We have been incredibly busy in Pufferfish, and I’m so proud of the children’s hard work this half term!

Phonics Update

Our phonics assessments are now complete. Well done to all of the children for their fantastic effort.

New reading books, carefully matched to your child’s current phonics level, will be sent home in the first week back after half term. These books are closely aligned with the sounds your child knows, helping to build confidence, fluency and enjoyment.

Please continue to support your child at home by:

• Reading regularly (little and often is best!)
• Revisiting sounds
• Practising tricky words
• Talking about the story to develop comprehension

You can find helpful videos, pronunciation guides and support materials here:

For parents | Letters and Sounds

Thank you for your continued support. It makes a huge difference!

After Half Term in Phonics

We will be revising and consolidating:

• All Phase 3 sounds
• Reading words with double letters
• Longer words
• Words with two or more digraphs
• Words ending in –ing
• Compound words
• Words with ‘s’ in the middle making a /z/ sound
• Words ending in –s and –es (making the /z/ sound)

 

Maths Focus

Next half term, we will be working on:

• Counting up to 15 objects and recognising different representations
• Ordering and exploring number patterns to 15
• Finding one more and one fewer
• Doubling and halving
• Understanding the relationship between doubling and halving
• Describing and sorting 2-D and 3-D shapes
• Recognising, completing and creating patterns

Literacy – “Growing”

Our new literacy unit is Growing, where we will explore stories linked to plants, life cycles and change.

Core Texts:

Oliver’s Vegetables
Errol’s Garden
Egg Drop
The Tiny Seed
The Hungry Caterpillar

Through these texts, children will:

• Retell and sequence stories
• Explore life cycles
• Learn new vocabulary
• Write simple captions and sentences
• Develop their understanding of growth and change

 

Understanding the World

Our learning will include:

Observing Over Time

How to take care of growing plants
Children will plant, observe and record changes over time.

Celebration

Celebrating new life
We will discuss growth, change and special events.

Location and Place

Comparing local and contrasting environments
Children will explore similarities and differences between places.

Similarity and Difference

Comparing characters in stories about the past

 

Art 

Artist Focus: Piet Mondrian

Theme: Landscapes
Focus: Colour and Shape

Children will explore:

• Bold colours
• Geometric shapes
• Creating simple landscape compositions inspired by Mondrian’s style

 

PE

Concept: Motor Competence
Theme: Gymnastics

We will be developing:

• Balance
• Coordination
• Control
• Travelling and rolling
• Simple sequences

 

PSHE

Unit: Rights and Respect

Themes:

• Looking after friends
• Looking after our environment
• Looking after money
• Taking responsibility for belongings

 

As always, thank you for your continued support at home. I am so proud of how much the children are growing academically, socially and emotionally.

We look forward to another exciting half-term ahead!

Have a lovely week,

Mrs Mackett