Welcome back to summer term in school!  Our theme for this half-term is ‘What a Wonderful World’; we will celebrate and appreciate the wonder of the natural world and understand our place as global citizens. We look forward to a jam-packed half-term with many exciting events, visitors and learning experiences from all around the globe! 

Understanding the World

We will commemorate Earth Day on 21 April and will discover some of the ways that we can make a difference in protecting our planet.  We will spend lots of time in Forest School, using recycled materials for some eco-crafting, litter picking to tidy up our outdoor environment, bug hunting and observe the seasonal changes that occur as spring moves into summer.  

We are very excited to participate in significant cultural and historical events too.  We will celebrate the King’s Coronation on Friday 5 May; on this day, the children may come into school dressed in red, white or blue ready to enjoy a traditional street party with games and dancing.  The following week, The Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine, so we will enjoy a Eurovision Celebration Day on Friday 12 May.  Details for both events to follow in a separate letter.

Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Through our Eurovision celebrations, we want the children to connect with items and activities which are meaningful to the children of Ukraine and be reminded of the importance of messages of hope, home, belonging and togetherness.  We hope our families will enjoy getting involved by growing sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, when we send home our ‘Sunflower Challenge’ home learning activity.

Mental Health Awareness Week takes place during 15-21 May, coinciding with Outdoor Classroom Day.  We hope to develop the children’s appreciation for the immense benefits that being outdoors and connecting with nature can have for their own mental health and supporting others to feel less alone too.  In RE, we will cover the themes of ‘Good News’ and ‘Friends’; the Friendship Fairy will visit to help us develop an understanding of this important Christian value.

Literacy

We will focus on the work of the author Eric Carle and will introduce the children to his many stories, non-fiction books and poems celebrating the natural world.  We will recognise non-fiction texts as information books and use them to find out new things to answer questions about how and why things happen in the natural world. The children will read and write their own captions, labels and instructions and learn how to use diagrams, photographs, the contents page and index as tools to gain further information.

We have recently begun a new rotation of phonic teaching groups.  As the children have be familiar with their reading books in school and at home, your child will bring home the same books over 3 (or more) days, depending on the progress the group makes.  Please send their small transparent reading wallet into school each day, to ensure it is changed at the right time.

Communication and Language

We will share a collection of nature-themed stories every day, developing comprehension skills by recalling and recounting significant events that we experience, incorporating increasing detail to engage the listener.  You can help develop comprehension skills by asking ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘why’ and ‘how?’ after sharing stories and books together. These questions can really support this aspect of learning.

Mathematics

We will build numbers beyond 10, identifying numbers to 20.  The children will begin to see that numbers are made of full 10s and part of the next 10, eg 14 is one full ten and four.  We will locate bigger numbers on tracks and 100 squares, practising counting on/back from different starting points.  Developing calculation skills, we will introduce the ‘First, Then, Now’ structure to create addition and subtraction stories in meaningful contexts. The topic of ‘Measures’ will be explored via practical activities as we explore growing.  The children will have opportunities to compare, measure, estimate and record the length, weight, mass, shape and size of various objects (including themselves) and will develop related mathematical vocabulary. Throughout this half-term, the children will also become familiar with the concept of the passage of time and understand the units of time; days of the week, months of the year, morning, afternoon and night time. 

Expressive Arts & Design

Using recycled and natural materials, we will create a range of eco-crafts, including musical instruments, fairy homes, sun catchers, planters or wherever the children’s imagination takes them!  We will look at the natural artwork of Andy Goldsworthy and attempt to recreate some pieces of transient art using natural resources outside.  Our Coronation and Eurovision celebrations will provide exciting opportunities to get creative: designing and making decorations, flags and costumes to enhance our experiences.  We will listen to an amazing history of pop music from around the globe and taste some new cuisines too. We look forward to getting out our fancy dress costumes, instruments and microphones to immerse ourselves in performing, singing and dancing along to some iconic tunes for our Eurovision Festival on 12 May.

Physical Development

Our sponsored gymnastics circuit training even will take place on 19 April and we are excited to meet Danny Purvis, Olympic gymnast! Sports Day is scheduled to take place on the afternoon of 17 May, weather permitting. We will be in training for these field events so your child will need to have a pair of pumps/trainers (that fit) in their PE bag, please send a pair into school if we do not have them already.  It would also be helpful to check that any new items of summer uniform or school shoes are also clearly labelled to aid the children’s independence in looking after their own belongings and reduce the stress for everyone when things get lost!

Please note these key dates to remember this half-term:

Friday 5 May: Coronation celebration day (come to school in red, white or blue)

Friday 12 May: Eurovision celebration day (details to follow)

Wednesday 17 May: Infant Sports Day at 2.15 on school field (weather permitting)

We are amazed that this will be the final term of the children’s first year at school!  As ever, we can’t thank you enough for your continued support and encouragement. 

Yours sincerely,

Emmaus Reception Team