Term 2

Welcome back. Our new topic is based around 'Space' and follows a book called 'The Way Back Home' by Oliver Jeffers.

Phonics this week featured letters j / v / w / x. We have learnt to write and say these and to put them into short words, if we are able to.

The children will stop for one minute's silence next week, for Remembrance Day. Please see gallery for photos to show how we are using our continuous provision to enable reflective discussion around this topic. 

Please see red box in Home Learning for our new home learning grid. The Topic Web is found in Newletters and Information.

Please see link to the video we watched today, for Remembrance Poppy Day

Theatre Visit 

Please look out for a letter giving more details. I apologise for not sending sooner, I had planned for that to be shared last week. I am told the class were really great, in my absence, and helped everyone out, who supported us in Hedgehogs class. The visit to school is planned for December 3rd, which is next Wednesday.

Week 3 

The children have enjoyed learning the story of The Way Back Home, using our text map, to re-tell the events in the right order. We are changing the story next week and then having a go at writing about the new character's adventures. We are practising writing clear letter shapes. Our phonemes this week are: sh / th / ng / nk. In maths we have been learning to write the numbers to 10 correctly.

Week 4

The children are learning the following phonemes: ai, ee, igh, oa. In maths we are focusing on the order of numbers to 10. Our fine motor skills are being developed through lots of cutting practise, as we make Christmas decorations, cards and cut our numbers to stick in our maths books. The children have been busy building space rockets and other things from wooden planks, blocks and cardboard. This has tested their thinking skills, creativity and problem solving abilities, as well as helping them work as a team.

We are starting to practise the nativity story, ready for our performance to parents on Friday 12th December, at 9.15. Please look out for a slip in book bags about what we need your child to have in school, for this. Please help your child to practise their lines - also in book bags, put in this week. 

Emily was the first child who has read sooooo much at home, she has been given the treat of looking after our reading bug this weekend! Flora the reading bug loves listening to stories, so hopefully Emily will share lots of books with her! We look forward to hearing all about it on Monday.

Week 5

The children had a fun time in the hall on Wednesday, for the theatre visit. The Hare and the Tortoise taught us about friendship and fair play. Oh no they didn't.... oh yes they did!! Photos in gallery (apologies for a technical error which caused a delay!)

Elsie has caught the reading bug this week, and takes Flora home to share some stories.

Phonics is recapping phonemes we have learnt. We are working hard to remember: sh / ch / th and be able to say them all, as well as v / w / y / j /z.

Week 6

The children are benefiting hugely from recapping on their phonemes, this week. These recap weeks are so helpful, to allow us time to consolidate our learning.

We are learning how to add two groups together, in maths this week. We do this by combining two groups, lining items up to count carefully. We are not recording these as 'sums' yet.

Oscar has caught the reading bug this week! We look forward to hearing about her adventures.

The children are working SO hard to learn the songs, lines and dances for our nativity performance this Friday. Costumes have been fitted, microphones tested and we are very excited to show all of you very special people soon!

Week 7 

It's a wrap!! Thank you to all the fantastic Robins and Hedgehogs who made our nativity such fun. They worked incredibly hard, and have been practising for 2 weeks on and off. Children stepped up to have a speaking part, some standing in at the last minute, all learning their words off by heart. This is no easy task at age 4 or 5; what an achievement. The dancers were brilliant, the singing was great. We are all beyond proud. It was so good to see such a packed hall today, for our big performance. We hope it got you in the Christmas spirit! Look out for a photo in The Henley Standard. Thank you for sending in costumes, shoes and helping us get ready. I know you have been helping at home to learn lines and songs - we really appreciate it.

Christmas Party and a walk to the Tree Festival at the church, next week and an early finish at 1.15 next Friday. Rest up; we have a few pretty exhausted Hedgehogs.

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Welcome Hedgehogs! Please see the Term 1 newsletter 'In this section' on the right, and topic web and home learning grid below.

Week 1 

if you need to speak to a member of staff, please try the end of the day at pick-up rather than drop off. Quite a few children are wobbly and need to see our smiling faces to greet them in the morning, so we can scoop them up! It may be easier for you to send an email, l to Hedgehogs class email, and I will respond.

Please use the black gate for both drop off and pick up each day.

Do let us know if someone other than you is collecting your child (including Wasps / Rainbow).

Weekly updates will appear each week, including new pictures in the gallery. The children had a good first week, despite the rain! We look forward to another busy week, making friends, learning the rules and routines, exploring the outdoor space and getting to know our classroom.

Week 2

Please see gallery for pictures of the children. They are starting to settle in and are making new friends.

Week 3

We have really started to get the hang of our class rules and routines now. Some children do need a little extra help to come in, but that usually gets better quickly. Please do not worry, they are never sad for long - we keep them too busy!

The children are loving the garden, especially the bikes. Phonics has started and we have taught the phonemes: s,a,t,p,i,n,m,d so far. Please read your child's books at home and write in the yellow home learning book. This really is crucial, so the children can practise the sounds. 

See class gallery for photos.

Week 4

The children have been learning the phonemes: g, o, c, k. Please look online at Oxford Owl as I have posted more books. We have been counting in different contexts, indoors and outside. We have been looking for signs of Autumn, collecting Autumn leaves and conkers and talking about the change of season.  We enjoyed our first toast cafe this week, thank you to the parents who have given their £10 contribution, to help us fund this. The children really enjoyed Languages Day on Friday. We learnt to say hello in different languages and talked about the children and families in Hedgehogs who speak and understand more than on langauge. They learnt 'Here Comes the Sun' in Makaton sign language. See gallery for new photos.

Week 5

This week in phonics we have been learning: ck, e, u, r. Try spotting these phonemes in your child's reading books. In maths we have been practising counting larger amounts, by pointing slowly and saying the number names at the right time! We are also working on understanding the last number we say is the total. We have had fun this week painting trolls for our cave, under the trolls' bridge, as part of our Talk 4 Write focus on the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Apologies for the abrupt end to that Zoom meeting! We had a one hour slot, so not sure why that happened, sorry! Thanks to everyone who came :)

Please see below for the presentation.

The children finished this week with a child-initiated collaboration to build an obstacle course using tyres and ramps. They played with the water, explored pebbles and logs and made dens. They balanced, jumped, ran and crawled and made up games, with their own rules. See picture gallery.

Please can everyone ask their child if they have a set of waterproofs at school, we had a very wet Friday and some children with no waterproofs. About half of the class are really independent at putting on their coats and waterproofs. We have about half who we are encouraging to 'have go' and try for themselves. if this sounds like it could be your child, please get your child to practise dressing and undressing at home, at every opportunity - getting yourself dressed for school and ready for bed are so important to develop planning, thinking, fine motor skills and co-ordination. 

Week 6

In Phonics we learnt the letter sounds: h,b,f,ff,l,ll. Look for these in your child's reading book or online, where there are extra titles. I don't use the parent / child portal, as I use the teacher access and upload titles, but I am told that if you click them as 'read' they disappear. If you just read them without doing that, they remain for you to read again. Hope that helps.

In maths we learnt about 'more than / fewer than' and 'equal' to, when comparing groups.

In Forest School we made swings and see-saws and played at being monsters. We loved our visit, and stayed for a really long time, as the children were having so much fun! They followed all our rules brilliantly, we were very impressed. Please see gallery.

Week 7

The children have been learning about Diwali this week. This is a festival celebrated around the world, by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddists. We have learnt a Diwali song, talked about how families prepare for this festival and listened to music from India.  We made coloured Rangoli patterns on the ground outside and on black paper using chalk. Some children even found time to make and decorate some clay diya lamps. We have also talked a lot this week about Halloween, and how excited the children are to celebrate at home, with their families and freinds..... 'sweeties' were mentioned once or twice!

We have enjoyed exploring the new letterjoin activities on the big screen and using our class i-pad. We can trace patterns and letter shapes on the screen. We have also made these on giant pieces of paper, on whiteboards and in our phonics books.