Hello from Lilac and Willow, what a busy week we’ve had in Reception.
This week
The children were very excited to be taking their very first school trip to Standalone Farm in Letchworth. Once the coaches arrived, we set off on our short journey and before they knew it, the children arrived at the farm. The children used skills they have learnt throughout the year to help them read a map in order to find their way around the farm. There was so much to see and we had a packed schedule indeed. The children first went into the Standalone Gardens and the Woodland Trail, where they saw lots of pretty plants and some fairy gardens. We then met lots of noisy pigs who we discovered roll around in mud to keep cool. Next we were taken by the tractor for a ride in a trailer through a field of sheep which was lots of fun. Before lunch we went on a farm walk to visit some of the other animals we saw more animals. The children enjoyed having their packed lunches in the party barn before having another farm walk in the afternoon, as well as a final play on the play equipment before heading back to school. All of the school staff and parent volunteers were very impressed with how fantastic the children were as they represent Samuel Lucas with pride.
After visiting Standalone Farm we read the book Farmyard Hullabaloo by Giles Andreae. In the rhyming story the rooster wakes the farm up with a cock-a-doodle-doo! The sheepdog won’t stop barking, and the cows begin to moo. We then looked for information on different animals, learning new facts, the names for male and female animals and found out what the baby animals were called. We also enjoyed playing the guessing game ‘What am I?’ In the game, the children have to first think of an animal and the draw it. The animal then gets covered with a paper flap and the children then have to come up with 3 clues to try and help people guess the animal. Here is an example below, see if you can guess ‘What am I?’
In Phonics this week, we heard the Monster Phonics version of The Enormous Turnip. The children used the story to look at clusters of sounds including ‘str’ in strap and ‘scr’ in scratch. We also continued to use the story to look at compound words. A compound word is when two smaller words are put together to make a larger word.
In Maths we practised and consolidated the skills we’ve learnt so far this year by problem solving. We used three stories, ‘Harry and His Bucket Fully of Dinosaurs’, ‘Mr Gumpy’s Outing’ and ‘How Many Legs’, to help us practise our problem solving using adding and subtracting.
Next week
- We will be reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
- We will be learning about the lifecycle of a caterpillar.
- We will be using non-fiction books to gather information about caterpillars and butterflies.
- In Phonics, we will continue to practise applying our phonic knowledge using the story The Enormous Turnip.
- In Maths, we will continue to practise and consolidate the skills we’ve learnt so far this year by solving problems.
- In Jigsaw we will be learning about healthy foods and what we can do to be healthy and looking at how we grow from babies to adults.
Supporting your child at home
- Build upon your child’s incidental talk: “Your tower is definitely the tallest I’ve seen all week. Do you think you’ll make it any higher?” This will support your child to articulate their ideas and thoughts in well-formed sentences.
- Read aloud books to your child that will extend their knowledge of the world and illustrate a current topic. This will help your child to engage with non-fiction books.
- Provide opportunities for children to tell each other about their work and play. Help them reflect and self evaluate their own work. This will support your child to show resilience and perseverance in the face of a challenge.
Any other information
- WARM WEATHER – In warm weather children will need a named sun hat. Please apply long lasting sun cream before they arrive at school. Please can you make sure that a named water bottle is in school every day.
- OPEN EVENING – Open evening will be held on Wednesday the 6TH OF JULY from 4-7PM.
We hope you have an enjoyable weekend.
Mrs Fisher and Mr French
Willow and Lilac Class Teachers
