EYFS Newsletter – 15.11.19

Whew! It’s been a real fun-packed week in Reception, full of surprises!

Christmas has arrived shamefully early in Reception class, as we have begun preparations for our Christmas performance on the 17th of December. Next week children will be given roles in the play and already we are enjoying learning all the fantastic songs!

On Friday, we had a very special Christmas surprise as we arrived at school to find a stack of presents that had been accidentally dropped by Santa in our outdoor areas. As requested by the elves, the children in Reception put all their phonics knowledge to good use to alphabetically sort and label the contents of these boxes. It was incredibly exciting and lead on to lots of messages to Santa, as well as a great deal of hunting for reindeer tracks around school.

Despite a fair amount of rain again this week, we got outside and foraged around the school grounds for fir cones and fallen branches, to be enlisted a creative project in the near future. Whilst outdoors, the children loved exploring under trees and in the undergrowth, discovering lots of creepy crawlies and fungi.  

The children have all been working super-hard in our family groups in both Phonics and Maths. We have been looking at hearing, reading and forming the letter sounds ‘e’ and ‘u’. The children are trying really hard at developing these skills and are now starting to apply these to reading books.

In Maths, we have been using town maps to explore numbers, by driving cars to certain car parking spaces, whilst avoiding muddy puddles along the way.

Reading is happening one-on-one with children throughout the week, encouraging children to recognise and blend the sounds they have been learning. Thank you to all family and carers who have been reading at home – it is very much appreciated and really helps bring the children on in terms of confidence and enthusiasm for reading. On Tuesday next week, after school, we shall be holding a parent’s event to discuss our reading and phonics teaching and answer any questions about the use of Tapestry at school and home. If you are able to make it, please arrive at the main entrance for a 4 p.m. start. We look forward to seeing you.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dates for the diary: 

Tuesday 19th November – Reading/Tapestry parents event 4 p.m.

Tuesday 17th December – Reception’s Nativity Performance 2 p.m.