What a Week in Reception!

Dear Parents and Carers,

We’ve had such a wonderful week in Reception! The children have been exploring our new focus text, developing their mathematical thinking, and getting creative with new crafts. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to:

Focus Text: In Every House on Every Street

This week we introduced our new focus text, In Every House on Every Street. The children looked at the front cover and made predictions about the story, discussing who might be in it and what might happen. We had lovely conversations where the children shared something unique about their own homes and families, such as favourite activities they do together. It was beautiful to hear about all the special things that make each family unique!

Phonics

In phonics, we’ve been working hard on our Unit 1 sounds: /a/ /i/ /m/ /s/ /t/. We’ve also been building words like ‘sat’, ‘mat’, and ‘Tim’, and even attempted our first sentence dictation: “Tim sat.”

Support for parents: Support for Parents and Carers – Sounds-Write

Please watch this video to help with practising the above sounds at home:

Maths

Our maths sessions have been all about subitising – recognising small quantities without counting! The children have been:

• Playing ‘quick show’ games with Numberblocks One, Two, and Three, where they see dots for just a moment and say how many they saw
• Making spatial patterns with dots and describing how they’re arranged (standing up, in a line, spread out)
• Showing numbers on their fingers in different ways and discovering which ways are easiest
• Becoming ‘hunters of 1, 2, and 3’ – spotting small groups within larger collections

The children are developing a really strong understanding of these important early numbers and are learning to recognise them instantly!

Handwriting

We have been busy with our Finger Workouts and learning about the Three Friends Hold (pencil grip). The children have been learning about the ‘6 Letter Moves’ – down, up, push right, pull left, slide, and flick.

We also learned about moving from the ‘brave monkey’ (standing) to the ‘ground’ when forming letters. The children are building the hand strength and motor skills they need for confident writing!

We’ve been doing Animal Positions where children move into different positions (bear, penguin, stone lion, lizard, and meerkat) when they hear the bell. This is helping with building strength, body awareness, listening skills, and preparing for fabulous handwriting.

Music and Movement

Our daily singing has been brilliant! We’ve been singing “One Finger, One Finger” with actions, turning our fingers into wiggle worms, rabbits, cats, crocodiles, and butterflies. The children are getting really good at coordinating the actions with the counting and having lots of fun!

PSHCE

We had an important discussion about who can help us at school. We talked about the adults the children know and see in school, looked at different coloured lanyards, and discussed which trusted adults they would feel happy to talk to if they felt unsafe, worried, or upset. We created a class safety circle to Creative Time

Drawing Club

We enjoyed our Drawing Club session where we read “Martha Maps it Out” and learned about exploring and dreaming. The children learned new vocabulary including ‘explore’, ‘dreaming’, ‘universe’, and ‘wondering’, complete with actions to help them remember! We wondered together: “Can you create a big dream map?”

Craft

The children have also been developing their fine motor skills through pipe cleaner crafts. They’ve been learning to roll, curl, bend, cut, and tie pipe cleaners, and even create chains. This craft is wonderful for strengthening those little fingers!

Other Important Notes:

We are incredibly excited about the upcoming nativity. Inside reading book folders you may find lines for your child to practise (if your child has a speaking part in the show). You will be receiving an email with further information to

Please read the email sent regarding PE kits.

Reading folders have been sent home this week, please keep these safe. Inside, you will find guidance on how to use the bookmarks. Please aim to read at least 3x per week with your child as this really helps to secure their phonics knowledge.

Please remember to return your child’s reading books to class every Thursday. This helps us ensure that all children have the opportunity to enjoy a fresh selection of books each week. We kindly ask that all books are returned on time, as families may be charged for any lost or unreturned books. Thank you for your continued support in helping to keep our reading routine running smoothly.

At Home

To support your child’s learning at home, you could:

• Practise singing the nativity songs.
• Practise recognising small quantities (1, 2, and 3) without counting – “How many buttons/toys can you see?”
• Talk about what makes your home and family special
• Practise reading and writing the words from our phonics lessons.
• Practise “One Finger, One Finger”
• Look at the decodable texts together, talk about the pictures and let the little ones teach you how to read!

Thank you for your continued support. The children have had a wonderful week and we’re so proud of how well they’re settling into their learning routines!

Best wishes,

The Reception Team