Reception w/b 12th September
Date: 16th Sep 2022 @ 4:42pm
Congratulations Reception on completing your first full week of school. It has been a very busy week full of fun and learning so, while I hope that the children have lots of stories to share about their exciting week, I am sure that they must be very tired and in need of a good rest!
The children have continued to settle into the routine and expectations of the Reception classroom and we are so proud to see such confidence and independence from everybody. We are enjoying our visual timetable to understand what our day will consist of and turning each activity over once it is completed.
One of the visual timetable cards we were introduced to this week was ‘phonics’. On Monday, we were introduced to Miss Witham’s friend Fred the Frog who can only talk in ‘Fred Talk’. We thought this was rather funny! We have enjoyed listening to Fred as he tells us things he has found in our classroom. He told us in his Fred Talk (e.g. p-e-g, ch-air, b-oo-k-s) and then we blended for him by saying the full words (e.g. peg, chair, books). By the end of the week, we were even able to play some Fred games, such as ‘Fred spies’ and ‘Fred says’. Fred will help us next week as we begin more formal phonics sessions, focusing on a new sound each day. We hope to see many of you at our Early Reading and Phonics meeting next Wednesday (21st) at 2:15pm in the school hall. This will be a good opportunity to find out all about how we teach early reading and writing at Brereton and how best to support your child at home.
We have also noticed a ‘maths’ card on our timetable this week. This week, this has involved lots of number songs (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, once I caught a fish alive; five little speckled frogs; five little ducks; five little men in a flying saucer) as well as challenges involving showing different numbers with our fingers (show me 4 with your fingers etc.). This will help us to settle into some more formal maths sessions next week that will take place in the same slot so that the routine remains familiar.
This week, we have also enjoyed our first Forest School lessons of the year! Tuesday’s session allowed time for us to explore our Forest School environment and learn the rules and routines of Forest School. On Thursday, in memory of Her Majesty the Queen, we were making portraits using clay. We shaped the clay on a tree and then used nature to add features. There were some very creative portraits and we had such fun in our Forest School. On Thursday afternoon, Mrs Edwards led an Understanding the World session all about Autumn. This has inspired us to look for signs of Autumn in next week’s Forest School session.
Today, we had our first PE session, focusing on moving safely. We worked on negotiating the space, looking for big areas of space as we travelled rather than bunching together; travelling in different directions; stopping in a sensible spot. We enjoyed moving in a variety of ways in a game called ‘Moving Me’ such as happy me, grumpy me, small me, jumping me! We then used some spots/cones in a variety of ways. First, they were sticky so we had to stick different parts of our bodies to the spots – you may notice this on some of the pictures! Next, the spots were hot so we moved in a variety of ways over/around our spots. Finally, they became our steering wheels as we cooled down with a game of ‘drive your car’.
Of course, we have also enjoyed lots of choosing time with all of our friends. It has been wonderful to see the children exploring different areas this week as they learn how to explore each activity and tidy each area at the end. We will look forward to adding enhancements to our now familiar environment from next week. The afternoons have involved lots of circle time, games and a chance to play outside on our climbing frame, followed by milk, fruit and a story. This routine has helped us in our first week of full days.
This week, we have also been completing our baseline activities, showing us children’s existing knowledge of number, letters, sounds and language as well as their fine motor skills, including pencil grip. This will help us to plan our work going forwards so that we can best support all of the children.
Reception, we are so proud of you! I hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend (once again, with lots of rest!) and I shall look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday.
With many thanks and best wishes,
Miss Witham
