Our theme for this half-term is ‘Be a Light to the World’.  As autumn draws to a close, we will explore some of the festivals and celebrations that bring light to the dark winter days leading up until Christmas. 

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

In RE, our topic is ‘Welcome’.  The children will learn that, through Baptism, they have been given a special name and welcomed into God’s family; that when we are baptised, the light of Jesus shines in everybody.  Deacon Housbey will join us to celebrate a real ‘baptism’ with one of our dolls.  We will sing the contemporary hymn, ‘My Lighthouse’ to remember that Jesus is always there for us, whatever happens or however we feel.  As the half-term progresses, our thoughts will turn to ‘birthdays’ as we light candles on the Advent wreath to begin our preparations for celebrating Jesus’ birthday on Christmas Day.

Communication & Language

We will celebrate World Nursery Rhyme Week during14^th to 18^th November.  We will learn a new nursery rhyme by heart every day and develop crucial phonic skills in listening for language patterns, rhythm and rhyme. Research has found that “when a child knows eight or more nursery rhymes by heart, at the age of 4, that they are usually one of the best at reading and spelling in their class by the age of 8”.

Literacy

We will continue following our phonic programme, Read Write Inc. As you know, the children are now grouped to ensure daily phonics teaching matches their current level of attainment.  We learn a new phoneme (sound) and corresponding grapheme (letter) to read and write every day.  The children have daily practice in remembering their ‘speed sounds’ and use ‘Fred Talk’ as a vehicle to practise blending these sounds in words to read.

Outside of our phonic lessons, we will write messages in greetings cards when we celebrate Baptism, Birthdays and Christmas, as well as writing letters/Christmas lists to Santa and reading messages from the elusive ‘Emmaus elf’ when he returns to visit us in early December!

Mathematics

The children will be given lots of practical experiences of recognising, naming and finding different ways to show the numbers `1 to 5.  We are making sure that the children have a solid foundation of every number to 5, before moving on to larger numbers.  We will use numicon, dominoes, dice, groups of objects, songs and stories to support the children in recognising different representations of each number.  We are teaching the children that all numbers are made up of smaller numbers by exploring and noticing the different compositions of 2, 3, 4 and 5. 

Understanding the World

The children will experience the changing of the seasons and understand how fire brings light and warmth to the dark, cold days of winter when we celebrate Bonfire Night, Baptism Advent, Christmas and the Hindu festival of Diwali.  We will begin to understand the symbolism of light and dark in all traditions.  We will reflect on British cultural traditions and respect the role of our armed forces when we participate in ‘Remembrance Day’ activities. 

Expressive Arts and Design

Our Christmas preparations will be the main focus of our creative work this half-term as we learn festive seasonal songs and Christmas carols as well as practising our moves for our Christmas sing-a-long!  We will make, create, decorate and design our own Christmas cards, calendars and gifts. We also have the opportunity to join in with another exciting group dance session, led by Mrs Neil, as Christmas draws nearer.

Physical Development

The children continue to explore our outdoor classroom every day and are making great progress organising their own belongings as they dress in their wetsuits and wellies.  As ever, we continue to celebrate all the children’s efforts to be independent when dressing themselves: coats, hats, scarves, gloves, shoes etc. Please check that your child’s school uniform/coat/shoes are still labelled and their name is clearly visible to support them with this. 

We are excited to begin ‘Balanceability’ balance bike sessions in December, led by Liverpool School Sports Partnership. The programme is designed to help children gain the confidence and skills required to ride a pedal bike independently, getting them off to the best start in cycling and supporting their balance and coordination.  All bikes and safety gear are provided by LSSP. 

Home/School Links

Upcoming dates for your diary:

Monday 14th or Wednesday 16th November Parents Evening

Thursday 8th December (2.15 pm) Christmas sing-a-long

Friday 9th December Christmas Jumper Day in aid of Save the Children

Monday 19th December Christmas panto visit to watch ‘Aladdin’ at Liverpool ACC Arena (see separate letter for details and payment).

We are truly grateful for the amazing support our families have already given this year, joining in with all of our family challenges and homework activities.  We look forward to what promises to be another busy, exciting half-term in Reception!  Please let us know if you have any queries about any of the details in this letter.

Reception Teaching Team