Weekly Reception Newsletter 12.11.12

Term:  Autumn 1                          Date 12.11.12

We will be continuing with our topic ‘Colours and Celebrations’.  We will be focussing on a different colour each week and will be thinking about special days that we celebrate.  Our book of the week is ‘Elmer’ and our colour of the week is ‘yellow’.  Your child will be taking part in the following activities. (Activities are subject to change, depending on the children’s interests):

Personal, Social and Emotional

• Circle time: Discussing differences linked with our Elmer work.
• Learning about Diwali the Hindu festival of light.

Communication and Language

• Elmer stories – writing captions in speech bubbles.

• Listening to children read their reading books.  Please ensure books are brought into school every day.

Physical

• Playing on the bikes and climbing frame.
• P.E – gymnastics.  Can we please remind you that all children need a full kit in school at all times.
• Developing fine motor skills through tracing activities and manipulating dough.

Literacy

• Writing our names encouraging correct pencil grip.
• Daily phonics sessions - reviewing set 1 letters
• Using different pencils, crayons and pens to mark make on Elmers and rangoli patterns.

Maths

• Making repeating patterns on Elmer templates – making patterns with multilink cubes.
• Checking colour recognition.
• Sequencing Elmers in size order.

• Our colour of the week is yellow.  Children may bring in an object that is any shade of yellow for the colour table.

Understanding of the World

• Constructing ‘Elmers’ out of milk bottles
• Making thumb pot ‘Diwali lamps’
• Making Elmer Masks.

Expressive Arts and Design

• Elmer collages

Messages:

• Please follow Broadford on facebook (remember to press the ‘like’ button) and twitter.  We update the Early Years blog regularly with photos and information.

• Please bring in any patterns found around the home e.g. odd socks, tea towels etc…to help with our repeating pattern work this week.

• Please send in empty clean milk bottles, which we can use to construct Elmers.

• You may not be aware that Free School Meals eligible children attract Pupil Premium funding of £600 per child. This additional money is used to improve achievement for that group but it also impacts on all of our children. For instance a chunk of it pays for the free after school clubs that everyone benefits from. Our Governing Body have discussed how we can use this money to directly help eligible families. Support we can offer includes: free school trips, support with uniform and help with residential trips. If you think you may be eligible, please apply now. You don’t actually have to eat the school dinners… you just have to sign up! The more children who sign up, the more money we get the more we can help our children. If you feel you are entitled to free schools meals, please pick up a form from the office.  If you need help in completing the form, just ask!

• As the weather gets colder, please wrap up your child/children to keep them warm.  We continuously use the outside area, so please ensure coats are in school at all times.

• We will be sending out home/school learning books this week.  Please write any WOW moments, such as riding a bike, that you have at home so that we can share them in school and we will do the same in school.

Homework:

This half terms home work theme is celebrations and special days.  Please make a collage of any special family events such as parties, weddings and special occasions and any great days out.  Your collage can be a mixture of drawings, photos, train tickets, leaflets etc…

Please return any homework from the week beginning 10/12/12.

We look forward to listening to your child/children sharing their special times.