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, Mrs Robinson, 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.

Autumn Term

This term is all about getting to know each other.  The children are all settling in well and learning our routines and rules.  We will be spending the first few weeks introducing the children to all of the classrooms and outdoor spaces.  We will be joining in with their play and observing them to give us a clear picture of where each child is developmentally.  Once the children have all settled we will begin putting the children into smaller groups for adult focused learning for some of the day.  The children will still spend much of the day engaged in child initiated learning.  

There are lots of exciting events happening this term including ‘First Day at School’ photo feature in the local paper, individual photos, Harvest Festival, One World themed week and an outdoor learning day where we will be working with our Year 1 & 2 buddies. Christmas festivities will include our Christmas Show, Christingle at St. Margaret’s Church and our Christmas party.

We encourage the children to be as independent as possible and we will be practising doing things for ourselves. Parents can support this by encouraging their child to practice how to put on wellies and shoes, zip up coats and turn sleeves the right way through and to use the toilet and wash their hands independently. We will also be practising how to write our names using correct letter formation.

This is our first term at 'Big School' and it is important that children feel happy and secure. Please do come and speak to your child's class teacher if you have any questions or queries.

Weekly Routines:

Sound Books and Phonics: We are currently focusing on phase 1 of Letters and Sounds, helping the children to discriminate between different sounds in the environment, different musical instruments etc.  We will then focus on rhyming and rhythm before starting to teach individual sounds.  We will also introduce the children to some tricky words over the the term. Once we start introducing single sounds we will be sending home sound books so that the children can practice their sounds each day at home.  Please can you ensure that your child send in their sound books 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.

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!