April 2015
Foundation Stage
Dear Parents
We have a busy term ahead of us and look forward to working with you and your child again during their final term in Foundation Stage!
The theme that the children have chosen for this term is ‘Castles’. We are planning to make one educational visit to support our topic. I estimate that costs will be in the region of £8-10 pounds and will give more information as soon as possible.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
We will continue to develop a positive learning attitude, linked to the “Characteristics of Effective Learning”. We will also be looking to develop the children’s self-help skills so please encourage them to hang up their own coats and bags, write their names for the lunch list (by themselves!) and be responsible for their own belongings.
In the second half of term we will be preparing children for the move to Year One.
Communication & Language
The children will learn to listen for sustained lengths of time and within a range of contexts. They will learn to follow more complex instructions and listen to the ideas of their peers. We will be helping the children to use language to express their ideas and learning, using the correct tense and increasingly interesting vocabulary.

Physical Development
We will be concentrating on developing the children’s gross motor skills through pushing, patting, kicking, throwing and catching balls and objects of various shapes and sizes. There will also be a focus on athletic related skills. The children will need shoes for PE this term as when (and if) we have dry weather we will be using the field. Fine motor skills will be developed through drawing, painting, threading and using malleable apparatus. We will be investigating healthy practices and hygiene routines.
Literacy
The children will continue to learn that letters make sounds and how 2 or 3 letters can make 1 sound. Children will be encouraged to write independently through their structured and independent tasks and are encouraged to use their developing phonic knowledge to do so. We will continue to learn how to use phonics to read sentences.
The children will learn to read key words by sight, including tricky words that cannot be sounded out. We will be exploring a range of fiction and non-fiction texts linked to our topic. The children will also be learning to form lower case letters correctly.
There will be lots of opportunities for independent writing, where the children will be encouraged and praised for using their phonetic knowledge to segment (spell) words.
Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
Numeracy comprises using and saying number names to 20 through rhymes and songs, counting on and back in ones from any small number and using language such as more/less/greater/smaller. We will be looking at weight, height, length and capacity within our topic and the activities within our learning environment. The children will learn to solve practical problems involving counting in real life or role play situations.
We will be learning about shape and space whilst building models and making pictures, making simple repeating patterns in number and shape and measuring using nonstandard units in a variety of activities. We will be helping children to be confident with number knowledge to 20 and we will continue to explore simple calculations.
Understanding the World
Children will be encouraged through their topic based explorations and investigations to ask questions and make observations. We will learn about castles, looking at similarities and differences in the lifestyles, the buildings and the people that lived in them. We will look at prince and princesses across the ages and around the world, discussing the comparisons. During the first half term we will have some tadpoles within the classroom to enable the children to witness the changes that occur. Next half term we will be growing sunflowers and learning about what a plant needs to stay healthy. The children will use our networked computers learning simple programs and control what happens on screen using the mouse to support their learning.

Expressive Arts & Design
During this term the children will work with a variety of materials to develop their range and breadth of skills as they make representations of castles and dragons.
Through learning new songs and action rhymes, drama, dance and using a range of simple instruments children will be given the opportunity to use their imagination to explore and share their ideas.
Show and tell
If your child has something related to our topic or some work that they have done at home that they wish to share, we would love to see it. Please ensure that any items brought to school are clearly named and that your child knows what they want to say about it. We do not show and tell toys.
Toys
We ask that you encourage your child NOT to bring toys from home into school. Not only does it cause upset if the toy gets lost or broken, they have become a major disruption to their own and other children’s learning.
Snack
In preparation for their move to Year One, from Monday 20 th April the children will take their snacks out into the playground to eat during break time. We advise you to send your child with a snack that is manageable in the playground environment and that they will be able to finish eating by the end of break. Please remember that the children are also provided with a piece of fruit.
Moving to Year One
This can be an exciting and daunting time both for the children and you. We spend a lot of time in June & July helping the children prepare for this move so that it is as smooth as possible. Remember, every child will cope with this move in different ways, so please come to see us if you have any questions or concerns.
Please remember that we are here to help so do please come to see us if you have any questions or concerns about your child at school or you can contact me by email at sarahearley@whitchurch-primary.devon.sch.uk
Yours sincerely
Sarah Earley & Jemma Exworthy