Author: Jane Cottle

Reception Newsletter
Summer 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,
During this half term our topic will be ’Growing. The children will learn about the parts of a plant and how they grow. During our topic children will have the opportunities to grow some plants from seeds. In Literacy, the children will be creating their own Bean Diaries. They will observe and write simple sentences about the changes that they can see. Throughout our topic the children will listen to a variety of both fiction and non– fiction texts. Children will create observational drawings, and explore ways to represent plants using different media. The children are keen scientists so they will be carrying out some experiments linked to growing. Following on from this, we will be learning about different life cycles and hopefully witnessing the transformation of caterpillars to butterflies. There will be plenty of opportunities for, drawing, writing, creating stories and developing new vocabulary.

Home Learning
Later this term, the children will bring home their growing beans for planting and their Bean Diaries. Please support the children to continue their diaries by drawing the plants at different stages and writing a simple sentence about what they can see. It would be lovely to see a picture of their growing beans on Tapestry later in the term.
This term we will be encouraging children to further develop their pen control and letter formation. Please use the letter formation rhymes to support your child at home to form letters correctly. If you need another copy please ask. (These were included within your phonics packs)
To support your child to further develop their fine motor skills at home some activities you could do include;
Using spray bottles to shoot targets/water plants etc
Cutting skills, cutting along lines, shapes and making snowflakes
Playdough, tweezers and poms poms, threading beads or pasta, using clothes pegs
Sticker play, drawing and tracing
Lego building

Phonics and Reading The children continue to enjoy our daily phonics sessions within school. This term we will be securing phase 3 and moving on to phase 4.
Please continue to use your phonics packs and listen to your child read as often as possible. It has been amazing to see the progress children are making, with your support. The children will bring home the phase 4 tricky words to practise at home, as we learn them.
Our Foundation Stage Library is still available for you to access books daily if you would like to.

Celebration Assembly At some point this term the children will join the whole school for a celebration assembly on Fridays. (We will inform parents when this will be at a later date.) The time for this is 8.50 and usually lasts around 30 minutes. Parents are welcome to attend this assembly by going to the school hall. Every week a rosette will be given out as a head teacher award for outstanding effort, behaviours and learning. These can be worn in school for a week and then returned the following Friday.

Baby Photograph: As part of our topic, please could you send in a named photograph of your child as a baby. These will be photocopied and sent back to you and then used as part of our Literacy.

We look forward to the term ahead, and please speak to any member of the Foundation Stage team if you have any queries or concerns about your child.
Thank you for your support,
Mrs Cottle and Miss Speechley

Trip We are in the process of planning an outing for the children, later on this term, which will be linked to our topic. We will keep you informed about dates and any other details that you will need to know.