Reception Newsletter 14.02.20

This week

Thank you for your support at parents evening this week. It was lovely to meet with you all to discuss your child’s progress-thank you for giving up your time and for all you do to support us at school.

Lots of people were asking me what they can do to support their child at home, and of course this is different for different children but mostly, children at this age do not need to be doing too much formal learning at home e.g workbooks and writing sheets or specific activities. The best things you can do for your child at this age are:

  • Communicate with them, using rich language and encourage them to ask and answer questions. Make sure you set aside time to really listen to your child and respond to what they are saying and asking
  • Let them do and discover things for themselves-dressing, making choices about their food and their day, letting them fail at things and learn resilience to try again-not stepping in and doing everything for them straightaway
  • Read to them and with them. Make reading an enjoyable part of the daily routine. Support school reading but also look at the text all around us. Immerse your child in rich language from a wealth of stories and non-fiction
  • Build a culture of  “inquisitivity” and a want to find out new things in you as well as in your children-enjoy the outdoors and new experiences together
  • Let your child get messy! Dexterity in the hands to build the muscles for writing comes from being able to explore mud, foam, food, sand and paint all with the hands

None of these things are easy! It would be much easier just to say-do this booklet or this worksheet every day but so much research shows it is the things above that make a real difference in the Early Years. They help to build a solid foundation in order that a child achieves well academically in the future, and also have such a positive impact on their emotional health and wellbeing.

Next term

The first week back will be looking at Pancake Day and the reasons behind that and then our topic is “Under and over the sea”. We will look at pirate stories and sea creatures as a main focus.

Notices

  • Advance warning!!: World Book Day Dress up day will be on FRIDAY 6th March. The children can come in dressed as a character from a book-please do not think you have to go to any expense to make or buy an elaborate costume. There are lots of easy and cheap ideas online that can give you some inspiration!

Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions or queries: ag@stjohnsprimary.org

Have a lovely break with your families,

Alice Greening