EYFS - week commencing 18th March, 2024.
EASTER HOLIDAYS - please scroll down to the end of this week's page to find out more about things to do in the Easter holidays. We will also send home the Design & Technology homework sheet and red word spelling sheet this week.
We are really looking forward to our trip to West Lodge Farm Park on Thursday as part of our work in Understanding the World. It is normal drop off and collection times from school.
Please remember to:
*Wear warm and waterproof clothing, as we will be outside for most of the day. Don't forget hats and gloves and to wear wellies! If you do not have wellies, rather than buying some please ask a member of staff on the gate on Monday, as we have a few spare pairs from our mud kitchen that you can borrow, if they fit.
*Bring a clearly labelled lunch. No fizzy drinks or sweets please.
*Please speak to a member of staff if your child suffers from travel sickness before Thursday and send a spare set of clothes to change into if required.
*Once we arrive at the farm, the children will be able to leave their rucksacks containing their lunch in the rooms where they will be eating and do not need to carry them around all day.
Last week, we sent home a note about the Teddy Bears' Picnic on Friday afternoon! It will be the last day with Mrs Knox and Miss Harland and they are having a Teddy Bears' picnic to celebrate!
Please could your child bring in a yummy snack, labelled with their name (this does not have to follow the usual healthy eating policy). But NO NUTS please, due to allergies we are a nut free school.
Also, bring in a teddy to come to the picnic ( labelled with their name, incase of any duplicates). Also, please check that your child has it at home time incase they need it for their bedtime.
In Literacy lessons, we will reading, discussing and writing about the book 'What the Ladybird Heard'. We will be expanding our vocabulary and working hard on adjectives to describe the characters.
Our phonics programme continues this week and the children will revise set 1 sounds and the special friends - sh, ch, th, qu, ng, nk as well as ll, ss, ff, zz and ck. We will also revise set 2 sounds - ay, ee, igh, ow, oo as in 'poo at the zoo,' oo as in 'lookout the book,' ar, or air, ir and ou. Extra to the work in our phonic groups, we will also be learning 'oy' to help us in our writing.
In Mathematics, we will complete week 20 of the NCETM Mastering Number programme, which focuses on composition.
Week 20 NCETM Mastering Number |
This week, the children will use practical contexts to sort objects according to different criteria. They will be encouraged to notice different attributes in groups of objects – such as colour, size or function – and to describe what they notice. Beginning with adult-led sorting activities and games of ‘How am I sorting?’, the children will go on to develop their own criteria for sorting. Sorting and classifying are important early years’ skills that encourage children to identify similarities and differences. These skills also support problem solving and the development of data analysis.
Alongside this, they will continue to practise recalling the composition of numbers as doubles. Then, towards the end of the week, the children will apply their sorting skills to numbers and will investigate ways to sort the Numberblocks. They will use their previous experience of investigating doubles to begin to practically explore even and odd numbers. Within the context of building Numberblocks characters, they will investigate when a number can be composed of 2 equal parts. It is anticipated that the children will quickly identify that even numbers can be composed as doubles, through their experience of seeing numbers composed of 2 equal parts.
The children will have previously investigated similar and different attributes of objects when comparing the numerosity of sets. They will also have investigated doubles through practical arrangements of objects, including their own fingers. Recognising patterns of number builds a deeper understanding of our number system and will support continued exploration and understanding of number fact work in Key Stage 1 and beyond.
As part of our work in Understanding the World, we will be drawing a map of our Spring walk and recording what trees look like in Spring. We will also be exploring what happens to chocolate as we melt it to make chocolate nests!
The school council have also decided to set up an Easter Egg hunt around the playground for EYFS to take part in!
In Expressive Arts and Design, we will be making Easter cards, leaving cards for Mrs Knox and Miss Harland, drawing pictures about our trip and completing observational drawings of plants.
Group 4 will also be doing their 'Show & Tell' linked to our new topic as part of our work developing their speaking and listening skills. This will take place on Wednesday.
Our work in Physical Development involves PE sessions on ball skills and completing work to develop of our gross motor skills through our 'Big Moves' programme, as well as word on developing our fine motor skills using activities from our 'Funky Fingers' station. Please keep practising taking off your own socks and trainers at home and putting them on again - not only we will this us more time doing P.E. but will help you meet the end of year ELG assessment for being able to dress and undress independently. Thank you for all your hard work on this so far - we have seen a huge improvement in levels of independence.
We are also working very hard on our handwriting and are trying to hard to remember that all letters start at the top, except for d and e and also that all our numbers start at the top. Please help us to practise at home in sand, rice, chalking as well as on paper using felt tips.
PE kit should be worn to school on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Don't forget to label everything, especially jumpers/cardigans! Please note that ear-rings need to be removed on these days and left at home. Our hall slot is on Wednesday afternoons, so please ensure you wear warm clothes for outside Physical Development activities such as riding the tricycles and scooters and working on our ball skills on Thursday afternoons.
EASTER HOLIDAY
In school this week, the children will have listened to the story 'Not a box' and discussed designing and then making their own 'Not a Box'. You may listen to Mrs Baldwin reading the story again on the link below.
Your child will come home with a sheet about their Design and Technology 'Not a Box' project. Please can they complete the sheet first with your support and then make their 'NOT A BOX'. They can return the completed sheet with their 'Not a Box' creation to school on Monday 8th April. If their creation is too big to bring, you may bring in a photograph instead. Below is the link to the related story.
We hope you all have a lovely Easter!
It would be really helpful and beneficial to spend just a few minutes each day keeping your child's phonic knowledge and red words ticking over during the holidays. You could re-watch any RWINc videos and keep practising your set 1 and 2 sounds. Reading and writing 3/4/5 letter words will be really useful - remember to hold up the correct number of 'Fred Fingers' to match the word (your grown up will help you with this) and to pinch each sound. Practising reading 'red' words will really help too and you could have a go at spelling them, using look/cover/write/check. Please see the example sheet on spelling sent home.
Other fun ideas:
* Can you make an Easter Bonnet? Use all your wonderful joining skills and creativity, that you normally use in school in our Creation Station!
* Make some Easter eggs out of scrunched up paper or play dough or anything else! Hide them around your garden or house for an Easter Egg Hunt for your grown ups! Can you write clues to help them find the eggs? Use your sound mat (given out at the Autumn term parent's evening) to help with your writing. Have fun!
* Make your own paper Easter eggs. Practice cutting skills with different lines/shapes to cut over. When you have 2 halves you could use them to match capital and lower case letters or work on alphabetical ordering. Or you could use them as a number bonds matching game.
Please click on the phonics powerpoint below if you have not already watched it. If you need any further guidance, please arrange to meet with your child's class teacher.
For those who couldn't make the open evening, we have sent home some information packs and attached the powerpoint. If you have any questions, please just come and see us.
EASTER HOLIDAY!
It would be really helpful and beneficial to spend just a few minutes each day keeping your child's phonic knowledge and red words ticking over during the holidays. Also your child will come home with a sheet about their Design and Technology 'Not a Box' project and a sheet to complete. They may bring their 'Not a Box' to school with them on Monday 17th April. If their creation is too big to bring, you may bring in a photograph instead. Below is the link to the related story.
We hope you all have a lovely Easter!
Please click on the sunflower icon for our Summer term overview.