The children have all come home with a reading book this week. Please remember to look at the title and blurb (if there is any) and then look through the book with your child discussing and identifying the pictures. Highlight any key words in the book and see if your child can identify these words being repeated throughout the book. Then ask your child to read the book. Ask them to point at the words as they read. Some of the words are worked out from the pictures but when your child has a good knowledge of sounds encourage them to look carefully at the first sound of that word and make the connection. Some children have books with words that need to be sounded out and blended back together. This is not possible for many key words. Your child will only have a book where sounding and blending are required if your child already knows many of their sounds. It is important that your child reads their book more than once. They are given the opportunity to change their reading book during 5 minute warning at the end of ChIL before tidy up time. It is their responsibility to change their book. It would help if you can remind them in the morning if they need to change their book. If they keep failing to change their book you can always send them in at the end of the day! If your child is in After School Club and your child failed to change their reading book during school time, there is a box of each colour in the library where it can be changed.
Now that your child has a school reading scheme book please could you return the fiction/non-fiction books that your child borrowed from the box we were putting outside each morning as soon as you have finished with them.
In phonics this week we have started to focus on individual letter sounds. This week the children learnt the sounds s,a,t,
s: s-i-t, s-u-n, s-o-ck,
a: a-n-t, m-a-n, c-a-n, S-a-m
t: t-e-n, t-o-p, t-i-p
See the link below which tells you how to say the sounds (in things to do at home). The children start by looking at words beginning with that sound and then learn to sound out and blend words that start with that sound. In the case of vowels the words we sound out may have the new sound in the middle. See if your child can show you what we mean by phoneme fingers and the blending arm.
We have had lots of fun reading the number books your children have brought into school. We haven't got through them all yet but will continue reading them next week and return them as soon as they are all read. During book week the children had the opportunity to visit the school library.
In maths this week we have been focusing on the number 4 and the shapes square and rectangle. We asked the children what is the same and different about a square and a rectangle. The square is in fact a type of rectangle. The children rotated around 5 activities over the week.
- Counting 4 objects accurately. The children were introduced to the numicon piece that represents number 4. They then had to have a go at making 4 in different ways using a variety of Numicon shapes. They had a go at recording this on paper.
- The children counted out 4 objects into their tray, they checked their friends also had 4 in their tray and then they swapped one object. They were asked how many objects they had now. They then explored how they could make 4 in different ways.
- Using a number frame the children counted 4. Placing 4 counters of the same colour on their grid. They then used 2 colours to count out 4 in different ways. We discussed that 3 +1 = 4, 2 +2 =4, 1 +3=4. They made different patterns 2 counters to represent 4.
- The children named a square and rectangle and discussed their properties. They counted the sides and corners. They then used rods to make squares and rectangles of different sizes.
- The children counted 4 using a range of patterns eg. dice patterns, 2d 4 sided shapes, unifix in a row of 4, the numeral 4. The children then found as many sets of 4 as they could.
What you can do with your child...
- Please listen to your child read.
- Next week the children will be working on forming their name correctly. Encourage them to practise writing their name with a capital letter at the start and lower case for the rest of the name. A good way to do this is to trace over their name that you have written using a light felt tip pen.
- Recap the numbers 1,2,3,4 and circle, semi-circle, triangle, square and rectangle. Look for these numbers and shapes in the environment.
- Check that your child knows the sounds s,a,t. Ask them to demonstrate how to use their phoneme fingers to sound out simple CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words and blend them together.
- Continue to identify rhyming strings in books when you read to your child.
- Make up alliterative silly sentences e.g. Crocodiles can't catch crying cats.
Useful link to make sure that you are saying the sounds correctly:
- articulation of phonemes
- Parent guidance for letter sounds
- Jolly phonics songs to go with Phase 2 sounds
Reminders for next week...
Parents and carers are invited to the Harvest Festival which will be on Wednesday 18th October at 9.15am and repeated at 2.45pm. Please see the bulletins for a list of items requested by the food bank this year.
If you haven't already done so we would be grateful if you could cover your child's progress book with a plastic cover or place it in a plastic wallet. Please make sure that this book is in your child's folder at all times.
Parent consultations for some parents. Monday am - Ducks. Thursday am -Robins
Next week the children will be making rockets as part of our learning on fireworks. Please could you send in any spare toilet rolls or tubes.
The children have come home with their Christmas card designs today. These have already be scanned by APFS and orders can now be made online by going to www.apfsorders.co.uk and inputting your child's surname and unique code.
There is no show and tell next week. Only one week to go before the half term break. The children have done so well!!!
The Year R team.
