Hello everyone, what a busy and fun week we’ve had in Reception.
This week
We have continued our learning about Space by trying to find answers to the following questions:
- What is the Earth made of?
- How can we live on planet Earth?
- How can we look after planet Earth?
We discovered that the Earth is made up of 5 layers beneath its surface: the crust, the upper mantle, the lower mantle, the outer core and the inner core. We also learnt about how the sun helps plants to grow which in turn provides oxygen to help us breathe. To help us understand the important of looking after planet Earth, we enjoyed the book ‘Michael Recycle’ by Ellie Bethel. In the story, Michael Recycle is a flying caped crusader with a colander on his head who fights for the green cause and encourages a dirty town of lazy and wasteful people to clean up their act and helps them develop some good recycling techniques. As a result of the people’s hard work, the town looks so much better. The children then talked about some fantastic changes that they could make to help look after the planet including:
- Turning off the tap when we brush our teeth,
- Use both sides of a piece of paper when drawing or writing,
- Sort our rubbish into different bins,
- Walk instead of going by car,
- Take a bag when you go to the shops,
- Use refillable water bottles,
- Always put litter in the bin.
We learnt about St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The children discovered that he was famous for becoming a priest and telling people about God in Ireland. Today, Irish people all over the world celebrate St. Patrick with lots of traditions including people dressing in green, people joining parades, people visiting church to pray, people dressing is leprechauns, people enjoying Irish music, dancing and food and drink.
We watched a video of a family celebrating the festival of Holi. Holi is a Hindu celebration and is known as the festival of colours. It marks the beginning of Spring and is usually celebrated around the world every March. As part of the celebrations, people will go out into the street for a Carnival of Colour. People will throw colourful powders and water onto each other, as well as sing, dance and have fun together.
In Maths, the children had lots of opportunities to practise and develop the knowledge of the composition of number 6. They enjoyed a carousel of activities to demonstrate their understanding including using double sided counters and 10s frames, using numicon shapes to make 6 and using part whole models to find different ways of making 6.
In Phonics, we learnt the trigraph ‘air’ and enjoyed the Monster Phonics version of the story Rapunzel in which Tricky Witch and Yellow I helped Rapunzel escape the tall tower. We also practised some new tricky words including have, it’s, do, so, come, some, were, one, like, little, what and when.
Next week
- We will be celebrating World Poetry Day.
- We will continue our learning around Space by learning about the moon, asteroids and black holes.
- We will be learning about the origins of Mother’s Day and find out about what traditions people follow.
- In Maths, we will consolidate learning and further develop our understanding of the different concepts we have learnt this term.
- In Phonics, we will be learning the digraph /oi/.
- In Jigsaw, we will be discussing the importance of how to wash our hands and also when we wash our hands.
Supporting your child at home
- Model how you read and re-read your own writing to check it makes sense. This will encourage your child to re-read what they have written to check that it makes sense.
- When trying to recall number bonds to 5 and 10, intentionally give your child the wrong number of objects, for example: say that you are going to plant 5 seeds, but only give them 2. Then ask “how many more do I need to have 5?”
- Physical Development – Provide a range of different sized ‘balls’ made out of familiar materials like socks, paper bags and jumpers that are softer and slower than real balls. This will in turn further develop and refine a range of ball skills including: throwing, catching, kicking, passing, batting, and aiming.
Any other information
- WATER BOTTLES – As the weather continues to improve, please can you ensure that your child has a water bottle in school every day.
- BOOK BORROWING – Thank you to those families who were able to attend the book borrowing session this week, the children really enjoyed choosing books. Please remember in order to borrow a new book on Friday you must return the previously borrowed book by Thursday.
- EASTER PERFORMANCE – Monday 28th March @ 2:45pm.
- OUTCOME – On Wednesday 30th March 4:00-7:00pm, we would love to invite you to come to school and celebrate all of the children’s learning. It will be an opportunity for you to see what the children have been learning.
We hope you had a lovely weekend.
Mrs. Fisher and Mr. French
Willow and Lilac Class Teachers
