Reception

 

Term 3 Curriculum Newsletter

Reception

 

Welcome back to Term 3 in Reception!

Happy New Year to you all and welcome back to another exciting term.  The children are all now well settled into our Reception routines and ready for this term’s learning.

Uniform

As the weather continues to be cold and we continue to make the most of our outside environment, it is essential that all children have a named coat in school every day and a named pair of wellies to keep at school would also be very useful.  Please make sure your child is wearing the correct school uniform and that it is clearly labelled to avoid confusion.  Uniform guidelines are outlined on the school website – please contact the school office if you have any questions.   

Water Bottles, Snacks and Lunches

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. We also promote healthy eating in order to establish lifelong healthy food choices. Reception children are provided with free fruit and milk for snack time. Please can we remind you that we are a Nut Free School, so please do not pack products in the lunchboxes that may contain nuts; this includes chocolate spread.

 

PE 

Our topic this term in PE is object control using bean bags.

We will continue to have PE on a Tuesday, however, I would recommend that the children bring their PE kits in on a Monday and they remain in school for the week at least as they are a useful change of clothes in case of any accidents.

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

For Outdoor PE: black shorts and t-shirt, and a tracksuit or spare jumper for colder days.  Children will also need trainers. 

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.

Please can children not wear bracelets to school.

 

STEAM

This term our STEAM focus is Engineering, and we will be answering the question ‘Can I design and construct a product using my knowledge and understanding of the engineering process?  The children will work together to build a boat that is waterproof and floats, exploring a selection of materials and fixing methods to test which works best and why. 

 

The areas of learning and development 

There are seven areas of learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving. 

These are the Prime areas: 

• Communication and language: the number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial. By commenting on what children are interested in or doing and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children's language effectively. Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive. 
• Physical development: Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness. 

• Personal, social and emotional development: PSED is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. 

We also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are: 

• Literacy 
• Mathematics 
• Understanding the world 

• Expressive arts and design 

 

Curriculum

Literacy	Using our phonics skills to begin to write simple sentences Labelling designs and plans using our phonics skills Using sentences starters such as ‘I predict...’ to discuss our thoughts and explain our findings Joining in with repeating refrains in stories
Mathematics	Build a deeper understanding of the numbers 0-10  Subitise and recognise the numerals of numbers 1-5  Partition numbers 1-5 into 2 parts, e.g., 2 and 3 make 5 Building on our understanding of patterns, creating repeated patterns around a border Thinking about time, sequencing days of the week Strengthening our spatial awareness with shapes, rotating shapes to make new shapes and develop spatial reasoning.
Expressive arts and design	Using a range of modelling materials to create their final products Using their drawing skills to create designs of their final product Role play focused on water safety and engineering Exploring images of boats to inform their own designs
Understanding the World	Thinking about what it means to be an engineer. Understanding where water comes from and its importance. Investigating floating and sinking  Understanding different climates around the world  Different cultures and festivals - Chinese New Year

 

Reading and Phonics 

It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. 

 

At Cherry Fields Primary School, we follow the Read Write Inc phonics scheme to teach your children the knowledge they need to become confident readers and, eventually, confident writers. Your child receives daily phonics sessions.  In addition, we enjoy phonics games daily that teach children the listening and sound discrimination skills they need in order to read. We communicate with you the sounds that your child is learning and send home phonics reading books weekly.  It is essential that you hear your child read daily also as this can make a huge impact on their reading ability and in turn their writing skills too. Please also write an entry in their Reading Diary each time. 

 

During our ‘Talk through stories’ sessions, (which provide the opportunity for children to really explore key texts, understand the principle of the story, learn new vocabulary and explore new characters), we will focus on one key text at a time which the children will become very familiar with.  Our literacy key texts for this term will be:  

• My Mum is an Engineer
• Lost and Found
• An Evening at Alfie’s
• The Gingerbread Man
• Billy’s Bucket  

• Chinese New Year stories/The Zodiac Story  
• Who Sank the Boat 

 

How you can support us further

At Cherry Fields Primary School, 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 anyone who works as a plumber or an engineer.  Please speak to your child’s class teacher if you would like to come and visit us.

This term we have lots of sensory experiences planned as we explore floating, sinking, and waterproofing.  We would like to ask for a voluntary contribution of £2 per child (payable via Parent Pay) to support this. 

We make good use of unwanted items so if you have any kitchen roll tubes, pieces of soft untreated wood, corks, small boxes, washed yoghurt pots, old books or even toys, please bring your donations to class at drop-off. 

Key Dates:

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

• Friday 6^th January – postponed Christmas performances.
• Friday 10^th February – last day of Term 3
• Monday 20^th February – back to school for Term 4