We have had a lovely first full week in Wrens class and the children are building friendships and learning new things every day.  This week we introduced our "All about me"  topic with  our first Drawing Club book - "Elmer" by David McKee.  Through Drawing Club the children use a key text to explore mark making and learn new vocabulary.  We are really enjoying the Elmer story and the children have been thinking about how we are all different just like the elephants. On Wednesday we started to create our own self portraits in art.

In maths this week we have been exploring the concept of matching objects and also introduced the vocabulary "pair" for 2 matching objects.  There are lots of ways you can support this learning at home, for example playing games of pairs or snap, going on a matching scavenger hunt or even getting your child to help sort out the washing and pair the socks!

The children will be bringing home their phonics homework book today.  This will contain a sheet with details of the sounds we will be learning next week in phonics. Please take a look at this with your child.  There is no expectation to complete any written work in the homework book - although it is always lovely to see if your child would like to practise writing their letters.

Just a quick housekeeping note - please can you check that you have listed your child as Reception and not Year 1 when ordering lunches from Red Hen.  Thank you.

What a busy week it has been! The children have settled well and it has been wonderful to see everyone getting back into the swing of things.

This week in English, we have been enjoying Drawing Club. We focused on the book Luna Loves Gardening. The children learnt lots of new vocabulary linked to the story, such as community, swoop, bare and bloom. Then we explored the main character, a setting and an adventure inspired by the book, using their imaginations to develop their ideas and storytelling skills.

In maths, the children have been focusing on numbers up to 20. To begin with, we practised counting objects accurately to 10 and then represented numbers to 10 in different ways. We moved on to counting forwards and backwards from 20 before beginning to explore the number 10 in more detail and the different ways we can make it. For example, we looked at number sentences such as 2 + 3 + 5 = 10.

In computing, the children have begun to learn what the internet is. We have also started to talk about how we can use the internet safely. This is something we will continue to explore as we develop our understanding of staying safe online.

For Outdoor Learning we read The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and then enjoyed a variety of activities in our Forest School area linked to the story. The children made dens for the characters, created maps and even made owl ice cream! They also absolutely loved using our new mud kitchens. A huge thank you to Rauri and his family for making these wonderful mud kitchens for our school.

In D.T. this week, we began exploring stable structures. The children first explored this idea using their own bodies through balancing. We discovered that having a wider base helps make a structure more stable. They will be using this knowledge when it comes to creating their own structures in the coming weeks.

Timetable

Monday (outdoor) and Thursday (indoor) - PE

Tuesday - Outdoor Learning. Please send your child to school with appropriate footwear and clothing for the weather that they can change into.

Thursday - Little Wandle reading books will be sent home. Please return these by the following Tuesday.

This week in English, we have begun exploring our new class text, Ocean Meets Sky, a beautifully illustrated story about a young boy who builds a boat and sets off on an exciting adventure. The children have enjoyed studying the illustrations carefully and using them to make predictions about what might happen in the story.

In maths, we have started our place value unit, focusing on 3-digit and 4-digit numbers and developing our understanding of the value of each digit. The children have been using place value grids and place value counters to support their learning and deepen their understanding.

In geography, we have begun our new topic, 'Who Lives in Antarctica?', and our first challenge was to use lines of latitude and longitude to locate different places around the world.

In science, we launched our topic of 'Rocks and Soils', where the children investigated a variety of rocks by observing and feeling them before sorting them according to their different properties.

It has been a fantastic start to the term with lots of enthusiastic learning across all subjects.

In English, we have continued reading Wonder, exploring the characters, themes and messages within the story. We have also been introduced to our new picture book, The Midnight Fair, which is providing lots of inspiration for our writing.

We are currently building towards writing our own trespass narrative. To prepare for this, we have been collecting and developing ambitious vocabulary and experimenting with a range of writing techniques. This week, we have particularly focused on writing sentences using metaphors, expanded noun phrases and paired dashes to add detail and description to our writing.

In maths, we have continued our topic of place value. This week, we have been identifying the place value of digits in numbers up to ten million. We have then used our understanding of place value to compare and order numbers, developing our confidence in working with increasingly large numbers. We ended the week with some times tables practice, helping us to keep our multiplication facts secure and fluent.

In RE, we have started our new topic, “What does it mean to be a Muslim in Britain today?” We began by exploring statistics about the number of Muslims living in the UK and how this population has changed over the past couple of hundred years. We considered the possible reasons behind these changes and began to think about what these statistics can tell us about Muslim communities in Britain today.

In science, we continued our Evolution and Inheritance unit by exploring the idea of adaptation. We looked at how both plants and animals have adapted to suit their environments, allowing them to survive and thrive. We focused particularly on the cactus, identifying four key adaptations that help it to survive successfully in its environment.

In geography, we continued exploring our topic, “Why has our population changed over time?” This week, we focused on birth rates and death rates, considering the different factors that can influence these statistics. We also explored which countries are currently experiencing an increase in population and which are experiencing a decline, helping us to understand why population change varies around the world.

Please see below information within the community but independent of the school