Reception w/b 9th September
Date: 13th Sep 2024 @ 5:28pm
Congratulations to our wonderful Reception children on completing their first full week of school, and what a fantastic week it has been. Mrs McAree and I have been delighted with how well the children have settled into the routine of the school day with confidence and we have thoroughly enjoyed spending more time getting to know each and every child. We can hardly believe the children have only been in school for a week and a half; they are superstars!
The children are great at referring to our visual timetable to recognise the sequence of the day and then turning over each activity once it is completed. This week, we were most intrigued to find a new visual timetable card…’phonics’. On Monday, we were introduced to Miss Witham’s friend Fred the Frog who can only talk in ‘Fred Talk’. We thought that this was rather funny! He has helped us to play some Fred games such as ‘Fred says’ and ‘Fred spies’. Fred used his ‘Fred talk’ (e.g. “tap your h – ea – d”; “Fred spies a p – e – g”) and then we blended for him by saying the full words (e.g. head, peg). Fred also introduced us to our Read Write Inc. silent signals: ‘Team stop’, ‘My turn Your turn’, and ‘Turn to your partner’. We have been practising these signals and are now experts; embedding these routines will help our phonics sessions to run speedily and smoothly. We have also been introduced to all 25 pictures that correspond to the 25 single letter sounds. This will help us when we introduce the single letter sounds over this term e.g. we will recognise the ‘dinosaur’ picture when we teach ‘d’ and learn to associate the two. I can tell that we are going to be phonics experts! Fred will help us next week as we begin short, 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 on Monday 23rd September at 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) and counting stories (e.g. Ten Little Dinosaurs). We also met another friend…Counting Croc. Counting Croc sometimes needs our help with his counting and he likes to challenge us with new counting activities. Having some scheduled maths time this week will help us to settle into some short maths lessons from next week as we begin our NCETM Mastering Number journey – a session that is always popular!
On Tuesday, we were most excited for our first PE lesson. The first PE session of the year always involves lots of time finding out how to get to the hall, how we sit when we arrive in the hall, how to travel safely around the space, making sure you stand in a big space etc. There is so much to learn when you start Reception! We did then spend time learning some of our gymnastic shapes for this half term. Well done Reception gymnasts! Due to music lessons taking place in the hall on a Tuesday morning, our assigned PE slot has now been moved to a Monday morning.
On Thursday, it was time for our Forest School morning with Mr Simmons and Mrs McAree. The wet weather did not dampen our spirits in the slightest as we popped on our waterproofs and wellies with enthusiasm. The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Forest School environment and the seasonal changes that autumn brings. They particularly enjoyed looking for acorns on the ground and thinking about where these had come from.
This week, we have also been completing some baseline activities. We have all painted self-portraits which are now proudly displayed in the classroom. The children used mirrors to help them to draw and then paint their faces, and these look just beautiful. We also completed a baseline of name writing and pencil grip and, yesterday afternoon, I began the government baseline assessments. The children were very excited to complete this ‘special job’!
Routines such as breaktimes, lunchtimes, using the toilets, lining up, register etc. continue to be absorbed with confidence. It was super to rejoin the school for today’s celebration assembly and the children listened so very well. A new routine that we introduced this week was our carousel of ‘morning jobs’. These are some calm, soft start activities that the children will rotate around throughout the week, allowing them to access everything by the end of the week. This routine enables us to start our day in a calm, positive manner as well as working on lots of skills such as fine motor dexterity and strength. The children have been so impressive in the mornings as they unpack their things with more independence before finding their group and settling to an activity.
Of course, we have also enjoyed lots of choosing time with all of our friends. The photos below show the fun that was enjoyed by all and just a snippet of the purposeful, focused play that Mrs McAree and I have delighted in sharing and observing. To end our week, we also enjoyed some circle time games, helping us to continue to learn the names of our new friends and have fun together. Much laughter ensued in one of our favourite games, involving Miss Witham’s car keys, trying to avoid our friend in the middle of the circle hearing the keys jingling!
Our Makaton signs of the week have been ‘good morning’ and ‘good afternoon’ which we have used when answering the register. There are some videos below so that you can enjoy learning these signs together at home.
Good morning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XtH1Q3T0Eg
Good afternoon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcUE1l2jRdI
Phew, what a busy week! I am sure that the children will be feeling very sleepy. You may spy on the photographs some rest time that we enjoyed one midweek afternoon! Despite this being the children’s first full, tiring week, they have just been absolutely delightful and Mrs McAree and I are so proud of each and every one of them. It has been a week full of fun and learning so, whilst I hope that the children have lots of stories to share about their exciting week, I am sure that they must be ready for a good rest!
Reception, we are so proud of you all. We hope you have a lovely, restful weekend and look forward to the excitement that next week will bring.
With many thanks and best wishes,
Miss Witham
