Welcome to the Summer term!

We hope you had a lovely Easter break and are returning to school well rested and ready for new learning adventures!

This term our learning and activities will be inspired by our learning enhancement themes:

• Amazing Animals

We will read the stories Owl Babies and learn all about different owls, their features, the different habitats of owls around the world, their hunting habits and what they eat. The children will create owl artwork with chalk pastels, a medium we haven’t explored yet.

We will read What the Ladybird Heard and talk about all the farm animals in the story. We will learn the life cycle of a chicken and visit Sacrewell Heritage Farm to see the different animals there for ourselves. We will also talk about maps and draw our own maps.

We have resident tadpoles and are enjoying watching them grow and develop; we will learn more about the life cycle of a frog and we will release our tadpoles, once they have grown into frogs, back into the school pond so that they can continue the life cycle.

We will also learn about animals that live in Africa when we read the story Handa’s Surprise. We will look at the difference between countries in Africa and our own country and how the animals have evolved to live in different climates and habitats.

• Are plants alive?

We will be having fun being green fingered this term as we explore the world of plants and have a go growing some of our own. We will learn about the different parts of flowering plants and what plants need to grow in our science unit The Potting Shed.

We will read Jasper’s Beanstalk and the traditional tale Jack and the Beanstalk and grow our own bean plants in mini greenhouses on our windows. The children will be able to see the bean seeds germinate and grow roots and shoots before potting them and watching them grow into tall beanstalks!

• Food of the seasons

We will link our science unit Food of the Seasons to our literacy learning through the story Handa’s Surprise. We will learn about different fruits and vegetables and where in the world they are grown. We will look at food packaging and a map of the world and a globe to see where our food has come from.

The children will have a chance to try different fruits and vegetables and will make salads and fruit kebabs which will provide opportunities for them to practise their fine motor skills chopping the food as well as teachable moments around food hygiene and healthy eating habits.

Maths

In our maths learning this term, we will be counting to 20 and beyond, practising our addition and subtraction, doubling, sharing and grouping numbers, exploring odd and even, and matching, manipulating and rotating shapes alongside creating and exploring patterns.

Reading

In Reception class we recognise that reading is the keystone of learning and therefore it is vital that every child becomes a reader. 

Children will continue to have their reading books changed twice a week either on a Monday and Thursday or a Tuesday and Friday. Children also read 1:1 at least twice a week.

Please continue to read and share books at home with your child every day, as well as using the Phase 2 and 3 sound mat to practise their phonic sounds.

Other classroom Information

It is important that your child has their school water bottle in school at all times - please ensure these only contain water.

In the summer term we will be outside a lot of the time, please ensure that your child has appropriate clothing for the forecasted weather and that they bring a sun hat to protect them on the sunnier days.

Please don’t hesitate to come and see us to discuss any of the above or if there are any problems or questions you have.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Mrs Wilson and Mrs Cook