What another busy and exciting week we have had in Acorn Class! The children have continued to settle brilliantly into their new routines, and this week we have started to introduce more structured lessons into our days. The children have been introduced to our phonics and maths lessons, and they have worked incredibly hard!

Phonics

In phonics this week, we have been focusing on listening games and initial sounds. The children have been learning to listen carefully to words and identify the first sound that they can hear. We have been practising distinguishing between different sounds and deciding whether a word begins with a particular sound.

One example is when we had lots of fun helping Dina the Dinosaur get ready for her party! The children had to listen carefully to the names of different objects and decide whether they began with the 'd' sound. Only objects beginning with 'd' could come to Dina's party! 

Maths

In maths, we have been developing our counting skills through lots of fun songs and practical activities. We have enjoyed singing '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Once I Caught a Fish Alive' and '5 Little Ducks'. When singing '5 Little Ducks', we used five toy ducks to help us work out how many ducks there were and what happened when one duck went missing.

We have also been learning about numbers using our fingers. The children have been practising showing different numbers on their fingers and talking about how many fingers they have held up. This has been a great way to begin developing our understanding of numbers and quantities.

All About Me

As part of our 'All About Me' topic, the children have been getting to know themselves and their new friends even better. We have created our own All About Me flowers, with each petal helping us to share something special about ourselves.

With the help of an adult, the children have talked about things such as how old they are, their favourite lesson, things they enjoy and other facts about themselves. This has been a lovely opportunity for the children to talk about themselves and learn more about the people in our Acorn Class.

The children have also had their first opportunity to write their name on our September name-writing sheet. We will keep these sheets and revisit name writing each term. By the end of the year, we will be able to look back at their writing from September and compare it with their final piece, allowing us to see and celebrate all of the progress they have made! 

PE

This week we have also introduced PE into our curriculum. As our PE days will be on Wednesdays and Fridays, we wanted the children to become familiar with getting ready for PE and, most importantly, with going over to the hall.

We spent some time practising walking to the hall and learning how we behave when moving around the school. Once we were in the hall, we had a little go at some yoga, practising different poses and movements. Our main focus this week was becoming confident with the routine of going to the hall, ready for lots more PE adventures throughout the year!

Our School Tour

We have also been very busy exploring our school! This week, the children went on a school tour where we visited lots of different areas and rooms, including the office, classrooms, Mrs Duncombe's office, the library, the hall and the garden.

The children were very interested in seeing where everyone works and learning more about what happens around our school. They asked some fantastic questions, particularly about what the other children were learning and what happens in the different rooms. It was lovely to see their curiosity and enthusiasm as they explored their new school.

Our Library Visit

We made another visit to the school library this week, and the children were very excited to choose their own book to take home and share with their families.

Each child has chosen a book to borrow for one week and can enjoy reading it with their parents or family members at home. If the book is brought back to school next Thursday, the children will have the opportunity to choose a new book to take home. We hope you enjoy sharing lots of lovely stories together! 

Special Helper

This week we introduced something very exciting to Acorn Class – our Special Helper!

Every day, a new Special Helper is chosen. This is someone who has demonstrated something special during the day, such as being kind to their friends, being helpful, trying really hard with their work or showing our school values.

Our Special Helper gets to sit in the Special Helper chair, be our line leader, take the register to the office with a friend and help with lots of other exciting jobs throughout the day.

At the beginning of the day, our Special Helper also receives a special certificate explaining why they have been chosen. The children have been very excited to see who will be our Special Helper each day, and it has been lovely to see them encouraging one another and demonstrating our school values.

Another fantastic week!

We have continued to practise our school rules and routines throughout the week, and the children are becoming more confident with knowing what is expected of them. We are incredibly proud of how much they have achieved in just two weeks!

We are looking forward to continuing to learn, explore and grow together as we begin our Reception journey. Well done, Acorn Class!