Willow Class (Reception) - Mrs Hamilton and Mrs Busler

Our Foundation Stage Unit has 60 children split into two classes. Sycamore class is taught by Miss Chapman and Willow class is taught by Mrs Hamilton and Mrs Busler. Foundation Stage have 3 teaching assistants every morning and 2 in the afternoons. The teaching assistant hours are covered by Mrs Gladwin, Mrs Croucher, Mrs Raszpla, Mrs Hillyer, Mrs Semanaj, Ms Layton and Mrs Walker.  We have 4 indoor classrooms, 2 outdoor areas, a large field area and woodland. Around 50% of our time is spent outdoors so we dress according to the weather and make the most of our fantastic outdoor resources. The children take an active role in their learning including planning new topics and themes and how we will explore them. This makes Foundation Stage a fun and exciting place to be.

Spring term information

Happy New Year and welcome to the Spring Term in Foundation Stage.  Our main topic for the term is “British Woodland Animals”. We have started the topic off by reading some ‘Percy the Park Keeper’ stories and talking about what types of animals might live in our school woodland.  An overview of the curriculum can be see at the bottom of the page. This shows the main adult focus for teaching but the children additionally access a wide variety of activities and resources across our inside and outside environments as part of their child-initiated and child chosen-learning.  Our plans are very much led by the children so they may change from those that we plan. 

We are continuing to encourage independence in everything we do. New challenges for this term include changing for PE, selecting and returning library books and knowing and working towards individual targets in a variety of curriculum areas. Parents can support this by encouraging their child to practise turning sleeves through the right way and folding clothes etc. for PE and talking with their child about setting personal goals and encouraging perseverance and resilience. Celebrating achievements, no matter how big or small, and reflecting on how we have grown and changed is also key to encouraging independence.

Please do come and speak to your child's class teacher if you have any questions or queries. We are looking forward to an exciting term working with your children.

Please remember, children MUST have a coat in school every day. At this time of year children also need gloves and a hat and you may wish to swap wellies for snow boots if you have not already done so. If you do send in snow boots please remember to take your child's wellies home as we cannot store two pairs of boots for each child.  Please ensure that all your child's clothing is NAMED. Every child should have their water bottle in school EVERY day. These need to be carried into school in the morning and not put in lunch boxes or book bags as they often leak. Thank you.

Weekly Routines:

Sound Books and Phonics: We are currently focusing on phase 3 of Letters and Sounds, learning digraphs (where 2 letters make one sound) i.e. sh, ch.  We are also practicing reading and writing simple words as well as practicing tricky words (words that cannot be read phonetically).  Please can you ensure that your child's sound books are in their book bags each Monday so that the new sounds can be sent home to be practised at home.  Tylers Green First School follow the Letters and Sounds scheme of work for phonics and we use the Jolly Phonics resources to support children's learning. 

Reading Record Books: please try to read with your child every day and write a short comment in their book to let us know how they are getting on. Children are encouraged to change their story book from the class library each morning as they arrive in school for them to share with their family at home.  Some children are now bringing reading scheme books home.  Again, please remind them to change their books daily and let us know if they're not. 

Cold weather: When the weather turns colder, please ensure that your child has a warm coat in school, and that scarves, hats and gloves are named. Although the children can feel warm on the field and playground, the woodlands and other outdoor areas can be especially cold throughout the year. 

Library Books (Spring and Summer terms): these must be returned every week on Mondays. Your child chooses their own library book and therefore may sometimes choose something which they later realise is not as interesting as they thought it would be – this is part of the learning process!