Mrs Tumelty
​Reception Class Teacher

Mrs Hunter
​Reception Class TA

Welcome to our Reception class page!
Welcome back to school and the start of our Spring Term, we are looking forward to having a busy and fun half term! We can't wait to carry on all of our learning in Reception.
On this page you will find out all about life in Reception at St. James'.
If you would like to get in touch please email us: [email protected]

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Our class texts' for Spring 1:
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The Storm Whale in Winter and Over in the Arctic.

We will be looking at these two texts, as well as other fiction and non-fiction books all to do with our topic on Winter.

In Reception our topic this half term is Winter. Here is what we will be looking at in Spring 1.
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Books: The Storm Whale in Winter by Benji Davies and Over in the Arctic by Marianne Berkes.
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Celebrations and Special Events: 
Chinese New Year
Children's Mental Health Week
Valentine's Day
Winter Walk
Sea Life Centre Class Trip

R.E:  Which places are special and why?

Communication and Language:  
Use new vocabulary through the day.
Retell the story, once they have developed a deep sense of familiarity with the text, some as exact repetition and some in their own words.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development:  
Show resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge.
Regular Physical Activity.
Physical Development:
Gross Motor Skills 
Can you move with grace? (Chinese  New Year Scarf Dance)
Lining up.
Fine Motor Skills 
Effective pencil grip.
Use of paintbrushes, knives, forks and spoons (at lunchtime) effectively.
Reading:
Language Comprehension: Re-read books to build up their confidence in word reading, their fluency and their understanding and enjoyment.
Word Reading: Blend sounds into words, so that they can read short words made up of known letter-sound correspondences. 
Read some letter groups that each represent one sound and say sounds for them. 
 Read a few common exception words matched to the schools phonic programme.
     
Phonics (Little Wandle Revised Letters and Sounds):  
Phase 3: ai,ee,igh,oa, oo, oo, ar,or,ur,ow,oi,ear,air,er words with double letters dd,mm,tt,bb,rr,gg,pp,ff longer words
New Tricky Words: Was, you, they, my, by, all, are, sure, pure
Writing:  
Spell words by identifying the sounds and then writing the sounds with letters/s.
Form lower-case and capital letters correctly. 
Begin to write short sentences with words with known sound-letter correspondences. 
Begin to re-read what they have written to check it makes sense.
Mathematics:  (Mastering Number and White Rose Maths)
Pupils will consolidate their counting skills, counting to larger numbers and developing a wider range of counting strategies. They will secure knowledge of number facts through varied practice. 

Understanding the World:
Winter
Explore the Natural World around them (Winter).
Describe what they see, hear and feel whilst outside.
Understand the effect of changing seasons on the natural world around them.
Recognise some environments that are different from the one in which they live (The Arctic).
Expressive Arts and Design:  
Winter
Return to and build on their previous learning, refining ideas and developing their ability to represent them.
Develop storylines in their pretend play.
​Chinese New Year Dance.

We are now teaching Phonics using Little Wandle Revised Letters and Sounds. Take a look at the For Parents page for more information!

Homework and Reading Books
Reception homework will be shared with you every Friday via email. Feel free to email photographs of any practical activities you do at home or you are more than welcome to bring them into class as well.

Reading Books will be assigned to your child via our new online E-Books. You will have received a login for your child and a new book will be assigned each Monday by the class teacher. In addition to this each Monday your child will choose a choosing book to take home with them, for you to read together. Please bring in your child's book bag each Monday for this choosing book to be changed.

Also we love to hear about what the children are getting up to at home, please send us photographs and objects from special events, days out and clubs- we'd love to share them with the class!

Useful Websites

Below are some useful websites to help support your child's learning:

Phonics Play - https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/
Development Matters Gov Document - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/development-matters--2
ICT Games - https://ictgames.com/mobilePage/
​BBC Teach EYFS - https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/articles/z6bgnrd
Oxford Reading Owl - https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/
Cbeebies Storytime and Rhymes - https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories
BBC Tiny Happy People - ​www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people