We welcomed the children back to school on Monday morning with lots of talk about what they had been up to over half term. We spent Monday sharing our stories, drawing pictures and writing about what we had done. Some children had also been busy cooking and baking over half term and had emailed in photos of this. They spoke to the class about what they had done and the children asked them lots of questions.

On Tuesday we had more excitement as the children came to school in Halloween costumes and dressed as fireworks. We talked about fireworks we had seen and heard, and described them for our friends. We decided to make pictures of these fireworks and during the week we made fireworks by pictures using various media.

We read the story of Room on the Broom this week and the children were quite interested in the potion that the witch made at the end. We decided to make our own potions, thinking of what we could put inside. The children drew pictures of their ingredients and were encouraged to label their pictures by writing the first sound in each word.

In phonics this week we learned the sounds g, o and c. We practised writing these sounds and reading words containing the sounds we have learned so far. Every day we are working on blending these sounds to read words. Please keep practising this at home, using the sounds on the sound tags to make simple 3 letter words.

In maths this week we worked on counting accurately. We made sure to touch each object as we counted to ensure we didn’t miss any. We then matched the quantity we had counted with the correct numeral.

It was lovely to meet so many parents at Parents Evening this week. It is so important that schools and parents work closely together. If you have any further questions, we are always available to answer them at drop off or pick up times each day.

Next Thursday we will be hosting an Open Classroom and all parents are welcome to attend. This is an opportunity to come and find out how phonics is taught in Reception. I will be teaching a phonics session and then we will then have lots of phonics related games for the children to play. These will hopefully give you ideas of what you can do at home with your child. The session should last for about 30/45 minutes but if parents need to leave earlier than that then they can.

Well done on some great work on your first week back Toucan Class.