Acorn - Reception

Date: 21st March 2025

What we have been learning this week...

 This week has been a lovely quiet week. We have had a focus on emotions and in our 'time together' sessions we have been thinking about what to do when we get big uncomfortable feelings like sad, cross or frustrated. We have learnt some problem solving steps to help us make our feelings smaller. 1.) Say the feeling to ourselves 2.) Say the problem to ourselves 3.) Take some big calming breaths to help us be ready to solve the problem. 

Phonics: We have been reading and writing longer polysyllabic words such as waiting, farmyard and singing. First we clap the syllables, then we segment the first syllable and count how many sounds it has on our fingers eg w-ai-t, then we do the same for the second syllable eg i-ng. The children are getting good at using this strategy to help them spell these longer words. 

Kinetic Letters: We have practised our strong body positions - lizard, meercat, stone lion, penguin and bear. We have learnt the slide, slope, push routine to optimise our writing positions. I wonder if your child can tell you if they are an uphill writer (right handed) or a downhill writer (left handed)? 

Drawing Club: This week we have continued reading Zog and the Flying Doctor. We drew the castle and the knight and then wrote secret codes. Some of us wrote numbers from 10-0 and some of us wrote the number bonds to 10. Each code made something different happen. Some of the knights became electric and others became invisible! We are really getting the hang of full stops now and Mrs Crome and I have been really impressed with the children's writing progress this week. 

Maths: This week we have continued to learn about numbers 9 and 10. We have learnt what is 1 more and 1 less than numbers to 10 and then looked at composition of numbers to 10. 

Things we have enjoyed this week...

 Mindful story: Each day after lunchtime we spend some time calming our body and our mind after the excitement of playtime ready for the afternoon. The children enter the classroom to calm music with the lights dimmed down and they find a space to lye down as I read a mindful script to them. Initially they found lying still tricky but with practise they have learnt to relax and just 'be' in the moment, with calmer bodies and minds. The BSA have kindly approved our request for some little bug cushions for the children to rest their heads on. 

Inspiration: We had an input on sewing using a running stitch. The children were taught how to thread a needle and to weave the thread in and out. It is a tricky skill to learn but I have been very proud of the children showing our school value of 'Courage' in trying a new skill and 'Hope' that they will get better at it with practise. 

Observational painting: We made the most of the sunshine and set up a painting station next to the daffodils. We talked about the shape and colours of them and used pencils to draw an outline. We explored making shades of yellow and green and then painted our daffodils using watercolours.         

    

    

 Secret Reader: Thanks you so much to Brett (Violet's Daddy) for coming in to be our secret reader this week. The children enjoyed listening to Julia Donaldson's 'Charlie Cooks favourite book' and were keen to share what their favourite books are with him. 

How to support your child at home

• Watch and talk about dance and performance: This is a crucial part of the Early Years Curriculum. Following our visit from Arthurs Daddy (Uncle Fester) who sang us one of the songs from the Addams family performance, it would be lovely for the children to go and watch the live performance of the play next week. There are a few other Bourn school parents playing key characters as well such as Gomez and the ancestors. It would be really inspiring for the children to go and watch. See here for ticket details. Bourn Players – Amateur Dramatics Musical Group – Bourn, Cambridgeshire.

• Read, Read, Read: Set up a routine for reading that includes reading your child's chosen reading book and books from home to them and them reading their 'Big Cats' decodable reading book to you. Reminder books are now changed on Fridays (apologies this didn't happen last week).

• Maths: Encourage your child to say the number that is 1 more and 1 less than any given number to 10. This is a great one to play in the car or around the dinner table as they eat each pea/sweetcorn/bean etc. This game could also help - One More, One Less (1-10) - Gameshow quiz
• Next Steps: We will be adding next steps to our observations of the children on Tapestry. We hope that these will be useful to you in supporting your child at home with key skills and helping us to work together to support any gaps in their learning.   

 

What we will be learning next week...

 Next week is Science week and we will be taking part in an experiment involving plants and conditions for growing and having a visit from a Scientist. We have another secret reader on Wednesday which we are looking forward to. On Thursday it is the Mother's Day Gift shop where the children will be taken to choose a gift for a loved adult in their family. 

SHOES BOXES - please can you send in any shoe boxes that you have - we need them to some junk modelling projects we have planned.

WELLIES - we have sorted through the wellies and put all the surplus pairs in a box at the top of the steps outside the classroom gates. Please do check through them and take any that are yours. We will take what is left to the charity shop at Easter. 

SPONSORED BIKE RIDE - we are overwhelmed with the amount that we have raised, thank you so much for your support. It will allow us to purchase some really exciting resources for the children to enhance the provision in Maths and also the outside area. We will be closing the donations page on Monday 24th March so please do add any outstanding donations by then. JustGiving

Please look out on Tapestry for information on what adventures the children have been on in Forest School this week.

Dates

27th March – GenR8 Easter Assembly

27th March – Mother’s Day Gift Shop

 28th March – Reports to parents

3rd April – BSA Easter Egg Hunt

4th April – Easter Service in Church

4th April – Easter Experience Day

Please see list of further dates on the website under ‘Calendar’ tab Bourn CofE Primary Academy - Calendar

Email:  HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk  

Acorn - Reception

Date: 14th March 2025

What we have been learning this week...

 This week has been full of hands on experiences and Acorn class have also been working really hard on being helpful and showing empathy. At the beginning of each day we choose 2 special helpers for the day and at the end of the day we invite them to stand up in front of the class to receive compliments about how helpful they have been. We have had some super helpful children this week. I have also seen some excellent examples of empathy especially when others are hurt or upset - they are never short of a cuddle or some supportive words for a friend. 

Phonics: We have been reading and writing words with the phase 3 digraphs in. We aren't introducing any new sounds this half term but rather spending time really embedding the sounds we have learnt so far. The children have been practising counting the sounds they can hear in words on their fingers before writing the word, one sound at a time.

Kinetic Letters: We have practised our pencil workout song to build strength in our fingers and then learnt to form the letter s from the abracadabra family as well as recapping some jumper family letters. 

Drawing Club: This week we have read Zog and the Flying Doctor. We have learnt what the words timid, wailed, temperature and knight mean. We drew Zog and Princess Pearl then wrote sentences that gave them magic powers. We are getting much better at using full stops at the end of our sentences. 

Maths: This week has been all about numbers 9 and 10. We have counted, recognised and compared the two numbers. In Reception most of what we do on number is focussed around a solid understanding of numbers 1-10. 

Things we have enjoyed this week...

 Sponsored Bike Ride: physical exercise, fresh air, time with our friends, zooming around on our bikes and scooters, counting our laps, loads of smiles, a good nights sleep, feeling proud, raising lots of money - need we say more! Thanks so much to Sophie and Stu (Tabby's parents) for running this event for us. The children completed a combined 426 laps and we have raised over £500 for new resources to enhance maths provision and the outdoor area. Thank you all so much for your support. It's not too late if you still haven't sponsored your child - the JustGiving page will be open until Friday 21st March. Please see Tapestry for the full collection of photos. Here are the children receiving their well earned certificates, presented by Sophie. 

Inspiration: We had a visit from Lucy and Sophie (Natalie and Amelie's mummies) who came in to help us in our teddy hospital. They spoke to us about their jobs in the hospital as a doctor and a nurse then they taught the children a hello song using Makaton signs. We got to work helping our teddies get better with syringes, stethoscopes, thermometers, plasters and bandages and thanks to the children's help the teddies felt much better after this. Thanks you so much to Lucy and Sophie for coming in to support us with bringing our topic of 'people who help others' to life. See full photos on Tapestry.

Block play: There are so many educational benefits of block play in early childhood that this should be a regular activity for children at school and at home. Here are just some of them - increased attention span, cooperation with others, motor skills, science and maths skills, language, problem solving and spatial awareness. We use block play as a tool to show us how the children are learning and developing just by looking at their creations. Here are some of the creations we have seen in Acorn class this week. 

         

 

                                     

  

How to support your child at home

• Reading and writing - Take a look at this website for ways to make learning the sounds and words I have sent home more fun. Tricky Words – Phonics Family. Please do only practise the phase 2 and 3 sounds and words (not the examples they use on the website). 

• Maths - Please practise recognising, counting, comparing and subitising numbers to 10. Games - Early years Maths - BBC Bitesize
• Reading books - Please ensure all decodable books and chosen books are sent back into school each Friday to be changed. 

 

 

What we will be learning next week...

 

We are having a quieter week next week after a busy few weeks and Science week coming up. We have a secret reader coming in on Tuesday and the rest of the time will be spent enjoying being with our friends, playing and learning.

Please look out on Tapestry for information on what the children have done on Tapestry this week.

Dates

27th March – GenR8 Easter Assembly

27th March – Mother’s Day Gift Shop

 

28th March – Reports to parents

1st April – Parent Consultation Meetings

3rd April – Parent Consultation Meetings

3rd April – BSA Easter Egg Hunt

4th April – Easter Service in Church

4th April – Easter Experience Day

Please see list of further dates on the website under ‘Calendar’ tab Bourn CofE Primary Academy - Calendar

Email:  HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk  

Acorn - Reception

Date: 7th March 2025

What we have been learning this week...

 This week has been another busy week meeting, learning about and feeling inspired by people who help others and also the excitement of World Book Day. 

Phonics: We have revisited chunking words into its syllables to make it easier to read and write. When we got the hang of it we were able to read and write up to 7 letter words!

Kinetic Letters: We have recapped the letters from the Abracadabra family from last week and introduced g and q this week. 

Drawing Club: This week we have continued with 'Mr Benn the Zookeeper' and we have invented new animals to go to the zoo, then we imagined how Mr Benn could catch these animals and finally we made a plan for a great escape for the animals. We wrote sentences about how the animals could escape eg The lion is digging. The tiger is climbing. we looked at using capital letters and full stops in our sentences. 

Maths: We have played games involving doubles to build on what we learnt last week. We have also learnt about how to measure height. We built towers and compared the heights using 'shorter than', 'taller than' and 'the same as'. We then compared our own heights with our partners. We had lots of children who were exactly the same height!

Things we have enjoyed this week...

 Inspiration: We had a visit from Chris who is a volunteer from the Air Ambulance. He spoke to us about his team and how they help others. We now have lots of budding doctors, nurses and paramedics.

Uplevelling our skills:  Tabitha's Grandma and Uncle made us this wonderful skills based resource to support the children with their junk modelling and crafting. Here it is in action helping some children who were building robots - trying to attach the legs and arms on. Thank you so much for making this for us, it will really help the children to develop new skills. 

                                          

World Book Day: We celebrated World Book Day by coming to school dressed as a chosen book character. There was lots of excitement as we arrived guessing what each other were and chatting about our costumes. We joined in with a whole school assembly and were introduced to the theme of the day based around the book 'The Day the Crayons Quit'. Following this we visited the book bus and shared the story together. Then we settled down with a book to enjoy some quiet reading time. Later on in the day we watched a video re-enactment of the Gruffalo read by one of our favourite authors ...... Mrs Crome!

   

 

Pancake Day: We wrote what toppings we would like and took it to Mrs Garrad's pancake cafe to order. One each was definitely not enough!

                       

How to support your child at home

• Reading and writing - As part of our assessments in the EYFS we have to make judgements at the end of the academic year about whether your child has met the Early Learning Goals. You will find whether your child is on track in their mid year report which is due to be sent home at the end of the month. In order for Me and Mrs Crome to assess the children as being on track, amongst other objectives, they need to be able to recognise all of the phase 2 and 3 digraphs and use them to read and spell CVC words accurately. They also need to be able to read all of the phase 2 and 3 tricky words and spell some of them by memory. Last week I sent home a sound mat if you wish to practise these at home and this week I am sending the tricky words. 

• Maths - Please practise doubling with your child by playing 'doubling ping pong'. You say a number (up to 10) and hold up that many fingers eg 2 and they say "double 2 is .....4" holding up 4 fingers. Repeat like a ping pong ball being batted between you. 

• Sponsored bike ride - Please look out for the email with more information and please support us by sponsoring via our JustGiving page - https://www.justgiving.com/page/bourn-acorn-2025. We are at 40% of our target, thank you so much for all your donations so far!

  

• Teddies - Please can you send your child in with a teddy next Thursday. It will need to be named please and sent in in their books bags. We have two of our lovely parents coming in to talk to us about their special jobs involving helping others and the teddies are going to be our patients!
• Reading books - We would like you to have the opportunity to keep your child's school reading book (decodable Big Cat book) for longer. Therefore we have revised the days we will be collecting and distributing books. Decodable books and chosen books will now both be sent home on Fridays  and then are expected back the following Friday. You child will only need their reading folder in school on a Friday.

 

 

What we will be learning next week...

Next week is empathy week. We will be reading a daily story involving themes around empathy - it might be about a person who is less fortunate than us, or perhaps something happens to someone in the story. We will be reflecting and discussing how we can develop and show empathy towards others. 

On Wednesday we have our sponsored bike ride - please sponsor us!

On Thursday we have our special visitors (see above)- this will be a perfect opportunity for us to show empathy to others using our teddies. 

No Forest school this week (As this newsletter is published each week before the children have been to Forest School please look out on Tapestry for information on what the children have done there each week.)

Dates

Mothers Day Gift Shop - 27th March

Reports sent home - 28th March

Easter Egg Hunt - 3rd April

Please see list of further dates on the website under ‘Calendar’ tab Bourn CofE Primary Academy - Calendar

Email:  HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk  

Acorn - Reception

Date: 28th February 2025

What we have been learning this week...

 We have had such a busy first week back after half term. Here is a snapshot of our highlights.

Phonics: We have recapped all of the phase 3 digraphs and practised using them to blend to read. We have been focussing on developing fluency, blending in our heads and saying the word out loud and also rapid recall of tricky words. 

Kinetic Letters: We have introduced the Abracadabra family! This week we have learnt to form the letters c, o, d and a. 

Drawing Club: This week we watched 'Mr Benn the zookeeper'. We have drawn Mr Benn and used 'Colourful Semantics' to help us write a sentence about him. Some of our sentences included 'Mr Benn is swimming.' 'Mr Benn is sitting.' and 'Mr Benn is dancing.' Some of the new vocabulary we have learn this week include - liberate, capture, protect and tearful. We have enjoyed finding times throughout the day to use these words.

Maths: We have compared the length of pieces of ribbon and resources around the classroom. We have also worked on doubles and learnt what is a double and what is not a double. The children went for a hunt around the classroom to find a piece of matching Numicon to the piece they started off with to find it's double.

Things we have enjoyed this week...

 Inspiration: We introduced a new theme of 'People who help others'. We talked about all the people in our lives who help others and in play project time some of us spent some time developing our crafting skills to make thank you cards with curled paper on the front. Play projects are always decided on by the children so its lovely to see children choosing to spend their time saying thank you to others. 

Safari Stu: The first person to visit us this half term looks after lots of different animals. He showed us a range of reptiles and mammals that he cares for tirelessly. He also works with others across the world to try to breed species vulnerable to extinction. See Tapestry for lots of photos showing amazing courage and care from the children in handling the animals. Bourn Primary Academy - Tapestry

 

Education Life Bus: Louise was the second person who helps others that we met this week. She gave us a talk on how our bodies work and introduced us to TAM a plastic human dummy. The children took it in turns to point out different parts of TAMS internal organs including her heart and intestines. Then we met Harold the Giraffe who talked about who we can talk to if we feel sad and how we can cheer ourselves up. See Tapestry for a full insight into this lovely experience. Bourn Primary Academy - Tapestry

                

Gardening and planting: We have been so lucky to have been visited by two more special people in our school community who have taught the children how to plant vegetables. We have planted potatoes, strawberries, radishes and leeks which will be ready to harvest at the end of the summer term ready to make soup with! Thank you so much to Chris and Alesie for supporting us with our planting project.                                                                                                                                                                                                  Secret Reader:  Thank you so much to Arthur's Daddy Damion for being our secret reader this week. We listened to one of the Hairy Maclarey stories and then Arthurs Daddy gave us a live performance of one of the songs he sings as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family musical. See posters up around school - it's going to be a great show!                                                                                                                                                              New faces: We welcome Mrs Benazet and Christine Oliver who will be teaching us on Fridays. They are both really looking forward to getting to know us better and supporting us with our learning. We have been so excited for our first forest school session on Friday!    

How to support your child at home

• Kinetic Letters - please continue to remind your child about the '3 friend finger hold' every time they pick up a pencil or pen. If it can become habit now it will make a big difference to their writing stamina and handwriting as they go through school

• Reading - I am sending home a sheet of digraphs with all of the phase 2 and 3 sounds we have covered so far. Any that have been highlighted are ones that, from our assessments, show your child isn't yet able to recognise (i.e. they say the sound when we point at it). Please can you practise these with your child at home. If there are none highlighted please do continue to build on fluency by practising rapid recall, use them to think of words with that sound and spelling in them and write those words. 

• Maths - Please support your child to recognise numbers up to 20. Number blocks is a great way to support children with number fluency. Numberblocks - BBC iPlayer

• Sponsored bike ride - Acorn class are really looking forward to taking part in a sponsored bike ride on Wednesday 12th March (see letter sent before half term). We are raising money for some outdoor equipment and maths resources. Please support them by sponsoring via our JustGiving page - https://www.justgiving.com/page/bourn-acorn-2025.

  

• Parent helpers - we are looking for some willing parents to come and hear children read on a regular basis. Please do get in touch with me if this is something you could offer. 

 

What we will be learning next week...

 We have another really exciting week planned full of hands on learning opportunities to enrich our curriculum.

On Monday we have a visit from the Air Ambulance planned (they aren't bringing the helicopter unfortunately).

We have another secret reader visiting us on Wednesday. Shhhhhh!

On Thursday we are celebrating World Book Day. The children are invited to come to school dressed as a colourful crayon or another character from our favourite book. During the day we will be taking part in some exciting activities to celebrate books and promote a love for reading. After school the BSA will be selling Golden Ticket chocolate bars so bring some coins £2.50 each. 

As this newsletter is published each week before the children have been to Forest School please look out on Tapestry for information on what the children have done there each week.

Dates

Mothers Day Gift Shop - 27th March

Reports sent home - 28th March

Easter Egg Hunt - 3rd April

Please see list of further dates on the website under ‘Calendar’ tab Bourn CofE Primary Academy - Calendar

Email:  HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk  

Acorn - Reception

Date: 14th February 2025

What we have been learning this week...

 Phonics: We have learnt the chunking method for reading longer words eg carpark. First we break the word up into its syllables (car/park), then we split each syllable up into the individual sounds we can hear (c-ar/p-ar-k). We use this method for both reading and writing.

Drawing Club: This week we watched 'Wacky Races'. On day 1 we drew the vehicle we were going to win the race in and wrote words/sentences that would make our vehicle go the fastest. Next we invented a new vehicle that could get over potholes, through water and some even time travelled. New vocabulary this week has included - overtaking, transport, accelerate, hazard, steering and chuckle. We enjoyed making up movements to go with these new words.

Maths: This weeks focus numbers have been 6,7,8. We have focussed on the parts that make up the whole for example 3 + 3 = 6 but 2 + 4 also = 6, . Here we are using ladybird spots to find different ways to build 7.

Things we have enjoyed this week...

 Inspiration: Every Monday we have an inspiration session where the children are taught a new skill that they could use when doing their play projects, This week it was 'Maths Games'. We practised skills such as taking turns, patience and resilience when we didn't win.

 

Play projects: These are some of the play projects the children have chosen and enjoyed this week. Each child led project will be helping them to develop key skills. Here is an example of some of the skills being developed below. Jewellery -  fine motor skills, creativity, and maths - measurement. Bowling game  - gross motor skills, maths - counting, self regulation, communication, taking turns. Writing a book - fine motor, imagination......I could go on! Play projects are an opportunity for children to practise so many of the key skills in the Reception curriculum.                                                              

How to support your child at home

• Rest - have a well deserved break and enjoy some family time.
• Kinetic Letters - please continue to practise the jumper family sent home last week and correct your child's pencil grip if they aren't using the '3 friend finger hold'.

• Reading - please read with your child everyday. Reading is the number 1 most important thing you can do with your child at any stage of their education. 

• Phonics - have a go at one of these phonic games over half term to practise what we have learnt so far. Flash Cards (Phase 3) - Online Phonics Game and Phonics Frog (Phase 3) - Online Phonics Game

 

What we will be learning next week...

 

Its half term! Have a great week and Mrs Crome and I look forward to seeing you all back on Monday 24th Feb.

Look out for a couple of emails detailing some exciting plans for Acorn class after half term. 

Dates

 

Tuesday 25th Feb BSA Bag Drop

Please see list of further dates on the website under ‘Calendar’ tab 

Email:  HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk  

 

How to support your child at home

Acorn - Reception

Date: 7th February 2025

What we have been learning this week...

Acorn class have been so busy this week learning new skills, playing and building friendships. I feel so proud of how resilient they have been following an unsettled start to school. Lots of credit must go to Mrs Crome for her wonderful support for them and also me as I have settled in to Bourn. 

 Phonics: The children are making wonderful progress with their reading and writing skills. They have worked really hard to learn the new digraphs (two letters, one sound) we have introduced this half term and are developing confidence in using them to blend for reading and segment for writing. Here we are showing some of our brilliant writing. We had lots of light bulb moments this day!

        

Drawing Club: This week we read ‘Goldilocks and the 3 bears’. On day 1 we drew Goldilocks, next we drew  her house and then we drew a map to show where Goldilocks was hiding after being chased by the bears. We used our phonics to write signs to help the bears to find her. We have learnt the meaning of the words – piping hot, demolished, guzzle, slumber, frosty, uneven, perfect, cramped. 

Maths: This weeks focus numbers have been 6,7,8. We have placed these amounts on a tens frame and looked at different ways we can partition these amounts. We have also learnt what is one more and one less than numbers up to 8. 

Things we have enjoyed this week...

We made some 'piping hot' porridge, which we 'demolished'! We read the recipe together and followed the instructions step by step. We measured and poured out the ingredients and worked as a team to help each other. We watched carefully as the porridge changed consistency as it cooked in the microwave. 

      

      

     

Play projects: We have learnt how to create a plan of what we want to build or create and then used this to select boxes and equipment that are the right shape and size for what we want to create. Here are some completed play projects that the children have planned this week.

     

   

Secret Reader:  Thank you so much to Wilbur's Daddy Cei for being our secret reader this week. We listened to a Julia Donaldson favourite - 'What the Ladybird Heard' which the children enjoyed actively participating in - making the animal noises and joining in with the repeated phrases.  

New friend: This week we have welcomed Max to our Acorn family. We have really enjoyed getting to know him and the children have shown true friendship in supporting him to settle in and become familiar with his new classroom and routines. 

How to support your child at home

• Kinetic Letters - please look for the kinetic letters home pack sheets which have been sent home today in your child's reading folder. These will support what we are doing in school to ensure your child has a firm grasp of the correct formation of each letter. If your child learns the correct formation now it will make writing much easier for them throughout school, particularly in Year 2 when they are expected to start joining letters.  Please note these are not obligatory and I am not expecting to see them again. I will be sending out more information about the Kinetic Letters scheme via email. 

• Reading - please read with your child everyday and practise their phonic sheets sent home. They are making great progress, lets keep it up!

• EMA's - thank you for your support with getting your child to school on time. We have had many more children completing their EMA activities which will really help embed key skills such as fine motor strength, counting and phonics. 

• Tapestry – lots more photos to see from this week. Please do check them out to see what your own child has been up to. Log in to Tapestry here. 

 

What we will be learning next week...

 

Phonics - we will be recapping all the digraphs from this half term and using them to practise spelling and reading.

Open classroom - We are really looking forward to showing you everything we have been up to this half term. Please do come along if you can to our Open Classroom on Wednesday at 2.30pm.

I am so pleased we have so many parents, and family members volunteering to be secret readers. We will never turn anyone away so please continue to let me know if this is something you could offer. 

Dates

Wednesday 12th Feb Open Classroom

Thursday 13th Feb School Disco

Thursday 13th Feb Height and Weight Checks for children in Reception

Friday 14th Feb Shackleton House Day

Tuesday 25th Feb BSA Bag Drop

Please see list of further dates on the website under ‘Calendar’ tab

 

Email:  HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk  

Acorn - Reception

Date: 31st January 2025

What we have been learning this week...

We've had a busy time this week building new skills together. Here are the highlights from our week...

 Mass and Capacity: We have been exploring the weight of different objects around the classroom and trying to get our scales to balance. We talked about the meaning of the words heavier and lighter and wondered if bigger objects are always heaver than smaller ones. We came to conclusion that they are not. We also enjoyed water play predicting and discovering how many cups full fit into a bigger container. 

                

Drawing Club: This week we read ‘The Three Little Pigs’. On day 1 we drew the wolf, next we drew the pigs brick house and then we reinvented the wolf getting into the pigs brick house. We all decided on our own endings - for some it was not good news for the pigs but for others there was a twist and the wolf ended up cooking everyone breakfast! New words this week have been – obliterated, exhale, construct, flimsy, sturdy, taunting, scarper and celebrate. I wonder if your child can tell you in what parts of the story these words are relevant. 

Comfortable and uncomfortable feelings: We talked about what it means to feel comfortable and uncomfortable. We will be using this language consistently to help the children to develop an awareness of what makes them and others feel comfortable and uncomfortable and where abouts in their bodies they feel it. We also talked about what they can do if they get an uncomfortable feeling - who they can talk to or where they can go to calm down. 

Things we have enjoyed this week...

Lunar New Year: We had a visit from Huiseung (Alexander and Evelyn's mummy) to talk to us about Lunar New Year. We learnt about the cycle of 12 animals, where in the world it is most celebrated, what people might eat and wear and to end with Huiseung and Alexander taught us a special bow Sebae which is performed to show respect to elders on New Years Day. Each child also received a special envelope with a coin inside. What a treat this was!

               

 Story mountains: Lots of the children have been keen to perform shows as part of their play projects. To help them to think about what their show is about, we created story mountains with the characters, setting, problem, resolution and an ending.  Bluey, Bingo, Mum and Dad have featured a lot and been on some great adventures. Mrs Crome and I have enjoyed watching the children's shows and seeing their story mountains come to life!

Secret Reader:  Thank you so much to Avi's mummy for being our secret reader this week. We listened to a story about babies which is hot topic in Acorn class at the moment. Avi's mummy showed us some movements to go with the Humpty Dumpty rhyme too which the children thought was great fun. 

Mud, mud, glorious mud: Our mud pit is getting more and more popular the muddier it gets. There is so much learning and fun to be had so please do send your child's waterproofs in so that they can continue to enjoy it without creating lots of extra washing for you each day!

           

How to support your child at home

• Reading - please try and read with your child everyday and practise their phonic sheets sent home. 

• EMA's - when the children arrive in the mornings they complete Early Morning Activities until 8.50am. They rotate activities each day completing a fine motor, literacy, maths and name writing activity. This is valuable time in which the children are practising key skills and where possible we ask that children are dropped off as close to 8.30am as possible so that we can maximise this time with them. We do appreciate this isn't always possible especially with the road works that are currently being undertaken. 

• Tapestry – Mrs Crome and I have been uploading photos of your children completing their play projects onto Tapestry daily. Please do check them out to see what your own child has been up to this week. Log in to Tapestry here. 

 

What we will be learning next week...

Drawing club: We will be reading Goldilocks and the 3 Bears and making porridge.

Play projects: We will be learning how to plan a junk model and choose the best resources to make it with depending on its shape and purpose.

PSED: We will be exploring happy and sad feelings.

Nature Reserve: We will be learning the names of some common garden birds and what their calls sound like. 

Please let me know if you or another family member would like to join us as a secret reader. We have some slots available after half term and would love to have you. 

 

Dates

Wednesday 12th Feb Open Classroom

Thursday 13th Feb School Disco

Thursday 13th Feb Height and Weight Checks for children in Reception

Friday 14th Feb Shackleton House Day

Tuesday 25th Feb BSA Bag Drop

Please see list of further dates on the website under ‘Calendar’ tab

 

Email:  HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk  

 

  

Acorn - Reception

Date: 24th January 2025

What we have been learning this week...

We've had a wonderful time exploring, learning together, and enjoying various activities. Here's a brief overview of what we've been up to.

Kinetic Letters: We have practised the ‘pencil pick up’ song to help us with our pencil grip and many have mastered the ‘3 friends finger’ hold. I am so proud of all the children for this. We have learnt to form the first letters in the ‘jumper family’ which are m and h. Brave monkey and Scared monkey have continued to help us with where to start our letters.

Drawing Club: This week we used ‘Dear Zoo’ to go on an adventure where we can choose what happens and how. Our pencil wands have helped us to draw the puppy and its cage and then we imagined that if we wrote a word it would make our puppy shrink! The words we have explored this week include – gift, captured, slippery, elongated, return, disapprove, accept, persistant. We have loved to see how many sentences we can use the word ‘elongated’ in.

Compliments: We have spent some time together exploring what compliments are and how we give and receive them. We also chatted about how it makes us feel when we give and receive one. The children thought of some wonderful compliments to give each other, including “you are really kind”, “I like how you sit next to me at lunch” and “I like it when you play with me”. We decided to introduce giving our special helpers a compliment at the end of each day because they do such a wonderful job.

Things we have enjoyed this week...

 

Maps: We found a mysterious treasure chest left for us with some maps and gold coins hidden inside. Lots of us wanted to create our own treasure maps where ‘x marks the spot’. We secretly hid our treasure and then helped our friends to follow the map to the spot where the treasure lay.

Secret Reader: We had a lovely surprise when Wilbur’s mummy came in to read our end of day story. Thank you so much for volunteering to sprinkle some magic into the children’s day – they were totally absorbed throughout.

The Big Bird Watch: We spent time in the nature reserve with our buddies looking for garden birds and trying to identify them. It looked like they had enjoyed our bird feeders we made last week.

Play Projects: Lots of us have really enjoyed playing in our ‘Tiny Town’ area this week building big cities, volcanoes, roads, bridges, tunnels and towers. We have some architects in the making!

 

          

                    

How to support your child at home

• Phonics – So far this term we have introduced the digraphs ai, ee, igh, oa, oo, ar and or. Please continue to practise the phonics sheets that are sent home weekly. They make a huge difference to how much your child retains each week.

• Kinetic Letters – please remind your child of the ‘3 friends finger’ pencil hold.

• Tapestry – log in to Tapestry to see photos of what your child has been enjoying this week at school. Bourn Primary Academy - Tapestry

 

What we will be learning next week...

Lunar New Year: We have a special visitor coming in to speak to us about Lunar New Year and how it is celebrated.

We are looking for some more parents/carers/grandparents/family members to come and read a story to the Acorn children as a ‘Secret Reader’. The children won’t know they are coming and so it will be a lovely surprise to them when they turn up. It will involve reading the class a story book (that they will have voted on that day) at the end of the day between 3-3.15pm. Please do let me know if this is something you or a family member would be interested in doing and we can arrange a date.

We will be continuing to play outside in all weathers, so please do ensure your child has appropriate clothing for the weather, including waterproof trousers for those who like to be outside no matter what!

Parents/carers are welcome to our Friday Community Assembly. Please sign in and take a seat in the hall after you have dropped your child off, it is a lovely way to feel part of the school community.

Dates

Wednesday 12th Feb Open Classroom

Thursday 13th Feb School Disco

Thursday 13th Feb Height and Weight Checks for children in Reception

Friday 14th Feb Shackleton House Day

Tuesday 25th Feb BSA Bag Drop

Please see list of further dates on the website under ‘Calendar’ tab

 

Email:  

HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk     

Acorn - Reception

Date: 17th January 2025

What we have been learning this week...

Welcome back to our second week of the new term! The children have settled back into the school routine wonderfully and are continuing to look after each other and build some really strong friendships. We are excited to share the adventures we have been on this week.

Babies: Jenson’s mummy brought 4 week old Orla in to see us! The children listened to Jenson and Mrs Bowden talk about Orla and then they drew on their own experiences of babies. Thank you so much Mrs Bowden for bringing in your precious girl. Following their visit the children enjoyed playing in Acorn house (our role play area) acting out how to look after a baby – feeding them and changing their nappy! 

Birds: The children have been introduced to the Big Bird Watch. They spent some time identifying and naming some garden birds and then made bird feeders in the nature reserve in the hope that we can attract some of them next week and count them.

Maths: We have been recognising, counting and subitising numbers and amounts up to 5. We enjoyed playing ‘match my number’ where they had to find a partner who had the same number or amount as them and then be the first to sit down!

Kinetic Letters: The children have learnt the ‘pencil pick up’ song to help them with their pencil grip. Ask them to show you their ‘3 friends finger’ hold. They have also been introduced to Brave monkey and Scared monkey who help the children with where to start their letters.

Drawing Club: This is a time when we explore imagination, language, story and early writing. This week we used ‘The Tiger Who Came To Tea’ to go on an adventure where we can choose what happens and how. Drawing Club shows children that the pencil is like a wand and can make all kinds of things happen to what we draw together. The words we have explored this week include – slurping, crouch, arrive, farewell, cautious, feast and sudden. I wonder if your child can remember any of their meanings.

We have also had some strange goings on in our green grass area – having found evidence of dinosaurs last week, we’ve uncovered bones and fossils this week!

Things we have enjoyed this week...

 Jenson's mummy bringing in 4 week old Orla and some Kinetic Letters work

 

  

 

 

 

How to support your child at home

• Phonics – the children have been working hard to remember the sounds they learnt in the Autumn Term and we have started introducing the next phase of sounds. Please continue to practise the phonics sheets that are sent home weekly. They make a huge difference to how much your child retains each week.  
• Kinetic Letters – please remind your child of the ‘3 friends finger’ pencil hold. They may say it is uncomfortable at first but please do reassure them that with practise it will become better. Mastering this at this stage is crucial for dexterity and writing stamina and will make writing much easier in the long run.
• Tapestry – log in to Tapestry to see photos of what your child has been enjoying this week at school.

Bourn Primary Academy - Tapestry

• Continue to give your child opportunities to talk to you about loss and feelings around this. Mrs Crome and I are always on hand to support both children and families in any way we can.

Values – Ralph for always looking after other people and filling mine and Mrs Cromes happy buckets every day.

Effort – Jenson for trying to hard to master his pencil grip using the 3 friends finger hold. I am so proud of your determination.

What we will be learning next week...

In Maths we will be exploring mass and capacity. We will use the balance scales to explore equal and different weights and develop language of full, half full and empty.

In Drawing Club we will be reading Dear Zoo and introducing a new set of vocabulary.

We will be exploring treasure maps and having a go at creating our own for our friends to follow to find some hidden treasure.

Notices and Reminders

We are looking for some parents/carers/grandparents/family members to come and read a story to the Acorn children as a ‘Secret Reader’. The children won’t know they are coming and so it will be a lovely surprise to them when they turn up. It will involve reading the class a story book (that they will have voted on that day) at the end of the day between 3-3.15pm. Please do let me know if this is something you or a family member would be interested in doing and we can arrange a date.

We will be continuing to play outside in all weathers, so please do ensure your child has appropriate clothing for the weather, including waterproof trousers for those who like to be outside no matter what!

Parents/carers are welcome to our Friday Community Assembly. Please sign in and take a seat in the hall after you have dropped your child off, it is a lovely way to feel part of the school community.

 

Email:  

HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk

Acorn - Reception

Date: 10th January 2025

Remembering Mrs. Monks

This week we have been remembering Mrs Monks who, as their first teacher in school, will always hold a special place in our hearts. She helped each child grow, learn and as a class, we will continue to honour her memory in the coming weeks through stories, creative activities, and moments of reflection.

In our collective worship sessions, we shared special memories of her, reflecting on the impact she had on our lives. Through a PSHE lesson at the start of the week, the children reflected on their safety circles (trusted adults they can turn to if they ever need support or someone to talk to).

 

To help the children process their emotions, we created a class worry box, offering them a safe space to express any concerns they might have. Additionally, we reassured them that adults are always available to talk and listen.

The children were also introduced to a beautiful story called, which explores the theme of death and the enduring connections we share with loved ones. After hearing the story, the children participated in an activity that helped them understand this concept better. As part of the ongoing remembrance of Mrs. Monks, we also invited the children to create special memories on heart-shaped cards. These will be placed on a "Memory Tree" at the front of the school, serving as a lasting tribute.

 The Invisible String

 

It’s been a week of reflection, connection, and support for one another, as we remember Mrs. Monks.

What we have been learning this week....

 

Despite the emotional challenges of this week, the children continue to work and play hard and thrive. Over the past few days, they have been:

Exploring Winter: we’ve been learning about the changes that winter brings and the children have enjoyed exploring ice and frosted leaves in our ‘splash zone’. Smashing the ice was a particularly popular activity! We have also been discussing the weather and learning about animals that hibernate.

Maths: we have recapped the names and properties of some 3D shapes which we talked about before the holidays. I was amazed at how well the children recalled the names and used mathematical language to describe them such as ‘curved surface’ and ‘flat face’.

Handwriting: we have introduced a new handwriting scheme called Kinetic Letters. The children have been building strength in their hands, wrists, shoulders and core to develop their fine and gross motor skills. We enjoyed playing musical statues to introduce the 5 body positions which will help the children do this. They are ‘Bear’, ‘Lizard’, Penguin’, ‘Stone Lion’ and ‘Meercat’. I wonder if your child can remember them!

Personal, Social and Emotional: we have spent some time together thinking about Mrs Latham’s assembly on ‘The Invisible String’. The children reflected carefully on this and drew pictures of people they love and make them feel safe who are always at the end of their invisible strings.

 

How to support your child at home

We encourage you to talk to your child about loss in a way that is comforting and appropriate to their understanding. If your child is having difficulty coping with the news, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Mrs. Crome and I are ready to support both children and families in any way that we can.

What we will be learning next week...

Maths is all about the number 5! Finding 0-5 objects, recognising 0-5 numerals, 1 more and 1 less and composition.

English is all about Drawing Club. We will be reading ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ and drawing the tiger in the café. Then we will be sending the tiger on an adventure and writing words and numbers to help him along his way.

We will also be engaging in lots of play inside and outside in our Acorn garden. We have a new Gravel pit and spotted some suspicious looking dinosaur trails. I wonder what adventure this will lead us on next week!

Notices and Reminders

We will be continuing to play outside in all weathers, so please do ensure your child has appropriate clothing for the weather, including waterproof trousers for those who like to be outside no matter what!

Parents/carers are welcome to our Friday Community Assembly. Please sign in and take a seat in the hall after you have dropped your child off, it is a lovely way to feel part of the school community.

 

Email:  

HGarrad@bourn.cambs.sch.uk

Acorn - Reception

Date: 13th December 2024

What we have been learning this week..

We have had a wonderful week in Acorn class, filled with lots of exciting learning and fun activities. Our Nativity performance was a huge success, and we couldn’t be prouder of all the children for their hard work, enthusiasm, and beautiful performances. It was a truly heartwarming occasion. Thank you for your support in making this event so special and we hope you enjoyed seeing your child in action!

Aside from the Nativity, we’ve been busy practising reading and writing tricky words in phonics and are starting to use these in our independent writing. In English the children have enjoyed a special activity inspired by one of their favourite stories:  by Michael Rosen. We read the book together and acted out going on a bear hunt. We then drew a picture of our own bear hunt adventure. It was a wonderful opportunity for the children to bring their imagination to life through storytelling and art.

"We're Going on a Bear Hunt"

In Maths, we've been learning about simple 3D shapes and their properties. The children have enjoyed identifying and sorting different shapes around the classroom and using them to create 2D pictures and patterns.                                   

 

As we near the end of the term, our classroom has been filled with festive cheer! The children have been busy making Christmas cards and decorations, and we're all looking forward to the final week of school before the exciting holiday break.

 

What we will be learning next week

 

Next week we will be continuing with Christmas crafts including making Christmas cards for our buddies. We will also be enjoying Christmas lunch with our friends. 

 

How to support your child at home

 

They will be exhausted! Please do have a lovely restful weekend to help them to get through the final week. 

 

We won't be sending any new reading books home today as we have now collected them in for the holidays. Please do however continue to make time to share and enjoy books with your child every day.

 

Continue to practise the weekly phonemes that have been sent home in previous weeks. 

        

 

www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org

Email:

 

Acorn - Reception

Date: 18th October 2024

What we have been learning this week..

                                            

Read stories and share books daily

Send in your child's plastic wallet into school every day

 Look at the website link below for more information on our phonics scheme

practice the weekly phonemes (sheets in wallets each Friday)

Please help your child to write their name independently. Please only use a capital letter for their first letter then the rest in lower case.

www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org

Email:

 kmonks@bourn.cambs.sch.uk 

Acorn - Reception

Date: 11th October 2024

What we have been learning this week..

 

                                            

Read stories and share books daily

Send in your child's plastic wallet into school every day

 Look at the website link below for more information on our phonics scheme

practice the weekly phonemes (sheets in wallets each Friday)

Please help your child to write their name independently. Please only use a capital letter for their first letter then the rest in lower case.

www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org

Email:

 kmonks@bourn.cambs.sch.uk 

Acorn - Reception

Date: 4th October 2024

What we have been learning this week..

 We have been enjoying getting to know our Year 6 buddies. Acorn children have an Year 6 buddy who will help them throughout their first year at school. We have enjoyed making faces with loose parts and exploring our green grass area, climbing and making noise on the music wall.

 

                                            

Read stories and share books daily

Send in your child's plastic wallet into school every day

 Look at the website link below for more information on our phonics scheme

www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org