Turtles Autumn 1 2024

Welcome to the Lobsters!
This is Me!
This half term we will be learning all about ourselves. As we start the new year we will be thinking about friendship and what makes a a good friend. We will also be learning about how we are all individuals, unique and celebrating what makes us special. You can help by talking to your child about what they are good at and what makes them unique. This could be that they are great at riding a bike, really brave when trying new things, fantastic at painting, or that they can name all of the characters from Paw Patrol,  it really doesn't matter how small it is lets celebrate them being them! Why not share what ideas you come up with via Tapestry so we can use them in our class discussions. 
Key Vocabulary
  • family
  • same
  • different
  • special
  • unique
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
As part of settling in and our transition into Reception we will be thinking lots about what makes super 'Lobster Learning' we will be ensuring that the children are aware of our class expectations and rules and try their best to keep to them. During the first few weeks of the term we will be sharing stories such as 'The Colour Monster' and 'Ruby's Worry' to learn more about our emotions and how we can talk to others about how we are feeling.
 
In our learning all about me we will be discussing what we want to be when we grow up, and thinking about the different jobs people do and why they are important in society. Why not talk to your child about what job they might like to do when they are older and why it is important. You could share this video to get some career ideas from other children. 
 
The Lobsters will also be introduced to Jigsaw our whole school approach to PSHE. The children will have a weekly Jigsaw session this half term focusing on 'Being Me in my World.' We will be discussing our feelings, learning about responsibilities and also how to help others manage their feelings. All of the children are already excited for their 'Jenie time'- Jenie is our Reception jigsaw piece. 
Mathematics
Across Early Years, the children have access to a maths rich environment both indoors and outdoors. Opportunities for problem solving are addressed in our day-to-day routines. In Reception, the children will follow the NCETM Mastering Number Programme where we will be learning all about numbers including subitising, composing and comparison. This half term we will be beginning to learn how to write and record numerals to 9, making sure we form them correctly. Why not watch the video below to help your child to practice at home. Your child will no doubt come home talking about the Numberblocks as these form a big part of our maths learning. 
 
We will be comparing, sorting and matching objects and groups of objects, as well as counting and making given amounts. We will be learning about more than, less than and the same when comparing amounts. We will also be naming and describing 2D shapes including triangles, circles, rectangles and squares. Why not watch this video with your child to find out more about 2D shapes. 
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Understanding the World
As part of our 'This is me!' topic we will be thinking about our families and the things which we like to do with them. We will encourage the children to talk about special times they recall and places they have been with their family. We will also be talking about how all families are different and like to do different things. We will compare our families and talk about all of the people who are important to us and why. Why not spend some time talking to your child about your family and all of the different members in your family. You could share the 'The Family Book' by Todd Parr and look at how all families are different and that that is ok! We will be hoping to create our own Turtles family books and will be asking you to share photo's of your family with us on Tapestry.
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Key Texts
  • The Colour Monster, Anna Llenas (emotions)
  • Ruby's Worry, Tom Percival, (emotions)
  • Super Duper You, Sophy Henn, (celebrating uniqueness)
  • It’s Ok, Todd Parr, (Celebrating uniqueness)
  • Giraffes can't Dance, Giles Andreae (Wishing tale)
Literacy
We are aiming to develop a love of reading by immersing the children in texts and stories through daily story times, stories linked to our over arching themes as well as weekly visits to our school library. This year we will be following our Phonics scheme 'Monster Phonics'. This is an exciting program which will teach the children the initial skills they need to begin to read and write. Watch out for our exciting launch early in the term, where you can find out more about what to expect with Monster Phonics! One of the most exciting things about Reception is that the children will begin to bring home reading books which will support their learning in school. Again we have some new Monster Phonics home reading books which we excited to introduce the children to. Once we start to send books home it would be great if you could read little and often with your child. Children who read 4 or more times weekly will be rewarded each week building up to a special 'dippy box' reward. This is a very exciting time right at the start of your child's reading journey. Don't forget to check out Tapestry for ideas of activities you could try at home. We will be inviting all parents to come along to a meeting and find out what to expect with your child during their time in the Lobsters, we would love for everyone to come.

Something new for that the children will be introduced to in Reception is Drawing Club which will be an exciting part of our daily learning in Lobsters. We will use the power of books, stories and tales to immerse the children into a world full of imagination where anything can happen and often does. Through our activities in Drawing Club we will enrich the children's use and understanding of language and vocabulary as well as developing their fine motor skills. Having used this last year I know this will become a favourite part of the day for many of the children.

Physical Development

We will developing the children’s fine and gross motor skills through the opportunities we provide them inside and outside. This will include lots of finger gym style activities to help develop their fine motor skills. We will also be doing some dough disco activities to help strengthen our fingers and hands so that we can become strong writers. If you have some playdough at home why not give this a go- it is one of our favourites in school. 

Expressive Art and Design
This half term we will be creating our own self portraits, to do this we will be looking carefully at shape, line and colour. We will be drawing curved and straight lines and learning how to colour mix to create colours which we can use to paint all of our different features including eyes, hair and lips. We will also be choosing the correct tools to make sure that we create different effects when drawing and painting. You can help by spending some time looking in the mirror at home and talking to your child about their features including hair and eye colour, talk about the similarities and differences between the different people in your family. Why not have a go at drawing a face and making sure that your child adds features such as eyes, nose, lips, and eye brows.