Autumn 1 Week 3 24.9.21
Hello!
First of all, thank you so much for giving up your time to attend the phonics meeting on Wednesday evening. We hope you found it useful and that you’re not feeling overwhelmed by all the information. Just to note that the videos we are sending home each week which link to the sounds are incredibly useful in helping you to understand the pure sounds to make with your children and how to support them in learning these sounds and blending them to read words. Remember that the link only lasts for a week so you only have a limited time to watch the videos we send.
This week in phonics we have learnt the sounds d, t, i and n. Here are the videos you can watch at home:
d - https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/AQn01BNb/NCrdLTrf
t - https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/nCAdWYrQ/IpxoaTcp
i - https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/eZsu5IIV/MUqIq14T
n - https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/6AJRovvh/vWlJ39Q9
We have also been learning to blend sounds to make words using the sounds m, a, s, d and t. Here is a video about blending you can watch with your child: https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/o8db4dlX/Y3dHYZZD
Here are some Fred games you might like to play at home:
Fred says body parts (2): https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/IvWr5DHE/1mIFbjz8
Fred’s fridge: https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/FW6fxOEF/QPkzwmgo
Fred’s adventures – aquarium: https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/brhhf1EH/MehM0eW6
In maths, we have been looking at counting principles. We started the week looking at order irrelevance. This is the idea that it doesn’t matter what order you count a set of objects; the amount will stay the same. Perhaps you could try this at home by getting 5 teddies and laying them out in a line. Count them in one direction pointing to each as you count. Then count them in the other direction. Are there still 5? Then you could lay them out differently and count them from top to bottom. You could try this with any objects around the house. We have also looked at the abstract principle which is about how we can’t always see or touch items to count them. You might like to play a game at home where you drop items into a bucket/tin (up to 5). Let your child count the sounds as each item drops in. They may count aloud or in their head. Can they tell you how many sounds they heard? Another way to explore this principle is to do actions such as jumps, claps or stamps. Do a certain number of these. Can your child say how many? Lastly we have been doing lots of practise at 1:1 counting. This is where you count objects and say each number as you count. As you read books at home, there are lots of opportunities to count objects on the page. How many trees can you see? How many children are there? How many birds are in the sky? Make sure your child touches each object or picture as they say each number.
Here are some songs we have sung this week:
Five currant buns - https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-five-currant-buns/zm4nmfr
Five little men in a flying saucer - https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-five-little-men-in-a-flying-saucer/z6qgscw
Five little speckled frogs - https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-five-little-speckled-frogs/zjjbnrd
In understanding the world we have been learning about how to be a good learner. We have read the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and discussed how the caterpillar liked to try new things. Throughout the week the children have been discussing which new things they have tried out in class, at lunchtime or at home. We have also learned about how Paddington likes to explore and ask questions about things. Zog was our character who practises and tries hard at things. We discussed ideas such as learning to ride a bike or learning how to write our letters. How to catch a star by Oliver Jeffers was about trying new ideas and never giving up. And our final story of the week was Mrs Armitage and the Bike by Quentin Blake. This story is all about making plans and changing the plans if we need to; in other words, being able to adapt our ideas. The children have been trying hard all week to try to be like these characters. If they display any super learning at home, trying new things, exploring, trying hard, never giving up or adapting their plans and ideas then it would be lovely to hear about them. You can send in any pictures through Tapestry.
Next week we will be learning new sounds and continuing learning to blend sounds to make words. We will be learning how to spot matching pairs and how to sort items based on certain attributes. We will also be learning about the artist Kandinsky and will be responding to his artwork and creating some of our own.
The children have done really well this week with the new routine of going down to the hall for their dinner. You will have received an app message earlier this week to say that each day the children choose their dinner for the following day. If you are looking at the dinner menu with your child, please keep this in mind.
Have a lovely weekend,
The Reception team
