1. Miss Visser September 2015

2. Reception – Phonics & Reading Progressive daily phonics lessons which aim to teach children to read fluently and skilfully Weekly review sheet will show sounds of the week, we would appreciate it if you can spend 5 minutes each day going over the sounds with your child Use pure sounds! You can hear examples of each sound on www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/alphablocks www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/alphablocks Little and often is the most effective way to practise

3. Reception - Reading It is so important to read to your child and encourage a love of reading (library books) It is also important to share picture books and enjoy looking at pictures, discussing what they tell us to develop comprehension Reading books have gone home tonight Please write in your child’s planner each night to show us that you have heard them read and we welcome any other comments or messages

4. Reception -Writing Children will be learning to write using the end-cursive style with the ‘lead out’ at the end of the letter E.g. ‘d’ instead of ‘d’ or ‘h’ instead of ‘h’ Handwriting books - If you do want to help your child practise writing their full name, please use lower case letters rather than capitals. For example, ‘ Anthony ’ rather than ‘ANTHONY’ The correct pencil grip is essential (tripod grip – 3 sided pencils can be purchased in many shops, for example Chapter One in Leek)

5. Reception - Writing Each child has a phonics folder in which handwriting / letter formation homework activities will be sent Pen Pals letter formation sheet can be laminated We always encourage the children to “have a go” at writing independently and they are always praised for their efforts Always encourage children to have a phonetically plausible attempt at writing

6. Reception - Maths We use lots of practical activities which are hands on – outside areas used as much as possible e.g. Sand and water. Raised expectations – number sentences The shape and space elements of the curriculum are explored in part through a range of construction activities, creative activities and model making. It would be helpful if you played number games with your child at home that involve counting (e.g. number snap, number dominoes, dice games). This also promotes good turn taking.

7. Reception – Maths Number recognition - choose a number of the week e.g. 3. Practise counting to 3 and on from 3. Count out groups of 3 objects (3 cars, 3 bricks, 3 crayons) Children find writing numbers quite difficult at first and number reversal (writing the number ‘back to front’) is very common. Always praise your child for their efforts and then show them the correct way of writing the number

8. Speaking and Listening It is still very important to talk to your child about the world around them Use phonics and high frequency word knowledge to read signs in different environments Encourage children to read signs when you are walking or out in the car, e.g. How many miles to Hanley?

9. Resources ‘Handy Hints for Reception’ letter – please speak to myself or Mrs Downes if you would like another copy Pen Pals letter formation sheet Questions to help your child’s comprehension in reading Phonics Play website – excellent website that can be used as a resource for phonics games www.phonicsplay.co.uk