This term in Reception, the children will be developing their curiosity through a topic that promotes investigation, experimentation, scientific enquiry, and design & technology.
 

To launch our new topic, we will receive a visit from a real scientist (who also happens to be Miss Fiera’s Mum). On this day, she will deliver a workshop explaining and demonstrating what electricity is and how it works. This workshop will lead into a variety of scientific activities such as, making simple circuits, discovering new and old technologies, and the people who invented them, designing and making junk-model robots, computer coding and basic map reading.

We have planned a variety of literacy activities linked to our topic. This term, the children will experience list writing, creative writing and instructional writing. Children will also write an information leaflet and write parts of a story using ‘Talk for Writing’ strategies. To plan our tasks, we take inspiration from children’s books. Please see our topic overview for a list books as well as further information about our topic.

For our numeracy, the children will develop and consolidate their learning through activities that develop their counting and ordering of numbers, understanding of place value, 3D shape and measure and problem solving & reasoning. Through our topic, the children will learn to sort different technologies and learn about forms of data representation, such as pictograms.

The children will also have experiences that will help to develop their creative and social skills as well as their knowledge and understanding of the world. Activities such as ‘drip and splash’ paintings (Jackson Pollock), creative movement through a robot dance, as well as learning the dangers of electricity and understanding the importance of it. Children will also learn about how to respect technology and begin to understand why it is important to conserve energy to help our environment.

During our daily ‘Helpwr Heddiw’ Welsh sessions, the children will new phrases and vocabulary through a variety of games, songs and stories, which will develop their Welsh oracy and reading. Ask your child one of the following questions, ‘Sut wyt ti heddiw?’ or ‘Beth sy’n bod, John?’ and you may get a similar response like:

Dw i’n dda iawn diolch / fendigedig / ofnadwy / wedi blino Mae ceg / pen / bola tost gyda fi.

Guided Group Reading (GGR) will take place each day. This is a time where we will read with the children in a group, develop handwriting and pen control, practise book handling skills and develop fine motor skills through our 'funky fingers' provision.

Some children may also bring home an individual reading book within their reading record. You can support your child at home by encouraging them to read this book to you, with your help, where needed. This could be done in the evenings for as little as 5 minutes. Little and often is good approach when it comes to reading and the Reception team thank you greatly for this time spent reading with your child. If your child does not currently have a reading book being sent home, please do not worry. A child's readiness to read is individual. Please trust us to understand that when your child is ready, we will send home a reading book for them.

Within your children’s reading record, on the inner-side of the front cover, you will find the login information for Bug Club. This can be used to access literacy and numeracy resources through the Active Learn website. PE & Library will take place every Thursday. Please ensure your children has their PE bags in school, that your child brings their book bag and reading record each day and brings their library book on a Thursday so that Mrs Powell & Mrs Thomas can change it for a new one.

Thank you.