Hello!

This week we began working in phonics groups. You will receive a Tapestry update each week with links to the sounds your child has covered and any other relevant information and videos.

Please continue to recap sounds and blend sounds to make words at home. This really does make a huge difference to how well your child retains the sounds. This can be done by having sounds up on the fridge or bedroom wall and playing games where your child spots a sound. Maybe they could throw a bean bag and try to hit a sound or you could hide one away – can your child figure out the missing sound? Can you say some words like Fred Frog ‘m…a…t’ – can your child find the right cards to make the word then do Fred Talk, Read the Word or even have a go writing the word?

In maths we have been making patterns with sounds, such as stomp, clap, stomp, clap. We linked this learning to the visual pattern work we have done before and the children understand this pattern as an AB pattern where A is one thing and B is another then this is repeated over and over. We have also been practising our counting skills within 5. We enjoyed the number rhyme 5 little peas in a peapod pressed. Here is a link to the rhyme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUp1nHc7eU0
We have made collections of 5 and used our fingers to count to and show 5 and numbers within 5. 
Here is a link to a Numberblocks video all about 5: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08d630h/numberblocks-series-1-five
We have used a dice frame to show how to make 5 and we used 2 of these to make 10 from two 5s.
You might like to use this online dice frame again to show 5 and 10:
https://mathsbot.com/manipulatives/hungarianFrame

In Understanding the World, we have been learning about keeping healthy in our topic ‘Healthy Me’. We have learned about a balanced diet and how it is important to have different types of foods in our diet for different reasons, such as helping our bones to be strong or giving us energy. We have learned about different types of exercise and why it is important to exercise. We have learned about keeping our mind healthy by eating well, resting, exercising and doing things we enjoy. We have also learned about being hygienic, keeping our bodies clean and about brushing our teeth.

The children also learned about how the police can help us as part of our Pol Ed work. This website will tell you more: https://www.pol-ed.co.uk/

Next week is art and culture week. We will be learning about the festival of Diwali and through this we will be taking part in lots of activities linked to art, drama, dance and music. We will also enjoy visits from a range of art practitioners, including a poet, a brass band, a drama workshop and ex-students who will be performing for our children. We will also enjoy a local library visit.

Next week in maths we will be recapping learning from this half-term, subitising, exploring the concepts of more and fewer and making numbers to 5 in different ways.

Have a lovely weekend,
The Reception team