Week 1

Word of the Week:  Mathematics

Welcome back Foundation Class!  We hope you had a fantastic Christmas and New Year!

This week has been all about Maths!  We have been learning all about ‘0’ and numbers 1-5. We have been playing lots of number games and singing some of our favourite songs - ‘Zero, Zero, Superhero’ and ‘Subitising Pirates’. We also been on number hunts and scavenger hunts around the provision.  Our highlight of the week has to be the escape room!  We had so much fun tidying the kingdom of Mathena for the Queen!

In phonics we have covered the following sounds:  ai, ee, igh and oa.  We have them been practising writing lots of words with these sounds in and a sentence too!  Maybe you could write words containing these sounds at home!

We have also begun our new topic ‘On the Move’. Following the children’s interests, this term we will be looking at lots of different maps and modes of transport. We will be linking this topic to stories such as:  ‘Martha Maps it Out’, ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’.  We’ve got lots of lovely activities planned!

Week 2

Word of the Week:  Aerial

This week we have been reading the story 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'.  We have reenacted the story and drawn story maps to retell the story.  Next week, we will be rewriting part of the story in our writing books.

In phonics, we have learnt the sounds 'oo (book), oo (zoom), ar and or.  We have practised reading and writing words and sentences using these sounds, we're getting really good at using applying our phonics!  Next week, we will be learning; ur, ow, oi and ear.  Don't forget to practise your tricky words at home using your new tricky word keyrings.

In maths, we have continued to recap the composition of numbers from 1 - 5.  We have recalled our number bonds, practised subitising and practised our number formation.  We will continue to practise the composition of numbers to 5 as we move onto our next concept.

As part of our 'On the Move' topic, we also looked at pirate maps.  We had to search the pirate maps for different features such as a treasure chest or a pirate ship.  We also opened our new Pirate Ship role play area, which we helped to create.  In the pirate ship, we have different pirate jobs to do and we can practise our mapping skills further!

Our favourite activity this week however, was when we were able to go outside to explore seasonal changes in the snow (even if it was a bit chilly!)

Week 3

Word of the Week:  Capacity

This week we have continued to read ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ by Michael Rosen.  We have re-enacted the story using our themed tuff tray and created a story map to help us remember the story.

In phonics we have been continuing our learning of phase 3 sounds.  We have been applying these sounds to our reading and to our writing. This week, we have been writing ‘Look at the moon and the stars.’, as well as adding our own ideas.

In maths, we have been learning all about capacity. We have been exploring capacity by using blocks, water and other objects.

Week 4

Word of the Week:  3D Map

This week, we have been reading ‘The Gruffalo’ by Julia Donaldson and have been discussing the journey that the mouse goes on through the deep dark woods. We have created a story map as a class, counted Gruffalos and created Gruffalo masks too!

In our geography lesson this week, we have been using our knowledge of Aerial maps, to create 3D maps, using different materials - blocks, duplo, Lego, building bricks. We worked together in groups to build a map of our school. 
 

We have now completed all of our phase 3 sounds, which we are very excited about!  We will now spend the next couple of weeks consolidating our knowledge. 
 

In maths, we are exploring 6, 7 and 8. This week, we have been finding and representing these numbers in different ways, for example with objects, pictures, fingers and the numbers themselves.  We will continue this learning next week, by finding 1 more and 1 less than,

Next week will be a very exciting week in Foundation Class, as we will be learning all about Chinese New Year!  We will also be learning about internet safety on Tuesday. It is going to be a very busy week!

Week 5

Word of the Week:  Chinese New Year and Lunar

Happy Chinese New Year!

We have had such a busy week learning all about Chinese New Year. This year, it is the year of the dragon, so we created a giant dragon and some mini ones too!  We looked at the Chinese flag and coloured in our own, explored a Chinese themed tuff tray and even tried some Chinese fruit.  We ended the week by taking part in our own Chinese New Year Parade. We paraded around the school grounds for everybody to see and celebrate with us.  It has been so much fun!

Children’s Mental Health Week

We have spent time learning about how we can look after our minds this week. We have had discussions, read stories and taken part in mindfulness activities. 

In phonics, we have been learning to read and write longer words this week and have also been recapping all of the sounds and words learnt so far. 
 

In maths, we have been looking at 1 more and 1 less than for numbers up to 8. We have practised this physically using objects and mentally too.  We particularly enjoyed acting out the rhyme ‘10 in the bed’ using the compare bears and numicon.

In geography, we explored different types of maps and looked at their features - houses, roads, canals, train lines, paths and more. We enjoyed this so much that we decided to draw our own maps too!

Next week, we will be learning all about Lent!

Week 6

Word of the Week:  Lent

This week we have been learning about Lent and why Christians celebrate it. We made paper pancake faces and playdough pancakes. We also made mud pancakes in the mud kitchen!

In phonics this week, we recapped phase 3 sounds and tricky words. Next term, we will continue to consolidate our phase 2 and 3 sounds and words.

In maths, we have continued to look at the composition of 6, 7 and 8. We have explored composition through numicon, subitising, ten frames, songs and number formation activities. 
 

This week with our buddies, we went on a walk around the school grounds to create a journey stick. We added natural objects to our sticks and then used them to explain our journeys to each other. 
 

Well done for such a great half term Foundation!  We hope you have a lovely break!

The Early Years Team 😊

Week 7

Word of the Week:  Double

Welcome back everybody, we hope you had a lovely half term!  This week we have been recapping our phase 3 phonics sounds.  We will continue to do this throughout Spring 2, through reading and writing.

In maths, we are looking at the composition of numbers up to 10.  We have been doing this in a variety of ways, e.g. Numicon, 10 frames and counting objects.  We have also been looking at doubling numbers!

No Outsiders

This half term, our focus book is 'Hello, Hello'.  We have discussed how we are all different to one and other in our class.  We have also discussed how to be a really good friend.  We practised this by saying hello to as many of our friends as possible, we even tried this in different languages.

Week 8

Word of the Week:  Support

This week, we have begun to read the story of 'The Little Red Hen'.  We have discussed how hard she works and how her friends are not very supportive of her.  In our writing we wrote descriptions of The Little Red Hen.

In maths this week, we have continued to look at the composition of numbers to 10.  We have also been practising our subitising skills - we are getting really good at this!

Our Understanding the World focus this week has been the life cycle of a hen.  We learnt all about how a hen will lay an egg, which will become a hatchling, and then a chick and then a hen.  We learnt how this is a cycle and that it goes around and around and around.

World Book Day

On World Book Day, we LOVED wearing our pyjamas to school!  We read lots of stories, played 'Sleeping Bunnies' and spent time reading with our buddies.  We also went on a picture book hunt.  We had to match the pages from our favourite picture books, to their front covers.  It was so much fun!

Week 9

Word of the Week:  Sculpture

We have had another very busy week this week!  We have been continuing to practise and apply our phase 3 phonics both in lessons and in our writing activity.  This week, we have written letters from The Little Red Hen to her friends, asking for help.

In maths, we have been learning our number bonds to 10.  We have been using ten frames and also the Numicon to do this.

Our topic work this week has been based around the artwork of Andy Goldsworthy.  We have learnt all about his 'Land Art'.  We looked at pictures of his work and then we created our own land art sculptures in the outdoor classroom.  We could not do them on the playground as it was a bit too windy!  We really enjoyed this activity and have been choosing to do it during our activity times also.

Mystery Readers

We are loving having our Mystery Readers in school!  It has been so exciting trying to guess who is coming in to read with us and to listen to each other's favourite stories!  Please contact the school office if you would like to take part!

Week 10

Word of the Week:  Life Cycle

As part of our science learning this week, we went on a nature walk around school to observe signs of Spring.  We observed ladybirds, buds on trees and plants, daffodils, bird song and a blue sky!  We then wrote about what we had seen or heard on our walk.  We have also discussed the life cycle of a flower and pretended to be bulbs which grew into daffodils.  In the enhanced provision, we have been doing observational drawings of daffodils.

In Maths, we have continued our composition of numbers to 10.  This is something we will continue to practise throughout the school year.  We have been using the 'Jack Hartman' songs to help us to remember our number bonds:  Number Bonds to 10 Song.

This week was also VERY exciting because we went on our second local visit!  We walked all the way to and from Sandbach Library.  This was to promote our love of reading in Foundation Class and to learn more about people who help us.  We enjoyed reading stories at the library and reenacting 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' by Michael Rosen.

We have ended the week with our treat afternoon!  Foundation class won a golden ticket, which meant that we could have an afternoon of free choice.  The winner chose a film and popcorn afternoon!