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Dear Parents/Carers,
Firstly, we would like to say how impressed we have been with the children since they have started with us. They have all settled into school life amazingly!
Our topic for this first term is ‘Once Upon a Time’. We will be spending time exploring some familiar stories such as ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. Alongside this, we will be working on number recognition and formation. We will also be developing our foundation understanding of letters and sounds.
Our key stories this term are ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’
The boxes below explain briefly the areas we will be looking at and some of the work we will be doing which will be incorporated through play and teacher focused activities.
Home Learning
We encourage children to continue their learning at home which will enhance their progress at school. There will be a meeting on Wednesday 26th September 2.45pm in Oak Class, to discuss home learning, reading and phonics. We have sent a picture book home for you to enjoy together, we will then send home phonic reading books following the meeting.
Phonics – If you are supporting you child with their phonics at home please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ksblMiliA8 to ensure you are teaching the pronunciation of the sounds in the same way. There is also a link to the jolly phonic songs below.
As the year progresses and children’s understanding develops, home learning tasks will adapt and increase appropriately.
| Reading | Please read with your child regularly. At this stage it is really helpful to encourage the children to use the pictures to tell stories. You may like to add a positive or helpful comment in the reading diary but please acknowledge the fact that your child has read by signing and dating in the comments book. As a school, we really encourage children to engage with a range of texts. We are now providing reading record books that will solely be used to record ‘at home reading’. These books allocate a page to each week of the school year. Every week, children who have read 3 or more times will be entered into a raffle at the celebration assembly. In addition, a termly competition will be held within Oak Class with a prize given to the child who has been the most consistent in their reading across the term.
Children’s books are changed regularly and all books and book bags will be needed in school every day for 1:1 reading. More information about our reading strategies will be given at the meeting. |
| Letters & Sounds | Every week the children will bring home the sounds they have been working on during the week. In their home learning book, the children can practice these sounds by writing them, finding words that start with them and cutting pictures out of catalogues.
It would be really useful to support the children in identifying these sounds when reading with them. Also to connect our learning in school with home, could you please find something small from home that starts with one of our sounds, for example P – pirate or S – Snake and bring it into school on Monday (ensuring it is named). This is so we can create a ‘Sound Table’ which the children can use. |
Quick Reminders
- Please can you make sure your child brings in a water bottle and their book bag every day.
- Please do ensure that children always bring a coat, particularly as the British weather is unpredictable.
- Our regular PE day is Thursday but PE kits should be in all week as we fit in other sessions where possible.
Useful websites
- www.phonicsplay.co.uk – Phase 2 – phonics games and activities.
- www.topmarks.co.uk – Early Years maths and phonics games.
- www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/eyfs – Games and activities for all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
We hope you all have a lovely first term supporting the children in their learning and please do not hesitate to come and speak to us if you have any questions.
Thank you for your support.
Miss Dudeney and Ms Eldridge