Come and Step Into Early Years!

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

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 the link to learn the RWI pure sounds.

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

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 all your continued support.

The Reception Team