Federation of Earlswood Schools
A Place to Learn Together
We offer Nursery Provision to Year 6
Weekly Blog
Week beginning 29th April 2024
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week we will be continuing to read and write words with consonant blends in, e.g. crept, string, scrunch and grand. The tricky words we will be learning to read are: are, pure, sure, was and do. We will also be learning to write the tricky words, were, here, little and says.
Drawing Club: We will be exploring and talking about the storybook ‘How to catch a star by Oliver Jeffers’ as part of our ‘Space’ theme this week. The children will be learning new vocabulary linked to the story and will be focusing on the main character, setting and events/adventures. We will be encouraging the children to use their imagination to draw their own character, setting and adventure pictures! As well as drawing, the children will be using their Phonics to sound out special passwords and super sentences for their pictures! The vocabulary the children will be learning and encouraged to use will be: adventure, determination, thoughtful, reaching, lonely, elated and resilient.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be learning about adding and taking away. We will be using the phrases 'First' 'Then' 'Now' to explore what we started with, what happened in between and what we ended up with.
RE: This week in RE we are continuing to explore what the term ‘special’ means. We will be exploring and talking about the storybook ‘Dogger by Shirley Hughes’. We will be questioning how the characters in the story feel and why they feel this way. We will then be thinking about how we would feel if we were to lose something special and how we should treat things that are special to other people.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be exploring how it feels when we have argued/ fallen out with our friends. We will be exploring and talking about the story book ‘George and Martha: The complete stories of two best friends by James Marshall’. We will be questioning what happens in the story and brainstorming ways we can make things better when we have had an argument with our friends.
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Week beginning 22nd April 2024
Thank you to everyone who uploaded a photo of your child's special item or your family to Tapestry. The children really enjoyed sharing these with their classes during our PSHE and RE lessons this week.
Junk modeling
Our supplies for junk modeling are low. If any families can bring in washed recyclable items for the children to use to create things we would be very grateful.
Local area walk Monday 13th May
We need parent helpers for our local walk. Please speak to your class teacher if you are able to walk with us. It will be for about an hour. Thank you.
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week we will be continuing to read and write words with consonant blends in, e.g. champ, shelf, truck and swim. The tricky words we will be continuing to read are: put, pull, full, push, my, by and like. We will also be learning to write the tricky words, some, come, love and do.
Drawing Club: As part of our new theme all about transport this week, we will be exploring and talking about the story "Hundred Decker Bus". The children will be learning new vocabulary linked to the story and will be focusing on the main character, setting and events/adventures. We will be encouraging the children to use their imagination to draw their own character, setting and adventure pictures! As well as drawing, the children will be using their Phonics to sound out special passwords and super sentences for their pictures! The vocabulary the children will be learning and encouraged to use will be: navigate, inflate, extension, uncertainty, crew, layer, expanding, mechanical and ascending.
Maths: This week in Math’s, we will be continuing our learning about numbers to 20. The children will be encouraged to be counting to 20 and beyond focusing on number pattern.
RE: This week in RE we will continue to explore things that are special to us and why they are special to us. We will also be looking at the story book ‘The Red Woolen Blanket by Bob Graham’ and discuss why the blanket was so special to Julia and how she would feel if she lost her blanket.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be exploring the emotion ‘loneliness’. We will discuss whether we have ever felt lonely and why we may have felt that way. We will then explore different ways we can help ourselves and others if they are feeling lonely by asking them what is wrong and asking them if they want to play with us.
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Week beginning 15th April 2024
If you have any kitchen roll tubes we would love these for our junk modelling areas as we will be busy making models of different methods of transport this week!
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week in Phonics we will be reading and writing words with consonant blends in, e.g. went, lamp, gift, best, pond and jump. The tricky words we will be continuing to read are: the, I, go, no, of, you. We will also be learning to write the new tricky words: said, so, have and like.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be learning to recognise and count up to 20. The children will also be looking at patterns they notice when counting from 10-20 and 0-20. From our Spring assessment, recalling Number Bonds to 10 and Doubles to 10 have been identified as an area of development. If you are able to practise these at home with your children we would be very grateful.
Literacy: ‘Transport’ is our new theme for this week! We will be exploring and talking about the animation "Wacky Races". The children will be learning new vocabulary linked to the story and will be focusing on the main character, setting and events/adventures. We will be encouraging the children to use their imagination to draw their own character, setting and adventure pictures! As well as drawing, the children will be using their Phonics to sound out special passwords and super sentences for their pictures! The vocabulary the children will be learning and encouraged to use will be: accelerate, breaking, hazard, steering, chuckle, demolish and overtake.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be learning about different jobs members of our family do. To support the children in talking about their families and the jobs they do we would be very grateful if you are able to upload a family photograph onto Tapestry by Tuesday 16th April. If you wear an identifiable uniform such as paramedic, policeman, dentist, vet, builder, pilot etc. We would also really appreciate it if you could upload a picture of yourself wearing your uniform, it would be a lovely talking point for the children to explore different elements of your job. Thank you in advance!
RE: This week in RE we will be exploring what ‘special’ means. It would be much appreciated if you are able to upload a photograph of your child with a special item onto Tapestry. This could be an item a loved one has bought them, an item that they got whilst on holiday, an item they have had since they were a baby etc. We will then share this photograph with the class and your child will be able to talk about this item and why this item is special to them. We would be very grateful if this can be uploaded by Thursday 18th April.
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Week beginning 25th March 2024
This week we will be carrying out our Phonics assessments for this half term. Please check the reading diaries at the end of the week for any areas to work on at home or if your child is taking part in our daily keep up.
Our learning this week
Phonics: This week we will be consolidating different graphemes learnt throughout Phase 3. The children will be continuing to read the tricky words we have learnt to date and will be using their blending and segmenting skills when reading and writing.
Drawing Club: This week we will be exploring and talking about the animation "Mr Benn, The Zookeeper", the children will be learning new vocabulary linked to the story and will be focusing on the main character, setting and events/adventures. We will be encouraging the children to use their imagination to draw their own character, setting and adventure pictures! As well as drawing, the children will be using their Phonics to sound out special passwords and super sentences for their pictures! The vocabulary the children will be learning and encouraged to use will be: liberate, capture, habitat, tearful, protect, shelter, release and forlorn.
Maths: This week in Math’s, we will be focusing on patterns and recapping our previous learning from this. Children will be copying, repeating and then creating their own 3 and 4 part patterns.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be exploring our ‘safe adults’. We will discuss things that our ‘safe adults’ do to look after us and keep us safe such as take us to and from school, making sure we have clean clothes to wear, making us dinner etc. We will also discuss things we should say and do if we are ever approached by someone unknown.
RE: This week we will reflect on last week’s lesson about something we were proud of making, we will then discuss how it might make us feel if someone was to ruin it. We will be discussing the importance of looking after our belongings as well as looking after others' belongings too.
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Week beginning 18th March 2024
Wow! What a week! Our ducklings have hatched and are such a wonderful addition to our classrooms! We had STEM week and carried out a science experiment with our mystery boxes and had a visit from a farmer from Godstone Farm as a visitor to share their job with us during STEM week.
Parents' evening
Tuesday 19th and Thursday 21st are parents' evening. Please make sure you have booked your slot to meet with your child's class teacher.
Donation
If any of our families are able to donate ingredients for the children to make fossils made out of salt dough next week that would be greatly appreciated. We are asking for salt (large bags or tubes) and plain flour. Thank you in advance.
Numbots
This week we will send out certificates for children's achievements on Numbots. Please encourage your child to do some Numbots throughout the week at home. Passwords are in their reading record and you can access it online at Numbots website or by downloading the app.
Our learning this week:
Phonics:
We will be teaching longer words, words where the s is making a z sound at the end of the word such as queens and the suffixes s and es in words such as cheeps and torches. We will be focusing on the tricky words: they, all, my, by, are, sure and pure.
Drawing Club:
This week we will be exploring the story ‘The Dinosaur that Pooped a Planet' by Dougie Poynter and Tom Fletcher. The children will be learning new vocabulary linked to the story and will be focusing on the main character, setting and events/adventures. We will be encouraging the children to use their imagination to draw their own character, setting and adventure pictures! As well as drawing, the children will be using their Phonics to sound out special passwords and super sentences for their pictures! The vocabulary the children will be learning and encouraged to use will be: Gnaw, Absent, Marooned, Plump, Weep, Regret, Rancid, and Secure
Maths:
We will be learning all about 3D shapes while also recapping 2D shapes. We will be identifying the names and properties of the 3D shapes as well as spotting 2D shapes on the faces of 3D shapes.
PSHE:
We will be thinking about the importance of keeping ourselves clean and learning about the importance of washing our hands and learning about germs.
RE:
We will be celebrating our own creativity and the creativity of others. Please send in any photos on tapestry of work your child is proud of or something they have made or created so that we can share these in our lesson. Thank you!
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Week beginning 11th March 2024
STEM Week
This week at school it is STEM week (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). As part of this, Reception will be exploring some mystery boxes using their Scientific skills to predict what they think is in each box and we are also very excited to welcome a visitor from Godstone Farm.
Monday 11th March
Our duckling eggs will be arriving on Monday and we are so excited for the children to have this learning experience of watching them hatch and grow!
Friday 15th March 2024 - Red Nose Day
The children are invited to wear something red to school. We are kindly asking everyone to bring in £1 or more. Cash donations can either be brought in and given straight to the class teacher or donated via Scopay.
Junk modeling
Any donations of junk modeling would be greatly appreciated.
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week we will be reading and writing longer words which end in 'ing', such as zooming, winking and waiting. We will also be learning about compound words where two separate words come together to make one word e.g. popcorn, carpark and rooftop. The tricky words we will be continuing to read are: he, we, me, be, was, you, they and all.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be continuing our learning around the number 10. We will be learning number bonds to 10 and doubles up to 10.
Drawing Club: This week we will be exploring the story ‘Chicken Licken' by Mara Alperin. The children will be learning new vocabulary linked to the story and will be focusing on the main character, setting and events/adventures. We will be encouraging the children to use their imagination to draw their own character, setting and adventure pictures! As well as drawing, the children will be using their Phonics to sound out special passwords and super sentences for their pictures! The vocabulary the children will be learning and encouraged to use will be: devoured, crafty, royal, parading, smirking, gullible and hysterical.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be exploring what happens to our bodies when we go to sleep and the benefits of getting a good night sleep every night.
RE: This week in RE we will recap what we learnt about looking after our planet, we will then explore what other area on our planet we need to look after. We will also be discussing how we can look after our school and why we do this.
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Week beginning 4th March 2024.
Monday 4th March 2024
Owl and Finch School Trip to Nower Wood.
Thursday 7th March 2024
World Book Day - this year it will look slightly different as we would like the costume to be themed around a non-fiction book. This link has a few ideas - https://www.costumes.com.au/blog/non-fiction-book-week-costume-ideas .
Junk Modelling.
We are always very grateful to receive the following items for our junk modelling areas - cereal boxes, egg boxes, kitchen roll tubes and clean, washed out plastic cartons. We do ask that no meats containers or toilet roll tubes are brought into school.
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week we will be reading and writing words with two or more digraphs, such as shimmer, tooth and corner. The tricky words we will be continuing to read are: no, of, to, into, she, he, and we. The children will also be learning to write the tricky words: to, into, she and we.
Drawing Club: In Drawing Club this week we will be reading ‘The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it Was None of His Business’ by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch. We will be drawing the character and setting, we will then be going on adventures with the story. As well as drawing, the children will be using their phonics to sound out special passwords for their pictures! The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, plops, splish splash, flump plump, rat a tat tat, pliperty plop, kersplosh, plop plat, pling, consistency and onomatopoeia
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be continuing our learning about 9 and 10 focusing on more and less and beginning to learn about number bonds to 10. If you have dominoes at home can your child subitise the dots and sort them into 9, more than 9 and less than 9 or 10, more than 10 and less than 10.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be focusing on healthy and less healthy foods. We will sort some different foods as to whether they are healthy or less healthy. We will then discuss whether we should never eat less healthy food. Furthermore we will be discussing what healthy and less healthy food does to our bodies.
RE: This week in RE we will continue to look at the world, we will be focusing on how we look after the world and what happens when we don’t look after it.
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Week beginning 26th February 2024
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week we will reviewing the graphemes, "er" and "air". We will also be reading and writing words with double letters such as, "better" and "pattern". The children will also be learning to 'chunk' words where we break up the word to support us when reading longer words e.g. "fantastic" would be chunked as "fan / tas / tic". The tricky words we will be continuing to read are: full, push, and, go, no and of.
Drawing Club: In Drawing Club this week we will be exploring the animation ‘A Bugs Life’ Bugs life clip from youtube. We will be drawing the character and setting, we will then be going on adventures with the animation. As well as drawing, the children will be using their phonics to sound out special passwords for their pictures! The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, exhausting, inventor, anxious, panicking, terrified, determined, collecting and talkative.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be focusing on the number 9 and 10. The children will be encouraged to spot smaller groups of numbers within these numbers using their subitising skills. We will also be looking at what these quantities will look like on a tens frame and other pictorial representations.
RE: This week in RE we will be going on a ‘WOW walk’ around the school, we will be looking out for things that make us say wow. We will then be discussing things that are beautiful and wonderful in this world as well as things we are thankful for and why we are thankful. Furthermore we will be exploring things that are natural and things that are man-made around the world.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be playing the ‘Bean game’, we will then discuss how are bodies are feeling after exercising. We will then recap some of the sports we discussed last week and have a go acting these out in small groups in front of the whole class. We will also do a cool down stretch and name different body parts.
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Week beginning 19th February 2024
Monday 19th February
Robin and Wren school trip to Nower Wood.
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week we will recapping all of the digraphs (2 letters which make 1 sound) which we have learnt over the last half term. The tricky words we will be continuing to revise are: is, as, his, has, the, I, put, pull and full.
Drawing Club: In Drawing Club this week we will be reading the story ‘Superworm' by Julia Donaldson. We will be drawing the character and setting, we will then be going on adventures with the story. As well as drawing, the children will be using their phonics to sound out special passwords for their pictures! The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, zooming, superhuman, timid, heroic, calamity, wriggling and indestructible.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be exploring time, thinking about ordering and sequencing events and instructions. We will also be using a whole class calendar to look at the days of the week and the month. We will be exploring timers and setting ourselves challenges such as how many times can we write our name in one minute.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be exploring different sports and exercises the children engage in. Furthermore ,we will be discussing why we enjoy these sports and how we learnt to do them with lots of practice. We will also be discussing what happens to our bodies when we exercise. We would appreciate it if you are able to upload some photographs onto tapestry of your children engaging in their favourite sport/ exercise/ physical activity outside of school. Photographs of certificates or medals that the children have received for these activities would also be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your engagement.
RE: Our RE focus this half-term is ‘what makes our world beautiful’. This week we will begin to learn about some of the creation stories from different religions. We will then be comparing similarities and differences between the creation stories.
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Week beginning 5th February 2024
Please note that school is closed on Friday 9th February 2024 for an INSET day.
School Trip Nower Wood:
We would love some parent helpers to join us on our school trip. Please speak to your child's Class Teacher if you are able to help.
Donations:
If any families are able to bring in carboard tubes, celery, daffodils that would be very much appreciated.
We are continuing our learning about growing. If families could bring in fruits containing seeds so that the children can be seed detectives this would really help with our learning for the week.
Children’s Mental Health Week:
This week is children's mental health week and this year the theme is ‘My Voice Matters’. The children will be taking part in activities that encourage them to connect with others in healthy, rewarding and meaningful ways. As part of this week, children are invited to wear their own clothes on Wednesday 7th February to show their individuality and help us celebrate differences.
Internet Safety Day:
On Tuesday 6th February it is also Safer Internet Day. The children will be listening to a story all about keeping safe on the internet. We will also be learning about different technology the children use. If you have any photos of your children using different technology please do upload them to your child's Tapestry learning journal and we will share these with the class as we discover different technology!
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be reviewing all of the sounds we have learnt this half term. The children will be continuing to read and write tricky words and will be reading sentences using the sounds we have learnt this half term.
Drawing Club: In Drawing Club this week we will be reading the story ‘Jaspers Beanstalk’ by Nick Butterworth. We will be drawing the character and setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. As well as drawing, the children will be using their phonics to sound out special passwords for their pictures! The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, discovered, observed, frustrated, hurled, trickle and delighted.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be learning about length and height. The children will be encouraged to find different things to use to measure different items.
PSHE: We will be reviewing the goals we set a couple of weeks ago and discuss whether we have achieved these goals and what steps were needed to achieve it. We will then be thinking about what goals we would like to set next.
RE: We will continue to learn about books that are special in different religions. We will also be learning that some stories within these book are about special people.
Week beginning 29th January 2024
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week in Phonics we will be recapping the digraphs already learnt this half term. We will also be learning how to read longer words such as carpark, laptop and bedroom. The chunking method will be used to help the children to segment and then blend these words. We will be segmenting and blending the word in two parts to then read the whole word. For example; car/park, lap/top. We will be recapping the tricky words learnt so far.
Drawing Club: In Drawing Club this week we will be reading the story "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle. We will be drawing the wind as our character this week as it carries the seed to a range of different settings. We will then go on our adventures! The children will use their phonics knowledge to create their own passwords. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, glide, winter, spring, summer, autumn, grow, enormous, descend and journey.
Maths: We will be focusing on the numerals 6, 7 and 8 this week. The children will be finding one more and one less. They will then be finding pairs in these numbers, learning about how this can help us identify if a number is odd or even. We will also be learning about doubling and how double is exactly the same amount again.
RE: We will continue to learn about books that are special in different religions. This week we will be learning about the ‘Bible’. We will be discussing how we know this book is special to Christian people and how they look after this book.
PSHE: We will be exploring different jobs that the children could have in the future. We will be thinking about what we would need to do now to help us achieve these future goals.
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Week beginning 22nd January 2024.
If you have any junk modelling such as kitchen roll tubes, bottle lids, corks, cereal boxes or washed out tubs which you no longer require please send them into school for our junk modelling areas, the children love to be creative and make amazing models! Please can we ask that boxes or containers which have contained nuts or meat are not sent into school.
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be focusing on the digraph (2 letters which make 1 sound) er e.g. digger and the trigraph air e.g. hair. The children will also be learning to read words with double letters in e.g. ladder, rabbit and digger. The children will using their grapheme knowledge to support them when blending to read words and sentences and segmenting sounds when writing. The tricky words we will be recapping and encouraging the children to read are: my, by, all, no and go. We will also be learning to write the tricky words: are, pure and sure.
Drawing club: This week we will be exploring the traditional tale ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. We will be drawing the character and setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. As well as drawing, the children will be using their phonics to sound out special passwords for their pictures! The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, clambering, booming, descending, glittering, ginormous and shocking.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be learning all about the composition of the numbers 6, 7 and 8. The children will be encouraged to represent these amounts using tens frames and will be shopping to find 6, 7 or 8 items in the classroom!
RE: We will continue to learn about books that are special in different religions. This week we will be learning about the ‘Torah’. We will be discussing how we know this book is special and how Jewish people look after this book.
PSHE: We will continue to focus on how we overcome challenges and become more resilient. We will be thinking about how positive words can help us achieve our goals and how negative words may have the opposite effect. We will be linking this to our Zones of Regulation to discuss how these words can make someone feel.
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Week beginning 15th January 2024
If you have any junk modelling such as kitchen roll tubes, bottle lids, corks, cereal boxes or washed out tubs which you no longer require please send them into school for our junk modelling areas, the children love to be creative and make amazing models! Please can we ask that boxes or containers which have contained nuts or meat are not sent into school.
Our learning this week:
Drawing club: This week we will be exploring the traditional tale ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. We will be drawing the character and setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, caring, mischievous, snooping, greedy, thoughtful and crafty.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be learning about mass and capacity. The children will be encouraged to compare quantities using the vocabulary associated with weight such as heavy and light and capacity such as empty and full.
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be focusing on the digraphs (2 letters which make 1 sound) ur, ow and oi e.g. fur, owl, boing and the trigraph ear e.g. hear. The children will also be using their grapheme knowledge to support them when blending to read words and sentences and segmenting sounds when writing. The tricky words we will be recapping and encouraging the children to read are: into, was, you and they. We will also be learning to write the tricky words: my, by and all.
PSHE: We will continue to focus on how we overcome challenges and become more resilient. Furthermore, we will be setting goals for things we would like to improve on and working towards these goals over the next few weeks.
RE: We will continue to learn about books that are special in different religions. We will also be learning that some stories within these book are about special people.
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Week beginning 8th January 2024
Donations- If families are able to donate any leftover Christmas ribbon or wool that would be much appreciated. We are also in need of empty Pringle cans or kitchen roll for our creative activity this week. If you able to collect some sticks during the weekend that would also be greatly appreciated.
Our learning this week:
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be focusing on the digraphs (2 letters which make 1 sound) oo, oo, ar and or e.g. moon, book, dark and horn. The children will also be using their grapheme knowledge to support them when blending to read words and sentences and segmenting sounds when writing. The tricky words we will be recapping and encouraging the children to read are: and, push. We will also be learning new tricky words: was, you, they.
Drawing club: This week we will be exploring the story book ‘One Snowy Night’ by Nick Butterworth. We will be drawing the character and setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, gloomy, nuzzled, spooked, chortle, thump and pair.
Maths: This week in Maths we will be focussing on numbers 0-5 and finding one more and one less. We will also be subitising and exploring the composition of the number 5.
RE: We will be learning about books that are special in different religions. The first book we will be learning about is the Qur’an.
PSHE: We will continue to focus on how we overcome challenges and become more resilient.
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Week beginning 2.1.24
We would like to thank all of our families for your support over the first term of school. We would also like to thank you for the kind gifts and cards we have received.
Wishing you all a happy Christmas break and we are looking forward to welcoming the children back in the new year!
Donations - If any families are able to donate salt or flour for our playdough making that would be really appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Please upload to tapestry a photo of your child with their favourite book for discussion during our RE lesson this week. Thank you.
Our learning this week:
Drawing club: This week in Drawing Club we will be reading the book "Gruffalo's Child" written by Julia Donaldson. We will be drawing the character and the setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, courageous, wandering, encounter, gusty, snuggle, slumber, puzzling.
Maths: In maths this week we will be focusing on numerals 0-5. We will be looking at different representation of these numerals, matching, comparing and subitising quantities to 5.
Phonics: In phonics this week we will be beginning to learn the phase 3 digraphs. We will be learning the digraphs ai, ee, igh, oa, and recapping the tricky words is, as, the, I, put, pull, full. The children will be using their phonics knowledge to support them when blending to read and segmenting sounds when writing.
RE: This week we be looking at our favourite story books and why they are special to us.
PSHE: We will be discussing when things get challenging or hard for us to do and talk about what we can do to overcome these challenges.
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Week beginning 11.12.23
Upcoming Dates
Saturday 9th December - Christmas fair at the infant school 2pm-4pm
Tuesday 12th December - Finch and Owl Christmas sing-a-long 9.05am - 9.35 am
Robin and Wren Christmas sing-a-long 2.30pm -3.00pm
The children have been working so hard to prepare for their sing-a-longs and they look and sound great, we can't wait for you to see it!
Donations - If any families are able to donate salt or flour for our playdough making that would be really appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Our learning this week
Drawing club: This week in Drawing Club we will be exploring the animation ‘The night before Christmas’ a Silly Symphonies animated Disney short film from 1933. We will be drawing the character and the setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, blizzard, ornament, chimney, merry, soot, and illuminate.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be recapping our learning all about matching quantities and numerals and finding one more and one less. The children will be using practical resources and five frames to support them when solving different number problems.
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be reviewing all of the sounds and tricky words we have learnt this half term and we will be recapping previously learnt digraphs (two letters which make one sound). The children will be using their phonics knowledge to support them when blending to read and segmenting sounds when writing.
RE: This week in RE we will continue to focus on celebrations and thinking about how celebrations are often a time to say thank you.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be focusing on internet safety, we will help Smartie the penguin to make good decision whilst using the internet. We will be encouraging the children to ask for help from an adult when they are on the internet.
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Week beginning 4.12.23
Thank you to those who were able to join us for the Christmas Making Morning. We hope you had a festive time!
Reading
Please ensure your child has their reading book and reading diary every day at school.
Our learning this week
Phonics: We will be assessing the children in phonics this week. We will also be recapping the sounds taught so far.
Maths: We will be focusing on identifying 4 sided shapes and learning the properties of a square and an oblong.
Drawing Club: We will be reading the story "The Gingerbread Man" in Drawing Club this week. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children this week is leap, accelerate, cunning, soggy, disappointed and mocking.
PSHE: We will still be thinking about being a kind friend and what to do when someone is unkind to us.
Week beginning 27.11.23
Please could we ask for as many kitchen roll cardboard tubes you have to be brought into school for our Christmas Making activities next week.
Christmas Making Morning
Wednesday 29th November is Christmas Making Morning! You are welcome to join your child in their class for the exciting festivities from 9.15am – 11.00am.
Reading books
Please may we remind you to ensure your child's reading diary and reading book is returned to school every day.
Our learning this week
Drawing Club: This week we will be exploring the story book ‘The Christmas Pine’ by Julia Donaldson. We will be drawing the character and setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, ancient, iridescent, soaring, remote, warble and absent.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be finding out about more and less. The children will be using lots of resources such as five and ten frames and counting items to support them when finding one less or one more than a number.
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be reviewing sounds we have previously learnt and will be focusing on words with 's' at the end of them. The tricky words we will be learning to read and recognise are, we, me and be. We will also continue to revisit the tricky words, she, push, of and he. The children will continue to practice their blending and segmenting skills to support them when reading and writing.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will be focusing on friendship. We will be discussing what a friend is, how we make friends and how to be a good/kind friend.
Week beginning 20.11.23
Parent evening appointments Tuesday 21st November and Thursday 23th November
Inset day Wednesday 22nd November
Our learning this week:
Drawing Club: This week in Drawing Club we will reading “Percy the Park Keeper After the Storm” by Nick Butterworth. We will be drawing the character and the setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be slumber, atrocious, hefty, saw, mangled and handkerchief.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be looking at the compositions of the number 4 and talking about the properties of the four-sided shapes square and oblong.
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be learning to recognise and pronounce the digraphs (2 letters which make 1 sound), sh, th, ng, nk. The tricky words we will be learning to read and recognise are, she, push, he, of. The children will continue to practice their blending and segmenting skills to support them when reading and writing.
PSHE: This week in PSHE, we will continue to focus on celebrating differences. The children will continue to discuss things they are good at and continue to develop their understanding that everybody is different and everybody is good at different things. We will also be discussing different ways people are similar.
RE: This week in RE we will be introducing the celebration of Christmas and talking about the Nativity. We will discuss how Christian’s celebrate Christmas to mark the birth of Jesus.
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Week beginning 13.11.23
Odd Socks Day 13th November /Anti Bullying Week 13th November-17th November
On Monday 13th November we ask that children wear odd socks to mark the start of this year’s Anti-Bullying Week (No donation is required). Odd Socks Day encourages us to express ourselves and celebrate our individuality and what makes us unique. During this year’s Anti-Bullying Week, we are encouraging the children to ‘Make a noise about bullying’. This means we are encouraging the children to reach out for help if they or they know someone who is experiencing bullying. Thank you for your support with these special events.
Date rearranged
Donation day for the Christmas fair no longer Wednesday 15th November - new date to be confirmed
Children in Need - Friday 17th November
On Friday 17th November, we ask that children wear something spotty to celebrate Children in Need. Your donations can help children and young people all over the UK who need it most. If you would like to complete your own fundraising challenges, please follow this link for some ideas -
https://www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/fundraising/ten-on-the-spot-fundraising-challenges/ - we would love to hear about any fundraising challenges you and your family take part in! Thank you for your support.
Woodland Walk
On Wednesday 15th November between 5.30-6.30pm it is our evening woodland walk starting at the Juniors in the playground. Please bring a torch with you or you could use your phone torch if you have one. Please may we remind you that you are responsible for your child during the walk and the walk will not be suitable for buggies. Please also ensure all children have their wellington boots in school for our daytime walk on Thursday 16th November.
Our learning this week:
Drawing Club: This week in Drawing Club we will be exploring the animation ‘Autumn’ a Silly Symphonies animated Disney short film from the 1930s. We will be drawing the character and the setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, hibernate, forage, migrate, russet, nippy and Rustle.
Maths: This week in Maths, we will be looking at the compositions of numbers 1, 2 and 3 and introducing the part whole model. We will also be using our subitising skills to notice the different compositions. Furthermore, we will begin to explore 2D shapes such as triangles and circles.
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be learning to recognise and pronounce the graphemes and digraphs (2 letters which make 1 sound), z, zz, qu and ch. The tricky words we will be learning to read and recognise are, go, no, to and into. We will also continue to revisit the tricky words, and, has, his and her. The children will continue to practice their blending and segmenting skills to support them when reading and writing.
PSHE: This week in PSHE, we will continue to focus on celebrating differences. The children will continue to discuss things they are good at and continue to develop their understanding that everybody is different and everybody is good at different things. We will also be discussing different ways people are similar.
RE: This week in RE we will continue to focus on birthdays, we will be discussing why we celebrate people’s birthdays and how we celebrate them. We will also be linking this to our Zones of Regulations to discuss how celebrating our birthday makes us feel.
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Week beginning 6.11.23
Noticeboard
This week at school it has been sculpture week and the children have all really enjoyed making their own and whole class sculptures. They really do look amazing! We would like to thank you all for your donations of natural items and shoes boxes.
Our learning this week:
Literacy: This week we will be exploring the story book ‘The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming’. We will be drawing the character and the setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, abundant, cascading, searching, puzzled, unclear and wandering.
Maths: This week in Maths we will be looking at numerals to 3 and comparing quantities with 1, 2 and 3 objects. We are also learning that as we count, each number is one more than the number before. We will also be challenging the children to explain how they know that one amount is less than or greater than other amounts of items.
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be learning to recognise and pronounce the graphemes, v, w, x and y. The tricky words we will be learning to read and recognise are, and, has, his and her. We will also continue to revisit the tricky words, I, is, the, put, pull, full and as. The children will continue to practice their blending and segmenting skills to support them when reading and writing.
PSHE: This week in PSHE, we will focusing on celebrating differences. The children will continue to discuss things they are good at and continue to develop their understanding that everybody is different and everybody is good at different things.
RE: This week in RE we will be focusing on birthdays, we will be discussing why we celebrate people’s birthdays and how we celebrate them.
Week beginning 30.10.23
We hope that you all have a restful and enjoyable half term break and look forward to welcoming you all back to school on Monday 30th October 2023.
Pumpkins
We would be very grateful of any pumpkin donations when we return to school.
Phonics Home learning
We have sent out home learning sheets for all of the graphemes we have learnt so far in Phonics. Please share these with your child and encourage them to sound talk and orally blend lots of words for example, you might ask your child to find a h-a-t or a p-e-n.
Here is a link to the scheme we are using with all of the correct pronunciations for each sound: Resources for parents
We have also uploaded a set of flashcards onto the website which you could encourage your children to write out and learn them through a variety of different activities such as:
· Playing hide and seek – write and hide grapheme cards around your home, can your child tell you the grapheme they have found?
· Play teachers and encourage your child to be the teacher and teach you or their siblings each grapheme.
· Flashcard each grapheme - how quickly can you say all of the sounds you see?
· Make a matching set of cards - your child could write each new flashcard and play snap or pairs with your two sets.
· Go on a Phonics scavenger hunt - choose a grapheme card - what can your child find which begins with the sound on the card?
· For a challenge... If you put 3 grapheme cards together, can your child practice their blending skills by sounding out and reading the word you have made? e.g. cat, mat, pin, red.
Here is a link which explains how we encourage the children to read and blend sounds in words: Resources for parents
We have also been working hard to recognise and read the tricky words: I, is and the. Please also encourage your child to continue to read these words. You could ask your child to spot them in a story book or when out and about.
Our learning this week:
Sculpture Week
We are all very excited to start our own individual and class sculptures! For sculpture week we will be learning all about the work of the sculptor, Louise Nevelson.
For the children to make their sculptures, we would appreciate as many shoe boxes and lids you have and would like the children to collect a range of natural items such as:
· Pine cones
· Conkers
· Sticks
· Acorns
· Stones
· Leaves
The children will also be learning all about Autumn and special celebrations. If you celebrate Diwali or go to any firework events, please do add this to your child's Tapestry journal, we would love to share their experiences with the children in their class. If you require any support with this please do speak to your child's class teacher.
Drawing club: This week we will be exploring the story book ‘Christopher Pumpkin' by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet. We will be drawing the character and setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, celebration, hair-raising, cheerful, surprise, distasteful, terrified.
Maths: This week we will be continuing to encourage the children to subitise, where the children will be encouraged to talk about what they see and what they notice when looking at an arrangement of items. We will also be talking about where we see numbers - What numbers can the children see at home or when out and about? We will be exploring the numerals and composition of 1, 2 and 3 and the children will be learning to group amounts of objects into groups of 1, 2's or 3's.
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be learning to recognise and pronounce the graphemes, ff, ll, ss and j. The tricky words we will be learning to read and recognise are, put, pull, full and as. We will also continue to revisit the tricky words, I, is and the. The children will also continue to practice their blending and segmenting skills to support them when reading and writing.
RE: This week in RE, we will be learning about the Hindu celebration on Diwali. All of the children will be making their own Diva Lamps using salt dough.
PSHE: This week in PSHE, we will focusing on celebrating differences. The children will be talking about something that they are good at and continue to develop their understanding that everybody is different and everybody is good at different things.
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Week beginning 16th October 2023
This is the last week of our first half term before we have the October Half Term holidays. The last day of school will be Friday 20th October and we will be back to school on Monday 30th October. The children really have done so well coping with the long weeks and the transition from nursery to school. We hope they have a week of fun along with some rest!
Please can we ask for baby photos of the children as we would love to create a baby book for our reading areas. These can be uploaded to tapestry, brought in, or emailed to infoinfants@earlswood.surrey.sch.uk.
If any families are able to donate the following items it would be very appreciated:
- Food dye
- Baby dolls (hard plastic ones that can go in the water)
Our learning this week:
Drawing Club: We will be reading the book 'Funny Bones' with the children. The vocabulary focus for the week will be dark, frighten, cheeky, bumped, cellar.
Maths: We will continue with learning about pattern, creating our own 2 part pattern and 3 part pattern. We also will be learning about subitising. Subitising is when children are able to identify how many items they can see without counting the items.
Phonics: We will be carrying out a Phonics assessments with the children this week. We will be assessing the sounds taught so far and blending CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will continue to recognise and name our feelings. As well as this, we will be exploring the Zones of Regulation specifically the red zone and how we are feeling when we are in the red zone, some examples of these feelings are, angry, out of control and terrified.
RE: We will be talking about belonging. How do we show that we belong to the school? Do we belong to any clubs?
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Week beginning 9th October 2023
World Mental Health Day
Tuesday 10th October is World Mental Health Day. We are marking this day with an own clothes day. We are inviting children to come to school wearing something yellow.
Fruit and Vegetable donations
For our learning next week, the children will be learning about lots of different foods which are healthy. We would be very grateful of any donations of root vegetables or fruit for the children to use in their activities throughout next week.
Teddy Bears Story Time
As part of feel good week at school next week we would like all children to bring in a teddy next Friday 13th October to enjoy a story time and snack alongside their classes and teddies!
Our Learning this week:
Drawing club: This week we will be exploring the story book ‘Owl Babies by Martin Waddell’. We will be drawing the character and setting. We will then be going on adventures with the story. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, brave, lost, wish, silent and worried.
Maths: In Maths this week we will be learning all about patterns. The children will be making and continuing their own patterns using their bodies such as stamping their feet and clapping their hands. They will also be learning to identify and talk about repeating patterns such as red, blue, red, blue, and will be encouraged to make their own patterns using resources in the classroom.
Phonics: This week in Phonics, we will be learning how to pronounce the phonemes and recognise the graphemes, h, b, f and l. The tricky word we will be learning to read is ‘the’ and the children will continue to revise the tricky words is and I. The children will learn how to form each of the above graphemes and will continue to practice their blending skills to support them when sounding out words and reading.
RE: This week in RE we will be thinking about how we have changed since we were a baby and how people welcome a new baby into the family.
PSHE: This week in PSHE we will continue to recognise and name our feelings. As well as this, we will be exploring the Zones of Regulation specifically the yellow zone and how we are feeling when we are in the yellow zone, some examples of these feelings are, silly, frustrated, excited and worried.
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Week beginning 2nd October 2023
Thank you to the families that have donated playdough ingredients over the past few weeks. If any families are going for a walk over the weekend could you please bring in some natural objects such as conkers, pinecones, sticks and leaves. Please be mindful of our nut free policy when bringing objects into school.
Our learning this week:
Drawing club: This week we will be learning the nursery rhyme “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. We will be drawing the character and setting. We will then be going on adventures with this nursery rhyme. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, twinkle, wondering, overhead, night, star.
Maths: This week in Maths we will begin to compare objects based on their height, length and capacity. The children will continue to classify, sort and match objects based on their size, colour or pattern. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, same, different, more, less, sort and compare.
Phonics: In Phonics this week, the children will be learning the sounds ck, e, u and r. They will be learning the phoneme - how to pronounce each sound and will be identifying items with each sound at the start. The children will also be learning how to form each grapheme using a rhyme to support them when writing. In addition to this, the children will be learning to segment sounds in words and blend them together to hear and say the whole word. The tricky word we will be learning to read will be, I.
RE: We will be thinking about our families and what makes them special and unique. We will also extend our learning to think about what makes other people special and unique.
PSHE: We will be beginning to recognise and name our feelings. As well as this, we will be exploring the Zones of Regulation specifically the blue zone and how we are feeling when we are in the blue zone, some examples of these feelings are, sad, tired, bored and unwell.
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Week beginning 25th September 2023.
Family Photos
Thank you to everyone who has sent a family photo. We would love a family photo of every child. If you are able to, please send one photo of your family to:
infoinfants@earlswood.surrey.sch.uk
Please could we ask that children are encouraged to be independent when taking their jumpers on and off. We have also been encouraging children to put their shoes and socks on independently after PE. Any additional support with these skills at home would be greatly appreciated.
Our learning this week:
Drawing club: This week we will be learning the nursery rhyme "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". We will be drawing the character and setting. We will then be going on adventures with this nursery rhyme. The vocabulary we will be teaching the children will be, gently, merry, dream, row, oar.
Maths: This week in Maths, the children will be classifying, sorting and matching objects based on their size, colour or pattern.
Phonics: In Phonics this week, the children will be learning the sounds g, o, c and k. They will be learning the phoneme - how to pronounce each sound and will be identifying items with each sound at the start. The children will also be learning how to form each grapheme using a rhyme to support them when writing. In addition to this, the children will be learning to segment sounds in words and blend them together to hear and say the whole word. The tricky word we will be learning to read will be, is.
RE: We will be thinking about our families and what makes them special and unique.
PSHE: We will be beginning to recognise and name our feelings. As well as this, we will be exploring the Zones of Regulation specifically the green zone and how we are feeling when we are in the green zone, some examples of these feelings are, happy, calm and ready to learn.
Well done!
We have really enjoyed welcoming the children to Earlswood this week and are so proud of how well the children have settled into Reception life!
This week we will be making a family book in our classrooms and sharing these photos in our RE lesson. Please can we ask for the children to bring in a photo of their family to share with the class. If you need to email a photo to us please can you do so at info@earlswood.surrey.sch.uk
We have PE on Thursdays. The children do not need to wear different clothing, we do ask that earrings are removed and that long hair is tied back.
In Reception we love making playdough. If any families are able to donate any of the following ingredients for playdough it would be very much appreciated. Thank you!
Playdough ingredients: Plain flour, table salt, vegetable oil, cream of tar tar.
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Week commencing 18.9.23
Learning this week:
Phonics: The children will be learning the phonemes p, i, n, m, d, practising their oral blending skills and blending CVC words such as sat, nap, man, dip.
Maths: The children will be singing lots of number songs, counting forwards and backwards
to 5.
Drawing club: The children will be focusing on the nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock. We will be drawing the character and setting. We then going on adventures with this nursery rhyme.
PSHE: We will be understanding how it feels to belong and that we are similar and different.
RE: We will be thinking about what makes us special and unique and sharing our family photos.
PE: We will be focusing on balance and strength using the climbing equipment. We will also be learning to move in different ways with safety and control.
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Welcome to Reception
Welcome to all our new children starting Reception at Earlswood! It has been lovely meeting the children and yourselves during the school visits and we hope you enjoyed them too.
We are looking forward to welcoming the children on Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th September for their half day sessions. Children are to be in school uniform and will not be having lunch at school on these days. The morning sessions are 9am-11:30am and the afternoon sessions are 12:30-3pm. These sessions have already been assigned. If you are unsure of your session time please contact the school.
Wednesday will be the children's first full day of school. They will be having lunch at school, please let us know of any dietary requirements if you have not done so already.
Please see the uniform policy here: Uniform
Every day the children need to bring a named:
- Water bottle
- Sun hat
- Water proof coat
- Spare clothes (these can be kept on their peg)
Sun cream needs to be applied before the children come to school and not brought into school.
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Learning this week:
Phonics: In Phonics children will be learning to read and write. The children will be learning the phonemes s, a, t and practising their oral blending skills.
Maths: The children will be singing lots of number songs, counting forwards and backwards
to 5.
Drawing Club: The children will be focusing on the nursery rhyme Incy Wincy Spider. We will be drawing the character, setting and then going on an adventure and design an umbrella for Incy Wincy Spider.