Dear parent / guardian,
We hope you have had a lovely summer and we would like to wish you a very warm welcome to Nursery & Reception. My name is Mr. Roberts and I will be teaching your children this year. We are very fortunate to have the wonderful Mrs Davies, Mrs Hughes and Mrs Roberts, supporting the children in class, and we are all very much looking forward to a successful year ahead. Below and overleaf, we have outlined what we will be covering as part of this topic.
Topic
Our topic for this half term is “Inside Out!”. Throughout this topic we will be thinking about ourselves, considering some of our similarities and some of our differences that make us unique. Children will be engaged in activities related to understanding change i.e. starting school, different emotions etc. We will be using books to look at different aspects of Understanding the World. We will be using ‘Elmer’ , ‘The Colour Monster’ and ‘It’s okay to be different’ to think about things that make us special. We will also use the story ‘Once There Were Giants’ to create timelines of how children have grown and developed since they were babies. We will provide opportunities for children to look at different family members and the impact they have had in children’s lives. We will also be talking about different occupations people in our environment may have. The children will be engaged in activities related to seasonal change as we move into Autumn, making the most of our outdoor learning environment.
Literacy
The children will have daily opportunities to develop their skills in early reading and writing. Children will begin to link sounds to letters and will start to explore their own phonics knowledge within their environment. In Phonic sessions children will be taught Phase 1 & 2 phonemes and graphemes. Children will start to sound the letters of the alphabet through daily phonics teaching and will begin to form recognisable letters by practising anti-clockwise and up and-down movements when mark making, using a variety of equipment. At this stage, reading and writing links heavily to Communication and Language and the formation of sentences. Later in the term, weekly reading books will be sent home to encourage a love of books and stories and create a link between home and school. Children will be learning to read and write their own name as well as simple CVC words e.g. cat, dog.
Mathematics
Children will be using a variety of mathematical skills during the term. We will be looking at early number work within 10 and comparing and ordering objects and sets. Children will be recognising, describing, copying and extending patterns using colour and size. We will be counting, recognising, estimating and ordering numbers within 10. As children gain a deeper understating of the conservation of numbers within 20, we will begin to explore addition and subtraction and how numbers can be used. We will also be looking at ordering, comparing and discussing capacity, weight and length. Children will also explore and describe 3D shapes and position
Expressive Arts and Design
Children will develop their creativity through art, music and role-play. In art they will explore colour, colour mixing and use materials such as paints, chalks and pencils. Children will engage in collage and junk modelling activities applying their own creative ideas to construct models. In music, the children will sing familiar songs and rhymes as well as learning lots of new ones. They will experience playing a range of percussion instruments through independent learning and specific music sessions. This term children will sing and perform collectively during our Christmas celebrations. Children will engage in fun and stimulating role-play both in class and in the outdoor environment. This will create the opportunity to assume roles, create dialogues and use gesture and expression.
Notices and Reminders
Children have a daily snack time as part of our healthy schools programme and are welcome to bring in a piece of fruit each day to eat alongside their free milk. Children also each have their own water bottle in class with free access to this during the day. Please also ensure any medical details and allergies are kept up to date in school as we regularly do cooking.
Furthermore, we ask that children come into school prepared for daily outdoor learning activities by wearing their active uniform and a cosy, waterproof coat. The active uniform is also essential for P.E. which is on a Friday along with our Forest school session on a Friday afternoon. Please ensure that clothing is appropriate for the winter months as outdoor learning will be taking place daily throughout the year come rain, wind or shine (within reason). Coats must be warm and waterproof.
During the second term your child will bring home a reading book for you to share with them. This will be a text-less book with pictures for your child to discuss with you, your child should be encouraged to retell the story by looking at the pictures and explaining what they see, this will soon develop into first word books in which children are encouraged to use their knowledge of letter sounds to read words. Please do try to read with your child for a short time every day, discuss the story with them, talk about the pictures, ask them to predict what will happen next or why they think something has happened. The reading book will come home on a Friday and will be replaced once read. Books will not be sent home without a suitable bag to keep them safe and they will only be renewed once the old book has been returned to school. Any damaged/ lost books will need to be replaced by parents/ guardians at a cost of £5. Please make sure that your child has their book bag/ book on a Friday.
Please can we remind you to put your child’s name in all items of their uniform, including shoes and coats. It is inevitable that the children will take items of their uniform off for dressing up, painting or in the hot weather. Names will help to avoid items of clothing from getting lost. Although we will always monitor clothing and do our best to keep track, it is the children’s responsibility to look after their clothing and ensure jumpers/ coats are kept on pegs when taken off. Please can I also ask that children come in with spare clothing, underwear/ socks/ trousers/ leggings/ shoes, in case of any accidents, if they do not have clothing with them we may need to phone home for spares to be brought in. If your child is given any clothing to change into from school, please ensure this is brought back clean as soon as possible. If your child is still in nappies, please ensure they have a bag with nappies and wipes. All children will be encouraged to use the toilets regularly.
We ask that you’re patient with us at home times and wait for your child to be called to the door by a member of staff to ensure the safety of pupils. Children must be collected from the class door by an adult. If your child is to be collected by somebody different, please let us know.
Thank you for your continued support!
Kind regards,
Mr Roberts (Class teacher, Dosbarth Seren)