Here is a little more information about our staff in Reception:

  Mrs Mason- Head     Mrs Walsh- Oak        Mrs Donaldson-      Mrs McVeighty-     Miss Blakeman-

   of EYFS & Holly       Class teacher on      Oak Class teacher  Teaching assistant Teaching assistant

   Class teacher           Monday, Tuesday      on Thursday &

                                   & Wednesday            Friday (also covers

                                                                   Holly Class on

                                                                  Wednesday morning)

Remote Learning for 9th January

This week we have been learning all about Winter. We would love you to wrap up warm and go and explore the wintery world around you. What do you need to wear to keep warm?

- Can you make a snowman? What shape is his body? Are his body and head the same size? What else can you use to make your snowman? Count the stones you might use to make his mouth, or measure the length of the sticks you might use for his arms. Which is the longest and shortest stick? 

- This week we have made bird feeders. Tell your grown up how we have made them and why we have made them. If your bird feeder is hanging up, do you observe any birds eating from it? What type of birds are they? Can you write a list? If you haven't made your bird feeder yet, can you research which birds might come and visit your bird feeder when you do?       

- Collect or create something to go in your chatterbox based on the season of winter. You could create a snowy picture using chalks or collage, or you could make a snowflake with paper and scissors.      

- Have a look in the snow, can you see any animal footprints? What footprints can you make? Do your boots make a pattern? Describe the pattern to your grown up. 

Enjoy a funny snowy story!

The Snow Thief by Alice Hemming

Can you learn the Makaton sign for winter?

Have a fun wintery inspired day!        

The children have started learning the pure sounds in Read Write Inc. They will be learning a new sound everyday. The YouTube video below can support you and your child at home on how to say these sounds correctly. The children have also come home with a RWI handwriting book, please practise writing only 2 letters a week. These will sent home on a Friday. Please bring back to school on a Wednesday so we can see your wonderful handwriting. 

Click here to hear the RWI pure sounds. (Set 1)

Click here for lots of information for parents on reading and RWI.

PE

Children will be doing PE every Thursday, so please ensure that they have their PE kit in school. (Fully labelled with their names.) This will then remain in school until each half term, as it will be sent home to be washed. Please do not send children with laces and make sure that jewellery is removed according to our uniform policy. https://www.mapledene.bham.sch.uk/school-uniform/

       Chatterboxes                                 Communication and Language is a prime area of learning in the EYFS framework. A child’s ability to communicate can affect different aspects of their development; these include a child’s social skills with adults and peers, as well as their ability to express their own feelings. Children should be given every opportunity to encourage the use of language and communication skills and within Reception, we encourage this through both planned and unplanned activities throughout the day.

One of our planned activities is going to be with the introduction of ‘chatterboxes.’ This is where each child will be given a box to take home and fill with special things that they will talk about. During our focus time, we will encourage children to show and talk about what is in their chatterbox and share it with their peers; allowing opportunities for questioning and good listening too.

What can we put in the ‘chatterbox?’

Each week we will have explored a ‘word of the week.’ This is a word that is linked to our weekly planning and is a word that we think your child may not have used a lot, or a word we can explore a little more with them, to broaden/strengthen their vocabulary, experiences and word meaning. We will let you know each week what our ‘word of the week’ is and would like you to find something that links to this please. This can be open to interpretation; there is no right or wrong object/picture to put in. We do recommend that nothing breakable or valuable is brought in the chatterboxes please.

Please could you bring your chatterboxes every Friday and we will send them home the same day with your new ‘word of the week inside.’  Thank you.

  Colder Months Ahead

Please can all children come to school with a coat or jacket on each day, for our outdoor play and lunchtime play. As the months get colder, the children will also need gloves and a hat please; to ensure they are safe and warm outside. Thank you. 

School Newsletter

To keep up to date with our learning, we will be putting weekly pictures in our school newsletter. Ask your child about what they have learned this week! https://www.mapledene.bham.sch.uk/newsletters-2025-2026/ 

Thank you for your continued support.

The Reception Team

Come and Step into Early Years! 

Learn about the year ahead and come and play with your child.

Please see the powerpoint below if you missed any information. We loved seeing you and we hope you enjoyed seeing Reception in action!