Class Newsletter & Curriculum | Learning Journey | Links
Dear Mums, Dads, and Carers,
Welcome back to the Spring Term. We hope you have all had a lovely Christmas holiday. It was great to see how many children were keen to come back to school on Wednesday to see their friends and to continue their school learning journey.
Our topic this term is Chocolate. The children have had lots of brilliant ideas linked to this theme which will be displayed in class. For an overall topic web please click on the thumbnail at the side. If you would like to help with cooking or have any other skills you would like to share with us linked to this theme please let us know. We are looking for a dentist!
As always any support for readers is warmly welcomed from 8.30 am to 9.15 am. Along with this, please make sure your child reads with you as often as possible. Children who read regularly make more progress in reading, spelling, writing, vocabulary acquisition and comprehension skills. It is also important to practise sounds and word blending of the green words on a daily basis. Myself and Mrs Hardy do check reading records regularly so please ensure you note down any time your child reads for our records.
Thank you for your continued support. We hope you enjoy looking at the photos of your child throughout the term. If there is anything you are unsure of or would like further advice about, please see me or Mrs Hardy either first thing in the morning or after the children have been safely sent to their parents/ carers at the end of the day.
Kind regards,
Mrs Payne and Mrs Hardy.
Welcome back to the Spring Term. We hope you have all had a lovely Christmas holiday. It was great to see how many children were keen to come back to school on Wednesday to see their friends and to continue their school learning journey.
Our topic this term is Chocolate. The children have had lots of brilliant ideas linked to this theme which will be displayed in class. For an overall topic web please click on the thumbnail at the side. If you would like to help with cooking or have any other skills you would like to share with us linked to this theme please let us know. We are looking for a dentist!
As always any support for readers is warmly welcomed from 8.30 am to 9.15 am. Along with this, please make sure your child reads with you as often as possible. Children who read regularly make more progress in reading, spelling, writing, vocabulary acquisition and comprehension skills. It is also important to practise sounds and word blending of the green words on a daily basis. Myself and Mrs Hardy do check reading records regularly so please ensure you note down any time your child reads for our records.
Thank you for your continued support. We hope you enjoy looking at the photos of your child throughout the term. If there is anything you are unsure of or would like further advice about, please see me or Mrs Hardy either first thing in the morning or after the children have been safely sent to their parents/ carers at the end of the day.
Kind regards,
Mrs Payne and Mrs Hardy.
Dear Parents/Carers,
Mrs Hardy and I would like to wish you all a warm welcome to Otter Class. The children are all settling in really well and getting used to our routines. The showery weather has made lunch times particularly challenging for them and the children have coped brilliantly with this. If your child is unable to put their coat on independently it would help your child if you could practise this at home as Mrs Hardy and I are not usually available at lunch times to help them with this.
Parent Consultation Evenings this term are on Thursday 12th October and Tuesday 17th October. If you need to see us before this please feel free to see us either first thing in the morning or at the end of the day after the children have been safely sent to their parents. We also have a 'Meet the teachers' event on Tuesday 19th September between 3.30 and 4.00 pm. This is an opportunity to ask any initial questions and for your child to show you around their classroom. If you need to contact us by email please use the office address: office@yetminster.dorset.sch.uk
If you click on the thumb nail to the side you will be able to see a proposed outline of activities for this term including a trip to the Fleet Air Arm Museum. The children will also be asked for their ideas. We look forward to a term of exciting learning opportunities linked to our topic, 'The sky's the limit'.
Finally, if you feel you are able to help with our learning in any way please pop in to see us. As usual we welcome anyone who is able to help with readers.
Best wishes,
Fiona Payne and Julie Hardy
Mrs Hardy and I would like to wish you all a warm welcome to Otter Class. The children are all settling in really well and getting used to our routines. The showery weather has made lunch times particularly challenging for them and the children have coped brilliantly with this. If your child is unable to put their coat on independently it would help your child if you could practise this at home as Mrs Hardy and I are not usually available at lunch times to help them with this.
Parent Consultation Evenings this term are on Thursday 12th October and Tuesday 17th October. If you need to see us before this please feel free to see us either first thing in the morning or at the end of the day after the children have been safely sent to their parents. We also have a 'Meet the teachers' event on Tuesday 19th September between 3.30 and 4.00 pm. This is an opportunity to ask any initial questions and for your child to show you around their classroom. If you need to contact us by email please use the office address: office@yetminster.dorset.sch.uk
If you click on the thumb nail to the side you will be able to see a proposed outline of activities for this term including a trip to the Fleet Air Arm Museum. The children will also be asked for their ideas. We look forward to a term of exciting learning opportunities linked to our topic, 'The sky's the limit'.
Finally, if you feel you are able to help with our learning in any way please pop in to see us. As usual we welcome anyone who is able to help with readers.
Best wishes,
Fiona Payne and Julie Hardy
See Teaching Your Child to Read Power point below.
Click
here to view our "Teaching Your Child to Read" presentation
Read Write Inc
Information for Parents - Sound Blending
Sound Blending
Click

Support for parents of children starting Reception in September
Ruth Miskin videos for help to understand Read Write IncRead Write Inc
Information for Parents - Sound Blending
Sound Blending
Here is the latest guidance from the Department for Education about your child's first five years.
For information about funding for E.Y children with SEN click here.Read Write Inc
Information for Parents - Sound Blending
Sound Blending
The end of year expectations for literacy are as follows:
Reading
: Children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words.They demonstrate an understanding when talking with others about what they have read.Writing
: Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words.They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.
The end of year expectations for maths are as follows:
Numbers
: Children count reliably with numbers from one to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, they add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling,halving and sharing.Shape, space and measures
: Children use everyday language to talk about size,weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. They recognise, create and describe patterns. They explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.Helping your child learn Maths at home
In the street
• Recognising bus numbers• Number plate hunt. Who can find a 7? Add the numbers up.
• Comparing door numbers
• Counting - how many lampposts on the way to school?
Doing the washing
• Counting in 2s - matching shoes• Sorting by colour and size.
• Matching/pairing up socks.
• Find four shoes that are different sizes. Can you put them in order.
Time
• What day is it yesterday, today, tomorrow?• Use timers, phones and clocks to measure short periods of time.
• Count down 10/ 20 seconds to get to the table/ into bed etc.
• Recognising numbers on the clock. If you cover a number, what number was missing?
Food!
• Can you cut your toast into 4 pieces? Can you cut it into triangles?• Setting the table. Counting the right number of plates etc. How many more do we need?
• Can you make shapes/ patterns out of the knives and forks. Can you put them in the right place in the drawers?
• Helping with the cooking by measuring and counting ingredients.
• Setting the timer.
• Positional language at dinner time: what is on the rice, where are the carrots etc?
Going shopping
• Reading price tags• Counting items into the basket
• Finding and counting coins
• Comparing weights - which is heavier
Measuring
• Are you taller than a.....?• Marking height on the wall.
• Cut hand shapes out of paper. How many hands long is the couch? How long is the table? Which is longer?
• Who has the biggest hands in our family?
• How many steps from the gate to the front door?
Shapes
• Cut a potato into shapes (circles, triangle etc). Use with paint to make pictures and patterns.• Cut out shapes from coloured paper/ newspaper and arrange into pictures.
• Shape hunt: Can you find a square in your house (windows etc), a circle
Playdough
Here's a simple recipe:1 cup of plain flour
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Half a cup of salt
food colouring and essences (optional)
Put all ingredients in a large saucepan, and heat slowly, stirring all the time until it forms a ball. Keep it wrapped in clingfilm or in a covered tub to stop it drying out.
Then.....
• Make numerals and shapes• Sort shapes into groups, or order by size
• Make long and short wiggly snakes.
Games
• Putting cards into piles• Jigsaws (you can make your own by cutting up a magazine picture)
• Snap (matching pairs) or Happy Families (collect 4 of a kind)
• Snakes and ladders or other simple dice games.
• Adding numbers on two dice.
• Bingo, with numbers or shapes
• Hopscotch
Number rhymes and songs
Eg: 5 little monkeys jumping on the bedOne fell off and bumped his head
Mummy called the doctor and the doctor said
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"
4 little monkeys jumping on the bed
Your child can teach you lots more or try this website which has the words and sings it for you:
http://www.nurseryrhymes4u.com/NURSERY_RHYMES/COUNTING.html
Internet maths games
:www.mathszone.co.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/maths/
http://www.familylearning.org.uk/online_math_games.html
www.sesamestreet.org
Teaching Your Child to Read
Click here to watch a video about the articulation of phonemes.
Library Books.
Read your child's book to them and talk about the story, characters and events.
Sound Book and Green Word Cards.
Go through these books on a daily basis saying the sounds and words with your child.
Reading Scheme Book.
Once your child starts on the reading scheme practise their book with them on a daily basis pointing to the words as they read. Repetition is essential at this stage.
Home Learning Books.
Trace over the letter shapes ensuring each letter begins in the correct place. Before your child starts writing or drawing please make sure they are holding their pencil correctly.
We hope you enjoy learning with your child. Please feel free to ask us if you have any further questions.
Fiona Payne and Julie Hardy
Click here to watch a video about the articulation of phonemes.
Library Books.
Read your child's book to them and talk about the story, characters and events.
Sound Book and Green Word Cards.
Go through these books on a daily basis saying the sounds and words with your child.
Reading Scheme Book.
Once your child starts on the reading scheme practise their book with them on a daily basis pointing to the words as they read. Repetition is essential at this stage.
Home Learning Books.
Trace over the letter shapes ensuring each letter begins in the correct place. Before your child starts writing or drawing please make sure they are holding their pencil correctly.
We hope you enjoy learning with your child. Please feel free to ask us if you have any further questions.
Fiona Payne and Julie Hardy
For the latest information about the new Early Years Curriculum please visit The Foundation Years web site.