We have had another busy and exciting week in Reception!

Phonics

This week in Phonics, we have been learning our new Level 4 tricky words: have, like, some and come. We discussed how these words are called tricky words because they cannot be sounded out in the usual way. As a class, we worked together to create sentences to match pictures using our new tricky words. We also practised reading sentences containing these words before having a go at writing our own sentences. The children worked hard to write a different sentence each day using each of our new tricky words.

We also completed our writing assessment this week. The children worked incredibly hard.

Maths

In Maths, we have been recapping our understanding of numbers by using our fingers to make and describe double facts. We have also been exploring the composition of 5 using die frames and rekenreks. The children investigated “5 and a bit” numbers up to 10 and used their fingers to represent one more and one less than a given number. We continued to use 10 frames and rekenreks to represent these numbers and deepen our understanding. Towards the end of the week, we practised finding missing numbers in number sequences to 10.

Drawing Club

This week in Drawing Club, we have been reading Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau. On the first day, we read part of the story and discussed key vocabulary. The children drew a picture of Jacques as a diver under the sea and, together, we wrote the sentence: “Manfish can swim.”

The following day, we recapped the story and finished reading the book. The children labelled a picture of Jacques and wrote their own “I can see…” sentences.

Later in the week, the children designed their own submarines for Jacques. Their submarines had to include a special feature to help him on his underwater adventures, such as robot arms to collect treasure, a vacuum to clean the ocean, or an animal translator to speak to fish! The children then wrote a sentence describing their design and its special purpose.

Understanding the World

The children have been very excited this week as our butterflies have finally hatched! We have enjoyed observing them closely and talking about the different stages of the butterfly life cycle. The children have shown great curiosity and enthusiasm while watching the butterflies grow and change. We have also discussed how we will be releasing them into the wild next week and why it is important for them to live in their natural habitat.

RE

In RE, we have been learning about the story of Joseph and his dreams. We began by thinking about sleep and dreams, discussing what happens when we sleep and sharing some of our positive dreams. We talked about how some Christians believe dreams can be messages from God. We linked this to the Christmas story, where Joseph and the Wise Men received important messages through dreams.

We then read more of Joseph’s story and learned that Joseph believed God would always be with him, no matter what happened. Christians believe this today. Joseph also believed that God had given him the gift of understanding dreams. We discussed how Christians believe God gives people special gifts and talents. The children shared examples, such as Miss Allee’s gift for dancing and Miss Burkinshaw’s gift for kindness. We also talked about how people can sometimes feel jealous of others’ gifts, but that Joseph forgave his brothers when they said sorry, helping us to think about the importance of forgiveness.

PE

In PE, we have been using the parachute to play a variety of games. We discussed the rules for each game and thought carefully about how to stay safe while playing together. The children enjoyed working as a team and developing their listening and cooperation skills.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend and look forward to another fantastic week of learning next week!

Star of the week: As Wilfred has now visited all the children's homes, our Stars of the Week will no longer be taking Wilfred home. From now on, Stars of the Week will continue to receive their certificates to celebrate their achievements. Congratulations to Ella and Skye, who are our stars of the week. Ella and Skye are our star of the week for helping Miss Burkinshaw with the library book every week. Ella and Skye will be taking home their certificates this week. 

Please remember to read with your child, even for just 5 minutes! Please also remember to record it in the reading record. We will only change your child's book if you have read with them 2 or more times in that week! Reading books are changed on Tuesday's and Friday's. 

Please remember to also have the library book in your children's book bag on Thursday to be changed. These reading books and library books will be collected on Thursday the 10th and, therefore, please can you remember to put these in your children's bag. If they have not been returned, I will have to follow this up. If they are damaged or lost, please make one of the Acorn team or the office aware. 

Any issues or concerns we need to know about, please speak to the Acorn team before and after school or email at: acorn@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk

We hope you all have a lovely weekend and look forward to another fantastic week of learning next week!