Welcome to Willow Class!

Autumn 2018

Dear Parents/ Carers,

Welcome to Gobowen School. Your children have settled in confidently and they are keen to try everything and see everywhere in school. They are really energetic and I’m sure they will love wellie walks, Forest School and sports coaching this term.

Here is an overview of our topic for this term and some ideas about how you can be involved at home. Our topic is...

Important Information /
  • Forest School is every MONDAY AFTERNOON- please send your child to school in old clothes EVERY MONDAY- all year
  • PE is EVERY Wednesday morning and Friday afternoon until November
  • Welly walks are EVERY Thursday afternoon
  • Homework packs will be sent home EVERY Monday after the parent meeting and please sign up to ClassDojo

EYFS / Areas to be explored in school / How you can help at home
Personal, Social and Emotional Development /
  • Play cooperatively with other children
  • Share resources and take turns with increasing independence, especially waiting for a toy they want
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  • Invite children to play with your child or meet other parents at the park
  • Praise turn taking and sharing when playing games with your child

Communication and Language /
  • Listen to stories and join in when they can
  • Know some rhymes off by heart
  • Use comparison words, e.g. taller, shorter, wider, deeper
  • Use sentences when speaking sometimes using ‘because’ and ‘and’ to join sentences
/
  • Read or tell a story to your child every night
  • Ask your child questions about the pictures in stories such as ‘why is she doing that?’ and ‘how did they get there?’
  • Recite rhymes with your child
  • Always look at your child when you talk to them and respond to what they say- supporting good conversational skills

Physical Development /
  • Use scissors with their thumb in one hole and a finger in the other- thumb pointing upwards
  • Use a pencil with good control
  • Copy letters with correct letter formation
  • Zip up coat and put gloves on with increasing independence
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  • Encourage your child to put their own shoes, coat and gloves on before leaving the house
  • Use scissors at home to cut up magazines, straws and play doh
  • Help your child to draw pictures with detail and write their own and family names

Literacy /
  • Write own name from memory with correct letter formation
  • Read the books sent home with increasing independence
  • Spell words correctly with 3 letters, such as cat, dog, man
  • Look at books with interest
/
  • Help your child to spot letters, read words, then sentences, in the books sent home
  • Share a book with your child every night
  • Practice drawing what they see and what they imagine as well as writing words they see in books

Mathematics /
  • Recognise numerals 0-10 then 20
  • Count forwards and backwards up to 20 from any number
  • Recognise coins
  • Recognise and name some 2d and 3d shapes
  • Use positional and comparison words to describe objects, such as longer, behind, next to
/
  • Look at numbers and shapes on signs and doors and on the pages of books being read
  • Count forwards and backwards with your child when playing hide and seek, climbing stairs or setting the table for dinner
  • Pay for items at the shop using coins (1p,2p,5p, 10p) or play ‘shop’ at home

Understanding the World /
  • Learn that dinosaurs existed on earth before them
  • Say the names of some dinosaurs
  • Match and sort dinosaurs
  • Learn about seasonal changes and talk about weather and the seasons
  • Talk about the natural environment changing from Autumn to Winter
/
  • Take your child on walks near natural spaces and talk about the rivers, trees and other things seen- what lives and grows in different areas
  • Use Gobowen library or the Internet to find out facts about any dinosaurs your child is interested in

Expressive Arts and Design /
  • Learn Harvest and Christmas songs by heart
  • Act out and create own stories by storytelling with dinosaurs and other interesting props
  • Make up and create models of our own dinosaurs
  • Use dinosaurs as inspiration for drawing, painting using other mediums
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  • Encourage your child to make up stories when sharing books at home
  • Draw stories or make and use puppets to help children retell them
  • Make homes for dinosaurs using junk, playdoh or items found in the garden
  • Join in role play with your child

If you would like any further information about this newsletter do not hesitate to speak to me or message me on ClassDojo.

Mrs R Talbot