Welcome to Reception - Robins!

Welcome to Robins class! We are very excited to learn and play with you this year. 

Meet our team

Miss Warmoth is the Robins class teacher. Mrs West, Miss Moore and Mrs Brendling are teaching assistants who all help in the Robin class. 

Mrs Arnott will be teaching in Robin class on Wednesday mornings. 

• A reading book is sent home daily – please write a comment or sign the home school diary to show that you have read with your child each day. We change our books on Mondays and Thursdays. Please ensure that your child's book bag is in school each day.
• We do on Wednesday afternoons and this is done outdoors whenever possible or in the school hall. Every child needs a full P.E. kit in school and a pair of trainers and /or plimsolls.

Our Learning 28.6.21 - 5.7.21

Over the next 2 weeks we will be learning all about minibeast, finding out what they look like, where their live and even what they like to eat. We will be going on minibeast hunt around the garden, using magnifying glasses and our knowledge about their habitats to see how many we can spot. In our investigation area we are going to construct a giant minibeast hotel and then watch to see who decides to live there.

Our story focus will be based around the books ‘What the Ladybird Heard and What the Ladybird Heard at the seaside’ by Julia Donaldson. In the story Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len try to steal the ‘fine prize cow’ using a map of the farmyard. We will be making our own ‘stealing’ maps and then writing a set of instructions for a friend to follow. In the creative area we will be making ladybirds and butterflies using a range of materials and skills.

In literacy the children will be reading some descriptions of different minibeasts and trying to identify which one is being described. They will then be making their own cards and playing a similar game with their friends.

At the maths challenge table we will be exploring halving, using ladybirds to help us solve the problems. In Numberland our challenge will involve doubling the amount in each garden.

A day in Reception

To begin our day, the children will come into the classroom hang up their coat and bag and wash their hands. Next, they find their name card and place it inside a robot to show they have arrived at school for the day. They will then independently find and start a busy-finger activity. These activities are designed to help develop fine motor strength which is important for good pencil grip and control. Then, the children take part in a whole class phonics session followed by a child-initiated learning time.  After snack the children listen to the story of the week being read, join in with repeated refrains and discuss the story. This is followed by a short maths session and opportunities to consolidate this new learning are provided during child-initiated learning.

 During the lunch hour, the children will be supported by mid-day supervisors who help them with their lunch and encourage them to try new foods. After lunch, the children play in the outdoor learning environment and particularly enjoy using the climbing equipment. The afternoon starts with a reading session, small groups of children will be heard read individually and the others will take part in a larger group guided reading session. This is followed by another period of child-initiated learning. At the end of the day, the children have a circle time session or a story before getting ready for home.

What are we learning about?

This half term, our topic is 'All about me.' We will be thinking about ourselves and what makes us unique and special. As part of our PSED work will be talking about our families and the activities we like to do together when we are at home. We will also be exploring the reception environment and finding out all about our new friends.

In phonics lessons, we follow the 'Letters and Sounds' scheme of work and introduce the Jolly Phonics' actions for each sound. Watch out for the children singing the songs at home and doing the actions, they are quite catchy!  We will be learning new Phase 2 phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (written letters). We will also be encouraging the children to have a go at reading and writing simple words and captions independently. For more information about phases 2 and 3 phonics, please visit the link at the bottom of this section.

In maths lessons, we will be exploring and recognising numerals to 10 and placing them in order as well as developing our understanding of place value. 

http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/phase-2.html

http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/phase-3.html

Tapestry

Your child will have an online learning journal through the Tapestry app. For guidance on how to use the app, please speak to Miss Warmoth, who can support you with: signing up, viewing observations and uploading observations from home. We would love for parents to contribute to the journals by uploading learning achievements from home! This could be from a club, new experiences or a skill that has been mastered at home!   

Handwriting 

At Hillshott Infant and Nursery school we follow the PenPals handwriting scheme. Our younger children are introduced to four main characters which help them to memorise the sequence for writing each letter correctly. The key thing to remember is that all letters start from the top
(apart from d and e).

Pattern practice and ‘play’ writing are an important part of handwriting development. Your child will be practicing letter formation in a number of exciting ways: in sand, using paint, in the air, on the interactive television screens and iPads, as well as on paper with a pencil!

Parent messages

Use the websites below to help your child with their home learning.

For lots of great ideas, games and practical activities in all areas of learning (including e-books)

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/ 

For phonics games (they have a free login which will be valid for a short period of time)

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/

For phonics games

https://www.phonicsbloom.com/ (phase 2 and 3 games)

For practical maths activities

https://nrich.maths.org/13371

For some great practical Literacy activities

https://www.firstdiscoverers.co.uk/early-years-literacy-games-activities/

For activities and different topic games

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?AgeGroup=1

and

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/Early-Years.html

For practising sciences skills and engaging children in conversations

https://explorify.wellcome.ac.uk/ (free to sign up)

For filtering results on any of these websites children in Reception are working at ‘EYFS’ stage or ‘Early Years’