Class Updates
Friday 18th June 2021
Well done Reception for taking part in your first Sports Day. You were all superstars and I hope you had lots of fun.
Topic: This week we have been on a School Trip around Barwick….with a difference! Don’t worry, we didn’t leave our carpet spots in the classroom! We used Google Maps Street View to take a tour through Barwick. On the way we spotted lots of familiar sites such as: the Village Hall, the Park, Church, the Maypole, The Fish and Chip Shop and The Post Office! The children were very excited to spot their houses, too. The children were challenged to use resources from around classroom to build models of a building they spotted on our School Trip.
Phonics: This half term the children are working in smaller Phonics groups to focus on phoneme gaps. The children continue to take part in daily Phonics sessions which involve opportunities to embed reading and writing skills.
Maths: We have continued to work in carousel groups to consolidate addition and subtraction activities. In addition, we have continued to practise counting in 2’s and 10’s.
PE: What a wonderful week for PE it has been! You were all fabulous in Sports Day and it was wonderful to see you all taking part, well done. Don’t forget to show off your stickers and certificates to your grown-ups.
Have a great weekend!
Friday 11th June 2021
Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful half term. I can’t believe I am writing this, but this will be our last half term in Reception together! Where has the year gone?!
Topic: This week we have started to think about our Local Area and where we live. The children enjoyed learning and identifying the names of different types of houses (flat, bungalow, terraced etc) and took it in turns to identify which type of house they live in.
Phonics: This half term we will be looking at Phonics gaps to ensure we are fluent in Phase 3 phonics by the end of the school year. Please continue to ready daily with your child at home as this really helps to develop reading fluency.
Maths: This week the children have enjoyed completing carousel activities relating to addition and subtraction. Keep an eye on Tapestry for updates of our Maths work this week.
This week I sent all children home with a letter about sun protection. We are still missing a significant amount of reply forms. Please can these be returned next week. Please note: do not put sunscreen in your child’s bag for health and safety reasons. If you would like sunscreen to be reapplied at lunchtime, please hand a named bottle of sunscreen to a member of Reception staff. Sunscreen can only be applied by children, monitored by an adult, and only if the reply slip has been returned.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend in the sunshine!
Friday 28th May 2021
We’ve had another brilliant week in Reception, despite the wet weather!
Topic: This week we learn about how dinosaurs became extinct. We talked about the two ‘ideas’ about how dinosaurs died. The children helped to create a volcanic eruption during our science experiment. They then went on to be Palaeontologists by exploring and creating fossils.
Phonics: This half term we will be busy recapping all Phase 3 phonemes. This week we have been focusing on: ure and er. You will find phonemes and words to practise in your child’s Planner, following our recent Phonics assessment.
Maths: This week we have enjoyed measuring how far cars travel down a ramp using different methods of measurement. We have also used cubes to measure the size of dinosaur footprints!
Half Term Homework: Reading books will be sent home over half term. Sheets have been stapled into children's planners to be used to mark half term reading. This is an extra opportunity to earn up to five more stamps towards children's reading awards.
Well done, Reception for another fantastic half term. You have all worked incredibly hard and deserve a well-earned rest! I hope you all have a lovely break, and I look forward to hearing about all your adventures when we return.
Friday 21st May 2021
We’ve had another brilliant week in Reception, despite the wet weather!
Topic: We have been on lots of dinosaur adventures this week!
Talk for Writing: We have created our own Talk for Writing story, based on our dinosaur adventure.
Phonics: This half term we will be busy recapping all Phase 3 phonemes. This week we have been focusing on: air, ear, or.
Maths: This week we have recapped our knowledge of measuring size and have revisited prepositions. We really enjoyed measuring the size of a dinosaur on the top playground.
We discovered that a Stegosaurus was 9 meters tall.
We found out that the Argentinosaurus was one of the longest dinosaurs, measuring 40 meters long.
We arrived in Reception to find that all of our dinosaurs had disappeared. In the dinosaur box we noticed a letter addressed to 'Reception'.
The letter read:
To Reception Class,
Are you ready for a game of Hide and Seek?
Come and find us!
From,
The Dinosaurs
We were all very excited to receive this letter and wondered if the dinosaurs had left us any clues.
Outside, in our Outdoor Area, we noticed some footprints. These lead us to the Mud Pit where we found a Stegosaurus. Then, we followed more footprints, in the Nursery Outdoor Area, which lead us in the Forest. We found the Triceratops hiding under the tree! Next, the children remembered that they had seen some more footprints in the Year One Outdoor Area. We followed the footprints which lead us to the Swamp. Hiding in the swamp, we saw a Brontosaurus! On our way back to class, we found a box that had been knocked over. Hiding inside were all of our dinosaurs!
What a wonderful adventure we all had! Some of the children chose to use clipboards, paper and pens to record the story in the form of a story map. Together, we drew a story map and have started to learn to retell the story with actions.
Friday 14th May 2021
Well done Reception, you have all worked really hard this week!
Topic: The children continue to surprise me with their amazing dinosaur knowledge. This week we enjoyed exploring ways to free the dinosaurs from the ice!
Talk for Writing: We have been busy writing our own stories this week! I have been super impressed with everyone’s writing- you should all be very proud of yourselves.
Phonics: This half term we will be busy recapping all Phase 3 phonemes. This week we have been focusing on: or, ur and ow.
Maths: This week we have learnt to tell the time to the hour! The children have enjoyed creating their own clocks and watches in provision.
Some of our play-based challenges have included; creating a dream catcher by using a plastic needle to weave the string through the holes, creating a paper plate clock, writing a prediction sentence about what could be in the egg, and building a dinosaur bridge!
Don’t forget to check the Home Learning tab for this week’s homework.
Friday 7th May
We’ve had another brilliant week!
Topic: This week we have learnt about where dinosaurs lived and have continued to learn more dinosaur facts. It has been wonderful to hear the children using the words ‘herbivore’ and ‘carnivore’ freely in their play!
Talk for Writing: The children have enjoyed innovating the story of The Little Green Dinosaur. Everyone has created their own story with different dinosaurs!
Phonics: This half term we will be busy recapping all Phase 3 phonemes. These week we have been focusing on: oo, ar, ur
Maths: Over the next few weeks we will be exploring Time. This week we have started by ordering the events in the day.
Some of our play- based challenges have included; creating a weaving pattern with card, building a dinosaur with Cuisenaire rods, doubling dinosaur eggs and using magnifiers to read the hidden words.
Don’t forget to check the Home Learning tab for this week’s homework.
Friday 30th April 2021
What a wonderful week we have had in Reception!
Topic: We have been busy exploring ‘Dinosaur World’ in our Role Play Areas, as well as learning facts about dinosaurs. This week we have learnt to name different dinosaurs and have discussed different characteristics of dinosaur features. We have also started to learn what dinosaurs eat. Ask your child what the following words mean: herbivore, carnivore, omnivore.
Talk for Writing: We have been busy learning a new story: The Little Green Dinosaur. Watch out on Tapestry for a video over the next few days!
Phonics: This half term we will be busy recapping all Phase 3 phonemes. These week we have been focusing on: ee, ai, and igh.
Maths: We are becoming super speedy at doubling and can recall double facts to 10 and 20! This week we have been investigating sharing a given amount between two. We have also learnt to identify odd and even numbers.
Art: This week we have been practising to weave using our fine motor skills. We have enjoyed using bits of material to weave in and out of metal racks. We also spent time on Tuesday painting and drawing dinosaurs!
Don’t forget to check the Home Learning tab for this week’s homework.
Friday 23rd April 2021
Welcome back everybody! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter break.
What a great start to the week it was! Here are some photographs of our historic dress up day:
We were eager to explore our classroom environment on Monday morning, after two weeks away from our friends. What a surprise we had! Look at what we found in the Digging Area…
Here are some of the other things we have been learning about this week:
Topic: Following the findings of bones, fossils and a strange looking egg, the children decided this half terms topic would be DINOSAURS!
Talk for Writing: We have been busy learning a new story: The Little Green Dinosaur.
Phonics: We are continuing to learn our Phase 3 phonemes. We have spent the week recapping all of our phonemes, Red words and High Frequency Words.
Maths: We have learnt all about doubles! Can you remember what doubling means?
Understanding the World: We have started to learn about dinosaurs!
RE: What makes a good friend? This half term, Mrs Smith will be leading our RE sessions.
PE: This half term we are continuing to focus on the skill of throwing and catching. PE is on a Tuesday and Friday.
Have a great weekend everybody!
Don’t forget to check the Home Learning tab for this week’s homework.
Thursday 1st April 2021
What a wonderful few weeks we have had back at school together. It has been lovely to see you all back together, having fun with your friends. We have had a busy few weeks together and we have learnt a lot in a short space of time! Now it’s time to rest, ready for the Summer Term!
I have set you a few Easter Home Learning activated to keep you busy over the next few weeks. Click here to view them.
I hope you all have a wonderful Easter break and I look forward to seeing you all in just over 2 weeks!
Have fun and take care,
Miss Leeman 
Friday 26th March 2021
This is what we have been learning this week:
Talk for Writing: We have been busy writing our own stories this week. We have changed the story of The Enormous Turnip to include different characters and vegetables. We have had Kings, mermaids and dinosaurs growing enormous carrots, tomatoes and even olives! What wonderful imaginations!
We have also started our Non-Fiction instruction writing.
Phonics: We are continuing to learn our Phase 3 phonemes. This week we have learnt to read are write words containing the ‘ure’ phoneme. We have also learnt to read and write the Red Tricky Word ‘of.’
Handwriting: We have been practising the following letters: r, n, m, h, b
Maths: We have learnt all about the number 18 this week. We have also spent time looking at money. So far, we have identified 1p, 2p, 5p and 10p coins. The children enjoyed attending the Reception Snack Shop where they had to use 1p and 2p coins to buy their own water bottles, and fruit!
Understanding the World: We have been focusing on ‘growing’ over the last few weeks. Last week we thought about how we had grown and discussed things we can now do, but couldn’t do as a baby. This week we stated to think about the names of baby animals.
Art: This half term we are practising our cutting skills. The children have really enjoyed creating different animals by cutting out various shapes.
RE: We will be learning about Easter over the next few weeks.
PE: This half term we are focusing on the skill of throwing and catching. PE is on a Tuesday and Friday.
Reminder: Children should not be running around on the cricket field and should not be mixing with children from other classes at the end of the school day.
We ask that once children have been collected that they promptly leave school.
Have a great weekend everybody! Next week we have lots of fun Easter activities planned!
Don’t forget to check the Home Learning tab for this week’s homework.
Friday 19th March 2021
It has been another busy week in Reception! We have had a great week and have shared lots of exciting learning together. This is what we have been learning this week:
Talk for Writing: We have spent time innovating our text map, ready for creating our own stories next week!
Phonics: We are continuing to learn our Phase 3 phonemes. This week we have learnt to read are write words containing the ‘air’ phoneme. We have also learnt to read and write the Red Tricky Word ‘they.’
Handwriting: We have been practising the following letters: c, s, p, g
Maths: We have learnt all about the number 17 this week. We have also spent time recapping our learning of addition.
RE: We will be learning about Easter over the next few weeks.
PE: This half term we are focusing on the skill of throwing and catching
Art: This half term we are practising our cutting skills. The children have also helped to create a flower collage.
Well done for all the children who have received their reading awards this week! We have had quite a few children who have reached 75 reads this week!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Don’t forget to check the Home Learning tab for this week’s homework.
Spend a few moments looking at some of our beautiful spring flower paintings that we have recently created.
Friday 12th March 2021
Welcome back Reception!
It has been wonderful to see all of your smiley faces this week! I have thoroughly enjoyed being back in the classroom with you all; I hope you have enjoyed it, too!
This week we have mostly spent our time settling back in to school routines and spending time playing with friends.
Talk for Writing: We have started to learn our new key text: The Enormous Turnip.
Phonics: We are continuing to learn our Phase 3 phonemes. This week we have learn to read are write words containing the ‘ear’ phoneme
Handwriting: We have been practising the following letters: a, g, d
Maths: We have learnt all about the number 16 and have recapped our learning and understanding of numbers and shapes. Ask your child to show you how to 'count in twos'
RE: We will be learning about Easter over the next few weeks.
PE: This half term we are focusing on the skill of throwing and catching
A few updates:
PE days: PE will be on a Tuesday and Friday. Children are asked to wear their PE kits to school on these days
Reading: Those who have returned their Reading Books and Pupil Planners have been given new reading books. I have also updated Reading Planet, our online reading resource, and this will continue to be updated weekly throughout the year. Please do not feel like you need to read both the reading books sent home and those added to Reading Planet. Please remember to update your child’s Planner so that stamps can be awarded. Books will only be changed if it is clear that your child has read their books at least twice in the week. Reading is extremely important. Please try to read with your child daily, even if it is for 5 minutes- a page a night is better than nothing! Reading books are to be brought in to school on a Thursday Morning. They will be changed and given back out on a Friday afternoon. You are encouraged to use Reading Planet for Thursday evening’s reading.
Reading Leader Board: Our Reading Leader Board is updated daily, so remember to send your child’s Planner in their book bags each day. Well done to those children who have received their Reading Badge for 25 reads and their Reading Bookmark for 50 reads! We have had our first 75 reads achievement this week- well done!! I wonder if anyone will make it to 100 reads by Easter?
Homework: Homework will begin next week and will be uploaded on a Friday.
Wellies: If you think your child may have grown out of their wellies, let a member of staff know and we can send them home. Our Outdoor Area is VERY muddy so wellies are a must! All children must have a pair of wellies to stay in school.
Being independent: Independence skills are a key area of development across the Reception Year and is something we focus on daily. Please continue to practice the following at home:
- taking off and putting on jumpers
- putting on shoes (no laces if possible!)
- going to the toilet independently
- getting changed independently
- zipping coats up independently
- turning clothes from inside out
And finally, a BIG THANK-YOU to Mr Smith who has built a fabulous Mud Kitchen for us all in Reception. The children have loved getting creative in the Mud Kitchen this week! It has been wonderful to observe their imaginative play and I have got to sample some delicious mud inventions this week.
We have got some extremely tired children this week! Have a wonderful weekend, everybody and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday for another exciting week of learning!
Friday 18th December
Merry Christmas!
We'd all like to wish you a merry, joyous and peaceful Christmas!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas break.
Take care,
Miss Leeman and Mrs Smith
Friday 11th December 2020
Christmas is well and truly round the corner! The children are all very excited and beginning to feel tired.
It's been another busy week in Reception! Our week started with an exciting performance from Alive and Kicking where we met Santa and Trixie the Pixie! We have also been busy trying on Nativity outfits, creating props and walking round the village for our special Christmas Show. Everyone has enjoyed taking part in our school Nativity- we can't wait for you all to see it!
Here are some photographs from the Alive and Kicking performance on Monday:
Friday 4th December 2020
Welcome back and welcome to Mrs Smith!
What a lovely few days we’ve had- it’s wonderful to see your smiley faces again.
We’ve had a busy few days and our classroom is definitely starting to look and feel Christmasy. There are lots of wonderful Christmas activities and events happening over the next few weeks, so keep checking the school Newsletter.
Have a super weekend!
Miss Leeman
Friday 27th November 2020
Hello Reception!
What a busy week of Remote Learning we have all had!
Well done to everyone who has taken part in the learning activities. I have really enjoyed seeing your photographs on Tapestry. I am really pleased to hear you enjoyed taking part in my Maths and Phonics lessons on Wednesday and Thursday.
You have all been such superstars this week, well done! I hope you enjoy the weekend.
I will see you all on Thursday, when we are back at school together. I have lots of exciting Christmas activities planned! Get ready for lots of sparkle!
Take care,
Miss Leeman
Friday 20th November 2020
Remote Learning Update
Well done to Reception for getting so involved in remote learning this week, despite our absence from school the last few days. I have really enjoyed seeing all of your hard work on Tapestry. It’s wonderful to see so many of you engaging in your Remote Learning.
If anyone is having any problems with logging in to Tapestry, please let me know and I will be happy to help! Alternatively, my email address is: alexandra.leeman@stf.barwick-in-elmet.leeds.sch.uk
Here are some photographs of our Diwali Diva lamps that we have been busy creating. They will be ready to make their way home when we return to school!
Friday 13th November 2020
Maths- This week we have been busy learning to add two single digit numbers together. The children are learning to read simple addition calculations and have been using part whole models and ten frames to find the answers. Miss Leeman also taught the children ‘the adding machine’ song!
Phonics- This week we have learnt to read and write h, b and ss.
h- down the horses head to his hooves and over his back.
b- down the laces and around the toe.
ss- The children have learnt to read words containing ‘ss’. This is a digraph- two letters that make one sound.
Red Words- We have introduced ‘red words’ this week. These are words that can’t be sounded out- we must ‘train our brains’ to remember what they say. These are also known as ‘tricky words’.
We are learning to read and write:
I
The
Literacy- We have started to learn our text map for ‘Bear Hunt’. The children have learnt to use actions to retell the story. Each child has a copy of this in their reading wallets to practise at home, ready for next week’s activities!
Topic- This week we have learnt all about Diwali, the festival of light. The children have been busy creating Rangoli patterns, Mehndi patterns and Diva lamps. On Friday we enjoyed a Diwali firework snack which we made with Mrs Warrington.
I hope you all have a super weekend!
Best wishes,
Miss Leeman
Friday 6th November 2020
Welcome Back! I hope you all had a wonderful half term. I have very much enjoyed all of your Tapestry updates this week!
Maths- This week we have learnt to read, write and make the number 6.
We have also enjoyed watching the following video to help us learn about positional language.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idJYhjGyWTU
We have also learnt how to identify one more than a number on a number line and have been telling stories using cubes and ten frames to help with our adding one calculations.
Phonics- This week we have learnt to read and write e, u and r.
e- Slice off the top and scoop out the middle.
u- down and under the umbrella, down to the puddle.
r- Down the robot’s body and over his arm.
Literacy- We have continued with our blending and segmenting skills. On Thursday we enjoyed going on a Bear Hunt to introduce our new Talk for Writing Text- ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt.’ Next week, we will begin to retell a version of the story using actions.
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Best wishes,
Miss Leeman
Friday 23rd October 2020
Maths- This week we have enjoyed recapping all numbers 1 to 5. The children have enjoyed creating their own ‘stampolines’ just like the NumberBlocks from the episode. We noticed that the bigger the number, the more ways there are to create different arrangements of a number.
We have also continued to look at 2D shapes. The children have closely looked at artwork by the artist Kandinsky and identified shapes used in his work. The children then went on to creating their own art work, using shapes, just like Kandinsky.
Phonics- This week we have learnt to read and write o, c and k.
o- All around the orange
c- Curl around the caterpillar
k- Down the kangaroo’s body, curl its tail and kick the leg.
Literacy- We have continued to work on our oral blending skills this week. This is a vital skill for all children to master before learning to read.
Here are a few resources that you could use to support your child’s oral blending at home:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLm2RM2K7CuCSfq278KRAJYGjq29ngs03M&v=9GPbrJZge3g&feature=emb_logo
Reading Books- Please continue to read daily at home with your child. Everyone has been sent home with two reading books or tasks. As the planners do not have dates for during school holidays, I have printed a separate sheet for you to comment on reading.
Don’t forget, once you have read 25 times, you receive a special reading badge!
I hope you all have a wonderful half term!
Best wishes,
Miss Leeman
Friday 16th October 2020
Maths- Number of the week: Number 5.
This week we have started to identify and name 2D shapes. We have enjoyed going on a shape hunt in the Outdoor Area, as well as making shape pictures in the paint. Can you remember which shapes we have learnt to identify this week?
Phonics- This week we have learnt to read and write m, d and g.
m- Maisy, mountain, mountain
d- round the dinosaur’s body, up his tall neck and down to his feet.
g- round the girls face, down her hair and give her a curl.
Literacy- This week Freddie Frog has helped us with our Oral Blending skills. This week’s Reading Challenge involved practising oral blending skills. This is a really important skill to help with reading and writing.
We have also enjoyed using character and setting pictures to tell a three-part story. The children have used Talk for Writing actions to help tell a variety of stories.
Reading Books- Please continue to read daily at home with your child.
Topic- We have been thinking about Superheroes in our families this week. The children shared their family superhero drawings during Circle Time.
“My Mummy is a Superhero ‘cos she helps me when I falled over”
“My Daddy is a Superhero ‘cos he makes me yummy breakfast!”
“My Sister is a Superhero ‘cos she plays nice games with me.”
Here are some photographs from this week:
Friday 9th October 2020
Maths- Number of the week: Number Four.
We have also introduced Ten Frames this week and have been busy using ten frames to represent numbers.
Phonics- This week we have continued to focus on the following sounds: s, a, t, p, i and n. The children have been busy writing and matching the letters during different activities.
Literacy- We’ve enjoyed identifying the initial sounds in words and have started to work on our blending skills.
Reading Books- Please continue to read daily at home with your child.
Topic- We have been reading the story of 'Supertato' this week. The children have learned all about 'superbodies' and have identified ways to keep fit and healthy.
"You have to have lots of sleep"
"You must eat healthy food"
"You have to drink lots of water"
"You get strong muscles by doing lunges and jogging!"
Here are some photographs from this week:
Friday 2nd October 2020
What a wonderful week we’ve had!
Maths- All about the Number THREE! We have also played games to consolidate our understanding of counting with one to one correspondence to identify an amount of objects.
Phonics- The children have learnt to continue a rhyming string! We have also learnt to identify the following graphemes- s, a, t, p, i, n. Next week we will be looking at initial sounds.
Reading Books- This week the children enjoyed taking home their first reading book! Please send your child to school with their reading book and planner daily. All children begin learning to read using wordless books. In school we are using online picture books during our Guided Reading sessions to retell stories together using inference skills.
Wordless books allow children and adults the freedom to tell a story using their own language without needing to stick to the language used in a book with a text. They develop language in a number of ways:
Vocabulary – they offer an opportunity for the child to learn and use vocabulary needed in everyday, familiar situations and to explore emotions.
Sequencing – they encourage the child to think about what might happen next in the story.
Retelling the story – they allow the child to practise and rehearse telling the story using the vocabulary and grammatical structures necessary for telling a story e.g. using the past tense correctly.
Literacy- We’ve enjoyed learning our Talk for Writing text. I will be uploading our video to Tapestry next week for you all to see!
Friday 25th September 2020
We’ve had another busy week in Reception!
Maths- All about the Number TWO! We continued our NumberBlocks journey and met the number 2! The children created their own ‘number stories’ to show how ‘2’ can be represent in a variety of ways.
Phonics- All about rhyme! We have been busy learning to match rhyming words. Next week we will continue or rhyming work by learning to continue a rhyming string. I wonder if you can identify any rhyming words in your stories at home?
Literacy- We had a very exciting morning on Tuesday! We arrived to school to find a birds nest in our Outdoor Area. This meant we needed to investigate how it got there and who it belonged to. After spending the morning looking a bird books and fact files, the children helped to make bird feeders and bird boxes, in case the birds returned and needed a new home! Miss Leeman taught the children a story all about birds and the children have enjoyed using actions to retell the story.
We have had a SUPER week!
Friday 18th September 2020
Well done Reception for completing your first full week in Reception. You have all been fantastic J
This week we have focused our learning on:
Maths- All about the Number One! The children enjoyed using the Numberblocks to learn about the number one. They learnt to find and identify the number one in the Outside Area and used resources inside to represent the number one in a variety of ways,
Phonics- Listening Ears. The children are learning to use their listening ears to identify sounds they can hear in the environment. Many of the children chose to create their own listening headband and spent the morning identifying what sounds they could hear in the Outside Area. We have also enjoyed using the musical instruments in our Phonics sessions to explore different sounds.
Literacy- Where is my name? The children are learning to read and identify their names. We have introduced a morning routine where the children must find their own name and select their lunch choice for that day. On Monday the children went on a name hunt in the Outdoor Area. We had a great time!
Friday 11th September 2020
Wow! What a wonderful first week we have had! It has been wonderful to welcome 30 new smiley faces into our class.
Everyone has surprised me with how quickly they have settled into the new routines. The children have been given their own 'carpet spot' and are learning to sit with their legs crossed during Learning Time. We have focused on our 'listening ears' this week.
Reminder: Don't forget to bring a pair of wellies to leave at school on the wellie rack. The Mud Kitchen has been extremely popular this week!
Don't forget to return your Tapestry consent form!