Reception

Summer 1 Curriculum Newsletter

Reception

 

Welcome back to Term 5 in Reception!

We hope you had a relaxing Easter break and are looking forward to the term ahead.  We are very much looking forward to this term and our new STEAM topic and I am sure the children will enjoy it too.

Uniform

The weather should be getting warmer this term but it is still essential that all children have a named coat in school every day as we make the most of our outdoor area whether rain or shine.  Children are expected to now bring a sun hat to school with them and should all have suntan lotion applied before they arrive at school. If you would like your child to reapply their lotion at lunchtime, please send it in clearly labelled as children should not be using each other's. We had several lost items of uniform last term, please make sure your child is wearing the correct school uniform and that it is clearly labelled to avoid confusion.

Water Bottles

All children should bring a labelled water bottle to school every day. It is essential that bottles contain only water, not squash or juice as this supports the development of good oral hygiene. The children tend to drink more water in the warmer weather and their water bottles will be topped up in school when needed.

 

PE 

Our topic this term in PE is athletics and will continue to be on a Tuesday.  Please make sure PE kit is always in on a Tuesday at least.  However, it is useful for the children to bring their PE kit in on a Monday and leave in school until Friday as it is handy to have a spare pair of clothes in case of any accidents.  PE will now take place outside, weather permitting, and so please check the uniform needed below.

For indoor PE: Children will need black shorts and a plain t-shirt in their house colour.

For outdoor PE: Children will need black shorts and a plain house coloured t-shirt, plus trainers (preferably velcro) and a sweatshirt.

Jewellery: A reminder that only stud earrings and wristwatches may be worn to school. Earrings must be removed by the child or covered for PE.

 

STEAM

This term our STEAM focus is Science, and we will be answering the question ‘Can I develop an understanding of the living world around me?’  The children will be working towards being able to show an understanding of how plants change over time. They will look at how we grow plants, what plants need to thrive and what plants there are in our environment.

 

Curriculum

Literacy	Using our phonics skills to write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others. Joining in with repeating refrains in stories. Describing what we see as the plant changes. Apply our own grapheme, phoneme knowledge to write our own label. Label seeds pots, maps, images and our own drawings of the environment.
Mathematics	Beginning to develop our understanding of weight and capacity Consolidating our understanding of the composition of numbers up to 10 e.g., 7 is made up of 5 and 2 Using practical contexts to sort objects according to criteria such as size and colour Counting numbers, objects, sounds up to twenty. Beginning to develop our understanding of measuring while studying our plants.
Expressive arts and design	Children will use graphic tools, fingers, hands, chalks, pens and pencils to draw observations of plants. Children will notice features in the natural world and to define colours, shape and texture in their own words.
Understanding the World	Using tools, such as magnifying glasses to look closely at things that are growing and have grown e.g. cut flowers. Children will take opportunities to examine change over time for example cress growing and decay. They will create maps and plans, paintings, drawings and models of observations of known and imaginary landscapes. Children will take advantage of soil, tools compost and simple gardening equipment and plants to role play with.

Reading

We are continuing to enjoy ‘Talk through stories’ this term, which provides the opportunity for children to really explore key texts, understand the principle of the story, learn new vocabulary and explore new characters. Each week we will focus on one key text which the children will become very familiar with.  

Our literacy key texts for this will be: 

• The Extraordinary Gardener
• Supertato

 

Other topical key texts this term will be:

• Jack and the Beanstalk
• The Tiny Seed
• Oliver’s vegetables
• Christopher Nibbles

Key Dates:

Please look out for key dates on Class Dojo including our end of term STEAM Showcase!

• May Day Bank Holiday 1^st May
• Coronation Bank holiday 8^th May
• End of Term is 26^th May

 

How you can support us further

We are committed to working in partnership with our families and our community. We welcome parent/carer involvement in our curriculum and would be particularly interested this term in working with any keen gardeners.  Please speak to your child’s class teacher if you would like to come and visit us. We would also love to see photographs of the children's own gardens and planting they have done indoors or out. These can be added to the Tapestry app.

 

This term we have lots of gardening activities planned.  We would like to ask for a voluntary STEAM contribution per child (payable via Parent Pay) to support this. 

 

We always make good use of unwanted items so if you have any garden tubs, pots, seeds, plants (real or artificial), pieces of soft untreated wood, small boxes, washed yoghurt pots, please bring your donations to class at drop-off. 

 

If you have any concerns please do come and speak to me, or a member of the reception team. We usually have more time at the end of the day as our priority in the morning is to settle the children and begin our learning.  Thank you for your continued support – we are looking forward to another exciting term ahead.

 

Mrs Tyler

Reception Class Teacher