This week we will begin our work on festivals. This is a topic that runs across the year looking at different festivals that are celebrated across our school community. This week we will be talking about the festival of Diwali, how it is celebrated and by whom. The children will be involved in a series of different activities ranging from making Rangoli and mehndi patters, making their own diva’s and tasting some Indian food. We will learn about the story of Rama and Sita and the children will have the opportunity to act this story out. This will form the basis of the children’s understanding of how festivals are celebrated and will be further enhanced as we celebrate other festivals over the coming months. The children love to share their new knowledge so ask them about what they have learned and what they can tell you about the festival of Diwali and how it is celebrated. If you and your family are celebrating Diwali over the half term break, we wish you a very happy celebration and would love for you to send in photos of your child celebrating Diwali so that we can add them to our class books. Please send in any photos or notes of how you have celebrated to rmt@coundon.coventry.sch.uk or rcg@coundon.coventry.sch.uk
Last week the children were assed in their phonics session and we are now sorting them into their new groups for after the half term break. Some children will move on to learn the next set of sounds where others will need to recap the sounds already taught before we move on to teach more new sounds. Please do not worry and begin comparing your child to others. We will teach your child what they need. We will now be having a focus on blending the sounds taught to read simple words such as s-a-t, t-o-p etc. Please do this as part of your reading work with your child. After the half term break your child will come home with a reading diary with a reading activity to do. Please do these activities every night and sign the diary to say what you have done and how your child got on. All reading diaries should then be returned on a Wednesday ready for staff to add new reading activities to go home on Friday. When your child is ready they will get login details for an online account where reading activities will be set for them. We will let you know more about this when your child is ready. below are the videos for the last few sounds learned
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/xuKSEfkr/N5NaclAn
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/yPDKz3G1/fi07pPEW
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/k7Vmgexm/wgVc2pZy
https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/9oxkBvZx/xgQ6YAZ8
In Maths this week, the children will explore how numbers can be composed of 1s and, from this, begin to investigate the composition of 3 and 4. Composing and de-composing numbers involves children investigating part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 3 can be composed of 1 and 2. The children will learn from practical experience that a ‘whole’ is made up of smaller parts and is, therefore, bigger than its parts. The children will have experience of subitising small quantities and will use their skills to identify the numbers within 3 and 4.They will begin to recognise that 3 and 4 can be made by combining sets in different ways. When children are able to compose and flexibly de-compose numbers mentally, they will become more fluent in their knowledge of number bonds, and be able to use these efficiently when calculating in KS1 and KS2. Can your child tell you how many there are up to 4 without the need to count? Can they tell you/ show you different ways to make an amount up to 4?
Over the last few weeks the children have been working hard at their independence. They have been set the challenge of putting on their own shoes and coats and most children can now do up their own coat. Please continue this at home and allow the children the time to foster their own independence by allowing them to dress themselves and getting their own shoes and coats on when they are going out. Try to continue going over the sounds that have been sent home so that they do not loose any of their learning over the break. Once the children have had a week at home they may get upset again about coming back in to school. This is completely normal after a break (think how you feel going back to work after a holiday) so don’t worry that there is something wrong.
It was lovely to meet so many of you last week at parents evening. Thank you for taking the time to come and chat about your child. We hope you have a lovely half term break and that the children get recharged for the term ahead.
The Reception Team