Welcome to Foundation Stage 2!

The team is Miss Gyte, Mrs Heath, Miss Clay, Miss Ball, Mrs Hussain, Mrs Qadoos & Mrs Haq.

Summer 2

In Week 1 we will be continuing to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

We will explore who the queen is and why are we celebrating her Platinum Jubilee. The children will create sentences about the Jubilee and the queen. On Tuesday (07.06.22) they will take part in an old fashioned Sports Day. On Thursday (09.06.22) they will be sharing their 1950’s dance – Rock around the clock – make sure to Check Dojo! On Friday they will take part in a whole school street party and share their learning of the 1950’s and what life was like during the 1950s, when the Queen came to the throne, comparing it to life today. Sequence what she did during the 1950s as a young Queen. They children will also learn the national anthem. There will be lots of jubilee related activities in class too.

Learning Journey

This half term we are continuing to learn about Sustainable development. We will be answering the question, ‘Will it last?’ We will be learning about oceans, pollution and summer.

We will be continuing to look at the different creatures of our world and will use poetry, letter writing and recounts to support our learning.

In PE we will be focusing on our basic gymnastic skills through the topic of 'traditional tales', to include 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. We will explore basic movements, creating shapes and balances, jumps and rolls.

Maths

In the first half of the term we will be continuing to  learn addition and subtraction using numbers to 10 then 20. We will compose and decompose numbers and shapes.

Phonics and English

We will continue our Phonics Journey using Little Wandle and will be continuing Phase 4. We will continue to revisit Phase 2 and 3 sounds. Practicing these phase 2 and 3 sounds at home is important, especially if your child is finding it hard to recognise, remember or form their letters.  The children will continue to increase their bank of tricky words and begin to write using capital letters and full stops to show the beginning and end of their sentences. At this stage, we will be looking for children to leave gaps (finger spaces) between each word so that both they and others can read their writing back easily. We will have words of the day that reflect our learning and increase or vocabulary. We will continue to study how books work, what makes them enjoyable and use drama and discussion to express our opinions and feelings.

Our core books, ‘Commotion in the Ocean’ and ‘Dear Green Peace’, will be used as the stimulus. The children will encounter a number of different genres this half term, including poetry, recounts, and letter writing. We will be continuing our weekly formal handwriting lessons.

Books to support learning at home

We are continuing to encourage a love for reading. These are some of the books we will be sharing this half term.

How many have your read?

Summer 1

Learning Journey

This half term we will be learning about Sustainable development. We will be answering the question, How does your garden grow? We will be learning about growing and mini-beasts.

We will be planting various seeds to make our own garden and learn about the key features of growth, experimenting with planting inside and outside. We will taste different vegetables and learn about a healthy diet.

In PE we will be focusing on developing our throwing and catching skills and build the foundation for invasion games and sports Day.

Maths

In the first half of this term we will be deepening our understanding of numbers to 10 and then 20. We will build numbers beyond 10 and explore number patterns beyond 10. We will match, rotate and manipulate numbers and shapes.In the second half of the term we will be learning addition and subtraction using numbers to 10 then 20. We will compose and decompose numbers and shapes.

Books to support Maths

Phonics and English

We will continue our Phonics Journey using Little Wandle and will be starting Phase 4. We will continue to revisit Phase 2 and 3 sounds. Practicing these phase 2 and 3 sounds at home is important, especially if your child is finding it hard to recognise, remember or form their letters.  The children will continue to increase their bank of tricky words and begin to write using capital letters and full stops to show the beginning and end of their sentences. At this stage, we will be looking for children to leave gaps (finger spaces) between each word so that both they and others can read their writing back easily. We will have words of the day that reflect our learning and increase or vocabulary. We will continue to study how books work, what makes them enjoyable and use drama and discussion to express our opinions and feelings.

Our core books, ‘‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and ‘What the ladybird heard next’, will be used as the stimulus. The children will sequence the story and repeat key phrases. They will also begin weekly formal handwriting lessons.

Books to support Literacy at home

Tooth Brushing Club

Every year there are 60,000 school days lost to tooth extractions and poor oral health. Tooth decay affects a staggering 25% of 5 year olds. It remains the leading cause hospitalisation in children aged 5-9.        

We are taking part in an NHS funded tooth brushing club.

Every child will be given their own new toothbrush each term, which is stored under controlled conditions. All children are supervised while brushing their teeth.

Children need parental permission to join the club. Speak to your child’s teacher for more information.

PE

PE is on Tuesday’s. Correct PE uniform must be worn to school that day: plain white top/plain black bottoms. No jewellery allowed.

Home Learning

• Reading 5 times a week and record it in the planner.
• Practise counting forwards and backwards to 20 starting at different numbers.
• Number bonds to 5 and 10
• IXL
• Phonics play online (free resources)
• Spelling Shed/ Spelling Frame
• Purple Mash
• Name writing
• Check dojo for more home learning activities.

Please speak to Miss Gyte if you need log in details.

New initiatives in the classroom

Butterflies – In Week one we will be receiving caterpillars into the classroom. The children will have the opportunity to watch the caterpillars grow and change into butterflies. They will document each stage of the lifecycle in a class diary.

Year group expectations

I promise to always try my best

I promise to always have kind hands and feet

I promise to listen

I promise to share

I promise to say please, thank you and sorry when I need to

Spring 2

Learning Journey

In the second half of the Spring term, our topic is continuing mythical creatures and Human Rights. We will be continuing our work around Traditional Tales and fairies introducing Dragons and the question: Where will your next adventure take you? We will use persuasive texts to argue our thoughts and ideas and continue our studies of the Author Julia Donaldson.  During our Human Rights topic, we will be exploring bodies. During our topic on Mythical creatures, we will be exploring sub sections on Space, Jungles, Under the Sea, Traditional Tales, Dragons, Dinosaurs, and Adventurers & Explorers. We will use a range of media to help us. We will also endeavour do answer the question ‘Do we all have the same rights’

Maths

In the first half of this term we will be deepening our understanding of numbers to 8. We will be introducing 9 and 10 and will be comparing Numbers to 10. We will begin to explore all the number bonds to 10.

In the second half of the term we will be consolidating our understanding of numbers to 10 and building on our shape knowledge by introducing 3-D shapes and patterns.

Books to support Maths :

Phonics and English

We will continue our Phonics Journey using Little Wandle and will be revisiting Phase 3 sounds. Practicing these phase 2 and 3 sounds at home is important, especially if your child is finding it hard to recognise, remember or form their letters.  The children will continue to increase their bank of tricky words and begin to write using capital letters and full stops to show the beginning and end of their sentences. At this stage, we will be looking for children to leave gaps (finger spaces) between each word so that both they and others can read their writing back easily. We will have words of the day that reflect our learning and increase or vocabulary. We will continue to study how books work, what makes them enjoyable and use drama and discussion to express our opinions and feelings.

In our writing we will investigate persuasive texts and how we can use the power of persuasion in our own work.

Books to support Literacy at home:

Tooth Brushing Club

Every year there are 60,000 school days lost to tooth extractions and poor oral health. Tooth decay affects a staggering 25% of 5 year olds. It remains the leading cause hospitalisation in children aged 5-9.        

We are taking part in an NHS funded tooth brushing club.

Every child will be given their own new toothbrush each term, which is stored under controlled conditions. All children are supervised while brushing their teeth.

Children need parental permission to join the club. Speak to your child’s teacher for more information.

Home Learning

• Reading 5 times a week and record it in the planner.
• Practise counting forwards and backwards to 20 starting at different numbers.
• Number bonds to 5 and 10
• IXL
• Phonics play online (free resources)
• Spelling Shed/ Spelling Frame
• Purple Mash
• Name writing
• Check dojo for more home learning activities.

New initiatives in the classroom

Dough Disco - To promote fine motor skills we watch the 'Dough Disco' on Youtube.

If you would like to do this at home with your child you will need a small ball of Playdough!

Squiggle While You Wiggle – Squiggle while you wiggle is an activity to engage children in developing the motions needed to prepare them for writing. They learn to write by doing circles, semi-circles, horizontal lines and the vertical lines they will use to write a letter whilst dancing along to our favourite music. This also helps focus on developing their gross and fine motor skills to imitate lines and circles in order to write each letter of the alphabet.

Helicopter Stories - Helicopter Stories involves scribing stories from children and supporting them to act out their narratives. While simple, this approach seeks to nurture and enthuse children of all backgrounds and abilities, using the power of story. This approach also enhances speaking and language skills, and an increased eagerness to write.

Show and Tell – We will be starting Show and Tell on a Wednesday. Your class teacher will send a little list of when it is your child’s turn. Show and tell sets the stage for children to become comfortable when speaking in public. In addition, show and tell can be a great tool to help English Language Learners, giving them a chance to practice academic vocabulary, pronunciation and other basic skills they need to succeed.

Year group expectations

I promise to always try my best

I promise to always have kind hands and feet

I promise to listen

I promise to share

I promise to say please, thank you and sorry when I need to

Spring 1

In the first half of the Spring term, our topic is mythical creatures and Human Rights. During our Human Rights topic, we will be exploring tolerance. During our topic on Mythical creatures, we will be exploring sub sections on Space, Jungles, Under the Sea, Traditional Tales, Dragons, Dinosaurs, and Adventurers & Explorers. We will use a range of media to help us. We will also              endeavour do answer the question ‘Do we all have the same rights’.

Maths

In the first half of this term we will be deepening our understanding of numbers to 5. We will be introducing zero, comparing numbers to 5, comparing mass ad capacity.

In the second half of the term we will explore the numbers 6, 7 and 8. We will be learning about making pairs and comparing 2 groups. We will explore length, height and time too.

Books to support Maths:

Phonics and English

We will continue our Phonics Journey using Little Wandle and will be starting Phase 3 sounds. Practicing these phase 2 and 3 sounds at home is important, especially if your child is finding it hard to recognise, remember or form their letters.  The children will continue to increase their bank of tricky words and begin to write using capital letters and full stops to show the beginning and end of their sentences. At this stage, we will be looking for children to leave gaps (finger spaces) between each word so that both they and others can read their writing back easily. This is essential for them to reach their early learning goal in this area.

In literacy we will be reading stories by the same author, we will be exploring a variety of mythical creatures and use clips from movies such as Shrek, 3 Billy goats (CD) How to train a dragon and tangled. We will be learning how to write instructions, create effective descriptions in our writing, create poems and write letters.

Books to support Literacy at home:

Autumn 2

Following on from our ‘Who are we?’ topic we will be exploring the question ‘How does the world celebrate?’ alongside the story of ‘The gingerbread man’ and the ‘Christmas Jolly Postman’. The children have many exciting opportunities this half term, including baking! 

Maths

In the first half of this term we will be deepening our understanding of numbers to 5. We will learn the composition of numbers to 5 and look at 4 sided shapes. We will also begin to look at time using the book ‘Peace at Last’ by Jill Murphy.

In the second half of the term we will be introducing zero, comparing numbers to 5, comparing mass ad capacity.

Phonics and English

We will continue to revisit our Phase 1 oral blending and segmenting. We will be continuing to build on our phonic knowledge to read and write new words using Little Wandle.

Over the half term we will be exploring narrative writing with lots of different stories based on our topic. We will also be using lots of story language, such as ‘Once upon a time..’, ‘A long time ago…’ ‘Right in the middle of the dark, dark night…’ to create our own stories. 

Autumn 1

This half term we are asking the question ‘Who are we? Linked to the global curriculum theme ‘Identity and Diversity’. Through this question we will be developing many of the children’s personal social skills, including building confidence when talking in groups, talking to friends about own wants and needs and developing the children’s vocabulary to talk about their own homes and communities, likes and dislikes.

Maths

In maths, we will be matching and sorting objects and numbers and comparing amounts, sizes, mass, capacity and patterns. We will also begin looking at representing and understanding numbers up to 10. We will be focusing on circles, triangles, and positional language too.

Phonics and English

We will be revisiting Phase 1 phonics and beginning Phase 2, practising oral blending and segmenting of the letters and sounds. These skills are the foundation for all future reading and writing.  We will encourage children to act out their story ideas and together we will begin to write our own class stories using all of their wonderful imaginative language. Children will be practising their names and simple sentences using tricky words ‘I’ ‘my’ and ‘am’.

We will also be looking at books about ‘ourselves’ and ‘families’. We will study vocabulary, rhyming words, characters as well as enjoying the stories. These are just a few for this half term.