Hello from Lilac and Willow, we have had another great week in reception.
This week
This week we’ve continued our learning about Autumn Festivals by learning about Remembrance Day and Bonfire Night. The children heard about the origins of Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day and found out why we wear poppies today. They also brilliantly observed a 2 minutes’ silence at 11 o’clock – well done Reception!
The children learnt about the history of Bonfire Night and why we celebrate with fireworks and a bonfire. We heard the story of Guy Fawkes and his Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. The children discovered that Guy Fawkes didn’t end up carrying out his plot however as King James I captured him and his accomplices. The King decided that on the 5th November every year from that day we would remember the Gunpowder Plot and how Guy Fawkes’ plan failed. Every year we burn bonfires and put a model of Guy Fawkes on top. We light fireworks and sparklers to celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot
The children this week wanted to learn about how fireworks are made. We also spent time this week using our senses to describe how fireworks look, move and sound. We then put these together and made class Firework poems. The children created some fantastic firework pictures using various materials including chalk, paint and oil pastels.
In Phonics this week, we have learnt new graphemes e, u and r as well as revisiting previously learned sounds. The children have also started to use their prior knowledge to help them segment (sound out) and then blend to read simple CVC words such as cat, pat, pin, dog. The children are working hard making attempts to apply their phonic knowledge in their writing. We are really proud of their perseverance and determination to do their very best writing, well done Reception!
In Maths the children used the words ‘more,’ ‘less’ and ‘the same’ to compare the numbers 1, 2 and 3
We started our enrichment activities this week, some children enjoyed learning how to weave. Some children also had the opportunity to make fruit kebabs as part of our learning about food preparation and hygiene. A group of children also had the chance to undertake some wood work and learnt how to use the wood work tools safely. A group of children learnt how to use the iPads to take photographs and record videos. Over the course of the term all of the children will have the opportunity to undertake each of the different enrichment activities.
Next Week
- We will be celebrating National Nursery Rhyme Week by enjoying lots of Nursery Rhymes and starting our week dressing up as our favourite Nursery Rhyme characters
- The children will continue visiting the Library in small groups as part of our weekly local trips
- In Phonics, we will continue learning new sounds in Phase 2 (h and b) as well as applying what we have already learnt to continue segmenting and blending for reading and writing
- In Maths, children will be learning about the composition of numbers 1,2 and 3 and exploring the concept of part whole
- We will continue to learn our songs for our Reception Nativity
- On Friday we are celebrating Children in Need
Supporting your child at home
- Help your child to build constructive and respectful relationships by congratulating your child for their kindness to others, and express your approval when they help, listen to and support other people
- Encourage your child to be resilient and to persevere in the face of a challenge by showing them mistakes are an important part of learning and going back is trial and error, not failure.
- Please make sure you are reading as often as you can, both listening to them read their Monster Phonics book and also reading to them
Other information and reminders
- Nursery Rhyme dress-up day Monday 14th November. Please send your child to school dressed as a character from a traditional nursery rhyme. Please see the letter that was sent out earlier this week for more information and ideas
- School photograph day Wednesday 16th November. Please ensure that your child is wearing their school uniform this day and not their P.E kit.
- Please make sure that your child brings their picture book and reading record to school every day
- CHILDREN IN NEED – This year the school will again be supporting BBC’s Children in Need appeal. It takes place on Friday 18th November and we will be inviting the children to come to school dressed up for the day. They could choose from wearing something yellow or spotty or choose something extra colourful to make everyone smile! Please bring £1 donation for Children in Need
- Please do not let your children climb on the play equipment before or after school
- Please remember your child’s library card on the day that they have been allocated to go to the library (See previous email about this)
We hope you have a great weekend,
Mrs Fisher and Mrs Murrell
Willow and Lilac Class Teachers
