Friday 10th January
It has been lovely to welcome back all the children and families after a nice, long break.
In Literacy this week we started learning with our new text Handa’s Surprise. We discussed how the book is set in a warm part of the world, Kenya. Then we talked about how some of the foods we eat are grown in other parts of the world. Our new text has a range of fruits in it so we engaged in a taste test where we explored these different fruits. Afterwards, we wrote our descriptions of what we noticed about these colourful fruits.
In Phonics we focused on the digraphs ai, ee, oa and the trigraph igh. We are working on blending the words with these phonemes once we have sound talked them. We also practised reading whole sentences and spelling words, working on our letter formation.
During Maths lessons we have been practising our skills of subitising. We looked at a range of different dot patterns and worked on re-creating these in a variety of ways and describing what we notice, describing how the groups are visible to us, within the total amount.
In RE we have been thinking about Catholic Social Teaching. We discussed different jobs that people in the Nativity story had and thought about what jobs we would like to have when we grow up. Our focus was on thinking about how our jobs can help others.
In PE lessons we have started our new units of Ball Skills and Gymnastics. Remember that we have PE on Tuesdays and Thursdays and earrings must be taken out on these days.
Friday 20th December
This week has been a lovely, relaxing week leading up to the Christmas break. We were learning with our poem anthology ‘A Great Big Cuddle’, focusing on the poems I Am Hungry and Hello, Goodbye! We made up our own poems about silly things we would eat if we were hungry, copying the style of Michael Rosen. We talked about the effectiveness of rhyming words and continued our own rhyming strings. For our independent writing task, we wrote Christmas lists, saying the words we were writing aloud and using the sound mats to help us.
In Maths we were learning to recognise numerals up to 20 and ordering them. This included ordering amounts and looking for missing numbers. For our focused task we took Christmas numbers that were muddled up and tried to arrange them in the correct sequential order. We also made number lines using members of our class, rearranging ourselves to be in order.
In RE this week we wrote a prayer thanking God for sending us his son. Every day we have been revealing some of our Advent promises and reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas. We wrote messages of love to our families and created a lovely Christmas card to help celebrate. We enjoyed singing Christmas songs during our collective worship and created mangers as a link to our Design and Technology lessons.
We have also been enjoying using our class playdough to create gingerbread and bauble designs. During PE we have been following instructions and practising hopping and balancing effectively.
We hope that everyone has a safe and lovely Christmas break and we look forward to seeing all the children and their families in 2025!
Friday 13th December
This week we have been continuing investigating the poem Gruff and Dave from the poetry anthology ‘A Great Big Cuddle’ by Michael Rosen. Last week we talked about how they became friends through a shared love of mud and being alone together! This week we focused on the setting of the poem: Kew Gardens. As a class we compiled a list of descriptive terms for Kew, what it looked like, what things we might see and what we could do if we joined Dave and Scruff.
In Maths we have been focusing on sequencing a series of events or actions. We have been learning to use sequencing language: first, next, then, after that and finally. We practised this through actions songs (getting the sequence wrong on purpose and then putting it right). We also put a series of actions in the correct order for a variety of situations, among them, making a sandwich, building a snowman and getting ready for school. All the time practising using the language.
During RE, we have been considering why we celebrate the birth of Jesus every year at Christmas. We have been working to understand why it is still so important now. We followed the part of the Nativity story where the shepherds are told of the birth by the angel and then come to visit the Saviour Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem. Jesus was sent by God to save us all and love us all equally.
In Phonics we have been assessing the children for all the phonemes we have learnt in Phase 2. This also gave the opportunity for everyone to show off their sounding and blending skills and to recognise some of our tricky words.
On Wednesday we enjoyed our Christmas Fun Day with a visit to Santa’s Grotto, a delicious Christmas lunch, then rounded off with a fantastic dance at the disco - so much fun!!
We have had our final rehearsals for the Nativity this week, with the children relishing saying their lines so clearly and joining in with all the songs. I am sure you will agree that they have put on a superb Nativity performance for you all - Congratulations to all of them!!
Friday 6th December
This week in Literacy we have been learning with another Michael Rosen poem from our anthology ‘A Great Big Cuddle’. The poem Gruff and Dave is about a dog and a frog so first we learned information about each of these animals. We share wrote new information that we learned about each animal. Then we chose the facts we wanted to record in our books during independent writing. We also read the poem and then role played as the characters.
During Maths we have been exploring shape. We have identified the features of many 2D shapes and explored how we could use 2 or more shapes to make a different shape. For example, 2 triangles can sometimes be put together to make a square. We also started learning about the difference between odd and even numbers, focusing on each odd number to 9 and discussing its composition. We recorded missing odd numbers on a number line.
For phonics this week we have been learning about words with ‘s’ at the end and have been practicing sound talking words with 4 sounds. We have learned to recognize the tricky words: me, be, we. Next week we will start our phonics assessment so we have been doing lots of reviewing this week. We are also working on spelling some words with 4 sounds in them as well and especially hearing when the words have digraphs in them.
In RE this week has been learning about the events of the Nativity where Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem and when they cannot find a room in an inn so must stay in the stable. We are practicing the songs from our Nativity and wrote about what we could retell about this part of the Christmas story. We enjoyed watching the Year 2 dress rehearsal on Friday as part of our learning as well. Each day we have been revealing our Advent promises as part of our Advent calendar.
We have also used some of our kindly donated playdough to make Christmas trees this week. We enjoyed using a range of resources to make our models. We appreciate all the parents who have made playdough so far this year and those of you who are timetabled for Spring Term will receive the recipe and timetable next week.
Friday 29th November
This week we have been continuing our learning with the poetry anthology ‘A Great Big Cuddle’ by Michael Rosen. We read a poem called ‘I am Angry’. First, we thought about what might have caused the character to be so angry and times when we have been angry. We came up with our own ideas for things that we could include in our own poem and wrote them down. We finished the week with a comparison of 3 poems, then choosing which one we liked best and why.
In Maths we have been working with 2D shapes, learning all about their properties (how many sides and corners they have). We used the shapes in a printed repeating pattern, to make a sheet of festive wrapping paper. In addition, we considered pattern making with actions and creating patterns using pegs and shapes.
During RE we have been exploring the period of Advent. We learnt that this is a time for opening our hearts and thinking of ways we can try hard to help others and be kind. We discussed the variety of ways we can be helpful and kind during Advent and then wrote down our Advent Promise, promising to try to abide by our promise. We learnt about the candles on the Advent Wreath and their significance.
In Phonics we have learned the digraph phonemes: sh, th, ng & nk. We noticed that there are two different sounds for ‘th’ depending on the word – voiced and unvoiced. We are practising remembering the grapheme that makes the sound and then working on blending the sounds to read words. We are also practising writing the graphemes and spelling simple words that we can then apply when writing in other areas of learning.
We are excited about our Nativity play which we have practised again this week. Most children know their lines now and we are working on saying them loudly and clearly. Please keep practising at home so the children can be confident to deliver their lines for everyone to hear.
With better weather this week, the children have been enjoying our Outside Area, accessing many activities which support their learning. There has been a shape hunt, some use of puppets to act out what might make us angry and how we can get over it and making pebble people using found natural objects.
Friday 22nd November
This week we have been continuing our learning with the poetry anthology ‘A Great Big Cuddle’ by Michael Rosen. We read a poem called ‘Lost’ where we first expressed our opinions about the illustration. We wrote questions to the character to try and find out more information. We even learned about how to use a question mark.
In Maths we have been working on matching amounts to the numeral and knowing how many there are without recounting. We counted out given numbers of objects and also practised completing actions of the same amount. We also started learning our number bonds to make five.
During RE, we are still focusing on the branch of Dialogue and Encounter again. This week we were learning about other Christians around the world and discussed ways that they celebrate Christmas. We talked about similarities and differences between our own Christmas traditions and the traditions we discussed. We even drew our own plates of any food we would like to eat for Christmas dinner, even if it was not standard tradition.
In Phonics we have learned the phonemes: z, zz, qu, ch and words that end with s. We are practising remembering the grapheme that makes the sound and then work on blending the sounds to read words. We also practise writing the graphemes and spelling simple words that we can then apply when writing in other areas of learning.
This week we also began rehearsing for our Nativity in the hall. Thank you to those families who have clearly practised their lines with their children. This makes our job that much easier.
It has been a chilly week so we did not enjoy our outdoor area as much as we usually do, though we still managed to stay warm. Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately and help them learn to zip their coat up so that they can get outside quicker.
Friday 15th November
What a busy week!!
This week in Literacy we have been studying a number of poems from the poem anthology ‘A Great Big Cuddle’ by Michael Rosen. For Let Me Do It, we thought about what we would like to be allowed to do if someone would let us, for example ‘Let me fly to the moon’. Using our phonics, we wrote our own sentences to add to the poem. The poem ‘Oh Dear’ was so funny and we enjoying spotting the pairs of words that rhymed and coming up with some other rhyming words to go with them. Finally, we met the terrible Berrible in ‘Once’. Everyone used their imagination to create their own Berrible monster and label the different parts of their pictures.
In Maths we are continuing to investigate composition of numbers, finding two different ways of making a number. This is helping us to understand the concept of number bonds, pairs of number that can be added together to make another number. We were finding different ways of making a number using counters, fingers and large equipment.
In Phonics we learnt our 4 new sounds: v, w, x, and y. We practised recognising the phoneme in amongst others, using our new sounds to blend simple words, forming the graphemes. We also learnt the new tricky words: and, has, his and her.
During RE this week, as part of our Interfaith Week (Judaism), we have been learning about the Jewish Festival of Light, Hannukah. We learnt about the story of the ruin of the temple and the miraculous burning of the oil lamp to enable the community to rebuild it. We explored the meaning of the Hannukah candles on the menorah, as well as exploring how Jewish families celebrate the festival. We made our own menorahs and ‘lit’ them up with paper frames.
On Monday the whole school took part in Remembrance Day learning and reflection, holding a 2 minute silence at 11am. In Reception we related Remembrance Day to our memories of special people and times in our own lives. We listened to the true story of Stubby the dog who accompanied the soldiers during World War 1. The children created their own printed remembrance poppies.
This week has also been Anti-Bullying week. This year’s theme is Choose Respect. On Tuesday we wore our Odd Socks to celebrate how we are all different. We considered how respect is important, how we can show respect to our friends and family and how bullying is disrespectful. We enjoyed creating pictures of situations where people are showing respect to each other. We also reminded the children how they can let an adult know if they feel sad about the behaviour of someone else. We role played how we can solve disagreements with kindness and respect.
Friday 8th November
This week we were learning with the familiar text ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen. This helped introduce us to the poem anthology ‘A Great Big Cuddle’ that we will be focusing on during Literacy this term. We practised performing the poem, talking about how to use our voices and actions to help make it more interesting. We wrote about our favourite part of the story and focused on the onomatopoeia, or sound words, that Michael Rosen uses in the story. We also created our own maps of the journey that the family in the text goes through.
In maths we are discussing the concepts of composition and decomposition of number. This can be done in a range of ways but we have introduced the concept of number bonds to the children this week. This refers to pairs of number that can be added together to make another number. For example, children learned that to make 2 they can compose 2=0=2; 1+1=2; 0+2=2. We worked on representing numbers in different ways, when given different target numbers. We also emphasized the concept of parts of a whole.
During RE we began learning with our branch of Prophecy and Promise. This branch focuses on what happened during the lead up to the birth of Jesus. We learned about how the Angel Gabriel told a lady named Mary some very important news, and we wrote in a speech bubble what the angel said. We have also been listening to some of the Nativity songs that we will use to help us tell the story of the first Christmas.
We also took part in a very important Road Safety workshop where we looked for dangers in different scenarios. We learned about how to stay safe and even learned a catchy song to help us remember what to do when crossing the road.
For PSED we are talking about how we are all different. We discussed how we look different, how our families are different and how we like different things. We created fun collages to represent our differences.
We had a great first week back after our half term break!
Thursday 24th October
We finished reading A Brave Bear this week, finding out why Little Bear was so brave. We discovered that he was brave because he overcame falling and hurting his knee to continue his day and cool down by splashing in the river with Dad! We explored the habitat that the bears lived in (wild and mountainous) with that of the bears in Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. We then went on to choose the best bits from both stories to role play to the class. The children created maps showing the route that the bears took to the river and also drew and wrote about how Little Bear felt at different points of the story.
In maths this week we have been exploring shape and pattern. In shape we explored the ways we could compose and decompose shapes to make new shapes. We created repeating patterns with movements, actions and colours.
We finished our topic of Creation and Covenant with a celebration of all we have learnt during the topic. We looked back on the Creation Story, remembering all the things that God created when he made the world. Each child thanked God for one thing that they love in the world. We sang the Creation Song. We talked again about what Sofia the Sloth had taught us about looking after our world, with her message of Stewardship.
This week we took part in a fun colour mixing experiment with our friends, mixing colours on our hands and finding out what new colours we made. We have been talking about the pictures of our family and friends, which will go on our display next half term.
In PE we practised different ways of moving and controlling our movements, while maintaining balance. We became different friendly monsters, moving at different paces and in a variety of positions. We then followed a leader, keeping pace and looking out for obstacles, changing places at regular intervals.
We would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all the children in Reception for a fantastic start at school. Wishing you all a very restful and happy half term break.
Friday 18th October
This week we have been continuing reading A Brave Bear. We were practising role playing as the characters from the story, using our voices and body language to be effective. We talked about ways that the hot bears could cool down and used our phonic knowledge to record our ideas.
In maths we have been working on the skill of cardinality. This means that when we are counting out a specific number of objects we know how to stop at the given number and can say how many there are without recounting. We focused on the idea that 5 and 5 make 10, using our fingers to support our learning.
During RE we continued learning about the Catholic Social Principle of stewardship. This means that we are responsible for looking after God’s world. We are almost finished our topic of Creation and Covenant, so we thought of how to celebrate our learning. We talked about all of our learning through the topic and wrote prayers to God, reflecting our learning.
This week we continued learning about the story of Harriet Tubman for Black History Month. We learnt about the actions of Harriet, saving hundreds of escaped slaves by guiding along the routes of the ‘Underground Railway’. We learned about major events about her life and then worked on placing these on a timeline, helping us understand the concept of the past.
In PE we practised controlling balls. We practised rolling and stopping balls and then bouncing a ball. We also worked on throwing a ball in the air and catching it without having to move our bodies forward. We also worked on making different shapes with our bodies inspired by different types of homes such as flats and bungalows.
Thank you to those of you who have already sent in photos of two familiar people for our discussions about people we know very well. If you have not sent them yet, please email them to foundation@st-helens-inf@essex.sch.uk with your child’s name and class in the subject box. Don’t forget to have a chat with your child so they know what they would like to say about the people they have chosen. WE WILL BE SHARING THESE IN CLASS NEXT WEEK AND THEN PUTTING THE PHOTOS UP ON A DISPLAY AFTER HALF TERM SO WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE PHOTOS TO REPRESENT EVERY CHILD. SO PLEASE EMAIL THESE IN IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO.
Friday 11th October
This week we started our new Power of Reading text: Brave Bear. We introduced father and son bear, who were very hot! We investigated feeling hot and what it was like; and the things we recognise as hot (kettle, sunshine, hot food). We thought of lots of words that we can use to describe something hot and then used those words to write a Hot Poem as a class. The children created their own collages to represent ‘hot’. The children wrote lists of things that are hot and cold.
In maths we have been working on the comparison of amounts of objects, using the terms more than and fewer than. We enjoyed practical activities to compare the number of objects in groups – going shopping and using a variety of mixed objects. To do this comparison, some children starting using their subitising skills (seeing how many objects there are without counting) and others counted the items.
During RE we continued learning about the Catholic Social Principle of stewardship. This means that we are responsible for looking after God’s world. We considered how Sofia the Sloth reacted when her tree was cut down illegally, both sad and angry. Then we talked about what Sofia did in reaction: she got together with her forest friends and asked the wood cutters to stop. As a class we discussed how we can look after God’s world, practising stewardship. Each child wrote about what they could do: from recycling and saving water to planting flowers and trees.
This week we continued learning about the story of Harriet Tubman for Black History Month. We learnt about the actions of Harriet, saving hundreds of escaped slaves by guiding along the routes of the ‘Underground Railway’. Harriet used a lantern to guide the way on this perilous journey. The children created their own lanterns, decorating them and then cutting the paper and sticking it together to make a cylinder.
In PE we practised moving as a variety of mythical creatures, a dragon, unicorn and fairy. Then they made their own ‘fairy’ fly by practising throwing and catching a beanbag sitting down and standing up. We learnt that we needed to watch the beanbag all the time to make catching easier.
Thank you to those of you who have already sent in photos of two familiar people for our discussions about people we know very well. If you have not sent them yet, please email them to foundation@st-helens-inf@essex.sch.uk with your child’s name and class in the subject box. Don’t forget to have a chat with your child so they know what they would like to say about the people they have chosen.
Friday 4th October
This week we have been continuing learning with the text The Everywhere Bear. We finished reading the story and created our own story maps to represent the beginning, middle and ending of the story, attempting to write initial sounds to represent where the bear was. We also made our own mini books of the story and made missing posters for The Everywhere Bear, imagining what his next adventure might be.
In Maths we have been working on the composition of numbers to five. We are using the stem sentence: 1 and 1 and 1 makes 3, to help us understand that numbers are composed of ones being grouped together. We built our own number clocks and gathered objects of specific amounts from around the classroom.
During RE we started learning about the Catholic Social Principle of stewardship. This means that we are responsible for looking after God’s world. We listened to ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong as we painted images of what we love about God’s world. Then we wrote about what we painted in our RE books.
Friday 27th September
What a busy and fun week!
The daily routines and sitting and learning during carpet sessions are improving everyday.
This week our Little Wandle Phonics phonemes have been: I, n, m, d. We have been saying the sound (phoneme), listening for it in words, practising writing the grapheme and even began to blend sounds together to read words.
The children have had their reading books changed and we urge you to read either or both the library book and reading book everyday, noting briefly or even just initialing the yellow reading diary. We are aiming for 5+ reads a week.
The Everywhere Bear, by Julia Donaldson, has been continuing his adventures this week in our Literacy. We created a soundscape to reflect the stormy conditions at sea, using percussion instruments and blue fabric. In addition, the class considered the advice they would give someone who had found a lost bear; questions they would like to ask the Everywhere Bear; and role played what it would be like to first catch a glimpse of the bear after he was lost! Amazing!
During RE we are learning about the Creation Story. The class continued the Creation Story learning that God made Adam and Eve. Then we discussed how God made each of us and that we are all unique. The children sand ‘God Loves Me’ inserting their own name, and then talked about how they were unique and different to everyone else (something they were good at, that they loved or how they looked).
This half term we will be talking about people who are familiar or related to us. Please could you choose two people who are very familiar or are related to your child (outside those who share their home). For example, grandparents, friends of the family, uncles or aunts. Once you have decided, please email a picture of each person to foundation@st-helens-inf.essex.sch.uk . Don’t forget to have a chat with your child so they know what they would like to say about the people they have chosen. Thank you
Friday 20th September
We have had a great first full week of Reception!
Overall we are getting super at following the routines and sitting and listening when on the carpet.
This week we practised sharing our ideas with our Talk & Listen Partners, as per our Teaching and Learning framework.
We started our Little Wandle Phonics lessons this week. We have focussed on the phonemes: s, a, t, p. We have been saying the sound (phoneme), listening for it in words, practising writing the grapheme and even began to blend sounds together to read words. This week all children got sent home their guided reading book and reading diary to begin their reading journey in reception.
In Literacy we have been learning with the book The Everywhere Bear, by Julia Donaldson. We chose a name for our class bears which will be taken home by the Star of the Week each week to be read with. We also drew faces on teddy bears and practised forming shapes on paper.
During RE we are learning about the Creation Story. We have practised sequencing the story and retold the parts of the story we could recall.
We also had our first PE lesson in the hall this week. We practised listening to instructions, stopping and starting and moving our bodies different ways.
Thank you to all of the parents who have volunteered to make playdough this year. We have handed out a timetable and recipe to all the parents who are assigned a week in Autumn Term. If you are assigned a week in Spring or Summer term then we will give you the recipe and timetable closer to the time.
Friday 13th September
What an amazing week – well done to all the children in Reception!
The children have been introduced to the morning and afternoon activities, to their Literacy groups, to the lunchtime routine and to the overall schedule of the daily classroom. In addition, everyone had their First Day of School photograph taken and painted their portraits. They are starting to take it in their stride.
The classes are learning to sit in their spaces on the carpet and to listen quietly when they are learning during our teaching sessions. They have learnt all about the Class Rules and why we have them. Each child has agreed that they will do their best to remember the rules to help make a happy and peaceful learning environment.
On Friday we loved bringing in and sharing our favourite teddy or squashie – what a variety of friends we introduced to our friends and adults. The children explained why their toys were so important to them and places that they took in their soft friends. This ties in with our Power of Reading text: The Everywhere Bear, by Julia Donaldson. We will be starting to read this book next week for our Literacy.
In RE we introduced the Creation Story, reading from the Bible. The children were considering what happened on each day, the things that God created.
All the Reception children should be very proud of their start to school.