Hello everyone, what a great week it has been in Reception this week learning about traditional May Day celebrations and exploring our natural world.
This week
We started our week by finding out about the British festival of May Day. We learnt that May Day is traditionally a time when people look forward to the coming Summer and the warmer weather. The children discovered the origins of May Day date back to Roman times. It used to be a time when the Romans worshipped Flora, the goddess of fruit, flowers, nature and spring. In the past, people would get up very early gather flowers to decorate their homes because they believed it would bring them good fortune for the rest of the year. To this day, flowers and plants form a big part of traditions still carried out today. We watched Maypole dancing and Morris dancing, as well as parade of festival goers celebrating the May Queen and Jack O’ The Green.
We then continued along the nature theme by looking at the seasons and how plants grow. We read the story ‘The Tiny Seed’ by Eric Carle. The story explains the life cycle of a flower in terms of the adventures of a tiny seed. Carried aloft by the autumn wind, the tiny seed, along with other bigger seeds, travels far over the world. the journey is perilous: one of the bigger seeds is burned by the sun; another falls into the ocean; still another is eaten by a bird. Even after those that are left have landed on fertile ground and begun to grow, danger is near: one small plant is stepped on; one little flower is picked; but the tiny seed keeps growing almost unnoticed.
Having seen the journey the tiny seed went on, we then spent time thinking about the different seasons. The children learnt that a season is a period of time within a year. There a 4 seasons in the year and each season has 3 months in it. We learnt that the weather changes during each seasons and plants and animals.
Throughout the seasons the life cycles of plants and animals will be at different stages. Each stage of plant and animal life cycles are signs of the seasons, for example, seeing baby animals being born in Spring and leaves on trees turning brown in Winter. Why not ask your child if they can tell you some of the signs of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter? The children then learnt about the life cycle of a sunflower and were able to talk about what a plant needs to help it grow.
In Maths this week the children learnt about odd and even numbers and doubling. We wanted to find out whether we could group different amounts of objects into equal groups of 2. We found out the when an amount can be shared into groups of 2 or 2 equal groups then a number is even. If the amount can not be shared equally or there is one left over, the number is odd. We also began to look at the concept of doubling. The children used numicon to help them practise how to double.
In Phonics the children continued their learning with CVCC words and using their phonic knowledge when writing words.
Next week
- We will be reading the story ‘Handa’s Surpise’ by Eileen Browne.
- We will be learning about Kenya which is the setting for the story Handa’s Surprise.
- We will be thinking about the fruit we eat and where it comes from.
- We will be using adjectives to help us describe the different fruit.
- We will be thinking about healthy living as part of encouraging the children to manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs.
- In Maths, we will be continuing our learning about doubling as well as developing our understanding of the composition of numbers using the part-whole model.
- In Phonics we will be continuing our learning with CVCC words and using our phonic knowledge when writing words.
Supporting your child at home
- Encourage your child to describe events in some detail by using sequencing words with emphasis in your own stories e.g. “Before school I had a lovely big breakfast, then I had a biscuit at break time and after that I had two pieces of fruit after lunch. I’m so full!”
- When children have an idea they want to explain or carry out an action, encourage them to connect that idea or action to another one using a range of conjunctions. You can do this by narrating events and actions e.g. “I knew it must be cold outside because he was putting on his coat and hat.”
- To help children identify and moderate their own feelings, give them strategies for staying calm in the face of frustration. Talk them through why we take turns, wait politely, tidy up after ourselves and so on. For example if you child has a tantrum or is overly physically say “It’s OK be upset, it’s not OK to use our hands and feet. Remember to use your words.”
Any other information
- READING BOOKS – Please could reading books and book bags be in school each day.
We hope you enjoy your weekend.
Mrs. Fisher and Mr. French
Willow and Lilac Class Teachers
