Walnut - Reception

Teachers: Ms Helm and Mrs Baker

Support Staff: Ms Hamilton

Please check the class letters page for information about our class fidget spinner day on Friday 23rd June 2017.

This half term we started our new literacy topic reading 'Puffin Peter' using the 'Power of Reading' scheme. Mrs Baker is extremely proud of Walnut class for being so busy this week practicing their literacy skills in practical ways by writing words on bananas for their friends to read and writing cards for their families. In Maths we have continued to use Big Maths to use number lines to solve problems. Everyone was so impressed with such a wonderful class assembly on Thursday well done Walnut Class.

The last couple of weeks we have been learning about the story 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. We planted our own beanstalks, wrote instructions and put the story in the correct order. In Maths we have been ordering numbers to 20 and adding and subtracting numbers using our magic beanstalk. In Phonics this week we looked at rhyming words and have been writing and reading sentences using our phonic knowledge. We made a castle and beanstalk to decorate our book corner. We have now got some exciting new members of the class- ask your child who or what it might be!

Beckenham Place Park Trip

We had a fantastic day at the park, thank you to all the family members who came to help, we couldn't have done it without you!

The children had a lovely time looking for the signs of spring in the morning and definitely made the most of the swing park in the afternoon!

I'm sure all of Walnut Class will sleep well tonight - they did so much walking!

Some highlights from the class trip

Week ending 24.2.17- This week we flew away with the Superheroes in our new topic. We read the Superhero ABC book, wrote action words and made up and wrote descriptions of our own superheroes. We made a wonderful book cover door for our class to celebrate World Book Week next week.

Week ending 3.2.17. This week we did some scientific experiments about winter and melting ice and went on a barcode hunt to find out things about Chinese New Year. We used tools safely to make stir fry and We finished our work with the Little Red Hen by writing our own versions of the story. In Maths we continued our work on adding and subtracting one or 2 from any given number to 10 and 20.

Week ending 13.1.17. This week we have continued to learn the story of the 'Gingerbread man'. We have written some wonderful speech bubbles and made some collage gingerbread men to decorate our class with. In Maths we have been finding one more and one less than any given number. In the afternoons we have been thinking about healthy food choices and what foods we should eat to keep us healthy. We had great fun playing in the snow on Friday!

Welcome back. We hope you all had a wonderful holiday. This term our topic is 'Once upon a time' and we have already been busy learning the story of 'The Gingerbread man'. The children have made some great gingerbread men out of clay to sell in our new class bakery role play area. In Maths we have been finding one less than any given number to 10 with the naughty fox eating the gingerbread men to help us find one less. We have started streaming for phonics with Year 1 and 2 so now your child will be learning phonics to help them progress at the apropriate level. Thank you so much for your wonderful home challenges they are already proudly displayed in Walnut class. If you haven't brought yours in there is still time to bring them in next week. Don't forget to ensure your child has their P.E. kit back in school ready for P.E on Thursday.

Week ending 9.12.16. This week we read 'The stick man' by Julia Donaldson. We did some brilliant writing about what we thought the stick man would say. In Maths we learnt about finding one more than any given number to 10 and 20. We made some fantastic Stickmen and Christmas tree decorations for our class hoop that is proudly hung in the hall for all to see our beautiful work.

Week ending 2.12.16- This week we read 'Kipper's Birthday'. We wrote some wonderful cards for Kipper and used our junk modelling skills to make him some beautiful birthday cakes. In PE we learnt some new games and we have been busy practising our nativity songs in class. We used the class computer to make some brilliant winter pictures and practised typing our names using a keyboard.

Week ending 25.11.16. This week we continued with the bear theme and carried on exploring our 5 senses. In Maths we did varous activities where we have been linking numbers to a set amount and carried on perfecting our counting skills. Mrs Baker was very impressed with some of the artwork we did. We used materials from previous weeks to recreate our favourite art projects since starting Reception. We finished the week with a wonderful Class assembly and once Mrs Baker or Ms Helm can figure out how to download the video we hope to put it on our class page. Another productive busy week -Well done Walnut class! .

Week ending 18.11.16- This week we read the story 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear What so You See?' We have explored and learnt about our 5 senses. We have been revising all of our Phase 2 sounds and started to learn our tricky words. On Thursday and Friday we celebrated and learnt about Children in need. In Spanish we learnt our numbers, colours and what clothes Ramon had in his washing machine. We also taked about how import it is to wash our hands regulary and properly.

Jolly Phonics Letter Sounds (British English)

Listen to the 42 letter sounds of Jolly Phonics, spoken in British English. Each letter sound is clearly spoken twice, before an example word is given. Perfect for parents and children who aren't sure how to pronounce the letter sounds.

Cursive Handwriting: How to Write the Alphabet

Some parents have asked for help to write the cursive letters. This is the way we teach the children to form the letters in class Teach children to use cursive handwriting. Use this video to demonstrate how the letters of the alphabet are written using cursive letter formation. Trace in the air, on big paper with felt tip pens, use sand, salt, chalk, paper or paint.

Curriculum letter- Autumn Term. Please take a look at what exciting things we have planned and note any important dates in your diary.

Week ending 11.11.11. This week we had a great time reading 'Funny Bones'. We sang the Skeleton Dance song and learnt about the bones in our bodies. We made some fantastic Skeleton pictures which are hanging up in our spooky homecorner. In phonics we learnt the sounds l, ll, f, ff and ss and we have started to learn our tricky words 'the' , 'I' and 'to'. On Thursday With Mrs Baker we went Poppy mad and learnt all about Remembrance day and why we wear poppies in November to think about people who have fought for our country.

Week ending 4.11.16. This week we celebrated the Hindu festival of light Diwali and Bonfire night. We made some beautiful Diwa lamps and rockets, learnt the story of 'Rama and Sita and in PE learnt some bollywood moves. In phonics we learnt the sounds E,U,R and H. We ended the week by dressing up in our traditional and party clothes, decorating and eating our firework biscuits and having a Diwali party with the children from Acacia class and Nursery.

Week ending 14th October- This week we have been reading 'Titch' by Pat Hutchins. We have been measuring objects, looking at size and ordering objects according to size. In phonics we have been learning the letter sounds m,d,g and o. We have been working so hard on our beautiful cursive handwriting. On Friday we had our Harvest assembly and performed our song 'Autumn Colours' -Well done Walnut for singing so beautifully. Mrs Baker was very impressed by some of the costumes the children wore to celebrate Harvest.

Picture of the week- Well done to these Walnut boys being really good friends and helping each other to get into their superhero costumes.

7.10.16 NEWSFLASH -Today the owl mother came to visit Reception. She was lost so we helped her find her babies and asked her lots of questions about owls.

Week ending 7.10.16- In phonics we we learnt the sounds i, n, and m and reviewed the sounds we have learnt already outside in the playground. We played board games and practised our counting skills in many different ways through counting jumps, hops and skips in the outside area. We have been very creative and made even more beautiful owls out of natural materials. Well done Walnut Class for such wonderful work this week Ms Helm and Mrs Baker are very proud of you all..

Week ending 30.9.16. This week we have been learning the first set of letter sounds s,a,t,p and i. Please look at the attached cursive flashcards to help your child practise reading and writing these sounds at home.

Phase 2 flashcardstes.pdf

30/9/16- We have done so many exciting things this week. We read the book 'Owl Babies', made size ordered Christmas tree cards (which were sent home on Wednesday) and started to learn some circle games and Animal yoga in PE.

Week ending- 23.9.16. This week we have been using our mathematical skills to sort and count a range of objects like conkers, pine cones and acorns. We learnt about the signs of Autumn and have started to practise our wonderful name writing.