Welcome Back!
We’ve had another wonderful week in Reception, and our children in Pumpkins, Acorns, and Sunflower classes have been fully immersed in their learning journey with our exciting focus text “Little Red Riding Hood”!
Handwriting
This week we’ve been working on the “Abracadabra Family” of letters. Children have been practicing these letter formations with enthusiasm, developing their fine motor skills and letter recognition. We’ve seen fantastic improvement in their pencil control and confidence with writing!
Phonics
We’ve been busy with our /qu/ phonics unit, focusing on symbol searches and word building activities. The children have been practicing with sounds including /b/, /ng/, /d/, /tch/, /ch/, /y/, /th/, /j/, /qu/, /wh/, /ck/, and /sh/. They’ve been building words like “quit,” “quack,” “quiff,” “quip,” “squid,” “squint,” “quilt,” and “quip.” Our whole class sentence dictation this week was: “I think Quinn will win the quiz” – the children showed excellent listening skills and phonetic knowledge!
English & Story Time
Our magical focus text this week has been “Little Red Riding Hood”! We’ve been exploring this classic tale through various activities, including drawing club-style mapping where children create and label maps of the forest to help Little Red on her journey to Grandma’s house. The children have been developing their comprehension skills by reading questions together and recording their own thoughtful answers. We’ve also been enjoying different versions of the story through CBeebies resources, including the delightful Little Red Riding Hood Ballet!
Maths
This week has been all about reviewing and assessing our counting skills! We’ve been working on the key principles of counting, including one-to-one correspondence, understanding that the last number counted gives us the total, and developing strategies to keep track of what we’ve counted. The children have been practicing with hands-on activities, using small objects like counters, bricks, and pasta to explore quantities. They’ve been learning to arrange objects in ways that make them easy to count and check. We’ve also been working on subitising skills using rekenreks and exploring numbers beyond 20, helping children recognize the patterns in our counting system.
Art
We’ve been introducing new art equipment and developing our creative skills this week. The children are building confidence with different artistic tools and techniques.
Music
Our daily singing has included “Sally Go Round the Sun” and “Who Has A Brother” – these songs help develop rhythm, coordination, and social awareness. The children love starting their day with music!
Traditional Tales Resources
Throughout the week during snack time, we’ve been sharing various Little Red Riding Hood resources including:
- Musical Storyland from CBeebies
- Little Red Riding Hood Ballet
- Colourblocks episode featuring Little Red Riding Hood
These multimedia resources help bring the story to life and support different learning styles.
Mastering Number Maths
We’ve been focusing on counting review and assessment activities, helping children demonstrate their understanding of:
- Counting objects up to 10 with one-to-one correspondence
- Understanding number names and their order
- Recognizing that the last number counted gives the total
- Counting things that can’t be seen (like jumps and claps)
- Learning that quantity stays the same when objects are counted in different orders
- Developing counting strategies and recognizing patterns beyond 20
Speech and Language Resources – A huge thank you to Ms Lucie for all of her help as her sessions come to an end for the year. Please refer to this, and previous blogs for more speech and language resources.
Reminders
PE Days:
- Thursday: Pumpkins
- Friday: Sunflowers & Acorns
Outdoor Learning Days:
- Monday: Sunflowers (PM)
- Friday: Pumpkins (AM) & Acorns (PM)
Weather Preparations: As we continue into summer, please ensure your child has:
- A waterproof coat
- A named water bottle (filled with water only)
- A sun hat
- Sun cream applied before school (and a named bottle in their bag for reapplication if needed)
- A set of spare clothes in their bag
Reception Bake Sale – 27th June
Please don’t forget our Reception Bake Sale on Friday 27th June! We really need your support with donations of homemade or shop-bought cakes. This is a wonderful opportunity to support our Reception classes while enjoying some delicious treats. Every contribution, big or small, makes a real difference. Thank you in advance for your generosity!