What Early Years got up to this week

PRE-RECEPTION

We have continued our topic of houses and homes. The children have designed and built homes for the animals in Forest School. Some children really used their creative skills to make beds for their animals. The woodland creatures are in for a treat. 

Maths

While exploring assorted colours, the children made a fabulous crown with leaves created using handprints and colour mixing. We talked about autumn colours. 

We have encouraged the children to use mathematical language to explain what they notice about the similarities and differences between buttons, socks, and shoes. 

Phonics

The children have enjoyed tuning into instrumental sounds this week. We have been practising our Harvest song, and the children have joined in with musical instruments.

Next Week

Seasonal Change

As autumn is now upon us, we will look at seasonal changes with the children. They will have the opportunity to thread, print, and create pictures with leaves. These activities incorporate Physical Development, Maths, Communication and Language, and Understanding the World.

We will continue matching and sorting different objects by their size, shape, and colour.

Jigsaw PSHE

The children will be learning about their rights to learn, eat healthy food and play. 

RECEPTION

Literacy 

In Literacy, we have been practising our phonic skills to write CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. Using picture prompts, the children were encouraged to say and repeat the words, then ‘segment’ them into individual sounds – beginning, middle, and end. Once confident, they recorded the sounds they could hear. We also focused closely on forming letters cursively, helping children begin their journey towards fluent handwriting. 

Maths 

This week, we began a new module: ‘Talk About Measure and Patterns.’ Our focus was on weight and capacity. The children made predictions about which of two items would be heavier, then tested their ideas using balancing scales. We also explored capacity by comparing how much rice different containers could hold. Vocabulary such as full, empty, holds more, and holds less was introduced and practised during these activities. 

Phonics 

In Phonics, we learnt the phonemes g, o, c, and k. We practised saying each sound, then blended them together to read simple words (e.g., c-o-g). The children also practised forming these letters cursively. We introduced our first ‘tricky word’ – a word that cannot easily be sounded out and must be learned by sight. 

PSED (Personal, Social and Emotional Development) 

In our Jigsaw PSHE lesson this week, we talked about the importance of being kind and using gentle hands. We also discussed what we can do when we feel angry, focusing on using our voices instead of our hands to express our feelings. 

Music 

The children have been busy learning the lyrics and melodies to our Harvest Festival songs. 

Find out more about Early Years here.