Early Years
Last year was such a busy year!
To see what amazing things we got up too in Early Years in 2014-2015 click here.
September 2015
Team EYFS would like to say a HUGE welcome to all the new children and their grown-ups!
We have had a fantastic start to the year in Reception, making great memories already.
There have been a few tears (some being from the adults) with the transition into big school but please remember we do give good hugs J
The children will be taking part in a ‘How to…’ topic over the next few weeks where they will be learning ‘how to’ complete different tasks and activities to help them become more independent.
Keep your eyes peeled for an invitation to the outcome of the topic.
October 2015
In the short time EYFS have been here they have met lots of new challenges including lunchtimes, PPA where they get to do extra music, PE and computing as well as staying in school ALL DAY! I’m sure you have some very tired little ones coming home on a Friday- that just means they have been having lots of fun and working hard. The ‘How to…’ project is well under way, with the children learning lots of new things and experiences. Thank you for all the cereal boxes you have bought in, their secret use will be revealed soon.
We have had lots of other donations for the EYFS children to use when exploring outside such as steering wheels, go kart tyres and nuts and bolts for the wood work bench. Big thank you to Matchams for the tyres, Trents for the steering wheels and Upton Hardware Store for the nuts and bolts.
Army Day and Portrait Sale
We all had so much fun on the last day of term. We all came dressed in our army clothes ready to build shelters before lunchtime then after lunch it was boot camp!
Thank you to all the parents who came to support us in selling our portraits. We hope they are hanging on your walls at home and giving you great pleasure when you look at them! You helped us to raise £240 that will go towards purchasing new den making equipment.
November 2015
All Creatures Great and Small’ is the new topic for EYFS this half term. We were lucky enough to have Crazy Creatures company come in on Tuesday with a range of creatures- both great and small- from a tiny mantis to a strawberry pacman frog to a bearded dragon and even an owl! The children had great fun looking at and holding some of these amazing animals, while learning lots of facts too! Look out on the website for photographs. Thank you to all who have sent in a donation to for this hook- if you haven’t there is still time. This will help ensure we can plan and provide equally as engaging hooks for future topics.
Throughout this topic we will be looking at what makes different creatures WOW. This will include looking at habitats, features, life cycles of animals and moving into humans and our journey of growing. Please remember to send in the baby picture with your child’s name ASAP as this will be used as part of their learning. We will photocopy and return the photo to you.
Share time will be starting this half term, with the first on the 12th November and the second on the 3rd December. This is an opportunity to come and join in and see what you children have been learning. This is from 8.40-8.55 on these specific dates. For more details please see the poster sent out.
Christmas will be here in no time- which means only one thing… NATIVITY!!!! The children have already begun learning some songs to ensure we bring a tear to your eye. Chestnut and Elm nativity will be on Thursday 10th November and Holly and Rowan will be on Friday 11th December
December 2015
Our topic ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ has come to its end and has led us to everything CHRISTMAS!
Throughout the topic we were able to learn lots of interesting things about creatures and how amazing they are- no matter how big or small. Thank you for everyone who sent in baby photos- this was one of the most popular parts of the topic! Guessing ‘who’s who’ generated lots of discussion and excitement.
Both Share Times (3rd and 12th) were a great success so thank you everyone who came- we hope you found them useful and enjoyable. Look out for the dates of our next Share Time events in January.
The nativity rehearsals are well underway- I am sure you have been given a sneak preview to some of the songs at home. Please remember to make sure your child has their PE kit in school as they may need to wear it under their costume.
If you have chosen to buy some of the nativity costume magnets- thank you- you won’t be disappointed, they are a very cute keepsake. These will be ready and with you before we break up for the Christmas holidays.
The topic for next term is Worldwide, with EYFS learning all about China and Chinese New Year!
January 2016
This term we will be travelling to China for our ‘Come fly with me’ topic. The children will be fully immersed into the culture- learning a Chinese dance, making and tasting food and taking part in the Chinese New Year festival day. We are hoping to visit a local Chinese restaurant to fully experience what it is like to work and eat in a Chinese restaurant so we can bring this to life in our role play areas.
Chinese festival day will be on Friday 12th February and information about the ‘Chinese Challenge’ will be with you soon to help make this day special.
Share times this term will be on Thursday 14th January to come and look at all the work in your child’s folder from last term and on Thursday 28th January to take part and support your child with our new handwriting scheme.
Our children have really been enjoying our Chinese topic! So much fun!
February 2016
Kung hei fat choy- that’s Happy New Year in Chinese. It has been a very successful half term immersing ourselves in everything Chinese. We have had the opportunity to learn Chinese dances with fans and parasols, take part in some tai chi, sample Chinese food and learn about the culture. We look forward to seeing all the Chinese lanterns you have been making at home to decorate the hall for Festival Day which is on Friday 12th February (please send these into school by Thursday 11th February). On that Friday the children can wear something red (see poster for more details).
A real postman came to visit this week to help us make sure our writing is ready for when we post it in our new classroom post boxes- thank you Mr Bartlett, the children loved your visit.
Thank you for all the wonderful WOW moments you have been sending in- we love to read them so please keep them coming. As you will have noticed we have recently sent out a focus for these which will change every few weeks, however this does not mean you cannot send in WOWs about anything else.
Dates for your diary: Thursday 25th February- Share time Wake and Shake
Friday 18th March (pm- time TBC)- a chance to come in for our Fab Finish (details to follow- we don’t want to ruin the surprise)
March 2016
EYFS Sylvan Superhero Academy are recruiting!
Super Healthy, Super Helpful and Super Fit and Strong are the criteria we need to meet to Graduate from the Academy and become a superhero! So these areas will be the focus in EYFS this half term. We will be looking at ways to be healthy- from food and drink to hygiene, ways to be helpful and real life superheroes- with visits from a nurse, fireman, paramedic and the RNLI. The ‘Fit and Strong’ element will be part of the whole school sports week.
The Graduation is on Tuesday 22nd March. It will start at approximately 2.15 but doors will be open from 2pm for you to find a seat and watch the slideshow of photos from the topic. Please come to the main school entrance. Please note due to fire regulations there is a limit of 2 people to attend per child.
The children will be coming in their costumes for the whole day- we are very excited to see them! Please remember the design sheets were sent home to inspire and support you but we want to make it easy for you and for you to be able to use and recycle things you already have where possible so feel free to alter colours etc. but keep the chosen superhero name as this will be needed for part of the graduation ceremony.
We are sorry we had to cancel the Share Time on the 25th February, we have rescheduled for Tuesday 15th March
April 2016
WOW what an amazing time we had last half term. A HUGE thank you to all the children and grown-ups for the fantastic effort you put into the superhero costumes- they looked great!
Now that EYFS have graduated from the Superhero Academy we would like to invite you all in to have a look at all the SUPER work your children have completed since January. Share Time for this will be on Thursday 21st April from 8.40.
We are keeping our next project under wraps for a while in order to keep everything a surprise for the children. Keep a look out for pictures and clues of what it might be. There will be another Share Time, with a Talk for Writing focus, at the end of the topic to showcase what we have been learning so please come into class on Thursday 26th May for this.
This was found in the Reception classes today. What is it?
How very strange!
What a fantastic response today for Share Time in Reception.Thank you to all the grown ups who came this morning. 21.4.2016
