Hello!

In maths this week we have been learning about the concept of a whole and how a whole can be made up of parts. We have been learning this mathematical idea through recognising a whole object and identifying its parts, such as a whole jigsaw and a piece of jigsaw. The children have looked at 3 and recognised that its parts could be a 1 and 1 and 1 or 2 and 1 by using blocks to represent their understanding. At home you could discuss what objects they know that have parts such as a toy car, a Lego construction or a magnetic construction kit. You could also find different ways of arranging collections of items (no more than 5), such as buttons, coins, by splitting them into parts.

This week has been ‘Anti-bullying week’ across school. In reception, we have been learning about what bullying means. The children have learnt that bullying is something which happens over and over again, not just one time. They have learnt about physical and verbal bullying and what these terms mean.

We also watched a Topsy and Tim story about bullying. Here is the link to watch again at home: https://youtu.be/hhH9NCtaZt8

We talked about what happened in the story and how Topsy and Tim helped their friend get the help he needed. We have discussed what we could do if we saw someone being hurt or hurting another person and we talked about speaking up and talking to our trusted adults.

Next week in maths the children will build on their understanding of the composition of numbers by investigating the composition of 3, 4 and 5. Composing and de-composing numbers involves the children investigating part–part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 3 can be composed of 1 and 2. Through practical experience, they will consolidate their understanding of a whole being made up of smaller parts. They will begin to recognise that numbers can be made by combining parts in different ways. A key focus will be the spatial arrangements that can be made with different combinations of the same number of objects.

Next week in Understanding the World we will be learning about The Arctic. Your child may already know facts about the region of the world if they have interests in animals. At home you could begin to research where the Arctic is, what it is like and the animals and people that live in there.

Just a reminder to ensure that your child’s clothing is named, in particular jumpers and cardigans which all look very similar. But also including hats, scarves and gloves as the weather gets colder.

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

The Reception team