Year 1 - Phonics
The children in Year 1 have shown incredible dedication to their reading this week. We have been working hard during our Bug Club Phonics sessions, and the improvement in their confidence is wonderful to see. Our focus has been on: Blending with Precision: Combining individual sounds to read full words more fluently. Decoding Skills: Applying their knowledge to break down and read unfamiliar or challenging words. Spotting alien words: Using their detective skills to identify pseudo-words, which helps ensure they are truly mastering their graphemes. Learning to read is a complex journey, but the children’s persistence is paying off. It is a pleasure to watch them apply these new skills to their books and classroom activities. Home Learning Tip: When reading at home, encourage your child to point out any "alien words" they might find in their practice materials to test their decoding skills. Keep up the fantastic effort, Year 1. You are all becoming very talented readers.
Reception- Literacy- Reading
Watching Reception children engage with guided reading books on a daily basis is like witnessing a series of small, brilliant light bulbs flickering on in real time. As the children transition from simply "reading" the pictures to decoding phonemes and blending sounds with growing confidence. This daily consistency is key; it transforms the daunting task of literacy into a predictable, rewarding adventure where high-frequency words become familiar friends. The magic lies in the structured support—by revisiting carefully leveled texts every day, children don't just improve their fluency, they build the "reading stamina" necessary for more complex stories. You can see their pride swell as they realize that the squiggles on the page carry meaning, turning every session into a significant milestone in their journey toward becoming independent readers.
Reception- Phonics- Building CVC words
Building on their foundational knowledge of CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) words, our Reception children have been diving into interactive phonics sessions designed to bridge the gap between sound and symbol. Using magnetic letters, the children took on the role of "word builders," carefully listening to hear the individual phonemes in words like cat, bin, and mop. With great focus, they successfully matched these sounds to the correct graphemes, physically sliding the letters together to form complete words on their boards. This tactile approach not only reinforced their segmenting and blending skills but also turned abstract sounds into something they could see, touch, and master.
Reception - Phonics - Tricky Words
This week, our Reception children have been diving into their "tricky words" using a multi-sensory Say It, Build It, Write It approach. This method helps children master words that don't follow standard phonetic rules by engaging different parts of their brain. First, the children Say It, looking closely at the word and identifying the "tricky" part that doesn't play fair. Next, they Build It using the magnetic letters, which helps them physically manipulate the sequence of sounds. Finally, they Write It using whiteboards to solidify their muscle memory. This hands-on sequence transforms abstract memorization into an interactive challenge, building both their reading confidence and their fine motor skills.
Nursery - Music - Christmas Songs
This week, our music lessons centered around seasonal exploration through our Christmas Song Bag. This activity was highly engaging and encouraged early decision-making and participation. The children thoroughly enjoyed the element of surprise and choice, taking turns to select an item from the bag, which prompted a new seasonal song. They have been enthusiastically learning the new songs and the actions that pair with them. This activity successfully develops memory skills, listening and attention, and rhythm, all while building their confidence in singing and moving in response to music.
Year 1 - Phonics - Tricky Word Trees
This week, Year 1 brought some festive cheer into our phonics session by combining their learning with Christmas fun! We've been working on identifying and correctly writing those essential 'Tricky Words.'
Year 1 - English - Writing
What a fantastic start to the day we had during our morning register! Year 1 were busy focusing on a vital skill: writing detailed sentences about things they could see. This activity is a wonderful way to wake up our brains and practice all those important writing conventions we've been learning.
Year 1 Phonics: 'ou' as in 'house'
One of our many sounds in Year 1 phonics this week was the phase 5 sound 'ou' as in 'house'. The children listened carefully to the phonemes in different 'ou' words when segmenting, and then used our letter join formation to write the graphemes. It sounds like a lot of work and Year 1 should be shouting loud and proud about their learning! (P.s. How many 'ou' words did you see here?)
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Year 1: Independent Challenges
Year 1 have been working extremely hard this week in independent challenges. We have been building Sukkahs using lego, practicing our number formation, writing silly sentences, working on greater than, less than and equal to and putting our phonics skills to the test in our phonics matching game!
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Year 1 - Independent Challenges
We have had a fantastic week so far completing independent challenges! These vary from completing a 'colour and write' phonics challenge, to building a school using lego!
Reception - Phonics - Letter Formation
Look at these future readers and writers in action! Our Reception class is diving deep into phonics and letter formation, and it's clear they're having a blast. So many engaging activities help them build those crucial foundational skills with smiles all around. Love seeing learning come to life!
Reception Class - Phonics - Guided Reading
The Great Phonics Adventure Has Begun! ???? We're so excited to share that our Reception children have officially started their phonics journey, and they're already doing an incredible job! We're building the foundation for reading and writing, and the children have embraced every step with enthusiasm. This week, we've been exploring the story 'A Wet Walk'. The children have absolutely loved: Looking at the pictures and talking about what they can see. Discussing the characters and the journey they take. Practising their oral blending skills, which is a crucial first step in reading. It's wonderful to see them building confidence as they sound out words and put them together. The focus has been on listening to the sounds and blending them to hear the whole word. This skill is a super important building block for their future reading success. We're so proud of their hard work and can't wait to see their reading skills blossom! Keep up the amazing work, Reception! ✨
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