Welcome to Reception - Acorn and Willow Class

Acorn Class

Miss Dower is the class teacher and we have a wonderful teaching assistant Mrs Parry

Willow Class

Mrs Laycock is the class teacher and we have a wonderful teaching assistant Mrs Parry

On this web page you will find lots of information about our weekly routines and details about the exciting learning that will be taking place both indoors and outdoors this term.

What will we be learning this term in Reception?

Firstly we hope you are all safe and well. At the moment most of you are learning from home. We know that this can be difficult and challenging. We continue to try our very best to provide a home learning curriculum as close to the one provided in school. Each day you can access your child's google classroom account where you will find a range of lessons. Teachers are regularly on hand to respond to any work or questions that are turned in. If you are struggling or you have any concerns please do not hesitate to make contact.  

Maths

In Reception we follow a maths mastery approach. In teaching for mastery, we provide time and opportunities for children to make connections in their mathematical understanding.  The children are therefore provided with many opportunities throughout the indoor and outdoor environments to develop and deepen their understanding through play.  As well as through discrete teaching sessions led by their practitioners, practitioners engage with children’s mathematics in their play (posing problems, modelling language and helping children to mathematise).

Our staff provide different contexts for children to explore the same mathematical idea and multiple representations of this idea (including pictorial, informal jottings and mathematics equipment).  For mastery in early years, children are encouraged to communicate their mathematical thinking in a wide variety of ways including through manipulation of resources, gesture, pointing, body language, mark-making and talk.

Each week or for longer if necessary we solely focus on one number. This number is introduced to the children at the beginning of the week  and becomes our 'number of the week'. During the week we will explore many mathematical concepts based upon our new number. For instance if the number of the week is 'one' we would explore what number one looks like written and as a numeral, 1 o clock on a clock, 1 spot on a dice, 1 minute/1 hour, 1st place, 1 piece of numicon, shapes with 1 side, 1p or £1, how one looks on a ten frame and the general exploration of the value of one. 

Literacy

In Literacy we continue to develop our phonics, reading and writing. We are beginning to identify some of the features of books and read a wide range of texts that  act as a stimulus for our learning. We regularly use talk for writing as a step by step process in which our children listen, join in, reenact, sequence and write about a range of stories. 

This term the children will develop their speaking and listening skills sharing their ideas, thoughts and experiences. We hope to incorporate their discussions and experiences in their writing by recording regular news in their literacy book.

 Phonics continues to be of key importance as this is crucial in helping your children to progress in their reading  and writing. All of the children in Reception have been working extremely hard to develop their phonic skills. Most of us can recognise letters and sounds including some digraphs (two letters together making one sound) we are able to sound and blend words and are beginning to write words independently by saying the word aloud, listening for the sounds and writing them down. 

A key focus of our next few terms is the development of these skills. We are introducing the children to simple sentence writing and identifying key features of a sentence such as capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. We hope that many children will begin to write simple sentences of their own. 

Useful information:

At the moment in Reception our school day begins at 8.55am each morning. Your childs classroom door will be open from 8.55am until 9.05am. When the door is open children can walk into school, hang up their own belongings and enter their classroom.

Currently our day finishes at 2.55pm and the Reception children will leave from their classroom door and into the foundation stage garden.

Willow class do P.E. on a Monday and Friday afternoon

Acorn class do P.E on a Tuesday and Friday afternoon

We ask that all children have a labelled P.E. kit. Our P.E. kit consists of a pair of maroon shorts, a white t-shirt with the school logo and black pumps. (During the winter months children may wear a plain, dark coloured tracksuit as some P.E sessions will be outdoors) At the moment all children are asked to come into school on their designated P.E days in their P.E kit.

Timetable:

• PE is on a Monday (Willow) Tuesday (Acorn) and Friday

• Computing is on Monday (Willow) Tuesday (Acorn)

• Daily Phonics lessons 

• Daily Literacy and mathematics input 

Homework:

• Reading is expected at least 3 times per week.  It is essential that you record a comment in your child's reading record so that we can see how they have read at home. (Reading books come home on a Monday and they should be returned to school on a Friday) Please ensure your child's books come into school with them each day as your child's class teacher may want to hear them read.
• At times there may be additional tasks set which will help your child to consolidate their learning. 

What will the children need in school?

• Everyday each child should bring to school their book bag containing their reading record, reading books and phonic folder.
• Each child should have a named water bottle to be kept in school which will be sent home to be washed.
• Each child is expected to have a PE kit in line with the school uniform policy

Phonics

Each day the children complete a phonics session where they learn sounds and how to use them in their reading and in their writing. Each week the children will bring home a phonic folder. Phonic folders will contain letters and sounds that the children have focused upon learning that week. Children will use their phonic folder to practice these letters and sounds with you at home. Please work through these sounds with your child to help consolidate their learning.

You could also access Jolly Phonics at home - singing is a fantastic way for children to learn and retain knowledge. Each letter sound has its own song and this will be used and shared with your child at home so it may be useful for you to encourage your child to sing these songs at home too. (At the bottom of this page their will be a link to the jolly phonic songs)

Parents as Partners

From birth, children are continually learning. They develop and learn in a variety of ways and you as parents are their first and most enduring educators. Close working between teachers and parents is therefore vital for the identification of a child’s learning needs. So that we can plan the most effective and meaningful activities for your child, it would be most helpful if you could share your child’s experiences out of school with us. This could be anything from a special trip out or dancing in a show, to baking a cake or going to swimming lessons! We highly value your opinions and input and it would help us greatly if you could write down any experiences your child has enjoyed away from school. We are sure this will have a positive impact on the experiences we provide within the school setting. We look forward to hearing all about the hobbies, interests, experiences and achievements that you share outside school.

We hope you find this information useful. If you have any queries, please come and see us.

Warm regards,

Mrs Laycock, Miss Dower and the Reception team