Friday 26th October

Useful information and requests:

• Please make sure all of the children's clothes are named.
•  It is very important that the children have boots and a coat.
• Please could you bring in cardboard tubes. We need these for woodland learning and also for making rockets. We need tubes of all lengths please.
• We often fill one of our play trays with pasta and lentils. If you have any that you can donate for our use that would be fabulous (it doesn't matter if it is out of date).
• The Christmas card orders deadline has been extended further. You now have until midnight tonight, Friday 26th October to make any orders. 
• Things to do...
• Listen to your child read everyday. Morning time is best!
• It is important that your child learns to be independent, please teach them to put on and take off their shoes, socks, coats and jumpers.
• This week the children have been segmenting words into sounds and blending them back together when playing I spy e.g. c-a-t. Please encourage your child to practise this at home.

In adult directed activities this week the children have been doing 'Jigsaw', this is the scheme we use for teaching the children PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education). We have been thinking about 'Being Me in My World'. The children have been introduced to our jigsaw piece 'Jigsaw Jenie'. They have also learnt the rules we follow when we do Jigsaw- these are inline with our school rules.

• We listen when others are speaking
• We take turns (speak when holding Jenie)
• We always use kind words

Activities:

'Who...Me?'  The children played some warm up games to start- passing Jenie quickly (like a hot potato) around the circle saying their names. Then a large box of cuddly toys was emptied into the middle and the children talked to their partner about which toys they liked. They then passed Jenie around saying which toy was their favourite and why, learning to take turns and listen to each other. We then asked the children to choose 2 cuddly toys and talk about their similarities and differences. We then discussed how these toys are all different and so are we. We talked about the fact that everyone of us is 'unique' but we still may have some similarities. For example: we are all members of Robins' or Ducks and all member of Reception and all members of Crabtree Infants' School. So in some ways we are the same and in some ways we are different.

At the end of each Jigsaw session we end with the Calm me chime- where we listen to the chime and think about something. In this session we thought about how lucky we are to have lovely toys and lovely friends to play with.

'How am I feeling today'- We started with a song called 'It's good to be me'. We looked at a range of photos of children who had just started school and the children named the emotions that they could recognise from the faces of the children. - happy, sad, excited, cross, sad etc. We then discussed what we could do to feel better, if we had any of these feelings. We discussed different strategies and thought about how we could be kind friends and look after each other.We then talked about the phrase 'If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours'. We then played pass the smile around the circle.

Being at school-Crabtree rules. We started by singing 'Five Crabtree rules, five Crabtree rules,

We all do our best to follow, the five Crabtree rules' (to the tune of A Farmer's in his Dell').

 The children all told their partner what the five Crabtree rules are. 

The Five Crabtree Rules:

• We follow instructions quietly
• When one person speaks we listen
• We stay focused
• Be kind and honest
• Keep our school clean and safe

We then looked at some photos of children following these rules and sorted the pictures into the five rules. For example: In one picture the children are really focused , they are concentrating and not being distracted or distracting others. So they are following our rule 'We stay focused'.

Gentle Hands: The teacher started with a soft toy  and explained that she had found him crying outside and she asked him what was wrong. He whispered that he was playing with someone outside and someone else wanted to play but he said 'no'. They kept on asking and asking and then he hit them. The teacher explained that the child who wanted to play was probably sad and upset because they weren't allowed to play. We then read the story called 'Hands are not for Hitting'. The children were reminded that if someone is doing something that they don't like they must say 'Stop it, I don't like it'. We explained that if someone says this to you it is very important to stop. We reminded the children of the importance of using words to solve a conflict. First try and solve it themselves and if they are still having difficulties then ask a teacher.

In phonics this week we have been focusing on blending and segmenting. Two sessions focused on playing 'I spy...'. A range of objects were put in the middle of the circle and a teddy said 'I spy with my little eye a z-i-p' Then a child was invited to blended the sounds back together and hold up the object. We then all repeated 'z-i-p zip' (using our phoneme fingers and blending arm). This was then repeated for the different objects.

We hid some objects and then secretly showed one child who sounded out the word e.g. c-a-t and the other children then blended it back together.

The final activity used the interactive white board with words using the sounds s,a,t,p,i,n. We revealed the pictures and the children then sounded the words with their learning partner. We then revealed the words and sounded them out pointing at the corresponding letters.

The final two groups enjoyed woodland learning this week. They talked about the seasons and what changes we have seen. They collected lots of leaves.

In ChIL this week the children made the role play area into a party zone, we encouraged the children to think about what they may need to make a party and together we listed some of the things they could make. The children made invitations and decorated the role play area. They made party food using the play dough and party hats. They made pasta necklaces as a presents.

Some of the children used pastels to draw the inside of a pumpkin, they played lotto letter games and rhyming games. They enjoyed dressing up outside. 

Some of the children made rockets for the display window at Harpenden Building Society where we advertise the Crabtree Firework display.

The children have done amazingly well this half term. It has been a very long one and they are all in need of a good rest! Next half term is another busy one with the excitement of Christmas and our Christmas Play the children will need lots of sleep! Have a lovely break.

The Year R Team

Friday 19th October

Useful information and requests:

• All of the children have been sent home with a reading book now. The majority of children are reading 'Pink books'. Your child will rely on using the picture clues and repetitive text. Be positive and support them. 
• Before they start reading: 
• Look at the words and pictures on the front cover - title, author, illustrator.
• Look at the back cover and read the blurb.
• Look at the title page and recap the title
• Look at the pictures and talk about what might be happening in the story
• Highlight any key words
• Introduce the repetitive text
• Read the story together
• As your child moves on to red books there will be more focus on sounding out words and blending them back together.
• It is then important that your child goes back and re-reads the sentence after they have decoded it.
• We will encourage the children to change their reading books every time we have 5 minute warning before tidy up time. It is your child's responsibility to change their books. If they fail to do this you can send them back into class at the end of the day to change them (once all of the children have been sent out). But we would be grateful if you could try and encourage them to do this during 5 minute warning.
• As the children are now moving on to 'reading scheme books' please can we ask you to return any books that you have borrowed from the book boxes we have put out each day.
• If you are able to collect and bring in leaves, sticks (small and big for den building), acorns and conkers we would be very grateful.  It is very important that they have boots and a coat.
• Please could you bring in cardboard tubes. We need these for woodland learning and also for making rockets. We need tubes of all lengths please.
• We often fill one of our play trays with pasta and lentils. If you have any that you can donate for our use that would be fabulous (it doesn't matter if it is out of date).
• Don't forget that the Christmas card orders can be made online and the deadline has been extended to 24th October.
• Things to do...
• Listen to your child read everyday. Morning time is best!
• It is important that your child learns to be independent, please teach them to put on and take off their shoes, socks, coats and jumpers.
• This week the children have been segmenting words into sounds and blending them back together e.g. c-a-t. Please encourage your child to practise this at home.

Thank you to those of you who attended the Harvest Festival Assembly this week and for all the fabulous food donations. We had more than ever before and St Albans Feed were very grateful.

The children have started each day this week with finger strong. This has included threading, play dough, cutting skills and handwriting skills. The children worked quietly during these activities and are very focused.

This week the children have been focusing on the number 5 in maths. We watched a couple of super maths clips to introduce the number 5. Your child may enjoy watching these again. 

Number blocks express

Number blocks fruit salad

The groups then rotated around 4 maths activities. The children used part-part-whole (as explained in the clip above) to make 5 in different ways. The children had to split 5 counters into the 2 parts below, exploring different ways to make 5.

The children used the Numicon (which are weighted in accordance to value). They made 5 by putting a 5 in one side of the scales and balancing the scales in different ways for example with a 2 and 3 Numicon and 5 x 1 Numicon. The children enjoyed exploring the possibilities in pairs.

The children practised counting 5 using linking animals and multilink pieces. They then explored the longest and shortest links of 5 that they had made.

The children then made 5 in different ways using the Numicon, verbalising what they had done. 

In phonics this week, we have focused on blending and segmenting. The children played 'toy talk'. The children  had to ask the soft toy a question. The soft toy then whispered the answer in the teacher's ear in sound talk which the teacher told the class. 

For example: What do you want for tea? f-i-sh, p-ea-s, ch-i-p-s, h-a-m, e-gg, t-oa-s-t

What is your favourite colour? r-e-d, b-l-ue, g-r-ee-n

What do you like to play with? b-r-i-ck-s, b-a-ll, h-oo-p-s.

Together we sounded out the words and blended them carefully back together. This is a game you could play at home. You could answer questions using sound talk and see if your child can blend the sounds back together.

Together we looked at a range of pictures on the interactive whiteboard and worked out the first sound, second sound and final sound and we then revealed the word checking the sounds and blended the sounds back together.

We also played 'farmyard. The children were all given an animal and they had to listen carefully for when their animal was sounded out to put it into the farm.

The children have been out in all weathers this week. Please make sure that your child brings a coat and jumper to school everyday. We do try and get outside everyday during ChIL time. The children loved playing in the rain. The super heroes capes have been a hit this week. The big bricks have sometimes been converted into a prison for all the baddies that have been captured! The children enjoyed playing rhyming games, playing with the garage, the dolls house, making food with the sawdust, pasta and lentils, riding the bikes and using the guttering to make ramps for the cars.

The first three groups of children have loved their woodland learning session this week. First we talked about the rules which keep us safe in woodland learning, then we talked about Autumn and the changes we see with each season. We talked about hibernation and nocturnal animals and then the children had fun collecting leaves and looking at all the different colours and shapes. The other two groups will have woodland learning next week.

We've almost made it to half term. The children have done amazingly well as it has been a long one!

Have a lovely weekend.

The Year R Team