Hello and welcome to the new school year. We are delighted to welcome all the children into Reception. We have had a very busy start to the new term, despite the change in weather!
We are so proud of all the children, whether they are new to Merry Hill or are returning after the summer break. They have all settled in so quickly and are fast making lots of new friends. We have been busy learning all about the rules of the classroom and how to use each area safely and correctly.
All of Reception have been getting stuck straight in with their learning, building friendships and trying new challenges. They have demonstrated great resilience when things have been tricky, such as changing for their first PE lesson, trying school dinners and exploring the forest in the rain! They are fully immersing themselves in their learning already and this is wonderful to see – we are very proud of them all already! As you can see we have already achieved so much – our first PE lesson, our first Mini Explorers session, making new friends, staying for lunch, mark making and taking turns to play maths games to name just a few. We look forward to seeing what is to come – watch this space!
As you may already know, we have introduced The Merry Hill Way and the children are brilliant at showing us and talking about how to be Ready, Respectful and Safe! We are already very good at talking about how to be Ready for school each day. We will continue to build on how we show that we are Respectful and Safe as the weeks go by.
Another new thing this term is the introduction of our daily feeling word – this is to help develop children’s breadth of vocabulary and understanding of emotions and feelings. This week we have already learned happy, unhappy and angry. You might like to discuss these words at home with your child.
How you can help at home:
- ensure your child is Ready for school each day by establishing good bedtime routines, as well as checking that all of their belongings are labelled clearly
- talk to your child about their day – encourage them to answer questions in full sentences such as “I loved digging in the sand pit with my new friends”
- model being Respectful towards others at home – looking at the person who is speaking, waiting for their turn with a toy
- explore the outdoors – enjoy a walk in the woods or a bike ride together, discuss changes you notice in the environment
- read with your child – share their library book, encourage them to talk about the pictures in books – using their imagination to make up the story
- discuss how to stay Safe on the journey to school