Dear Parents,

I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas and wish you a very happy new year. I am really looking forward to returning to Class One and have enjoyed getting to know the Reception children on the occasions I visited before Christmas. As some of you do not know me I will be available after school on Thursday 9th January until 4:30pm for an informal chat and chance to meet you all properly, those who do know me please feel free to call in for a chat and a catch up! If you wish to discuss anything at length please arrange an appointment with me via Miss Paynter.

Reading Books – We will be giving children a new reading book during the first week of this term. These books are from a new reading scheme and they will be linked to the phonic sounds your child is learning in school each week. Children will be given a new book each Monday and encourage to select a new book each day – if they have read at home. If your child has read at home please leave a comment in their reading record and remind them to change their book during the day.

Bedtime Stories – We have a lovely collection of new children’s books for you to borrow for bedtime reading with your children. I would like to invite you into class on a Monday at 3:15pm to select a book with your child to take home for a week. Children will be encouraged to talk about the book they have read at home with you. This is to develop a love of reading and being read to. If your child attends after school club Mrs. Pink and club staff will help them to select a book to bring home.

Spellings and homework – New homework has been added to homework books for this half term.  A reminder that homework for Reception children is optional. This is not work which will be marked and it is up to the children if they want to show it to their friends in class. We do not send home formal spellings for Reception children but it is always useful to work on spelling (and reading) the ‘tricky’ words which children will not be able to spell phonetically. These are included in their homework books.

Snacks - Reminder we have a child in class with a nut allergy. Please do not allow children to bring anything into school containing nuts. Children are provided with school fruit. They should bring their water bottle into school each day – please ensure this is named.

Learning Journeys – As you will be aware your child has a learning journey book which documents their learning and development. It is very important that this includes evidence of their development at home. This evidence enables me to assess your child accurately and prepare for their next steps in learning. Please see email sent with further information.

I am sure that this half term will fly by in the same way as all the others. As always if you have any concerns or worries please do let me know. It is always easier to talk at the end of the day (when I have seen all the children back to their parents). 

I can’t wait to start working with you all!

Kind regards,

Miss Akrigg

Subject

Topics

Literature: Reading and Writing

All children will be working on Phase 3 phonics this half term. You should have a phase 3 sound mat in home learning packs and also phase 3 sounds and words in homework books. Please let us know if you need a replacement. Phase 3 tricky words are: he, she, we, me, be, you, are, her, was, all, they, my. If children can spell and sight read these words it will have a big impact on their reading and writing progress. They may need a reminder that these words try to trick you ie in the word ‘she’ the end bit tricks us because there isn’t an ee sound!

We will have a focus book every two weeks to develop children’s interests in reading and writing and to encourage them to apply their phonic knowledge.

Mathematics:  Number and Shape, Space and Measure

Number: Children will continue to have a focus number each week to work on. To start with we will revisit numbers 0-10 and ensure children have a thorough knowledge of their value. We will also make links to shape and money. We will then be working on numbers 11-20 for the rest of this term. We are aiming for all children to be recognising and writing numbers 0 – 20 by the end of the spring term. Please continue to work on this with children at home. Children should start to understand that these are two digit numbers and that they are made up from tens and ones (not tens and units as some of us were taught!) Understanding this will help them to apply their knowledge of one more/less. They will continue to work on vocabulary such as bigger, smaller, fewer, least, more and less in relation to the teen numbers. We will also introduce the concept of subtraction and making numbers smaller by taking away.

Understanding The World

The World:  In science children will learn about different animals and their habitats.

People and Communities: (inc. RE) Children will be thinking about special people including Muslims.

Technology: Children will continue to be assessed in their ability to use a range of technology in school. This includes CD players, ipads, laptop and cameras. As always, e-safety will be part of the children’s learning.

Topic

Topic this half term will be Geography based. Children will be learning all about Kenya. We will be thinking about how it is similar to the UK and the differences between the UK and Africa.

Expressive Arts and Design

In Art and Design we will be looking at landscapes.

For musical development we sing familiar and unfamiliar songs throughout the year. We will also listen to different music.

Physical Development

Children will continue to work on fine motor skills through handwriting and other activities available in the classroom and outdoor area which encourage them to work on smaller and more intricate movements in addition to their gross motor skills.

Children will be taught tennis by a professional tennis coach every Monday.

PLEASE ensure that ALL UNIFORM and PE KIT still has a label in and that they have not been washed off or fallen off during the first term!

Physical, Social and Emotional Development

In PSED we will be learning about relationships.