A Magical Surprise in Reception!
Over the weekend, something very special happened… Santa himself visited our classroom! When the children arrived on Monday morning, they discovered that he had sprinkled a little Christmas magic everywhere — decorating our room and leaving a note asking for their help to wrap some of his presents. The children have been absolutely enchanted. They’ve been playing beautifully in Santa’s grotto, dressing up as busy little elves, carefully wrapping gifts and writing their own letters to Santa. It has been a truly magical start to the festive season and the classroom is filled with excitement and Christmas cheer!

This week in maths

This week, the children have been exploring numbers to 5 in different ways. The children have practised matching quantities to numerals and to the number of fingers shown, helping them to understand what “equal” means. The children are beginning to recognise numerals to 5 and are using flashcards to count out matching amounts.

To support the children’s understanding we have used blocks to show the different arrangements a number can make - just like the stampolines on Numberblocks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08dnngm/numberblocks-series-1-stampolines

The children are noticing how numbers can be made in different ways and are spotting the smaller numbers hidden within numbers to 5.

This Week in Understanding the World
The children have been exploring their local area and the wider world. They’ve been looking at the features of Farsley and comparing them with the Arctic, chatting about how the two places are similar and different. They’ve also been busy drawing their own maps of Farsley and the Arctic, thinking carefully about the important features they want to add. We’ve even been learning the Continents Song, which the children have really enjoyed as they start to recognise and name different parts of our world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=K6DSMZ8b3LE

Next week

We will be reading the story Dear Zoo in Talk 4 Writing. You may remember the children learning the story of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt last half-term. Talk 4 Writing enables children to become so familiar with a story that they are able to retell the story word for word. This is great for engagement in reading as well as confidence in speaking and performing. They are able to retell the story orally and when they have the phonic knowledge, they are then able to do this in writing too. We will be learning actions to help us to retell the story and drawing story maps as well as using some of our phonic knowledge to write parts of the story. We will also have a go at creating our own versions of the story.

In maths, the children will be exploring numbers up to 6 in fun, hands-on ways. They will use their fingers to show quantities, recognise numerals 1–5, and practise spotting small quantities quickly (subitising) with dots and dice. They will match dot arrangements to numerals, link subitised amounts to counting, and enjoy simple dice games to reinforce their number skills.

Reminders:

-Please encourage your child to practise their lines for the show at home as often as possible so they feel confident and prepared. If your child has a single line, it will be added to their reading record on Friday.

- Please ensure your child has a pair of wellies and waterproofs in school so they are fully prepared for outdoor learning in all weather.

We hope you have a great weekend,

The Reception team