Reception Ash

Hello and welcome to Ash class web page.

In our classroom, you will find

     Mrs Mountney

  Miss Cox

    Mrs Pipkin

      Mrs Courlander

    Mrs Du Fou

If you have any questions please feel free to speak to a member of staff at the beginning or end of the day.

In Ash class our P.E lessons are on a Tuesday morning and a Friday afternoon. Please ensure P.E kits are in school on these days and all items are clearly labelled.

We use the outside area as our second classroom so please make sure the children bring suitable clothing as they will be outside whatever the weather. If possible please leave wellies (named) in school as we have a digging area, water wall and mud kitchen that the children have daily access to. We have some spare pairs of wellies that children are also able to use.

Your child should be reading daily to an adult, which can then be recorded in their green reading record book. This needs to be in school everyday and placed in the white baskets in the corridor each morning. Please keep the book your child is reading in their drawer. If your child reads a library book, a book of their own, listens to a story tape/CD or any kind of reading related activity, please also note it in their green reading record book. 

We use the Ready to Learn Chart to help manage our emotions. We are free to move our name to the appropriate colour when we are feeling excited, sad, tired, or cross. We understand it is normal to feel all these different emotions. By acknowledging them we can then find strategies to help us, which in turn will ensure we can move ourselves back to green. When we are on green we are ready to learn. 

Our learning- 13.1.20

The children settled back well into the class routines last week and were very excited to share their holiday news.

They thoroughly enjoyed our football session with the Stevenage Football Club coaches and these will continue each Tuesday afternoon until half term. Please make sure that the children have their PE kit in school each week. The focus will be on developing early ball skills and control, working together and towards the end of the sessions the children will be playing mini-matches.

We will also be investigating a science challenge that involves biscuits. We will be thinking about the equipment we will need, finding and organising the equipment, making predictions and finally investigating the challenge. Afterwards we will be discussing our findings and thinking about what we could change and why. I am sure that the children are going to be very excited.

Our story this week is Dear Zoo, a story that many of the children will already be familiar with. We will be discussing why the crates were different sizes and shapes, what the messages on the front mean and what animal they would like to have delivered and why. We will be painting different animals from the story, writing letters to the zoo and using our creative skills to make lift the flap pictures.

In maths we will be learning about 3d shapes and using our 2d shape knowledge to describe the shape of each face. We will go on a 3d shape hunt around the classroom to see which shapes we can find and have a go at naming them. Why not have a look at home and see how many 3d shapes you can find together. In Numberland we will be continuing with our positional language work from last week.

This week in phonics we will also be recapping all the tricky words we have learned so far and having a go at writing them. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make

 The challenges for the following tables are:

maths table: positional language challenge

finger gym: building a shelter for a pet

-story table: Dear Zoo

Please note that the next parents' workshop will be held on Wednesday 5th February at 9.00. The focus will be maths and parents will have the opportunity to work with their children to try a range of different maths activities. Staff will be available to answer any questions you have. If you have any questions please ask a member of staff.

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Reading takes many different forms and if the children have read a menu, recipe book, birthday card or a leaflet on a day out these can be recorded in their reading record book too!  Many thanks for your continued support.

Our learning- 6.1.20

Welcome back. We hope you all had a fun and relaxing break. We are looking forward to seeing the children again.

We are excited to hear the children’s news and find out what they were doing over the break. They will be drawing pictures and writing sentences about their experiences to share with the rest of the class.

Our story this week is Owl Babies and we will be acting it out ‘hot seating’ characters from the story and making clay owls. 

 In maths the children will be using their maths skills to measure different people on the maths table, using cubes and rulers. We will be re-visiting Numberland and solving some number problems that Inky the Mouse have left for us. 

This week in phonics we will also be recapping all the tricky words we have learned so far and having a go at writing them. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make

 The challenges for the following tables are:

maths table: measuring people using cubes

finger gym: balancing marbles on golf tees

-story table: Owl Babies

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Reading takes many different forms and if the children have read a menu, recipe book, birthday card or a leaflet on a day out these can be recorded in their reading record book too!  Many thanks for your continued support.

What we are learning: 16.12.19

The children thoroughly enjoyed sharing their performance of 'Shepherd Little’ and we were very proud of them. They looked amazing, sang beautifully and remembered their lines. We also watched the pantomime ‘Robin Hood’ and the children joined in with the singing and calling out when they saw the sheriff. 

This week we will be continuing with our Christmas activities and crafts, wrapping presents, building homes for penguins using sugar cubes and making some Christmas baked items. 

In phonics we will recap all the sounds so far and be using these to play Christmas themed eye spy and a Christmas sound lotto game.

In Number Land we will be continuing our work on positional language. The children will be placing objects in front of, behind, next to, under and on a Christmas tree. 

Our Christmas party will be on Wednesday afternoon. The children need to come to school in their uniform as usual and bring some party clothes in a named bag which they can place on their peg ready to change into after lunch.

School finishes on Friday 20th December at 1.45. 

 We would like to thank you for your continued support throughout the year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone in Ash Class.

Challenges for the week are;

Maths table- place the correct amount of snowflakes on the mittens

Finger gym - use the tweezers to pick up the sugar cubes and build a home for a penguin

Story table - Laura's Star

Our learning- 2.12.19

The children have been working really hard during Christmas play rehearsals, particularly with their singing. They are very excited to find out about their costumes and we will be revealing those on Friday. 

They enjoyed making story maps for the story ‘The Cave’ and they had obviously listened very carefully to the story. The doughnut with sprinkles featured in every map, obviously a key fact they all remembered!

This week will be basing our learning on the story ‘Stick Man,’ a popular favourite. There will be lots of work involving sticks, including measuring, ordering, making weaving sticks and of course using our imagination to decide what else a stick could be. Hopefully you enjoyed hunting for sticks at the weekend.

In maths the children will be ordering sticks according to length or width. We will be using the vocabulary longer than, shorter than, as we order them. 

This week in phonics we will be learning recapping all the sounds we have learned so far this term including digraphs. We will also be reading the tricky words in captions and matching pictures to them once they have been decoded. These skills will be used to support the children when writing about their stick and what else it could be.

 The challenges for the following tables are:

maths table: measuring and ordering sticks according to length

finger gym: making a weaving stick

-story table: Stick Man

We have now started rehearsing for our Christmas production of ‘Shepherd Little.’ You may even have heard your child singing some of the songs that we have been learning. A letter will be coming home shortly explaining which part your child has been given and any costume requirements. If you have any questions please speak to a member of staff.

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Many thanks for your continued support.

Our learning- 25.11.19

The children thoroughly enjoyed their visit to Hitchin library on Tuesday. They listened carefully to the stories that Rebecca the librarian read to them and we were very proud of their behaviour both at the library and on the walk back to school. Hopefully they have enjoyed reading the books they choose, with you at home. A big thank you to all the parents who were able to support us at the library or on the way back.

Making bear paw biscuits was also very popular with the children and they were amazed at how big they were when we took them out of the oven, so were the adults! We hope they were delicious!

In maths the children will be writing number lines which they will then use to make a number path for our small wooden Numberland houses. They will also be learning rhymes that will help them with their number formation. Last week the children enjoyed using some tape measures and rulers from the maths resources to measure objects in the classroom during child-initiated learning. Once they have made their number lines we will be exploring different ways that they can be used, counting on, counting back or even measuring.

This week in phonics we will be learning the sounds z, w and x and the digraph ng. We will also be recapping the tricky words we have learned so far and writing letters that belong to the one-armed robot family. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make

 The challenges for the following tables are:

maths table: making number lines

finger gym: using loose parts to form letters and CVC words

-story table: The Cave

We have now started rehearsing for our Christmas production of ‘Shepherd Little.’ You may even have heard your child singing some of the songs that we have been learning. A letter will be coming home shortly explaining which part your child has been given and any costume requirements. If you have any questions please speak to a member of staff.

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Many thanks for your continued support.

Our learning- 18.11.19

The children thoroughly enjoyed designing their own potions last week and added some interesting ingredients including frogs, unicorn horns, mushrooms and dragon's breath. We had a go at making some of them in the tuff tray outside, although some of the ingredients were a little hard to find! The mud kitchen has also been very popular this week, particularly as it has been so wet, which added to the excitement. 

Our new story of the week is ‘The Cave by Rob Hodgson.’ In the story a wolf waits outside of a cave for a little creature that he can see living inside. He tries many different ways to entice the creature out of the cave and when he finally succeeds he is in for a surprise, a big surprise. The children will be trying many activities linked to the story including making caves, designing a wolf mask, making bear paw biscuits and of course visiting Hitchin library.

The children loved our maths challenge last week, estimating how many objects were in a jar, writing their estimate on a post-it-note and then opening the jar and counting the amount to see how accurate they were. Why not have a go at this activity home? If you haven’t got a jar you could hide some objects under a cloth, then quickly show the children, then cover them again and ask the children how many they spotted.

It could also be a good memory game if you placed a small amount of different objects under the cloth. Show them the items and count to 10 so that they can have a good look and try to remember the objects. Then cover them up and discreetly remove 1 object. Uncover them, can they work out what is missing? 

In Numberland we will be continuing with our shape work.

This week in phonics we will be learning the digraphs sh, ch and th. We will also be recapping the tricky words we have learned so far and writing letters that belong to the curly caterpillar family. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make

 The challenges for the following tables are:

maths table: number formation

finger gym: using loose parts to make a den

-story table: The Cave

On Tuesday 19th November Ash class will be visiting Hitchin library. On this day we would like all the children to be dropped off at the library between 8.45 am and 9.00 am. If this is going to be a problem please speak to your class teacher. Children will be walking back to school after their visit in time for lunch.  If you are able to help walk the children back to school please speak to a member of staff. If your child has a library card they will need to bring it with them on the day, if not please get a membership form from the classroom on Monday morning and return it on Monday evening after school or on Tuesday morning.

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Many thanks for your continued support.

Our learning- 11.11.19

The children really enjoyed all the firework art we created last week, there are lots on display both in the classroom and in the bay in the corridor. They worked really hard to use their robot arms to help them segment firework words to write on stars.

We will also be continuing to read our story of the week ‘Room on a Broom.’ As part of this work we will be making potions and thinking carefully about the ingredients we would add and what the potion will turn people into. 

In maths we will be using our number skills to estimate amounts. On the maths table there will be 2 jars. The children will be encouraged to choose one and have a go at estimating  (guessing) how many objects are in the jar. They will need to write their name and the amount they think is in the jar on a post-it note. At the end of the day we will open each jar and count how many objects were in each. The amounts will change each day.

In Numberland we will be selecting regular and irregular shapes that belong in our garden, based on the number of sides they have. 

This week in phonics we will be learning the sounds j, oa and ie. We will also be recapping the tricky words we have learned so far and writing letters that belong to the curly caterpillar family. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make

 The challenges for the following tables are:

maths table: estimation jars

finger gym: using loose parts to make a poppy picture

-story table: Room on a Broom

On Tuesday 19th November Ash class will be visiting Hitchin library. On this day we would like all the children to be dropped off at the library between 8.45 am and 9.00 am. If this is going to be a problem please speak to your class teacher. Children will be walking back to school after their visit in time for lunch.  If you are able to help walk the children back to school please speak to a member of staff. 

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Many thanks for your continued support.

Our learning- 4.11.19

We hope you all had a relaxing half term and we are looking forward to seeing the children again. I’m sure they will have lots of news to share with us and each other!

This week we will be learning all about fireworks and using lots of different resources to make firework pictures, including spray painting using plant sprayers, a salad spinner and straws joined together. 

This week in phonics we will be learning the sounds f, b and ai. We will also be recapping the tricky words we have learned so far and writing letters that belong to the curly caterpillar family. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make.

In literacy we will be writing firework words on stars, thinking carefully about the letter sounds we can hear. Outside in the tuff spot we will be mixing potions and having a go at writing the list of ingredients so our friends can make it too! 

In maths we will be continuing to explore shape, using lolly sticks to make 2d shapes and describing their properties. This will include the number of sides and if the sides are curved or straight. In Numberland we will be selecting regular and irregular shapes that belong in our garden based on the number of sides they have. 

The challenges for the following tables are:

-maths table: making a 2d shape using lolly sticks

-finger gym: rescuing spiders from their web using tweezers

-story table: Room on a Broom

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Many thanks for your continued support.

Our learning- 21.10.19

A huge thank you to all the parents who were able to join us at the phonics workshop last week. The children really enjoyed sharing the activities with you and the feedback from parents was very positive.

The next parents workshop will be in the spring term and will have a maths focus. The date will follow soon.

The children really enjoyed showing their scarecrows in harvest assembly on Friday and if you were able to be there, I'm sure you will agree that they were very proud of their creations and they sat beautifully in the hall.

This week we will be learning all about the Hindu festival of light, Diwali. The children will be making and decorating clay divas, rangoli patterns and drawing round their hands to decorate with Mehndi patterns. They  will also be showing their clay divas in assembly on Friday and parents and carers are welcome to join us.

 In Storyland we will be reading the Diwali story about Rama and Sita. The children will be able to use masks from the story table to act out the story.

This week in phonics we will be recapping all the sounds and tricky words we have learned so far. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make.

In maths we will be exploring 2d shapes, going on a shape walk, making a shape picture and our visits to Numberland will continue.

The challenges for the following tables are:

-maths table: making a 2d shape picture

-finger gym: decorating a rangoli pattern

-story table: The Diwali story

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Many thanks for your continued support.

Our Diwali assembly will be held on Friday 25th October 9.05. The reception children will be showing their Divas. Parents and carers are very welcome to join us.

Our learning- 14.10.19

Last week we introduced a superhero theme based on the children’s interests and suggestions. In our outdoor classroom we have made a superhero writing hut which has proved very popular indeed. We also dressed up as superheroes and thought carefully about what our superpower would be and why. Watch out for the photographs and the children’s work appearing on display in the corridor.

This week we will be continuing to think about autumn and harvest. We will be exploring a range of different fruit and vegetables, painting pictures of them, making vegetable soup and even making our own superheroes out of potatoes which will link with our story of the week ‘Supertato.’ 

The children continue to enjoy their visits to Numberland and this week they will be left additional maths challenges to solve by the unkind pea from the story ‘Supertato.’

In Storyland we will be reading the story ‘Shark in the Park.’ Our focus will be exploring the illustrations, using them to make predictions and finding rhyming words.

This week in phonics we will be introducing the children to the sounds: g, l, o, and u. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make.

The challenges for the following tables are:

-maths table: investigation numbers and solving problems

-finger gym: making a superhero mask

-story table: Supertato

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Many thanks for your continued support.

On Wednesday 16th October  9.05 we will be holding a phonics workshop. There will be a brief introduction to phonics by Mrs Mountney and Miss Walker and then parents will be able to try some phonic based activities with their children. The children are very excited about sharing their learning with you. If you have any questions about the workshop please speak to an adult.

Our Harvest festival assembly will be held on Thursday 17th October 9.05. The reception children will be showing their scarecrows and have been learning the song ‘Big Red Combine Harvester,’ which I am sure many of our parents will be familiar with. Parents are very welcome to join us.

Our learning- 7.10.19

We had a very busy week last week. We enjoyed digging in the garden looking for worms and planting some new flowers. The children were very excited by the really long worms we found and had lots of fun measuring them! Making bread rolls was also very exciting and although the animals in the story did not want to help Ash and Elm class were very eager to help.

This week we will be continuing to think about autumn and harvest. We will be re-reading the story of ‘The Little Red Hen’ and using the new Makaton signs we have been learning for each of the animals to support our storytelling. We will also be making scarecrows ready for Harvest assembly on Thursday 17^th October. Parents are welcome to join us for assembly and the children will be showing their work.

The children were extremely excited by their first visit to Numberland and particularly enjoyed meeting the wooden characters that belong in each garden. We added a door and the correct number of windows to our house. When we visit this week they will be adding the correct amount of objects to each garden. Please have a look at the photographs below to see our learning.

In Storyland we will continue to read the story of ‘The Little Red Hen’ and signing the names of the animals as they are mentioned in the story. We will also be acting out the story in a small group. 

This week in phonics we will be introducing the children to the sounds: h, m, d, and r. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make.

The challenges for the following tables are:

-maths table: tens frames to make number patterns

-finger gym: making stick puppets

-story table: The Little Red Hen

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Many thanks for your continued support.

Our learning- 30.9.19

The children really enjoyed making their portraits using natural materials and there was lots of interesting discussions. Have a look at the photographs below and see who you can spot. This week we have done lots of music, singing and acting. We acted out the story of ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff,’ the part of the troll was very popular! We also had our first PE lesson on Friday and all children thoroughly enjoyed it. We are looking forward to our next one!

This week we will be starting to think about autumn and harvest. We will be listening to the story of ‘The Little Red Hen’ and thinking about the animals and their actions. We will be linking this to our PSED work on feelings and how our words and actions can make others feel. We will also be acting out the story and making some bread rolls.

In Maths the children will be taking their first  visit to Number land! They will need to go across a number lane to enter this magical world and when they get there they will discover numbered houses and gardens to match! Why not ask your child to tell you all about it. The children will also be discovering how to match the correct number of windows to their house and placing the correct amount of objects in each garden.

In Storyland the children will be sharing the story of ‘The Little Red Hen.’ They will be signing the names of each of the animals and joining in with the repeated refrain, “Not I said the ...” Ask the children to show you the Makaton sign for each animal. 

This week in phonics we will be introducing the children to the sounds: p, n, ck, e. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make.

The challenges for the following tables are:

-maths table: Place the spikes on the hedgehog

-finger gym: threading/repeating patterns

-story table: The Little Red Hen

Please ensure that children are heard to read as often as possible and their reading record books are signed and placed in the corresponding basket every morning. Many thanks for your continued support.

Our learning- 23.9.19

The children and their special toys thoroughly enjoyed our picnic on Friday. We made jam or spread sandwiches, wrote name labels for our toys and decorated biscuits. We explained to our friends why our toys are special to us and how it makes us feel when we cuddle them.

This week we will be continuing with our ‘all about me’ topic. The children will be making portraits using a range of natural materials including conkers, stones and sticks. 

In maths the children will be working on number recognition and building towers to stand on a range of numbers. We will also be thinking about how many bricks we would have if we added one more to the tower and working it out practically.

This week the children will continue to visit Storyland. We will be re-reading the big book 'Walking through the Jungle’ and discussing the different animals in the story.

In circle time this week we will be thinking about what makes us special and sharing it with the rest of the class.

This week in phonics we will also be introducing the children to the sounds: s a t i. The children will be taught how to write each letter and how to identify them in words. The children will also be using their robot hands to orally segment and blend words independently. When the children are reading their books to you or you are out and about point out the letters we are learning and ask the children to tell you the sounds they make.

 The challenges for the following tables are:

-maths table: building a tower that contains the correct number of bricks

-finger gym: using tweezers to pick up marbles and place them on hands.

-story table: This is our house

On Tuesday 24th September 9.00 there will be a meeting for reception parents in the hall. We will be discussing different strategies for supporting your child with their reading, the characteristics of effective learning, wows and answering any other questions parents have.

Our learning- 16.9.19

The children have all enjoyed their first few weeks at school and have been very busy, trying new activities and making new friends. Some of the activities we have been exploring include using natural materials to make a picture of our faces, painting, using playdough, fishing for numbers and making a giant ball run. Please have a look at the photographs of our learning, below.

This week we will be continuing with our ‘all about me’ topic. The children will be painting portraits of themselves and we will be naming different facial features and exploring colour mixing. They will also be talking about the activities they like to do when they are at home.

In maths the children will be working on number recognition and clipping the correct number of pegs on numbered leaves. We will also be introducing the concept of more or less and linking it to other areas of their learning.

This week the children will also be visiting Storyland for the first time and sharing the big book 'Walking through the Jungle.' As part of the session they will be using the illustrations to tell the story and discussing the animals they meet along the way.

As part of our class circle time sessions we have been discussing people and objects that are special to us and as part of this work we would like the children to bring in a small bear or a small soft toy on Friday 2oth September. The children will be writing a label for their bear and drawing or painting a picture of it. We will also be making sandwiches in the morning and the children will be having these at our picnic on Friday afternoon.

Please speak to a member of staff if you have any questions.

Thank you for your continued support.

The challenges for the following tables are:

-maths table: identifying the correct number on leaves and clipping on the correct number of pegs

-finger gym: using elastic bands to make different shapes on geo boards.

-story table: This is our house

The children now have a 'mini me' each, on the maths challenge table and this week we will be adding mini mes to the finger gym. When they have completed the challenge they need to find their 'mini me' and place it in the basket to show the adults in the class that they have completed the challenge. They will need to do this daily.