Reception Newsletters Autumn 2 31.10.16

       Term: Autumn 2                      Date: 31.10.16

 
Dear Parents,

Welcome back we hope you are all well rested.  We will be starting a new topic this half term of Celebrations and Pattern, this is an amazing topic and the children usually thoroughly enjoy learning about the way different religions celebrate.  We will start this term off by learning about Diwali this week followed by Guy Fawkes night next week.  This Friday we will be having a Diwali day and the children will get the opportunity to learn a dance, do some vegetarian food tasting and create a diwali lamp.

      We will continue the teaching of phonics, each day we will send home the sound we have learnt, these are sheets for you to complete at home, to support your child.  Please note they do not have to be returned to school.

 

Personal, Social and Emotional:

      Begins to accept the needs of others and can take turns and share resources, sometimes with support from others.

Can usually tolerate delay when needs are not immediately met, and understands wishes may not always be met.

       Initiates play, offering cues to peers to join them.

           

Communication and Language:

Shows understanding of prepositions by carrying out an action or selecting correct picture.

Can retell a simple past event in correct order.

Questions why things happen and gives explanations. Asks e.g. who, what, when, how.

 

Physical Development:

       Negotiates space successfully when playing racing and chasing games with other children, adjusting speed or changing direction to avoid obstacles.

Experiments with different ways of moving.
Moves with confidence in a range of ways, negotiating space.

                 

Literacy:

      Enjoys an increasing range of books.

Describes main story settings, events and principal characters.
Hears and says initial sounds in words.

 

Mathematics:

Shows interest in shape by sustained construction activity or by talking about shapes or arrangements.

Selects a particular named shape.
Can describe their relative position such as 'behind' or 'next to'.

 

Understanding the World: Remembers and talks about significant events in their own experience. Shows interest in different occupations and ways of life. Recognises and describes special times or events for family or friends.

2

         Expressive Art and Design:

 Imitates movement in response to music.

 Beginning to be interested in and describe the texture of things.

Captures experiences and responses with a range of media, such as music, dance and paint and other materials or words.

     

        Messages.

 

       Learning Challenge

       Each half term we will be setting our pupils a challenge related to their learning. We believe that it is important for us to provide guidance for parents on how their children's learning can be extended at home.

 

       The learning challenge will include either a nursery rhyme, famous person,  illustration or a piece of music. Please talk to your child about the challenge and help them to engage in their learning. The children can choose how they present their learning challenge outcomes to their teacher or class.

 

        Poem/Song to learn: Five Little Men in a Flying Saucer

       Five little Men in a flying saucer.                                                                  Person: Mr Maker

       Flew around the world one day,

They looked left and right,

But they didn’t like the sight,

So one man flew away.

Zoom!                                                                Composer/Piece of music:Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

 

 

Nursery Rhyme	Piece of music	Person
1.    Learn it off by heart. 2.    Draw a picture to illustrate the rhyme. 3.    Find out about stars.	1.       Listen to the piece of music. 2.       Create some movements to the music. 3.       Draw an illustration to represent their feelings.	1. 1.Draw a portrait of the person. 2.   Find out facts about the person. 3. Watch the person in action.

 

     Dates for your diaries:

    Read Write Ink Parental Workshop: Friday 11th November, 9am

Nativity:  Monday 12th December, 10.30am or  2.30pm

 

       If you would like to contact a member of the EYFS team via email the address is eyfs@broadford.havering.sch.uk

       Kind regards

The Reception Team

 

 

                                               

Nursery Newsletter 31.10.16

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope you have all had a restful half term. This week we will be sharing the story 'How many sleeps till my birthday?' by Mark Sperring. The children will be encouraged to listen carefully to the story, join in with repeated phrases and develop their counting skills as the bear counts down to his birthday. The week will be planned to allow the children opportunities to think about the story in greater depth and extend their language. We will be making our own fairy cakes, modelling how to make a card whilst building up to a celebration for our toy bear this Friday.

Thank you for your support with helping children to sign in under their key workers as they arrive at Nursery. As the children learn which place to put their photos they will be able to do this themselves which will make the process less time consuming and mean there will be less congestion at the entrance. Whilst the children learn this you may support them but please make this as quick as possible and move away to allow space for other children to sign in.

These are the skills we will be focusing on this week:
Mathematics 
Begin to recite number names in sequence.
Counting down accurately whilst joining in with our story of the week.
Counting accurately whilst baking by counting how many of each ingredient and how many cakes we need etc.

Physical
We are assesing the childrens upper body movements this week. The muscles children use depend on their stage of development which may range from children using a shoulder pivot, elbow pivot or wrist pivot at this stage. This is so we can plan to develop to support each children in the correct way as they develop their mark making skills.
Mr Portway will be teaching the children how to play simple ball games and kick a ball accurately.

Literacy 
Children will be supported to listen to each other in small groups whilst baking this week.
The children will be encouraged to listen carefully to the story and join in with repeated phrases.

Communication and Language
Encouraging children to use simple sentences correctly.
Encouraging children to hold a conversation and respond to comments.

Personal and Social Development
Ensuring children are able to co-operate with routines and some boundaries.
Modelling the correct behaviours in play, ensuring children use resources well and begin to share with other children.

Messages 

Remember all children need to apply for their place in Reception regardless of whether they have attended the Nursery. You need to apply online at: www.havering.gov.uk/eAdmissions.  If you need support to apply please see Miss Tynan in the Nursery and we will help. 

Kind regards,

The Nursery Team

Reception Star Readers!

There was lots of star readers across Reception this week. Congratulations to Chelsea, Izaan, Layla-Rose, Amelia, Iniya, Adrian and Hamza from Aspen class, who all received their Bronze Star Reader award this week.

Also receiving their Bronze Star Reader awards were Ruby, Madalina, Archie and Adam from Apple class and Ife and Adrian from Alder class. Well done everyone!

Ethan Carruth has read over 25 books to receive the next award which is his bookmark. Fantastic Ethan, keep up that reading!

Happy half term everyone, what will you read this week?

Fine Motor Fun!

The children have been busy developing their fine motor skills this week. These are the muscles we use when we write. To be successful with a pencil, first we must ensure these muscles are strengthened and ready. There are lots of ways to do so, but today the children worked on these skills at the same time as exploring pumpkins!

The children worked together scooping the insides out and carefully using tweezers to remove the seeds. There was lots of discussions about the smell and texture of the pumpkin, whilst Augustas shared with his friends "I love pumpkin soup".  Jessica exclaimed "this is tricky, they are so slippery" as she tried to remove the seeds with tweezers.

At this time of year we are providing lots of activities for the children to strengthen their fine motor muscles. Some of our favourites have been threading pasta, screwing nuts and bolts, using tweezers to move pompoms, finger painting and using pegs. I wonder what fun activities you could find at home to strengthen those fingers?

Aspen Star Readers!

Wow, we have five super star readers this week in Aspen, we are so proud of our children and their parents for all their great efforts with reading at home.  Livi, Sophia, Mia, Ava and Riley have all read 10 or more books at home. Don't forget you can record books you share at home together too, we want to know about any books you read at home.

We know we will have many more certificates to give out next week too!  We check how many books your child has read on their reading day to identify which children will be getting certificates.

We can not stress enough about the importance of reading. All children are expected to be reading by the end of reception and becoming a fluent reader enables the children to access all of the other areas of the curriculum. 

Nursery Newsletter 17.10.16

Dear Parents and Carers,

We had another great week with the Nursery children and are really impressed with how well everyone has settled in. The children have been learning new routines and rules quickly. They have enjoyed listening to stories, joining in with our Nursery Rhyme of the week 'Wind the Bobbin Up' and our song and dance of the week 'Wiggle your Fingers'. All of our carpet sessions are carefully planned to improve children's listening and attention skills and their communication and language.

This week we will continue supporting the children to talk about themselves and their family.  Thank you to the parents/carers who have brought in family photos to support this. If you are able to then please send in family photos with the children or email them to: eyfs@broadford.havering.sch.uk.

We will be sharing the book 'Lets Make Faces' by Hanoch Piven with the children and will be encouraging the children to create their own faces.

Each half term the children across the school are entitled to a visitor to the school or a trip out. This is in order to broaden the children's Spirutual Moral, Social and Cultural experiences, bring learning to life and apply skills. On Tuesday we will have Mr Borrell in for a cooking workshop with the Morning and Afternoon Nursery.

Your child will have received a letter on Friday  explaining the role of key workers in Broadford's Nursery and informing them of their own key worker. This week the children will begin to sign in under their key workers by moving their photos under their key workers picture. We will have a list of names of children and their key workers on the board in case you need reminding. Please ensure you help your child sign in and you see them walking through the child gate into Nursery. If you wish to enter the Nursery in the morning or afternoon this is fine but be mindful of other children and close the gate after you so we can ensure children are safely in the Nursery. Safeguarding children is always our main priority and if we feel particular children may go back towards the gate we will be asking parents/carers to ensure they are handed over to a member of staff in the Nursery.

These are the skills we will be focusing on this week:
Mathematics 
Select a small number of objects from a group when asked.
Begin to recite number names in sequence.

Physical
Handles tools and objects carefully.
Using smaller tools to create face collages in the playdough area.
Using paintbrushes correctly when painting pictures.

Literacy 
Maintaining concentration when listening to stories.
Children begin to give meaning to marks as they draw or paint.
We will support the children to look at their family photos, talk about these and encourage them to create their own family pictures.

Communication and Language
Encouraging children to use simple sentences correctly.
Encouring children to hold a conversation and respond to comments.

Personal and Social Development
Ensuring children are able to co-operate with routines and some boundaries.
Modelling the correct behaviours in play, ensuring children use resources well and begin to share with other children.

Messages 

Remember all children need to apply for their place in Reception regardless of whether they have attended the Nursery. You need to apply online at: www.havering.gov.uk/eAdmissions.  If you need support to apply please see Miss Tynan in the Nursery and we will help. 

Kind regards,

The Nursery Team

Star Readers in Apple!

Apple class have been busy reading and sharing stories at home once again this week. These children have received their Bronze Star Reader certificate for reading 10 books: Iyinope Aryibi, Amy Cullum, Saarah Khanam, Layla Millar, Ruby-Rose Palfreman and Kezia Wright. Well done to all of the children and their families, it is fantastic to see so many books being read!

Laura Olatunji has now read over 25 books and has received her bookmark. Wow, great work Laura, keep it up!

Please continue to read with your child every day at home and record these in their reading record so we can total them up. Bedtime stories count too!

Keep Reading!

Alder's Star Readers!

Congratulations to Aimee, Sophia and Frankie from Alder Class who have all received their Bronze Star Reader certificates this week. The children have all read at least 10 books at home and this really shows in their reading and storytelling. 

Reading at home is vital if your child is to become a confident and fluid reader. It is important your child continues to practise the skills they have learnt in school at home. Another great way to foster your child’s love for reading and extend their vocabulary is to share bedtime stories with your child.

Please remember to write a quick note in your child's reading record so we can track how many books they have read. Feel free to write about any other stories your child has read or enjoyed at home as this will also aid them in developing their reading skills. 

Well done! Keep up the fantastic reading...

Mud Glorious Mud!

The Early Years mud kitchen is officially open!

The Reception children have been busy in the mud kitchen this week. The mud kitchen provides children an outdoor learning environment where open ended play can take place. They are able to use their creativity and imagination within their play. It also allows children to develop their communication and language skills as well as their gross motor skills. 

There has been mud pies made, cupcakes baked and delicious soups to taste. "These are strawberry and chocolate cupcakes, with sprinkles on. Would you like to try them?" said Madalina as she served up her baking to everyone. 

Other children chose to jump in the muddy puddles and a few even joined in with the weeding. "This is a big weed. My daddy uses weed killer in our garden" said Ethan as he worked hard removing the weeds. 

We cannot wait to get back into the mud kitchen to continue learning! 

Nursery Reading Cart

The reading cart will be outside Nursery at the beginning and end of sessions. You may borrow books to read with your child. Each child has a small red reading diary so you can write any bed time stories you read with them. Please return the books when you are finished so other children can borrow them.

Positive Behaviour Tips for Nursery Parents

Some parents have asked for advice on how they can support their child's behaviour. Here are our top tips on using positive behaviour techniques. Please remember to talk a member of our Nursery team if you need support. 

Being a young child can be difficult at times; learning to comprehend, interpret and express the growing thoughts, needs and feelings can leave little ones feeling confused and frustrated.

It’s therefore hardly surprising that even the best-behaved children sometimes misbehave so it’s important to have strategies in place which help to minimize the likelihood of this happening, and to also deal with it effectively when it inevitably does occur.

Positive behaviour management focuses on rewarding desirable actions and attitudes, and helping the child to make a good choice. This in turn will make them feel good about themselves and ultimately create a positive cause and effect cycle.

Here are a few ideas about positive behaviour management for children and how to apply it.

Sticking to Promises

One of the most frequent reasons that children “act up” is because they feel a sense of outrage or injustice even though they may not be able to articulate this in words.

Whether it’s another child snatching their toy, or you failing to do what you promised, a sense of injustice can make the red mist appear.

If you promise to do something, make sure you always follow up and do what you said you will, when you said you will do it. This helps to earn the respect and trust of the child and helps them to understand that you mean what you say.

Don’t give in…

A child has an almost limitless ability to carry on about seemingly the most inconsequential of matters, but if you’ve told them the answer is “no” it’s essential you stick to what you’ve said.

Giving in or changing your mind gives the child the message that if they carry on you’ll eventually cave in; not the cause and effect lesson you want them to learn!

Consistency and clear boundaries are essential to help the child understand what is expected and what behaviours won’t be tolerated.

…but pick your battles

Although it’s important to instill boundaries and a sense of discipline, there’s no need to make everything a battle. Remember once you’ve asked a child to do something, or told them no, you need to follow through so before you open your mouth, ask yourself whether this is really something you want to potentially cause a battle over.. or whether it’s something you can let slide.

Minimise temptation

Helping the child to display good behaviour can start to create a feel-good cycle, where they learn to enjoy positive feedback.

One way to help encourage this is to do your best to help them success, and not putting temptation in their way. Remove items which you think will test their resilience and you’ll be helping them succeed rather than setting them up to fail.

Catch them being good!

If you can catch a child in the act of carrying out a desirable action or exhibiting the kind of behaviour you want to see, it’s the ideal opportunity to give them positive feedback.

When given the option between what they perceive as no attention, and receiving negative attention, children will nearly always plump for the latter. Therefore it’s important to demonstrate that they will get far more attention, praise and feedback when they’re behaving well than when they are not.

Generally, where possible a ratio of at least 6:1 between positive comments and reprimands is considered a good balance. This helps to reinforce the message about good behaviour attracting positive attention.

Be prepared

Even the loveliest of children have days where things seem difficult and a temper tantrum is never far away. Having strategies to cope with this, and spotting the signs means that you can minimise any looming melt down.

Techniques such as a 5 minute warning before changing activity, making the child feel important by giving them a task to complete and using simple, positive language can make a real difference.

And when they’re struggling, getting down to their level and helping them to voice how they’re feeling – “I think you might be feeling a bit cross because you wanted to carry on playing with bricks” – can be a great way to diffuse simmering tension and show them that you understand how they’re feeling.

Conclusion

One of the simplest but most important rules to remember is that what goes in children’s ears generally comes out of their mouth at a later stage. An environment which is negative, critical and full of yelling will produce the same type of behaviour in a child. Conversely, calm voice, and fair but clear boundaries will not only help the child understand what’s expected but also provide a good role model for their own behaviour too. 

Reception Newsletter Aut 1 10.10.16

      Term: Autumn 1                      Date: 10.10.16

Dear Parents,

This week we will be reading ‘Giraffes Can’t Dance’.   With a specific focus on celebrating differences.        We will continue the teaching of phonics, each day we will send home the sound we have learnt, these are sheets for you to complete at home, to support your child.  In addition we will introduce a numeral a day, these number formation sheets will also be sent home. Please note, these sheets do not have to be returned to school.

 

     Personal, Social and Emotional:

     Beginning to be able to negotiate and solve problems without aggression, e.g. when someone has taken their toy.

     Confident to talk about their own needs, wants and interests and opinions.

     Is able to take turns, accepts the needs of others and is aware of the consequences of their actions.

 

Communication and Language:

Beginning to understand 'why' and 'how' questions.

Listens to others and stories in small groups.

Is able to retell simple stories.

 

Physical Development:

      Safe landings.

      Can stand momentarily on one foot when shown

      Moves with confidence in a range of ways, negotiating space.

                 

Literacy:

      Joins in with repeated refrains and anticipates key events and phrases in rhymes and stories.

Hears and says initial sounds in words.

Knows that print carries meaning and how to handle books.

 

Mathematics:

Sometimes matches numeral and quantity correctly.

Knows that numbers identify how many objects are in a set.

Shows an interest in representing numerals.

Understanding the World:

 

Shows care and concern for living things and the environment.

Recognises and describes special times or events for family or friends.

Knows some of the things that make them unique, and can talk about some of the similarities and differences in relation to friends or family.

             

      Expressive Art and Design:

      Engages in imaginative role-play based on own first-hand experiences

      Uses various construction materials.

      Enjoys joining in with dancing and ring games.

      

       

     Messages.

      

      Our animal experience was a great success last week, all of the children got the opportunity to meet an array of animals and even stroke an owl.  We hope you had a chance to have a look on at the photos on facebook and the early years page.

      

       If you have any questions about reading expectations or routines in Reception, please speak to your class teacher.

 

      You will be receiving a letter about Parents evening which will be taking place on Monday 17th October or Wednesday 19th September.  This will be an opportunity for you to discuss how your child is settling in.  

 

      Thank you for your patience with the one way system at the end of the day, we know you appreciate how difficult it would be if we had parents entering and exiting using the EYFS ramp.  Furthermore, could you please ensure you are supervising your children at the end of the day.  They should not be using any of the play equipment after school hours.

 

      Please, please, please send in spare clothes and wellington boots for your child.  We have had a number of children having toileting accidents and we are running out of spare clothes.

 

      If you would like to contact a member of the EYFS team via email the address is eyfs@broadford.havering.sch.uk

 

      Kind regards

The Reception Team