Welcome to our new Lion Cubs and their families

We understand that you and your little one may be feeling a little apprehensive about their first day at school. Please let us reassure you that we will all do our very best to make this transition as smooth, happy and enjoyable as possible.

Our goals are to ensure that the children feel settled and happy, make learning fun and, most importantly, get to know each child and their family. With your support, we are confident that the beginning of their primary school journey will be a very happy and memorable one.

Below is an overview of what we will be learning and doing over the next half-term.

Topic & English

This half term, our topic theme will be ‘Fabulous Me!’ We will be using the books The Friendship Bench by Wendy Meddour and Amazing by Steve Antony as inspiration for our learning.

Through these wonderful stories, we will get to know the children and help them to talk about themselves, their likes and dislikes, their families, friendships and the things they can do.

We look forward to getting to know our new Lion Cubs and watching them grow in confidence as they begin this exciting new chapter!

             

                                                   

Writing

The children will be exploring mark making, letter formation and experimenting with new phonics sounds, patterns and drawing.

Through a range of fun and engaging activities, we will encourage the children to develop their early writing skills while expressing their ideas and creativity.

Most importantly, these experiences will help to foster their love of writing, imagination and, above all, their confidence.

                                                                      

Read Write Inc. (RWI)

Using our Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme, the children will take part in short, daily activities designed to help them recognise the sounds that letters make and begin to blend these sounds together to read words using ‘Fred Talk’.

The children will also learn how to form individual letters correctly, using a special rhyme for each letter to help them remember the correct formation.

These fun, structured activities will help to build the children’s phonics skills, confidence and early reading and writing abilities.

                                                      

     

Reading

During the first half term, your child will bring home picture books to share with you. These books are designed to encourage children to use their imagination, develop their language and tell a story in their own words.

It is important that your child is encouraged to speak in full sentences. Adults can support this by modelling the correct sentence back to them. For example, your child may say, “Teddy brown.” You could respond, “Yes, the teddy is brown.”

To help develop your child’s vocabulary and communication skills, you can talk about the pictures together and ask questions such as:

• Where is the teddy?
• What is the teddy doing?
• How is the teddy feeling?
• Why do you think the teddy is feeling this way?

Remember, asking questions about the pictures is just as important as encouraging your child to tell the story. These conversations are a wonderful way to develop their language, imagination and confidence while enjoying books together.                                  

 Speaking and Listening

Speaking and listening will be a strong focus this term, with an emphasis on building the children’s confidence to speak, listen carefully and join in with discussions.

Alongside developing their reading skills, we will also focus on your child’s understanding and comprehension. We will encourage them to think carefully about what they can see, hear and predict.

For example, we may ask:

• Why is Teddy smiling?
• How do we know that Teddy is happy?
• What do you think might happen next?
• Why do you think that?

We will encourage the children to formulate and explain their answers using what they have seen, heard or predicted.

As adults, we play an important role in supporting these skills. We will encourage the children to express themselves, listen to others and take turns in conversations, while modelling positive speaking and listening behaviours for them to follow.

Our aim is to help every child become a confident speaker, active listener and enthusiastic participant in classroom discussions.                          

Maths

In Maths, the children will develop their number skills by counting forwards and backwards to 10, recognising numbers and exploring what each number represents. They will practise counting objects and matching numerals to quantities.

Linked to our ‘Fabulous Me!’ topic, we will explore mathematical vocabulary such as long, longer, short and shorter, including ordering ourselves by height.

We will also explore 2D shapes, learning to recognise them and talk about their different properties.

                                                                                         

 Physical Development

The children will develop their gross and fine motor skills through activities such as hopping, skipping, balancing, threading, dough disco, drawing, painting and mark making.

We will also encourage independence and self-care skills, including getting dressed, putting on shoes and coats, using cutlery, going to the toilet and washing hands.

P.E. will take place on Friday mornings. Getting dressed and undressed independently will also be an important part of each lesson.

                                                

Understanding of the World

As part of our topic, we will explore different types of families, discussing who they are, what makes them special and where we find them. This will include home families, our school family and our wider community.

                                                                                                                      

RE, SMSC & PSHE

Through stories and artefacts, the children will learn about Puddles the cat and her adventures with Reverend Fisher; Bible stories and tales of families and about  caring for one another.     

                                                                                                                                                    

Expressive Arts and Design

Through the topic ‘Fabulous me!’, the children will be drawing, sketching and making. We also like to act out stories through drama and using puppets. 

                                                          

  Following the Children’s Interests

In Reception, learning is often guided by the children’s own ideas, interests and curiosity. This means we may explore activities that are not included on our topic web but develop naturally from what the children are interested in, such as princesses, Super Mario, sharks and more!

                                                                                        

Our Curriculum

For more information about what we have planned for this academic year, please visit the Curriculum section on the school website, click on ‘Reception’ and take a look at our exciting and busy curriculum.

Tapestry

We look forward to sharing observations of your child’s learning and achievements through our electronic learning journal, Tapestry.

We also love seeing the special moments your child experiences at home. Please feel free to upload photos or videos of days out, special moments or ‘wow’ moments. The children love sharing these with their friends and talking about what they have been doing!

                                                                   

Water Bottles

Please ensure your child brings their named water bottle to school each day and takes it home every evening to be cleaned and refilled. If it gets lost, don’t worry — any named water bottle is absolutely fine.

                                                                           

Keeping in Touch

We have an open-door policy, so if you have a question or would like to chat at the end of the day, please come and speak to us. Alternatively, you can email us at lioncubs@parkgate.cheshire.sch.uk.

Remember, no question is a silly question, so please never feel uncomfortable about approaching us. We are always happy to help!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We are looking forward to a wonderful year together!

 Mrs Foster, Mrs Wilson, Miss Whiteway & Mrs Barralet xxxx