Year R - Weekly Updates

Highlights of the week:

Phonics:

● This week we have learnt the letter group oo as code for the long /oo/ as in moon and we learnt the letter group oo as code for the short /oo/ as in book.
● We have had a go at writing words containing these sounds. We had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.

Highlights of the week:

Phonics:

• This week we have learnt the letter v as code for /v/ as in violin and we learnt the letter group -ve as code for /v/ as in dove.
• We have had a go at writing words containing these sounds. We had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.

For your information we have attached the end of year Early Learning Goals. These set out what a child is expected to have achieved by the end of the year.

Highlights of the week:

 Phonics:

• This week we learnt the letter group -ng as code for /ng/ as in gong. We also learnt the letter group -nk as code for /nk/ as in ink.
• We have had a go at writing words containing the unit 3 sound that we have learnt. We had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.

 Maths:

• This week in maths we have been exploring ‘addition’ and combining two groups together to find the total amount. To support the children with this concept we used our ‘first, then and now stories’, for example, first there were 2 children on the bus, then 2 more children got on the bus. Now there are 4 children on the bus. The children have used a range of concrete resources this week to support them with combining two groups within 10. We have used tens frames, counters, cubes and numicon.

Coronation Celebrations:

• This week we enjoyed celebrating the King's Coronation. The children enjoyed a range of creative tasks to celebrate the Coronation. The children created a collage Union Jack flag. The children also created a crown fit for a King and also created some portraits of King Charles! The children all enjoyed the different creative tasks on offer for them!

Highlights of the week:

 Phonics:

• This week we have recapped all of the unit 3 sounds that we have learnt so far this term.
• We have had a go at writing words containing the unit 3 sound that we have learnt. We had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.

Maths:

• This week in maths we have been exploring orientation of shape. We have been looking at the same shapes represented in different ways. We have practised using prepositional language to describe the shapes we have built.

Topic:

• This week we continued our learning on our new enquiry question which is ‘Why is it important to be responsible’. The children have enjoyed sharing their photos of them showing responsibility at home and it is great to see the children so engaged in their learning.
• This week we read the story ‘Tidy’. We talked about the importance of keeping our environment clean and looking after our planet. We talked about ways that we can protect and look after our environment by litter picking, planting plants and using less plastic.

Highlights of the week:

 Phonics:

• We have learnt the letter group ea as code for /ea/ as in head and we have learnt the letter group -se/-ze as code for /se/ as in cheese and sneeze.
• We have then had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.

Maths:

• This week in maths we continued exploring teen numbers. We have been counting to 20 and beyond this week to support the children with seeing the patterns in the numbers. This week to secure our knowledge of teen numbers we have been playing lots of maths games such as bingo, splat the hundred square and whiteboard races. The children have enjoyed playing a range of fun and interactive games to support their learning of teen numbers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0005y7p/numberblocks-series-4-on-your-head

Highlights of the week:

 Phonics:

• We have learnt the letter group wh as code for /wh/ as in wheel and we have learnt the letter group ea as code for /ee/ as in eat.
• We have then had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.

 Maths:

• This week in maths we have been exploring teen numbers. We have been counting to 20 and beyond this week to support the children with seeing the patterns in the numbers. We have used a range of resources such as numicon, tens frame, counters, cubes and number square to explore and build the teen numbers. We have been working on recognising numbers to 20 and building them.

Independent Learning Challenges:

• This week in our independent learning challenges the children had a maths challenge recapping our previous week's learning on sharing and grouping. Our writing challenge was based around the book ‘Supertato’. The children had to write captions about the characters using their phonic knowledge.

Highlights of the week:

Phonics:

• We have learnt the letter z as code for /z/ as in zebra and we have learnt the letter group zz as code for /z/ as in jazz.
• We have then had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.

Maths:

• This week in maths we have been exploring doubling and sharing. We have explored a range of resources to make and find doubles. We read the story ‘Two of Everything’ and played a doubling dice game. We then read the story ‘The Doorbell Rang’ to explore the concept of sharing and talked about making sure that we share fairly. The children then had a go at practically sharing between themselves and a partner.

Highlights of the week:

Phonics:

● We have learnt the letter group ee as code for /ee/ as in eel and we have learnt the letter group or as code for /or/ as in fork.
● We have then had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.

Highlights of the week:

 Phonics:

• We have learnt the letter y as code for /igh/ as in fly. When you come across words with your children where the letter is code for a different sound. Just say to them in this word the letter is code for..
• Top tip: When reading short words, blend with the ‘short’ vowel sound first. If the word does not sound like a real word, try the ‘long’ vowel sound. For example, cat, table, pen, me.
• We have then had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.

Maths:

• This week in maths we have been exploring patterns. We have talked about AB and ABB patterns. At the start of the week the children created their own patterns using their bodies for example tapping and clapping. The children then had the chance to perform and teach their patterns to the class. We then looked at patterns in pictures such as animals and shapes. The children then had to complete various patterns deciding what would come next in the sequence.

 Independent Learning Challenges:

• This week in our independent learning challenges the children had a maths challenge recapping our previous week's learning on 3D shapes. They had a writing/rhyming challenge linked to our core text ‘Oi Frog’. Our creative challenge this week was to draw a picture of their family or someone special to them and have a go at labelling the picture.  

PE:

• In P.E this week we continued our ball skills working on throwing, aiming, kicking and passing. The children worked hard to control the ball in multiple different ways and enjoyed playing a range of games to practise their skills.

Core Text:

• This week our core text was the ‘Oi Frog’ books. We read ‘Oi Frog, Oi cat, Oi puppies’. We talked about the rhyming words used in the book and had a go at coming up with our own rhyming sentences using different animals. We then explored non-fiction animal books and talked about what a non-fiction book is. We talked about the difference between fiction and non-fiction books. The children enjoyed exploring different facts about animals.  

Home learning ideas:

• Take some time to look through your child’s new phonics folder with them and pick out some pages to practise. You can record this as part of your child’s reading in their reading journal.
• Could your child practise their fine motor skills at home and complete a ‘draw with rob’ video working on their pencil control.

 Highlights of the week:

 Phonics:

• We have learnt the letter o as code for /ow/ as in Yo-Yo and the letter y as code for /igh/ as in fly. When you come across words with your children where the letter is code for a different sound. Just say to them in this word the letter is code for..
• Top tip: When reading short words, blend with the ‘short’ vowel sound first. If the word does not sound like a real word, try the ‘long’ vowel sound. For example, cat, table, pen, me.
• We have then had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using handwriting and rhymes to support us.

 Maths:

• This week we have been exploring 2D and 3D shapes. We have recapped what a 2D shape is and went for a hunt around the school looking for different shapes. We have then learnt some names of 3D shapes and learnt how to describe their properties using vocabulary such as sides, edges, faces and corners.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guNdJ5MtX1A This is a song we have sung in school about 3D shapes. You could sing this song at home. 

 Independent Learning Challenges:

• This week we started out independent learning challenges, where each week the children will have 3 challenges to complete over the week. Once they have completed all 3 challenges they will receive a sticker. Each week there will be a phonics, maths and creative challenge to extend the children in their independent learning. In the classroom we now have a board where the children can move their names up each time they complete a challenge! This week our maths challenge was based on our learning from last week around number bonds to 10. The phonics challenge was writing about a silly animal picture and our creative challenge was based around our art drawing from last week with the author and illustrator Rob Biddulph.

PE:

• In PE this week we continued our ball skills working on throwing, aiming, kicking and passing. The children worked hard to control the ball in multiple different ways and enjoyed playing a range of games to practise their skills.

Core Text:

• This week we read the story ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’. The children enjoyed reading this familiar fairytale. We talked about the vocabulary used in the book and linked this back to our maths learning about size. We then talked about the characters and the setting, before sequencing and retelling the story as a class. We talked about the repetitive language used throughout the story which supported us when retelling and acting out the story. 

Home learning ideas:

• Take some time to look through your child’s new phonics folder with them and pick out some pages to practise. You can record this as part of your child’s reading in their reading journal.
• Have you downloaded the new White Rose Maths app? If so your child could play some of the games on this to support them with their maths learning.
• Could your child practise their fine motor skills at home and complete a ‘draw with rob’ video working on their pencil control.