of 5 and showed different amounts using a five frame.

Update - Friday 15th December 2023

We have had a very busy week this week. After practising, we performed our nativity for our families and friends. The teachers are very proud of every child and how much effort they put into our show.

This week, we have been exploring the traditional story of ‘Nativity’. The children have learnt why Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem and what happened when they arrived.

We have created our stable scenes, cutting out important characters, sticking them down and writing labels and simple sentences/captions, e.g. The King had a gift, I am a king.

We have been looking at different ways to make 5 using Numicon with a Christmas theme and having lots of festive fun.

We will not send books home over Christmas. However, books at your child’s reading level will be available on the ECollins website.

Thank you for supporting your child throughout our first term together, have a very happy and healthy Christmas and we will see you all in the new year.

Update - Friday 8th December 2023

This week the children have been looking at another amazing story by Julia Donaldson ‘What the ladybird heard at Christmas’. This book is lovely to follow on from stickman, as we get closer to Christmas! Class 3 have enjoyed sequencing the story, writing labels and making Christmas scenes for the ladybird. 

The children are getting so excited for Christmas which is lovely to see. We have been practising the nativity lots this week and the children have been out of routine, but they have dealt with this really well and I am so proud of them all. The nativity is looking so good and I can’t wait for you all to see it! 

In phonics this week the children have been reviewing this half terms learning. The phonics lessons focused on words ending in ‘s’ and on reading sentences and writing words, for example: cups, dogs, bags. The tricky words we have learnt this week are: we, be and me. 

In maths the children have been looking at ‘shapes with 4 sides’, squares and rectangles. The children have learnt that a rectangle has 4 sides like a square, but has 2 sides which are longer. We have been looking for squares and rectangles in the environment, have a look at home with your child too. 

Update - Friday 1st December 2023

This week, the children have been looking at another fantastic story by Julia Donaldson, ‘Stick Man.’ This book is lovely to introduce Christmas! The children have enjoyed sequencing the story, creating their speech bubbles, and making stickman models using outside resources. 

In phonics this week, we have learned 4 new digraphs (2 letters that make the same sound): sh, th, nk, ng. We also learned 4 new tricky words: she, he, push, of. Please keep practising these at home as the children progress.

In maths, the children have been looking at 4 and 5 again. We have been subsitizing these numbers, looking at their composition and representing them. We have also been noticing triangles and circles in the environment to recap learning from last week whilst counting forwards and backwards to 10. 

Update - 20th November 2023

This week, the children have been looking at another fantastic story by Julia Donaldson, ‘Monkey Puzzle’! The children have enjoyed sequencing the story and creating speech bubbles and monkey puzzles.

In phonics this week, we have learned 4 new sounds: z, qu, ch, and s at the end of words. We also learnt 4 new tricky words: go, no, to, and into. Please keep practising these at home as the children progress.

In maths, the children have been looking at 4 and 5. We have been subsitizing these numbers, looking at their composition and representing them. We have also been noticing triangles and circles in the environment to recap learning from last week whilst counting forwards and backwards to 10.

Update - Friday 13th November 2023

This week we are exploring the book ‘A Squash and a Squeeze.’  We have been retelling the story using props, sequencing the story, and creating characters from the story.

We have been down to the dough disco and working on our hand strength using the dough disco moves.

In maths, we have been looking at representing 5 using multi-links. The children had to create different shapes using five cubes each time. We have also been exploring circles and triangles, playing identification games and finding them in the environment.

We also discussed Remembrance Day and what we did to celebrate. We created a class Poppy using tissue paper.

Update - Friday 10th November 2023

We have been focusing on The Gruffalo to continue our Julia Donaldson topic. The children know this story well, which gives us a great starting point to delve deeper into some comprehension.

This week, we have been building sentences using pictures and words that the children can read. Our sentences have described the physical features of the Gruffalo. Once we had built sentences, we read them back to make sure they made sense. We sequenced the story, focusing on the beginning, middle and end and reminded ourselves about the common features of a book, e.g. blurb, front cover, and title.

We used a tearing paper technique to create and paint our own guffalos. We have made Gruffalo story maps and enjoyed retelling the story with the props and puppets we made.

We have been exploring finding one more and one less than a number in maths. We used cubes to help us identify this and to check our answers. We have also played some listening games during daily maths, listening for sounds and showing how many we heard each time using our fingers.

Outside, we have been reliving our fireworks experiences using various media to make fireworks.

Update- Friday 3rd November 2023

This week, we have been exploring the book ‘Room on the Broom’. We labelled pictures using our phonic knowledge and drew and talked about our favourite characters.

We have been doing more colour mixing, mixing blue and red to make purple to paint the witches' skirt and making orange to paint our pumpkins.

We have been making potions using objects such as peg, pen, pig, hat, cup and then writing a list of the things we used.

Our role play became a cafe where the children used 1p coins to buy food and drink. They have been playing the roles of customer and shopkeeper, looking at the menus and writing down orders.

In maths, we have been exploring the numbers 1,2 and 3. We have been finding different ways to represent these numbers and playing subitising games. On the cutting table and in the tuff tray, we have been recapping previous learning by ordering objects by size.

Update - Friday 20th October 2023

This week, we have continued to celebrate ‘Black History Month’. We have been reading the book ‘We Are Going to find the Monster’ by Malorie Blackman and have used it to inform our learning. We have looked at the author Malorie Blackman and illustrator Dapo Adeola. We have also been looking at some influential black men and women, such as Serena Williams, Barack Obama and Oprah, and discussed what they are famous for.

We have been writing labels, going on more grapheme hunts, and identifying our tricky words ‘is’ and ‘I’. 

In maths, we have been looking at length, height and weight. We have been comparing lengths using language such as longer than, longest, shorter than shortest and the same. We have also been using specific mathematical language when talking about heavy and light objects and objects that are taller than and shorter than.

Update - Friday 13th October 2023

This week, we have started to celebrate ‘Black History Month’, we have been exploring the book ‘I am brown’ by Ashok Banker. 

We have been exploring patterns in maths. The children have been creating their repeating patterns and learning to talk about the unit of repeat.  They have been using many different resources to create repeating patterns and have enjoyed using coloured feathers and lollipop sticks to do this in the creative area.

We have started our Little Wandle reading groups, and your children have been allocated reading books on the Collins website.  You will find your child’s login details inside their reading diaries. All children have been allocated books that match their phonic knowledge.

The children have been exploring more colouring mixing techniques, made clay, and conker snails, and learned how to use sellotape to attach items.

Update - Friday 6th October 2023

This week, we have been reading the book 'We Are All Different.’ It is a brilliant book that promotes the beauty of diversity and celebrates differences. It also introduces children to the concept of being equal.  The book has helped children talk about themselves and others positively and respectfully. It looked at how people are different, such as hair types, families, likes and dislikes, and showed the children that these differences are to be celebrated. 

Along with celebrating our individuality, we have embraced celebrations and have turned our role-play area into a home hosting a party. The children have made birthday hunting, party hats and other decorations. They have also practised letter formation and emerging writing skills to write invitations and birthday cards for their friends and family.  

In maths, we have been looking at the concepts of ‘more’, ‘less’ and ‘same’ when faced with two groups of objects. We have learnt a new maths game called ‘funky fingers’. Please ask your child to show you how it is played. We have also used Numicon to play a game with our friends, where we compared which piece was showing more, less/fewest or if they were the same.

Please continue to share your pictures with us on Tapestry, the children always enjoy sharing these with their friends.

Update - Friday 29th September 2023

This week, we have used the book ‘Have you filled a bucket today’ to inform our learning.

We have been thinking carefully about how we can be bucket fillers and not bucket dippers, explaining that when we fill someone else’s bucket, our bucket is filled, too. 

The children have been drawing inside bucket outlines of how they can fill someone’s bucket, how people fill their buckets and sequencing the ‘Have you filled a bucket today’ story. They have also been colour-mixing red and yellow to make the colour orange by painting the colours onto bucket outlines. 

We have been introducing new phonemes throughout the week that have been reinforced through activities in the classroom. We have also been focusing on name writing, which the children have put lots of hard work into, showing their progress already!

The children will have a new reading-for-pleasure book to read over the weekend that can be changed next week. Reading all the comments about the books you have been reading with family and friends has been lovely. 

Update - Monday 25th September 2023

This week, we have been using the book ‘The Colour Monster’ to inform our learning.

The children have been making their own colour monster puzzles, collaging colour monsters depending on their feelings, drawing, and talking about things that make them happy. The children have been practising their fine motor skills at the cutting table and in the tuff tray, where they used tweezers to sort coloured pom poms.

We have been using our feelings display a lot, have discussed how we are feeling and why, and have thought about how we can help someone feeling sad or scared.

We have started phonics this week and have been reinforcing the letters and sounds we have learned with activities in the classroom.

Each child should have taken home a ‘reading for pleasure’ book for shared reading experiences with you. These books can be swapped for new ones anytime to keep the reading journey exciting.

Update - Friday 15th September 2023

We are so proud of all the children; they have settled in brilliantly, and it’s as if they have always been here.

This week, we have enjoyed learning all about each other. The children have enthusiastically shared their ‘Marvellous Me’ boards and have been making lots of new friends.

We have been learning how to use the different areas in the classroom. We have been focusing on ensuring we look after our classroom by putting things away in the right places, putting lids on pens and glue and tucking our chairs under the table when we get up.

The children have been practising fine motor skills with lots of cutting, drawing and writing activities. We have also learnt how to use the class feelings display, and the teachers have used it during the day to show how they feel.

We have also been learning about the Rainbow Rules, which are classroom rules used throughout the school. They are - kind hands, good listening, good sitting, using inside voices, looking after the class environment, challenging yourself and being kind.

Outside, the children have learnt how to use the outside equipment safely, been on a sound walk, and played listening and oral blending games.