Reception - Ash and Oak
Welcome to Ash and Oak Class!
September 2021
Welcome to our Early Years page
We hope that you will find this page useful. It will have topic curriculum information, website links and presentation notes in addition to our Tapestry page where we will be sharing our weekly news.
Reminders
Please remember that long hair must be tied back at all times and elaborate hair accessories must not be worn.
ALL items of clothing must be clearly named. Unnamed items are stored for a short period. Please also ensure that your child has not brought home any items of clothing that do not belong to them.
Please ensure snack and cooking money is paid up to date via ParentPay.
Once your child turns 5 they will stop receiving free milk the Monday of the week of their birthday. You will need to sign up to the Cool Milk scheme in advance of this if you would like them to continue having milk.
This Term's Learning
This term our learning is based around the theme of Not All Superhero's Wear Capes! We begin by looking at our favourite superhero's and move on to looking at the everyday people who do a great job of looking after people! We hope to have visits from some members of our local community.
Please find our topic web below.
PE
PE kit should be a plain white t shirt and navy or black shorts plus a navy or black tracksuit as the weather gets colder. Outdoor trainers are also needed. PE is on a Tuesday morning for both classes. Children must come to school in their PE kit. Children will not be permitted to take part if the correct clothing/footwear is not worn. If you need any assistance please speak to a member of the team.
Week Ending Friday 20th May
We have had another lovely week at school learning about the life cycle of a butterfly.
The children have been busy looking at patterns of a butterfly and learning about symmetry. They then had a go at making their own symmetrical butterfly.
The children are working so hard using their phonics to write independently about caterpillars and butterflies during their busy learning. We had a diamond challenge this week and they had to put the life cycle in the correct order and then write about it.
The children are VERY excited about the changes happening to the caterpillars and they are now in their cocoons. We just have to wait a bit longer for them to turn into butterflies and then set them free!🦋 The children have also enjoyed trying food from the hungry caterpillar story and enjoyed trying new foods.
We have had lots of children getting their bronze star however Mr Down’s order hasn’t arrived yet so they have to wait a little bit longer to show you their star! We are so proud of the children’s hard work and achieving their bronze star!
Reminders
On Wednesday the children will be showcasing their learning to you in our class assembly. Please join us in the small hall at 9am.
Next week our busy learning will be themed around the Queen’s jubilee and then Friday having a special afternoon tea party. On Friday the children can come into school dressed in red, white or blue.
If you have not paid your snack money can you please check that you do not owe any so we can continue to offer a variety of snack and cooking.
Please remember to send in a named water bottle, hat and coat each day.
Little Wandle Homework Support
Week Ending 6th May 2022
Even though it has been a shorter week we have been super busy in Early Years.
Unfortunately, we have a number of children and staff absent with Covid, Chickenpox or sickness, so please do be vigilant about looking for symptoms and ensure that you adhere to the exclusion periods.
This week we have continued our learning on Jasper's Beanstalk. The children have been learning to retell the story using actions, and then have made their own story maps by putting the pictures in the correct sequence.
In maths we have been looking at matching and rotating 2D shapes, pictures and models.
We have continued with our second week of reading practise and the books are now available online for the children to show off to you. The children have also brought home this weeks phonics practise sheet.
We have enjoyed the sunshine outside over the last two days. Could you please ensure that sunhats are sent to school each day.
Best wishes,
The EYFS Team
Week Ending Friday 25th February 2022
Our topic this term is called ‘Not all superhero’s wear capes’
We started our learning this week by sharing our half term news but on Tuesday the classroom changed and the children were very excited to find out what was happening!
The children have been super learners and engaged with all the new activities. Some of the busy learning activities they have taken part in are:
*Making a superhero headquarters
*Drawing pictures and writing a sentence of their favourite superhero
*Using tweezers to free wiggly worms
*Used tools to take apart different electrical items
*Sorting different foods to keep superhero’s fit and strong
*Explored different materials and which are magnetic or not
*Making superhero masks
*Exploring Numicon to match to the Superhero City
Next week we will be focusing on Superhero Powers and in Maths we will be counting back from 10, comparing numbers within 10 and building 10.
REMINDERS!
Please ensure you have paid your snack money up to date.
Please ensure all clothing is named and that spare clothes bags are kept full up.
Have a great weekend,
The EYFS Team
Week Ending Friday 11th February 2022
We’ve made it to the end of term in just about one piece! Lots of tummy bugs and coughs and colds about so please ensure your children take some time to rest over the next few days.
It’s been another fantastic week in school. We have marked the end of our Winter Adventure topic learning all about different polar animals, and learning which ones live in the Arctic or Antarctic. We have read some non fiction books, made animals from junk modelling, puzzles and puppets! We had a sensory tray of fake snow and ice, and took turns playing a penguin game.
As a whole school we have been focussing on mental health this week. We have discussed different feelings we sometimes have and how we can overcome them. A group of children made a really special Cheer Up Box today. They thought about all of the things we have access to to cheer us up when we’re feeling a bit down. George used it at lunchtime as he was feeling a bit sad and it cheered him up straight away! We have also thought about things that we have been trying really hard to get better at, as the theme this year is Growing Together.
Our visits to Costa have been great fun, and the children have been a really good representation of Bushmead School out in the community.
Today we thought about Valentine’s Day and made some lovely pictures, cards and bracelets for those we love.
In phonics this half term we have finished all of the Phase 2 phonemes, and started Phase 3 learning j v w y x z zz qu and ch. In Maths this week we have been focussing on measure, looking at height and length and the days of the week.
We say a very sad goodbye to Mason today as he moves out of the area with his family. He has given out some sweets as a gift. We wish him and his family lots of happiness in his new home and school.
Have a fantastic half term holiday.
The EYFS Team.
Week Ending Friday 28th January 2022
What a fantastic start to our week going to Beatty Woods! The children enjoyed exploring the space, collecting natural objects, building dens and especially the hot chocolate to warm up.
We have had lots of fun with our busy learning all about Percy the Park keeper and the story 'One Snowy Night'.
We have made:
-animals masks
-created woodland habitats
-painted pictures
-made hedgehogs from playdough
-built new beds for Percy
-wrote our own Percy books
-used lego to make Percy's hut
Please ensure that you have paid up to date with your snack and cooking money.
Could we please ask once again that you all check your children's hair for headlice this weekend and treat appropriately. We have cases in class at the moment.
Next week we will be stepping away from our 'Winter Adventures' topic and we will be celebrating Chinese New Year.
Have a fantastic weekend!
The EYFS Team.
Week Ending 21st January 2022
BBBrrrrrrrr! It's been super cold in the unit this week with a visit from a penguin all the way from the South Pole! We discovered him on Monday morning and have spent the week trying to work out why and how he came here. We read the story Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers and decided that it could be the penguin from the story. We decided to make some posters with describing sentences on for our writing challenge this week. We made some penguin friends using paper and card, sparkly fish for the penguin to eat and used junk to build boats to help him get back to the South Pole. We then tested the boats to check that they would float on the water. We painted pictures of penguins by looking at photographs, and learnt some very interesting facts by watching Andi on CBeebies. We have explored ice and experimented to find ways to spped up the melting process to try and free the penguins!
In Maths we have been learning all about measuring. We have used balance scales to compare objects and used the language heavy/light, heavier/lighter and heaviest/lightest. We then learnt about capacity and filled and emptied a range of different containers, and even measured by counting how many objects we could fit into a tiny box!
Don't forget that we are walking to Beatty Woods on Monday morning so please wear lots of layers! We can always remove them once back at school but the children will be miserable if they are cold whilst we are out.
Please ensure that you have paid up to date with your snack and cooking money.
Could we please ask once again that you all check your children's hair for headlice this weekend and treat appropriately. We have cases in class at the moment.
Have a fantastic weekend!
The EYFS Team.
Week Ending Friday 14th January 2022
Winter has arrived in Early Years! We had a magical start to the week with Princess Elsa visiting us. She had used her magic to turn the cloakroom into a frozen room-with icicles and snow!
After Elsa had left the building we shared and discussed our current knowledge of Winter. The children said things such as "It's cold", "It might snow!" and "The leaves have all gone."
Our activities this week have included; mixing powder paint to create snowy pictures, folding and cutting paper to make snowflakes, writing sentences to describe a wintry picture, sorting clothes suitable for a winter adventure, looking for signs of winter outside, tidying our courtyard area and setting up our role play area into a Winter Clothes Shop and Cafe.
In maths this week we have been looking at the compositions of numbers up to five. The children have learnt that numbers can be made of groups of smaller numbers. We have also been practising the skill of 'subitizing'. This is being able to recognise shapes and patterns of quantities and being able to say how many there are without counting, for example dice shape patterns. Moving on from this we looked at different shaped patterns of numbers up to 5 and asked the children "What do you see and how do you see it?" We also challenged the children the work out how many objects were missing from a quantity when we could only see some of them.
In phonics we have been focusing on blending and segmenting with the phonemes we already know. We have also looked at the difference between fiction and non fiction books about winter.
It's been a fabulous start to our new topic and some of the children have really taken our new Diamond Challenges on board to earn themselves a move up the Diamond. Diamond Challenges are activities that we set and ask the children to complete independently, to a high standard.
On Friday afternoon we will be enjoying a hot chocolate with marshmallows and a Winter movie for Diamond Time.
A few reminders please:
-There have been cases of headlice reported, please take the time this weekend to check your child's hair and treat as necessary. Most treatments require a repeat procedure 7-10 days after the first. Could we please also remind you that long hair must be tied up with a simple band.
-Please ensure that all clothing is named, and that children are in correct school uniform daily. An extra layer (does not have to be uniform colour) is acceptable due to the ventilation of the classrooms, but not instead of a school uniform jumper or cardigan. Please send a warm, waterproof coat and hat, and gloves and a scarf if necessary.
-On Tuesday and Wednesday PE kit must be worn to school. This must consist of navy or black joggers, a white t shirt and a navy or black zip up top/jumper and trainers. Earrings must be removed or covered with tape. Children not in the correct clothing for PE will not be able to take part in lessons.
Week Ending Friday 7th January 2022
What a busy first week back we have had in Early Years! We started the week with each child telling us about what they got up to over the Christmas holidays. We have been thinking carefully about how to be a good speaker by talking in a loud, clear voice and using sentences rather than words or short phrases to answer questions. We then used this discussion as a basis for our writing task for the week. The children drew a picture of their favourite present, or something exciting they did over the break and then had a go at writing a sentence to match. We have been impressed with how many children have clearly been practising with their name writing and keeping up with phonics over the break - this really was demonstrated in some of the writing.
In maths we have looked at 'less than' and 'zero', and representing quantities on our fingers and in a five frame.
This week we also had a big push going over our Diamond Behaviour and expectations. We introduced the children to their THRIVE booklets; which are a little different to the rest of the school but allow the children to begin collecting stamps towards their bronze, silver and gold award badges. On the front of the booklet we had to think about what we aspire to be when we grow up. One of our stories this week was Only One You, by Linda Kranz, and discussed how unique we each are.
We had our first session with the PE teacher from the Hunts Schools Sports Partnership, which was great fun.
Today some of us made toast with Miss Woodward, and this afternoon Teddy came in and showed us some of his tricks and we took him for a walk.
Have a fantastic weekend,
They EYFS Team.
Phonics Week 5 & 6 h b f ff l and Tricky Words
Over the past two weeks we have been doing a lot of consolidation and blending to read words with our known phonemes.
We have learnt a few new ones, and also the Tricky Words for Phase 2 I no go the to
At home you can make flashcards of these words and hide them around your house and ask your child to go and find 'I' etc. We have two more digraphs ll & ss to learn next week, then we have completed Phase 2.
h. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdam3qJw8R4
b. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJHbHyL8BU8
f. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LamLc8JKixo
ff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfCiPJoWtcQ
l. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EAf5pYDM2k
Tricky Words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3sRvpHx1Q
Week Ending Friday 3rd December 2021
This week began with a lovely trip to St Mary's Church, where the children enjoyed a picnic lunch and listened to the Christmas Story told by Mr Robb. This was such a fabulous way to begin our learning about the celebration of Christmas.
This led to the children drawing their own nativity pictures on Tuesday and learning how to write simple words by putting learnt phonemes together.
This week in maths we have been learning about circles and triangles. We discussed their properties and went on hunts to identify them in the world around us.
The children have enjoyed a wool winding activity and we used this technique to create decorations which we have hung on our school Christmas garlands and Christmas trees.
We have been busy practising our songs for our Nativity play and today the children had their first practise on the stage.
Today has been Christmas decoration day! Mr Down set Bushmead the challenge of getting the school ready for Christmas in one day!!!!!!
We made sparkly paper chains, decorated Christmas trees, made presents using collage and sparkly stars.
The Magic of Christmas is now shining through Bushmead!!!!!!!!!!
Have a fantastic weekend.
The Early Years Team
Reminders -
If you have been asked to provide some costume bits for your child please can this be in school by Wednesday in a named carrier bag.
Please remember all items of school uniform must be named including hats and gloves. Currently we have lots of bits which have no names in.
It is essential that your child brings a named water bottle to school daily. We stop regularly for water breaks.
Please make sure all long hair is tied up and children do not have nail polish on their nails.
Could you please practise with you child putting on their own coat, hat and gloves until they can do this independently.
There is no PE on Tuesday please make sure your child comes in full uniform to attend the panto.
Week Ending Friday 27th November 2021
It's been a week of party preparation and celebrations this week in Early Years!
On Monday we discussed the children's own experiences of birthdays and discovered that there were some very special birthdays happening this week. Not only were Max and George turning five this week - but also Hector the Hedgehog was turning five and Mrs Howitt (who was not turning 5!) so we decided we needed to plan a big birthday party.
The adults modelled how to write a shopping list so that we could go shopping on Thursday evening. The children then all had a turn throughout the week at writing their own list, and we were really amazed at how well the children are beginning to apply their phonic skills for writing! We decorated the home corner ready for a party and practiced our joining skills using glue, tape and staplers to make paper chains. We also made birthday cards and wrapped presents.
On Tuesday we read the story Kipper's Birthday by Mick Inkpen and discovered the mistake Kipper had made when he made his party invitations. We then discussed the information we would need to put on our invitations for Fridays party. We made party hats, invitations and painted pictures of our best birthday present. In maths we have been exploring the composition of 1,2 and 3, and learning that these numbers can be made up of smaller numbers, e.g 3 = 1 + 2 etc.
On Thursday we presented Mrs Howitt with her birthday gifts and some beautiful cakes made by Miss Woodward. However we ran out of time to eat them so Mrs Howitt promised to share them with us on Friday. However, when we arrived at school on Friday morning we discovered the cakes had disappeared!!! An investigation began to find the cake thief! We made posters, traps, looked for clues and interviewed staff. Unfortunately we didn't find the cake thief in time for the party but Mrs Howitt (who cried on the phone when we told her her cakes had gone!) picked up some more from the shop on her way onto school so the party went ahead as planned. We played games and enjoyed the cakes, and then SHOCK HORROR Miss Crawford from Year One came down to own up to taking the cakes. She had been working late on Thursday evening and came down to borrow some books and saw the cakes on the table. She couldn't help herself (as she loves cake) and was very hungry so ate them all! She was very sorry and Mrs Howitt forgave her as she owned her own behaviour and the children invited her to stay and share their new cakes.
A fabulous time was had by all after a very busy week!
Don't forget to log on to ParentPay to give your permission for the children to visit the Church on Monday, and send them in with a warm coat and a packed lunch.
Enjoy the Christmas Light switch on today and don't forget to come out and see us helping out Santa in Ackerman Street, Simpkin Close, Wilkinson Close and Monarch Road!
Phonics Week 4 ck e u r
This week we taught the children some new terminology ~ digraph. A digraph is a single phoneme which is represented by two letters, so two letters that make one sound! Ask the children if they can show you the action for a digraph.
Here are this weeks phonics videos.
ck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUEJBT3clkk
e.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2nODJQpI-E
Week Ending Friday 19th November 2021
We had two themes running alongside each other this week, so we have been super busy!
We started the week with our whole school theme of Kindness, in line with National Anti Bullying Week. On Monday we all wore odd socks to school and discussed how we are all unique and it’s ok to be different. We thought about how our words can make people feel and had a go at sharing some kinds words to each other; such as “You are a good friend,” “I like your hair,” and “Your dress it pretty!” We then went on to make kindness cards and friendship bracelets. At the end of each day we read a different story with the theme of kindness.
Our second theme for the week was Road Safety. We discussed the dangers of being near the road and how we can keep ourselves safe. We also discussed how it is now getting much darker earlier in the evening and how important it is to Be Bright to Be Seen! We had a story from Supercat and learned a special rap to remind us to Stop Look Listen and Think when crossing the road. We out this into practice on Thursday and Mrs Preston and Miss Barrows were extremely impressed with how well the children had listened and could safely cross the road. We did tell the children that they should not cross the road by themselves though until they are older, and we were practicing so that next time they were with you they could check that you were doing it correctly!
Other activists have included dressing the teddy’s with bright and reflective clothing and testing this out with torches in the dark tent and colour mixing yellow, red and blue paints to create the colours needed for traffic lights.
In Maths we have been comparing quantities of 1, 2 and 3 and using the language of more than, greater than, fewer and less than, and also recognising when two quantities were the same.
On Friday we finished the week by listening to the Christmas Story so that we had an understanding for our Nativity performance. We listened to the songs and then held auditions for the casting! We now only have a few weeks to rehearse ~ the costumes have been dug out of the cupboard and will be washed and spruced up ready to wear.
Next week our learning moves onto the theme of celebrating Birthdays, and in Maths we will be looking at the composition of numbers 1,2 and 3; so learning that quantities can be made up of sets of smaller quantities.
Have a lovely weekend!
The EYFS Team
Phonics Week 3 d g o c k
This weeks Phonics gave the opportunity for lots more phoneme isolation at the beginning of words (initial phoneme) and word reading by blending phonemes together.
A further challenge on Friday when we discovered that the ‘c’ phoneme can be represented by two separate graphemes!
Here are the links to this weeks letters;
d. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXrqQVhQaI
g. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=owyx6PYJRSQ
o. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jTU4k6Bk8Iw
c. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jutOhAq3rhM
k. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HmU-ESvMHkQ
Don’t forget to post to your own child’s journal with any phonics activities you do at home!
Week Ending Friday 12th November 2021
This week in Eyfs we recapped on previous celebrations we had been learning about.
Monday saw us talking about all the fireworks experiences the children had had over the weekend. They were very excited to share what they had been up to.
Tuesday saw us introducing Armistice/Remembrance day to the children.
We talked about it’s importance and how we remember the many people how have lost their lives to ensure we have the lives we live today.
We talked a lot about a true local hero who is close to hearts, Alex Guy.
Alex was a pupil at Bushmead Primary School and his mother was a well respected teacher at Bushmead for many years.
Sadly Alex lost his life in 2012 he would have been the same age as Mrs Howitt.
We talked to the children about Alex’s special bench which is in school to help us remember him.
The children worked with Miss Curtis to make the memorial even more special for Alex.
The children also spent time creating poppies using finger prints and paint, and large poppies using scrunched up tissue paper.
For writing this week we have been looking at how children are accessing writing during busy learning. Are they visiting the writing table, are they making labels for their models are they writing all the letters in their name?????
This week also saw the start to our new writing initiative! The children loved using their new pencil cases to write and draw during their morning work.
Next week sees us learning about Road Safety and Friendships, being kind.
Please remember to hand in your road safety slips by Wednesday in preparation for our walks on Thursday.
Have a great weekend!
The EYFS Team
Phonics Week 2 i n m
Lots of sorting objects this week and grouping those that start with the same phoneme together.
‘i’ is a tricky one as there are not many objects lying around the classroom beginning with that phoneme~so we had to print out some pictures. We have been able to use the phoneme within a number of vc and cvc words though, so have a go at this at home.
Here are the links to this weeks videos ;
i https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=53kkEi-SObg n https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=89nqlJAkKUw m https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B63Su5Z8rfE
So now we know 7 phonemes! s a t p i n m
How many 2 and 3 phoneme words can you make this weekend for your child to blend and read?
Can we please remind you that when you are practicing saying the phonemes at home you say the pure sound, and don’t add an ‘uh’ sound onto the the end. Please watch the following video for a reminder of how to say the sounds in their pure form. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UCI2mu7URBc
And finally, if you are practicing writing the letters, please refer to the Penpals Letter Patter document (in the documents section accessed via the website on your browser, not the Tapestry app) which shows how we form each letter at Bushmead using our Handwriting Scheme Penpals.
Week Ending Friday 5th November 2021
What a lovely, busy first week back we have had with the children. The week began with hearing all about the lovely things the children had been up to in the half term break. We used this as a stimulus for our guided writing activity.
This week has seen us beginning our phonics learning, phonics is the key to us being able to read and write. Mrs Preston has done a separate post with information about what the children have learnt and how you can follow this up and consolidate at the weekend.
During the week the children have been learning about Diwali and Bonfire night. They have engaged in many different fun, creative and practical activities to help develop their understanding of these celebrations.
The children have made diva lamps, listened to the story of Rama and Sita and have found out how Diwali is celebrated.
Over the last few day the children learnt about fire safety and made s’mores with Miss Barrows, created firework art with Mrs Preston by splatter painting, created rockets with Miss Woodward where the children learnt about different ways of joining materials together. On our guided writing groups the children wrote and drew about their half term adventures and in maths we looked at different ways of sorting objects and identified the sorting rule that had been used.
Today Teddy was in school with us and we took him for an Autumn walk wearing our wellies.
Please can we asked that all shoes are named and that you practice with you child how to put their coat on.
We hope you have a lovely sparkly weekend!
Best wishes
The EYFS Team
Phonics Phase 2 Week 1 s a t p
This week we have started our Phase Two Phonics teaching sessions. These sessions are whole class, and last about 20 minutes. The sessions follow a set teaching structure : Revisiting previous learnt phonemes (sounds) or tricky words, Teaching a new phoneme or tricky word, Practicing the new phoneme or tricky word and finally Applying the new phoneme or tricky word in reading or writing. The sessions include a mixture of songs, rhymes and games. We do model how to write each new letter (graphemes) and the children will have a go at forming the letter in the air, on the carpet or on the interactive boards but this is not a focus at Phase 2.
Here are the links for the Twinkl videos for the phonemes we have learnt this week, for you to watch with your child if you wish to.
And here is a challenge for the adults! This week we have introduced the children to just 4 phonemes. How many words do you think your children can now read by blending combinations of these four phonemes together? Write the letters on separate pieces of paper ( or use flash cards / magnetic letters if you have them) and make words for your child to read. They should say each phoneme as they touch the letter and repeat until they can blend the whole word. Upload a video to share their success at becoming a reader! You could also make collections of objects beginning with each phoneme and play a sorting game.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bDDJUo9qcfE
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7tI2yMTBNW8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XrWIsqBveY0
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IadfkeU8KB0
If you haven’t watched it yet, please watch our short presentation on how we teach Phonics and Reading at Bushmead. https://youtu.be/rW4Rw6WrObs
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate in coming to ask your child’s class teacher.
Week Ending Friday 22nd October 2021
If your children are as tired as we feel then I'm sure you are all as glad as we are for a week of not having to get up (for those of you lucky enough to be on half term holiday too!). They have had a fantastic first half term in school!
We have had a fantastic week of spooky busy learning at school this week. We kicked off the week by reminding ourselves about signs of Autumn and then discussed Halloween, and learnt that many years ago it was a celebration of the end of Harvest time. We then enjoyed the Julia Donaldson story Room on the Broom and practised rhyming words. We have learnt how to mix powder paint to create orange to paint pictures of pumpkins and demonstrated our scissor and joining skills to make paper pumpkins. Towards the end of the week we made spiders and spider webs. We finished off our week with a Spooky Party and made hats, decorations and iced cakes! We also had a visit from Teddy on Thursday afternoon and Mrs Preston helped some children to give him a command and reward.
After the half term holiday our new topic will be Sparkly Celebrations. We have lots of great busy learning activities planned including a visit to the church to kick off Christmas and of course the all important practising songs for our Nativity performance. PE will now begin on Tuesday’s and so your children will need to come into school in their PE kit. Please also ensure that long hair is tied up and earrings are removed.
Please also remember that once your child turns five years old they will not receive milk unless you have signed up to the Cool Milk scheme. Please also ensure that you have paid for your snack and cooking money via ParentPay.
We will not be asking you to send in paper menu choices after the break. Instead we would like you to look at the choices at home with your child and then we will ask the children during registration for their choice. Please refer to the new menu which was emailed out to you last week.
As the weather is turning much colder but we are still ventilating rooms with doors and windows open, please think about adding extra layers to uniform, such as long sleeved vests/thermal layers, trousers or tights and a dark coloured zip up hoodie or fleece which can be put on if needed. Can we also ask that you continue to vigilante with noticing new coughs or high temperatures and consider lateral flowing if in any doubt. Please also ensure that warm coats are in school every day, and any hats,scarves or gloves are named.
May we take this opportunity to thank you for your support in what has been a tricky one once again due to Covid and staff shortages across the school.
Have a great half term, don’t forget to post in your child’s journal if you do something lovely during the week.
The EYFS Team.
Week Ending Friday 15th October 2021
This week our learning has focussed on the traditional tale The Little Red Hen. We started the week by reading the story to the children, followed by introducing them to actions to match the words when retelling the story. We then modelled drawing a story map with pictures. We used this to retell the story along with the actions we had learned. Ask your child to retell the story. Isla and Zara drew their own story maps and we all drew our own pictures and had a go at labelling them.
The children have also been busy breaking bread! In small groups they helped Miss Woodward to measure out and add the ingredients, then with their own piece of dough, kneaded it and put it in their bread cases. The unit has had a lovely smell of fresh bread this week!
Continuing our Autumn theme we have been on Autumn Treasure Hunts, painted with sticks, made conker comets and leaf rubbings.
PE will start after the half term holiday.
Please ensure you sign up for a Parents Evening slot via the online booking system.
If your child has turned 5 and you still want them to receive milk you will need to sign up via the Cool Milk scheme.
Please remember to send book folders into school every day. Book changes are Monday and Thursday.
We would love some more ‘Family Portraits’ to hang up in our home corner. Please send in a picture for us to display.
Mrs Howitt is still unwell and will not be returning to work next week. We wish her a restful couple of weeks and look forward to seeing her back after the half term holiday.
Week Ending Friday 8th October 2021
Another busy week in Early Years!
This week our learning has focussed on the Harvest Festival and Autumn.
We took part in our first Harvest Assembly with Mr Robb from St Mary’s Church Eaton Socon. We learned about where our food comes from and gave thanks to God.
Alongside our baseline activities, the children have been cooking popcorn to make bird feeders, mixing primary colours to match to the colours of leaves and printing them and making toast. The children have also been on a listening walk.
We had a wonderful morning out on the school field. We read the story Leaf Man. The children collected leaves to make a leaf crown and used their gross motor skills to move the giant logs to make a campfire.
We finished our week with Treat Friday~ biscuits and a movie.
A few reminders~
If your child has an ongoing persistent cough please consider doing a lateral flow test on them. We do have children reporting positive cases of Covid within the unit and unfortunately Mrs Howitt is currently isolating at home and will not return until a week Monday (providing she is well enough). We are running on a reduced number of staff across the whole school at the moment, but we endeavour to still provide the best learning opportunities where possible, and we continue to hand wash regularly and clean surfaces during breaks throughout the day. We will also be encouraging children to do their busy learning outside as much as possible.
Please watch the Phonics and Reading video which takes the place of our in school workshop.
Have a lovely weekend,
The EYFS Team
Week Ending Friday 1st October 2021
The children have had a settled and engaging week. We have had lots of fun making bubbles using brooms and washing up liquid outside, bubble science experiments using cooking oil, water and food colouring, bubble painting, bubble trucks and much more. They have also helped to keep the playground clear of the ever falling conkers by collecting them and sweeping up the shells.
On Thursday the children took part in their first Lower Phase Birthday assembly. These will take place weekly and children will be presented with a birthday card to celebrate.
Today the children came home with their first reading book, story and reading diary. As discussed at our stay and play sessions please read your story book to your child and encourage them to tell you a story using their wordless book.
When any form of reading is done at home please ensure there is a note made in the reading diary.
Finally we had a very important visitor in school today, Tedddddddyyyyyy. We are sure your children would have told you all about it! Teddy is our school dog who lives with the Preston family. He will be spending more and more time in school as the year progresses.
For next week we would love some family pictures from home to talk about with the children and any photos of you reading together.
Next week we will be learning all about Harvest; see if your child can sing our harvest song to you! On Thursday we will be hosting a reading and phonics meeting for parents at 2pm. The venue will be confirmed at the beginning of next week. Don’t forget to send your menu choices in for next week- we will be on Week 2. Please ensure they are named
Week Ending Friday 24th September 2021
WOW! What a busy first whole week of full time school! The children have again been amazing at coming into the unit independently, putting their things away, washing their hands and then settling to an activity.
This week the children have enjoyed using the large loose parts outdoors and role playing a busy restaurant in the mud kitchen as we've had some lovely weather. Inside the adults have been modelling how to use the resources in our different areas of the unit, getting into the play alongside the children and having conversations to help us build up a picture of their likes and dislikes in their play. Today we went for a walk onto the main school field, practising walking in pairs and staying in the line.
We also introduced the children to our class rules and the school behaviour Diamond. We talked about what makes our classroom a safe and happy place to be and learn, and the rewards and consequences for the behaviour choices we make. Attached is a presentation with more details about this. Please note that we have not yet started Diamond Time on a Friday afternoon, this will happen after half term, as will the THRIVE booklets.
You may have noticed a number of different adults working with the children this week. On a Tuesday morning, Mr Beavis comes to work with the children for PE. Currently, he is getting to know the children and we are carrying out our Physical Development baseline assessments through observations. Once this is complete we will begin formal teaching of PE. Tuesday afternoon, Mr Down and Mr Ward teach the children whilst Mrs Howitt and Mrs Preston are out of the classroom for their PPA time. This is the time which each class teacher is legally entitled to to plan, prepare and assess for the children. On a Wednesday Mrs Perry is Ash class teacher, and on a Thursday morning Mr Ward is Ash class teacher whilst Mrs Howitt has her leadership release time.
Please remember to return your child's menu choices Monday morning, and to send in book bags and water bottles each day.
Have a fantastic weekend, and as always please come forward with any queries either at drop off or via email to the school office.
The EYFS Team.
Week Ending Friday 17th September 2021
What a fantastic week we have had this week! The children have settled so well; they are learning some of our routines, the adults names and each other’s names. They are really great at tidying up! We even went on a secret mission on Thursday around the school to introduce ourselves to some of the important adults in the school! We are really looking forward to having the children together next week to stay all day! We will be starting our baseline assessments, observing the children and also spending time sharing the children’s All About Me books, so if you haven’t sent that in yet please send it in on Monday.
Here are a few reminders for next week ;
Drop off is 8.40-8.50am, via the main school gates. Please follow the one way system around the school.
Bring a named water bottle each day, and a named raincoat.
Ensure you have returned your lunch choices by Monday morning at the latest, or send in a named packed lunch.
Pay your snack and cooking money via ParentPay.
Pick up 3.10-3.20pm, via the main school gates. Please follow the one way system.
Tapestry
As a school we have invested in Tapestry as a method of recording your child's learning and progress during their time in Early Years. Staff will upload weekly observations of individuals or groups, linking this to the Early Years Curriculum areas and where appropriate age and stage the observation. On the Early Years Page we will also send any notifications of events, reminders and requests. Please note, that due to the nature of the Early Years Curriculum and that we follow the children's interests, some events may be planned at short notice. We thank you in advance for your co operation and support with such events.
We request that once you have read an observation, either your own child or the Early Years page, that you acknowledge this by 'liking' the observation. This helps us to ensure that messages are getting out to parents.
Tapestry is a two way platform and we encourage you to add your own observations of your child's learning.
Homework
'Homework' for our Early Years children at the beginning of the school year is based around reading. Each week children will bring home a 'story picture book' which is for you to read together. Spend time looking at the book together, talking about the pictures and simply reading 'to' your child. Ask them questions about what you have read to them and ask them to make predictions about what might happen next. They will also bring home a 'reading scheme' book. This will usually have been shared in class with the teacher, and is wordless to begin with. The purpose of this is to encourage and develop the children's story language. With these two books will be a reading diary. The adult who has read with your child in class will make a comment in the diary. This will cover any strategies practised/used and tips for further reading.
The expectation that you hear your child read at least three times a week, and write in the diary each time you do so.
The children will also begin to bring home lists of High Frequency and Tricky Words, which your child needs to learn to read by sight.
Please remember to attend our Reading and Phonics Meeting.
As the year progresses we will share examples of activities that you can do at home with your children linked to our learning in class.
2020/2021 Curriculum Information
Useful Documents