We have flown through another busy week in Foundation. This week we have focused on learning the days of the week in Maths and the children have been great at learning a song to help them to remember. We also did a calendar about the week to help them to remember what happens each day. 
We thought about the different jobs that grown ups do in our Jigsaw work this week. Most of the children could tell me what the people in their family did and we also acted out doing a few different jobs as a class. I saw some fab mechanics and fire fighters during this time. 
Literacy focused on what the characters in the story were doing. We thought about the different actions that Harry and his dinosaurs were doing and talked about how we could describe them.
We have had a big focus on reading this week as the children have had a lot of exposure to phonics and really need to be practising reading everyday to apply these phonics skills to help them to retain the sounds they have learned. With this in mind I have set the children a reading passport challenge at home to encourage them to practise frequently. This is in their book bags and explains what they need to do. 
Finally 3 things to ask your child this week:-
- Can they tell you the days of the week?
- Do they know what job you do?
- Can they name 2 phonics sounds they have learned this week?

Hope you all have a lovely weekend,
​Mrs Ballard. 

Wow, we are flying through this term and have come to the end of another busy week in Foundation. Firstly, we all really enjoyed performing our Nativity for you on Wednesday morning, I think you will all agree the children performed brilliantly and sang their hearts out. I was very impressed with how much they remembered and how well they performed to such a large audience. Please have a look on Tapestry to see some of the pictures from the day.
We have been learning lots of phonics sounds this term and have now learned 24 new sounds. Please make sure you are practising the sheets with your children so that they have a go at home to reinforce our learning in class.
Our maths this week has focused on measuring and we have been learning about the terms longer/shorter and wider/thinner. We used play dough to compare lengths and the children picked up the new terminology quickly.
PE saw us practise how to navigate space safely, follow simple instructions and begin to learn how to throw and catch. The children were very good and listened very well, particularly for a Friday afternoon. I have sent PE kits home today but please feel free to take them home for Christmas and have them back in school at the start of term.
Literacy this week has focused on writing Christmas messages to our families and making Christmas cards. These have been given out today so please keep an eye out for them.
Finally, three things to ask your child this week: -
- Can they think of any words that start with a ‘y’?
- Do them remember what longer/shorter mean?
- Can they tell you the 2 songs we shared?
Hope you all have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Ballard :)
 

Out of the Blue to perform at Appleton Primary School!

Mrs Barker is thrilled to announce that the Oxford University a capella group, Out of the Blue, will be performing at school for the children next Wednesday, 11th of December. Each KS2 class will have a singing workshop with the group, before the choir give a whole school performance at the end of the day. 

We are particularly excited to welcome Out of the Blue to school as former pupil Rhys Surtees is a member of the choir. He was part of Mrs Barker's first class, back in 2007!

Everyone at Appleton Primary would like to thank the Appleton Trust for their kind donation to pay for this special event.

We have had a really lovely first week of the half term in Foundation Stage. The children have quickly settled back in to the school routines and have enjoyed lots of our learning this week.
Our phonics has seen us change our structure this week and we are now following the ReadWrite Inc scheme. This not only teaches the children phonics sounds but also gives them rhymes to support their letter formation. At the end of each session we pop a practice sheet in to each child's book bag for you to have a go at with them at home. 
Maths has focused on recognising 2D shapes in the environment and number recognition to 20. The children have been learning a 2D shape song to help them remember the properties of 2D shapes.
The children really enjoyed our science work this week and loved our first investigation looking at how water changes colour and is absorbed over time. There are lots of lovely pictures on Tapestry to have a look at.
All of the children loved coming in to the Gruffalo woods in class on Monday and we will be continuing work on the Gruffalo for the next few weeks. 
Finally, 3 things to ask your child this week:-
- Can they find a circle and a square in the environment?
- Can they sing the song "Wriggly Nativity" to you?
- Can they explain what happened to the water when we aded food colour? 
Have a great weekend,
Many thanks,
Kayleigh Ballard. 

Today at Forest School the children made some amazing discoveries, and some even ended up in space!
When we arrived we made a circle of leaves, this gave us all a chance to warm up, and to explore the field searching for the most beautiful colours we could find.

The children then went off to play, and soon there was a commotion, some had found a “real dinosaur bone”. They used water to unearth it, then spoons and trowels to start digging it up. Some also found brushes to wash it. They had discussions about whether it was a bone or a stone, whether there even were dinosaurs in Oxfordshire, and if it was a Dino.... what type was it?

Another group made a home under a tarpaulin and decided that it was night time, they drew the “blinds” and went to sleep under our shelter. They were going to wake up when it was “6 O’clock, or when the “bell next to their bed went off”.

Another group turned our leaf circle into “a firework rocket” they first collected fuel (water) and sprinkled it on the rocket, then they gathered into the circle, did a countdown, then blasted off. On arrival in space they soon saw aliens. They repeated the journey several times.

Some people spent time experimenting with our swing, getting “stuck” a lot. They used team work to get upright again.

All of these games were completely child led, they constantly chatted to one another, shared ideas and used past experiences to enrich their play. They all worked together really well, inviting others into their games. They were keen to share their ideas with the adults present.

At the end of the session we gathered around the leaf circle and took turns saying what we though we would find if we jumped into it, then took turns jumping. The circle became all kinds of things, ice cream, a whale pool, a firework ( a safe one), warm water.

Each child had an idea and had the confidence to share it with the group.
​
At the end of the session we huddled like penguins in the centre.

As part of our transition work, Foundation Stage and Year One buddied up and spent some time in the Year 1 class together. We had a lovely time showing our buddies around the classroom, playing, sharing and having fun together. 

Wow! I can't believe we are in our last half term in Foundation stage. We have had a lovely first week back and the children have worked very hard. 
In literacy we have been continuing our work on The Gruffalo. The children designed some of their own Gruffalo's and thought about whether they wanted to do a scary or a friendly Gruffalo. They also wrote descriptive sentences focusing on their own designs. 
Maths has seen us continue our work on recognising numbers to 20 and adding 2 numbers together to make 20.
Our Jigsaw work this week was a session concluding our work on relationships. The children thought about what made them a good friend to others. 
We have completed a good phonics recap this week and have learned some new high frequency words. The  children also learned the 'or' sound and thought of lots of words with the 'or' sound in. 
There is homework in book bags this week, please can we have it back in on Tuesday as the children are going to share their work with the class.
Finally 3 things to ask your child this week:-
* Can they think of any words with the 'or' sound in?
* Can they describe their own Gruffalo design to you?
* Can they tell you what makes them a good friend?
As always, please come and see me if you have any questions.
Kayleigh Ballard.