This week, the children have taken part in a wide range of engaging activities, developing key skills across all areas of learning.

In literacy, we read The Little Red Hen and discussed how the characters could resolve their conflict. This supported the children’s listening and attention, story comprehension, and communication and language skills, as they shared ideas and answered questions. It also encouraged critical thinking, problem-solving, and empathy, as children considered fairness, teamwork and how others might feel.

In phonics, the children practised syllable clapping, helping them to break words into smaller parts and develop phonological awareness. They also explored rhyming through rhyming sacks, strengthening their ability to hear patterns in words. We introduced the ‘d’ sound, supporting letter-sound recognition, early blending skills, and confidence in speaking sounds clearly.

In Maths, the children have been exploring and learning all about 3D shapes through a range of fun, hands-on activities. They were introduced to shapes such as cubes, spheres, cylinders and cones, and had opportunities to handle and explore real objects, helping them to understand that 3D shapes are solid and can be found in everyday life. The children developed their mathematical language, using words such as “round”, “flat”, “roll”, “stack” and “corners” to describe what they noticed. They enjoyed investigating which shapes could roll or stack, supporting their problem-solving skills and early scientific thinking. Through building and construction activities, the children explored how different shapes can be used together, developing their spatial awareness and creativity. These activities support early maths skills, including shape recognition, comparison, and understanding properties, as well as promoting confidence when exploring new concepts.

In PSHE, we explored looking after others by talking about our families and how we can help them. This supported personal, social and emotional development, including understanding relationships, kindness, and responsibility. The children also developed speaking and listening skills as they shared their own experiences. We explored emotions (happy, sad, angry, scared, excited), helping children to build emotional literacy and recognise feelings in themselves and others. They discussed how to support friends, developing empathy, problem-solving, and understanding when to seek help from an adult.

We also focused on looking after our environment through the story Naughty Bus. The children developed an understanding of care and responsibility, taking part in practical tasks such as tidying, sorting, sweeping and cleaning. This supported teamwork, cooperation, and independence, as well as reinforcing routines that keep our environment safe and organised.

We also carried out our Spring term assessments, carefully observing the children’s progress across areas such as communication and language, physical development, personal, social and emotional development, and early maths and literacy skills.

It has been a very busy and productive week, with the children showing fantastic enthusiasm, growing confidence, and developing a wide range of important skills!