Autumn Term

Many children enjoyed a fun-filled movie night this week! During the day, there were many excited conversations taking place in our classroom- what time was it happening, what film would be shown, what snacks would be given out?! When school finished everyone joined together in the main hall, the lights were turned down, popcorn and juice given out, and The Gruffalo Movie began!

Thank you to the parents who came along with their child, and of course thank you to our wonderful PTA and Ms Sultana for organising such a fabulous event. 

In Reception, we learn outside as much as we do inside. We want children to look around them and talk about what they see; we want them to use new vocabulary to describe what's around them, we want them to use all their senses in hands-on exploration of nature and we want them to understand the importance of their environment and looking after it. The Autumn season is a perfect time to do all of this and more! Look at all of the Autumn learning we've been doing! 

Here at William Davies, we learn about all faiths and religions. It is important that children understand that some people celebrate the same things as they do, and that some people celebrate different things to them. 

This week we learnt about Diwali. We read Rama and Sita to understand where Diwali came from; we role played as the different characters in the story; we made rangoli patterns inside and outside; we talked about the importance of light in this festival and we made diya lamps to celebrate this; this also led to conversations about Bonfire Night too, we looked at fireworks and talked about the size, the shape and the colours we could see. We finished the week by watching Y3's Diwali assembly where children could hear about how other children in the school had been learning all about this festival too. 

Along with schools up and down the country, we celebrated 'Hello Yellow' on Friday 11th October. 

Hello Yellow raises the awareness of mental health in young people; it shows children that it is okay to talk about their feelings and that taking care of yourself and your mental health is important. 

In Reception, the Early Learning Goals state that children should be able to express their needs and feelings using words like happy, sad, angry or worried; children should take the needs and feelings of others into account; children should be able to identify and moderate their own feelings socially and emotionally; children should show perseverance and resilience in situations they may find challenging. 

As you can see, emotions and mental health are of the upmost importance in the curriculum and the classroom- make sure they are in your homes too! Open up conversations about how they are feeling, take them outside for fresh air and physical activity, check in with them about their day, ask them about things they enjoyed that day and things they didn't, help them regulate their big emotions by labelling them and giving them ideas of how to feel better! 

Our Autumn 1 topic is ' All About Me'. 

We have been exploring our likes and dislikes; discussing our families, our homes and people that are special to us; we have been learning about our body and the jobs that the different body parts do; and we have been exploring what we think makes a good friend. 

It is important that children have a strong sense of self- we want children to know who they are and what they do and don't like, we want children to be able to express this confidently. When children are secure in this, it leads to stronger self-esteem; it allows them to be assertive in appropriate ways; and it helps them to understand their own feelings and those of others. 

Take a look at all of the wonderful learning that has been happening this half-term. 

P.E. is when we learn about how to move our bodies so we can be fit and healthy.

In PE we learn about Gymnastics because it is important to learn how to move our bodies safely. 

Children in Reception will focus on revising and refining fundamental movements like rolling, hopping, skipping and jumping. The aim is that all children can move with increasing fluency, control and grace. We want children to demonstrate overall body strength through coordinated movements and Gymnastics is the perfect time to perfect this. 

Reading for pleasure is so very important! At WIlliam Davies, we are fortunate to have a beautiful school library as well as our own class library. This week we visited to school library for the first time- children all chose books to look through and then we enjoyed listening to a class book together. It is important to remember that at this early stage, reading for your children is NOT about reading words- instead, it is about looking at pictures, making comments about what they see, turning the pages from left to right, remembering characters and events, and enjoying a story so much that they want to return to the same book again and again. Reading words will come later, for now enjoy time sharing all of the other things that a book can provide. 

Children enjoyed their first school lunch this week! Children had practised lining up, asking for food using please and thank you, we'd had discussions around trying new food and why this is important, clearing away, using cutlery and about making healthy food choices. We have sent a lunch menu home with your child, so please do talk to them about that week's options so they feel prepared and confident. If you need another copy, just ask! 

The children have made a great start to the year! It's been a time of trying new things, seeing new things and doing new things. We've had lots of fun getting to know one another. Take a look at all the wonderful things they've been getting up to!