WellsPrimary School

Barclay Oval, Woodford Green, Essex, IG8 0PP

Tel: 020 8708 0500 Fax: 020 8708 0501

e-mail:

Headteacher: Jill Henderson

January 2012

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to the Spring term. We wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2012.

This letter aims to give you a brief overview of what your child will be learning during this term.

The general themes for this term are: Living and Growing, Seasons, Religions and Festivals and Healthy Living. Through these themes we will be developing the children’s understanding using the Early Years Foundation Stage six areas of Learning (Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Communication Language and Literacy; Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy; Knowledge and Understanding of the World; Physical Development and Creative Development). In the Foundation Stage children learn in a variety of ways.

These are;

Self-initiated: where children use resources available in the setting for learning through play exploring, investigating and developing their learning. This learning can be planned or spontaneous. Self-initiated learning is when a child or children are interested in something that they have seen or learnt. For example, when reading a story children may become interested in something mentioned in the story and then want to learn more about it. For instance, in the story of Winnie in Winter the animals in the story wake up. The children start to ask questions about this and then we would start to investigate about hibernating and animal life cycles.

Adult focussed: where children work with an adult and are guided by the adult but are able to explore and investigate to develop their learning. For example, children working in the garden may talk about the types of living things that eat vegetables when they are growing or they may ask questions about why the tomato skins have split.

The following aspects will be covered throughout the term:

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy-

Nursery (F1)

  • Count up to at least six everyday objects.
  • To join in addition and subtraction when singing rhymes and playing games.
  • To say number names in order.
  • To sort and match objects and shapes and to be able to talk about how they have been sorted.

Reception (F2)*

  • To be able to record addition and subtraction problems independently using the relevant symbols.
  • Recognise, count, order, write and use numbers up to 20 and beyond.
  • Use language such as ‘greater’, ‘smaller,’ ‘heavier’, or ‘lighter’, to compare quantities.
  • To use and understand ordinal numbers.
  • To be able to describe 3D shapes and talk about their properties.
  • To use developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems.

Communication, Language and Literacy-

Nursery (F1)

  • Continue to interact with others and take turns in conversation. Sustain attentive listening and respond to what they have heard.
  • Know that print conveys meaning and, in English, is read from left to right and top to bottom.
  • Continue to use language to recreate roles and experiences.
  • Write their own name correctly, using a capital letter at the beginning and all other letters lower case.
  • Use a pencil effectively and start to form recognisable letters, some of which are correctly formed.

Reception (F2)*

  • Use talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings, and events, exploring the meanings and sounds of new words.
  • To continue to hear, say, blend, segment and write the sounds in words.
  • To build on and continue to use knowledge of letters, sounds and words when reading and writing independently.
  • Use a pencil effectively and form recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed.
  • Attempt writing for a variety of purposes, using features of different forms and some punctuation.

*Reception Parents: When looking at aspects to be covered over the term please also refer to your child’s individual targets which are tailored to your child’s individual needs.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World –

  • To identify similarities and differences when exploring and observing. To construct in a purposeful way, using simple tools and techniques, adapting her/his work where necessary.
  • To find out about past and present events in their own lives and continue to learn about their own cultures and those of other people.
  • To ask questions about why things happen and how things work, look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change.
  • To continue to use their senses to investigate places, objects, materials and living things.
  • To continue to find out about and identify the uses of everyday technology. To use ICT and programmable toys to support their learning.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development –

  • To express needs and feelings in appropriate ways.
  • To work as part of a group or class, taking turns and sharing fairly.
  • To dress and undress independently and manage own personal hygiene.

Trips/Visitors to year group –

Reception trip to Discover in Stratford on Thursday 1st of March.

P. E. times -

Nursery AM- Friday Nursery PM - Friday

Reception - Tuesday and Thursday

Please ensure that your child has the appropriate change of clothes for P.E. In the winter months they will need tracksuit trousers as some P. E. sessions take place outside.

Winter Coats- please ensure that your child is wearing a coat that they are able to fasten independently each day to school or nursery to keep them warm when working and playing outside.

Book Bag Information –

Reception reading books will be changed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Mondays and Wednesdays the children will bring home a book that they have chosen from the book corner and on Fridays they will bring home a levelled reading book. Please share these books with your child and write a comment in their reading record. Each week your child will participate in guided reading sessions with the class teacher and a comment will be written in your child’s Reading Record.

Homework is sent home on Fridays – Communication, Language and Literacy homework will include the sounds learnt over the week and Problem Solving Reasoning and Numeracy will be based around the mathematical area covered. In addition to this Knowledge and Understanding of the World homework will be sent home from time to time to reinforce work that is being carried out in school.

Nursery books will be changed on a Monday and Thursday.

Information slip. As you may be aware as part of the Early Years Foundation Stage it is important that we share achievements made at home as well as at school. To help with this we have included a slip on which you can jot down anything achieved at home. These could be dressing, writing their name unaided for the first time, talking about something they have done with us and then building on that, singing songs etc. Reception parents may find the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Assessment Scales sheet (given out at the Intake Evening) useful for this. If you need another copy please see any of the key workers. As before, we would value your feedback on this too.

Thank you.

Ms. D. Johnson Miss.Bostock Mrs. Finch Miss. Law Mrs. Upton

Date:______My child______

Has achieved the following at home:

Date:______My child______

Has achieved the following at home: