This week in Dexter class
As we start our second week in Dexter Class the children are adapting well to their new environment and routines. It is so lovely to watch them working and playing together and using those all important 'Learning Powers' and values. You may have heard them talk about the Learning Power characters which represent; cooperation (ants), curiosity (mouse), never giving up (beaver), keep improving (spider), challenge (squirrel) and concentration (owl).
This week we will be talking about, and celebrating, our similarities and differences and what makes us special. We will explore this during our Literacy, Language and Communication lessons and also during RE.
Today we started our Phase 2 Phonics and we will be learning how to read and write the letter 'S'. We teach correct letter formation and the sound made by the letter, which we call a phoneme (sssss). By the end of this week we will have done s ,a, t and p and will start sending home worded books. Each day we will send home a letter formation sheet for children to practise at home.
We will continue with Maths based activities and children will take part in Music, Singing, Relaxation activities, PE on Friday and of course, lots of play based learning.
I will also be starting the Reception Baseline Assessment. I will send home a leaflet to explain this but please do not worry-I have several years experience of administering the RBA and will makes sure the children are happy and confident when participating. They usually love spending a little time playing games and answering some fun questions with me in the library! In the meantime here is a link to the leaflet which explains it to you.
We will be making the most of the lovely weather and spending a lot of time outside. We are lucky to have been able to purchase a few new resources which the children are enjoying. These also help with fine and gross motor skills so enable physical development.
Can I gently remind you if you haven't returned information to Mrs Russell or your response to the Phonics Evening invitation, that you do so soon? This will enable us to keep our systems up to date and plan accordingly. Also, if your child is fussy about what sort of fruit they eat at snack time then please give them something they like as we receive a random selection, which can be anything from tomatoes, sugar snap peas and carrots to pears and bananas! We don't want children to feel hungry mid morning so a little snack helps them keep going.
As usual, please contact me or catch me at the gates if time allows with any queries.
