Literacy- We have been reading the story ‘The Gingerbread Man’. The children made story predictions about what the gingerbread man may have done when he came to the river with all of people and animals chasing him. We have been learning the repeated refrain ‘Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man’.

Maths- We have been continuing developing our subitising skills as well as 1:1 correspondence when counting to ensure we count accurately. The children have also been ordering numerals 1-5 on a washing line and spotting missing numbers.

Forest School- Mr Bennett has said the children had a lovely session down in the Forest School area and that many of the children enjoyed exploring the rope swing this week.

Phonics- This week we have been learning the phonemes for the graphemes g, o, c, k. Pleas practise these phonemes and actions over the next week.

PE- The children practised rocking and rolling on the mats this week in gymnastics. We were very impressed with the children’s changing again.

Thank you for sending your child to school with their favourite book. The children loved sharing these with their friends. It was lovely to talk about our special books. This was a great opportunity to encourage reading at home and also to introduce a very special book to Christians, the Holy Bible. Over the next couple of weeks, the children will be hearing some Bible stories during our RE sessions.

In the mornings you are all very polite and queue at the gate but unless you want to catch me to have a word, please feel free to send your child in as soon as I open the gate. I know many of you are in a rush to get off afterwards so this should speed up the process a little.

Remember next Tuesday it is our Curriculum Meeting at 6pm. We look forward to seeing you all there. I will be handing out learning packs and suggesting helpful activities to support your child’s learning at home. We will also be viewing some photographs of the children’s first 3 weeks at school!

Have a brilliant weekend and we’ll see you next week!

We are only in the second week yet I cannot believe how well the children have settled in and taken to school life. This week the children engaged in Forest School and Gymnastics for the first time. Mr Bennett was so impressed with the children’s listening skills and how safe the children were down in the forest school area. He is excited for the year ahead and to explore with the children in Forest School. If you, or any grandparents, would like to help on a Tuesday morning for our Forest School sessions that would be brilliant!

Gymnastics- The first challenge for Reception PE sessions is getting changed (!) but Mrs Barnett and I were very impressed with the children’s efforts in this area! We explored moving in different ways and worked with our friends to crawl under them and jump over them. Next week we will be practising rocking and rolling.

Phonics- We have been learning the phonemes for the graphemes I, m, n and d. The children were also excited to segment and blend, using robot arms, consonant, vowel (CV) and CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words. Can you believe we are already practising reading words? Reading books and diaries will be given out after the Curriculum meeting on Tuesday 24th September at 6pm. This meeting will be really useful in helping you to understand how to support your child’s reading, writing and mathematics learning at home. We will also be giving out learning packs to help you and your child.

Number Time- The children have been introduced to the Numberblocks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. We have been developing our ability to subitise numbers (recognising groups of objects up to 5 without counting). The children have also been familiarising themselves with these numerals. It is really important that the children have a deep understanding of the concept of a number. We will be explaining more regarding this at our Curriculum meeting.

Thank you very much for your chocolate donations. Have a super weekend and we will see you on Monday!

Welcome to Reception! We have had a fantastic first week at school. The children have really impressed us and are already beginning to settle into school life. They have taken part in whole school assemblies, experienced having lunches in the community hall and playing on the field and playground with the whole school.

The children are beginning to explore their new classroom environment and learn some of the school rules and routines. There is so much for them to learn and they are already doing so well taking on new information.

Thank you to those of you who sent in postcards and letters. We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing these throughout the week. It has been lovely to hear about the children’s exciting Summer adventures.

Phonics- We have been learning the phonemes for the following graphemes s, a, t and p. You should have received an action sheet for these graphemes. It would really help your child’s learning if you could practise these at home.

The children have also been drawing and painting pictures of themselves to be displayed in the classroom.

Have a well deserved rest this weekend! I’m sure there will be some very tired children!

See you on Monday Reception.

We hope you have all had a lovely holiday and are now excited for the year ahead. We are!

Curriculum Meeting

On Tuesday 24th September, 6.00pm at Tardebigge CE First School we will be sharing a photo presentation of your children during their first few of weeks at school. We will also be explaining the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and will hand out learning packs and give advice on how you can support your child’s learning at home. This will be an informative evening and we look forward to seeing you there.

The start and end of the day
The gate will open at 8.45am and will close at 8.55am. Children need to be in school by this time. If you arrive after this time you will need to come through the main office and sign your child in and get a late mark. Children can be collected from 3.10pm.
At ‘home time’ we will line the children up and bring them onto the playground to hand them over directly to you. Please can you let us know if your child is to be collected by someone different. We will not let them go with anyone else unless we have been notified beforehand. It is always helpful if you give us a wave when your child is at the front of the line.

School Lunches
If your child is having a hot school lunch, please discuss their menu choice in advance (a blue lunch- a meat option, a green lunch- a vegetarian option, a purple lunch- a jacket potato or a wrap- ham, cheese or tuna). There will be a board outside the gate to Reception. Your child will need to move their name to the correct place depending on whether they are going to have a blue, green, purple or packed lunch. Please name your child’s lunchbox as many lunchboxes are the same design.

Topic
For the first few weeks we will be getting to know the children. They will become familiar with the rules and routines of the classroom. The topic focus for this half term will be ‘Once upon a time...’ It will be really useful for the children to become familiar with traditional tales, nursery rhymes and songs. To obtain your child’s input on this topic you will receive a copy of our planning and a feedback sheet. In future, this will be uploaded to our school website. Please discuss the topic with your child and jot down any ideas they, or you, have that we can include in our planning. We will do this for every topic we cover during the year. In the past we have found that the children have some really super ideas and parents may have knowledge or resources about a topic that can really enhance it.

Website
Our school website is regularly updated by all members of staff. You will find our weekly school newsletter particularly useful. I will also be updating our class blog every week to inform you of our classroom activities and adventures. The class page will also be used as a means of giving announcements and news so please check this at least once a week. The topic planning will also be uploaded to our Reception class page on the school website. To access the school website please visit www.tardebigge.worcs.sch.uk

Reading
We encourage all of the children at Tardebigge to read daily. Reading diaries are checked everyday and those who have read receive a team point. More information regarding reading at home will be given at the curriculum evening. Your child will be sent home with a guided reading book in their book bags but please feel free to read any books you have at home as well. Book bags can also be used by parents or the school to put any letters or forms in. Please ensure your child’s book bag is in school and checked every day.
Forest School
The children will have the chance to go on nature walks, minibeast hunts and explore the Forest School area every Tuesday morning with Mr Bennett. Children should come to school on a Tuesday wearing tracksuit bottoms and their school uniform tops. Please ensure your child has waterproofs in their book bag. At the end of the session we should only need to change the children out of their waterproofs and wellies. We ask that your child has a pair of named wellington boots that can be kept at school. It is a good idea to also supply extra clean dry socks in their book bags on Tuesdays just in case! It is important that on cold days your child wears extra layers of clothing as well as gloves and hats. If your child is cold they will not enjoy the activities planned. For Forest School to run effectively we need a high adult ratio. If you can help on a Tuesday morning please let Mrs Hartle or Mr Bennett know. Forest School will start on 10th September.

PE
We will be doing PE on Wednesday afternoons but PE kits should remain in school at all times. It is important that in addition to your child’s PE kit, they also have jogging bottoms as they may be outside. Please ensure that everything that comes into school (including hats and gloves etc) is CLEARLY LABELLED.
The children’s first PE session will be on 11th September.

Water bottles
Please ensure that your child has a named bottle of water in school everyday. We will ensure that they are given the opportunity to have regular water breaks throughout the day. These bottles will need to be named as they are kept in the same area and MUST ONLY CONTAIN WATER! Water bottles should not be put in book bags as we have had many reading records and books damaged by leaking bottles.

Marvellous Me
Each week a different child will bring home a special box that they can fill with different items about themselves. Instructions will be inside the box. This will be an opportunity for your child to talk about themselves and answer any questions in front of the class. The items should be ‘interesting items’ that your child can talk about including photos and not just toys.

Celebration Assembly
This is an assembly every Friday afternoon (starts at 2:40pm) that recognises children’s achievements that week. A Gold award (for effort and a positive mindset) and a Platinum award (for demonstrating Christian values) from each class are presented to the children during this assembly. You will be informed earlier in the week if your child has achieved either of these awards. The Gold award is a surprise for your child on the day and if your child has received the Platinum award, they can come to school on Friday wearing non-uniform.

Can you help?
If you would like to help in the classroom in any way please let us know. We would love parents to come in and play games with small groups of children, read with the children, help with caterpillar phonics or supervise the painting table. If you can spare a bit of time please let us know.

We are looking forward to an exciting year and hope that your child enjoys their first year at school. If you or your child have any worries or concerns please do not hesitate to come and speak to us so that we can work together to resolve any issues (however small, we know that they are important to you and your child). If you have any exciting news please feel free to share with us. Our positive partnership is paramount to your child’s successful learning journey.

Kind Regards,

Katie Hartle and the Reception Team

Smoothie making on a bicycle with AiP (our lunch providers). The chef talked about why fruit is good for us and showed us some more unusual fruits such as papaya. We really enjoyed tasting the smoothie at the end of the session.

Tardebigge Trek. What a wonderful Summer's walk we enjoyed along the canal on Monday. Thank you to those parents/grandparents who were able to join us. It was a lovely afternoon in which we were given opportunity to appreciate our beautiful environment and be thankful for the wonderful views. 

Sports Day

I was so impressed with the effort of all of the Reception children! Each child took part in team games in the morning and the sack race, egg and spoon race and a running race in the afternoon. 

Well done to Bredon who won this year's Sports Day!

Forest School. The children really enjoyed building dens in our Forest School area with Mr Bennett. In the afternoon, they engaged in a range of different sport activities led by the children from Ridgeway school. 

Smoothie Making. We were inspired by the smoothie making earlier on in the week and so were very excited to make our own 'Summer Fruits' smoothie. The children chopped up the fruits and we used a blender to mix the ingredients together. 

Fun Run. We LOVED the fun run obstacle course in Reception. The children even raced against their friends to run through the inflatable course.

Horse Riding. The children were given the opportunity to ride a pony, engage in tack cleaning, find out some horse facts and comb Tony the pony. 

Jump Rope. For many of the children, this was the first time Reception had a go at skipping! Adam was a patient and fun instructor. He inspired us with his amazing jump rope skills.

Have a restful weekend Reception after a very busy activity week!

Literacy- We had a fantastic day at All Things Wild on Monday (see previous post for information and photographs). The children then wrote a recount of the day. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about dinosaurs as well as observe many different animals.

Maths- We have been creating 2D shape dinosaurs which the children have then been describing and identifying the shapes.

Phonics- We have been learning to spell the tricky words have, said, so and like as well as revising the graphemes ew, oe, au and learning the new grapheme ey.

PE- We have been practising for Sports Day this week with the children perfecting their sack race and egg and spoon skills.

Science- Caterpillar update: we now have cocoons!! The children very excited about the final transformation!

Have a brilliant weekend Reception! We have a very busy week next week so get some rest.

Useful information for ‘Activity Week’:
- Children are to come to school wearing PE sportwear. PE kits have been sent home this week.
- On Thursday afterschool there will be an opportunity for your children to have another go on the inflatable fun run on the field. We will be running this as a school fundraiser activity and therefore asking for a small payment per go (bring your change!)
- On Friday the children will be given the opportunity to buy a skipping rope after their Jump rope session. Details of cost will be on the newsletter.

Timetable for the week:
- Monday: Tardebigge Trek in the PM. Parents/carers are invited to join us at 1.15pm.
- Tuesday: Sports Day. The children have already pre-ordered a sandwich at school. In the morning the children will be engaging in group activities. There will be a picnic lunch on the field at 11.30 and the track events will be in the afternoon. Children to wear a t-shirt of their house colour.
- Bredon- blue
- Clent- green
- Lickey- yellow
- Malvern- red
Parents/grandparents are welcome to join us for part/all of the day.
- Wednesday: Forest School session (bring waterproofs!)
- Thursday: Inflatable fun run on the field
- Friday: Horse riding and Jump rope session

If you have any queries regarding Activity week then please just ask!

We have had a super day visiting All Things Wild. The children took part in a fossil finding session in which we handled dinosaur fossils and bones and talked about herbivores and carnivores.

We also engaged in a Dino Explore session in the Dino Barn in which we discussed different model dinosaurs and learnt loads of new dinosaur facts!

The children loved their ride on the Dino train and visiting the different animals. We saw some incredible animals such as zebras, kangaroos, camels, macaws, meerkats and beavers. The children were able to walk through the enclosure with the goats and stroke them. This was very popular! 

Literacy- We have continued reading The Dragon Machine and this week the children have designed and labelled their own dragon machine.

Maths- The children have been showing teen numbers in a range of different ways such as using Numicon, Base 10, cubes, objects and ten frames. We discussed teen numbers having one ten. E.g. 14 has one ten and four ones.

Phonics- This week we revised the following digraphs; wh, ph, oy, ir, ue, aw. We also revised reading and writing the Phase 4 tricky words.

RE- The children went on a hunt around the outdoor environment looking for fascinating and interesting things in nature. We discussed that many religions believe the world is special because God created it, that God is Creator.

Science- We have caterpillars in school! The children have been keeping a caterpillar life cycle. We are excited to observe the caterpillars form their chrysalis’. We have been learning about the caterpillar life cycle.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the theatre production of the Jungle Book on Tuesday. What a treat!

Have a brilliant weekend! See you on Monday for our school trip to All Things Wild. Remember to wear forest school clothes and bring a disposable packed lunch.

Literacy- We read the next part of the story ‘The Dragon Machine’ in which George finds a map of the place where dragons live. The children then drew their own dragon island maps and labelled the different features. For example, we had the Valley of Doom and the scary cave. Next week the children will be designing and labelling their own dragon machine.

Maths- The children were sent a letter from Finley Fish asking for their help. He is going on holiday but his owner cannot take his big tank because it is too heavy. He therefore needed to find a container that is not too heavy but that holds lots of water so that Finley Fish can go on holiday too! The children investigated a range of containers to find out which held the most water.

Phonics- This week we have been revising the graphemes ay, ou, ie, ea. We have also been practising reading and writing the Phase 4 tricky words.

PE- Due to the weather, our PE session took place in the community hall. We practised jumping the hurdles and playing the game ‘rob the nest’ in preparation for Sports Day which is not too far away now! Your child should have come home with a slip telling you which House they are in for Sports Day. If you have not yet received this then please let me know.

Science- Due to the strong winds on Tuesday, the children engaged in an indoors session with Mr Bennett. It was good timing as we had just had the caterpillars delivered to school. The children created butterflies using the playdough and paint and created caterpillars using craft materials. Mr Bennett shared the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the children drew pictures of the food the caterpillar ate on each day. We have discussing what is going to happen next to our caterpillars and the children have been making some very detailed observations of the caterpillars throughout the week using magnifying glasses.

Have a super weekend Reception! Hope it’s not too wet!

Literacy- To begin our new topic ‘Dragons and Dinosaurs’ we have started to read the story ‘The Dragon Machine’. The children have been spotting dragons around the classroom but these dragons ‘cannot’ be seen by the adults! Therefore, the children have had to describe and write about the dragons they have observed in the classroom.

Maths- We have been recapping how much each of the coins are worth; 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20, 50p, £1, £2. The children have also been practising adding 3 or 4 coins together in a purse using counters to help them realise how much each coin is worth. I have sent home a maths home learning activity this week to help your child develop their teen number recognition and counting on in 1s and 2s. We hope you enjoy this game at home!

Phonics- This week the children have revised the grapheme au ( haunted, August) and split digraphs a_e (cake, snake), u_e (flute, huge), i_e (bike, kite). We have also been practising reading and spelling the Phase 4 tricky words.

RE- Thank you to those of you who sent in some Christening items. The children really enjoyed sharing these during our RE session on Thursday. We were learning about one of the ways many Christians welcome their child into the world. The children visited the font in St Bartholomew’s church and we talked about the ceremony and what might be said and done.

PE- We have been developing our kicking skills this week by practising kicking to a partner, aiming for a goal and dribbling through the cones.

The children have also really enjoyed painting dragons to be displayed on our new topic display!

Thank you to all of those parents who joined us for our Pyjamarama morning on Friday to help raise the profile of bedtime stories.

Have a brilliant weekend Reception!