Welcome to Chestnut/Willow Class
Term 2
Chestnut Class- Reception
Class Teacher: Miss L Maidman
Teaching Assistants : Mrs L Montebello (Mon, Tues, Thurs mornings & Fri all day)
Mrs E Comeau (Mon-Fri all day)
Mrs T Morgan (Mon, Tues afternoons & Wed all day)
Mrs C Salaman (Thursday afternoons)
Who Blew the House Down?!
This Term
In this topic we will be focusing on the big question: Who blew the house down? Through our daily lessons we will explore a wide range of traditional tales with a main focus on ‘The Three Little Pigs’. We will explore the story in detail before reading the alternative version: The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. Children will use their knowledge and imaginations to create their own versions of this popular and well known tale and we will find out who really blew the house down!
We will then be moving on to Christmas and getting ready for our Nativity performance at the end of term working with Willow and Beech class.
Understanding the World
Children will be exploring:
- Materials, solids and liquids.
- Home from around the world
- Comparing homes – mine and others
- Melting: What happens when we boil something or it gets hot? Explore melting chocolate or ice.
- The Past: How did people live a long time ago? How did they travel, keep warm, cook?
- Materials: Explore the materials used to build the houses in TTLP. Can you make a house of straw or sticks? How would we stick bricks together to make a house?
- Maps: How does Red Riding Hood get to her Grandmothers cottage?

This term we are...
Maths (Reception)
Following the White Rose EYFS Maths Scheme:
- Week 1: Its Me 1 2 3 1 more, 1 less and composition of numbers
- Week 2: Circles and Triangles Identify and name, compare, shapes in the environment and describe position.
- Week 3 & 4: 1 2 3 4 5 Find 4 and 5, subitise 4 and 5, represent 4 and 5, 1 more and less, composition of 4 and 5 and composition of 1-5.
- Week 5 & 6: Shapes with 4 sides Identify and name shapes with 4 sides, combine shapes with 4 sides, shapes in the environment and Day and Night
- Week 7: Recap of whole term
Maths (Year 1)
Following the White Rose EYFS Maths Scheme:
Week 1-3: Addition & Subtraction within 10:
- Read, write and interpret mathematical statements involving addition (+), subtraction (–) and equals (=) signs
- Represent and use number bonds and related subtraction facts within 10
- Solve one-step problems that involve addition and subtraction, using concrete objects and pictorial representations, and missing number problems.
Week 4-5: Shape
- Recognise and name 3D shapes, sort 3D shapes, recognise and name 2D shapes, sort 2D shapes, create patterns with shape.
Week 6: Consolidation + Assessments
RE:
We will be starting the term off by looking at our Christian Value of TRUST. We will be exploring this word and what it means as well as looking at stories from The Bible.
Chestnut's BIG question: Why is Christmas special for Christians?
Willow's BIG question: Why does Christmas matter to Christians (taught in Beech class)
RSHE: Celebrating Difference
- What I am good at?
- I’m special, I’m Me!
- Families
- Houses and Homes
- Making Friends
- Stand up for yourself
Phonics- Rhino Readers and Twinkl Scheme
Reception Children:
The children will start their Phonics journey when they first start. We will begin with Level 1 and 2 which will revisit songs and rhymes, making sounds and using body percussion - with a focus on speaking and listening skills. We will then move on to learning the first 19 most commonly used letters in the alphabet.
Parent help sheets will be sent out with each new sound to support learning at home so please do take a look in your child's bookbag. You will be told when this first starts.
Keywords: The children each have a personalised collection of keywords that they need to learn from sight. Some of these words cannot be sounded out, we call these tricky words. Instead these words need to be learnt and recognised by memory. Other words which can be sounded out are called high frequency words. These words are ones that appear often in books and would be beneficial for children to also recognise by sight as it helps with fluency when reading.
Once children are confident in recognising their keywords by sight extra ones will be added on. These words do not just need to be recognised on the keyring but also recognised by sight in their reading books.
Please do have a look at our Phonics and Rhino Reader page on the school website: https://www.frantcep.e-sussex.sch.uk/esussex/primary/frant/site/pages/frantcurriculum/english/phonicsrhinoreaders
Below is what we will be covering this term:
Phonics:
Level 2:
- Week 1: Identify and read: ck, e, u, r
- Week 2: Identify and read: h, b, f, l
- Week 3:. Identify and read: ff, ll, ss, s (z)
- Week 4: Revise all of phase 2
- Week 5: Revise all of phase 2
- Week 6: Phonics Assessment
- Week 7: Phonics Assessment
Phonics assessments are just to see the attainment of each child and what they have retained from the current level.
PE
PE will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays with Mrs Douch and Miss Maidman.
We will be focusing on Tennis, Athletics and Cricket
The children will need to come into school on those days in their kit.
Please ensure that all PE items are named and the children are wearing trainers with velcro- no laces please.
If possible, please try to clean the kit between these days as the children are very active during their PE lessons.
Reading
Childrens reading books will be changed on Monday.
Children will take home 3 books for the week:
- Phonics level book
- Reading for pleasure book (linked to reading level)
- Library book
Please ensure you read with your chidren at home and write a comment in their reading record, that way we know the book has been read and we can see how children got on at home.
Reminders
- Please ensure your child has a named water bottle in school every day.
- Children will be provided with a fruit or vegetable snack at morning break but please can you provide children with a snack for the afternoon- fruit or vegetable only.
- Name all items of school uniform.
- Keep soft toys and comforters at home (if your child really needs one in school then talk to them about it staying in their bookbag)- we would hate for it to get lost.
- Please send children to school wearing outerwear that is appropriate for the weather as we will always endeavour to be outside for playtime.
- Please make sure that hair below shoulder length is tied back using discrete hairbands in school colours.
How you can help
- Encourage children to remember what they need to bring to school each day- bookbag, waterbottle, coat and hat.
- Get children to carry their own bags and coats into school.
- Read lots of books and discuss what is happening.
- Stick to a good bedtime routine as children will get tired.
- Encourage children to dress themselves- practise doing up zips, buttons and turning clothes the right way round.
- Give children opportunites to mark make- writing name, forming letters and shapes, work on pencil grip.
- Play lots of counting games and sing rhymes.
-
Please feel free to speak to one of us if you have any issues or concerns. Also, if there is any home information we need to be aware of please let us know, however small.
Phonics Websites and Resources

Teach your Monster to Read!- https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/
The Dinosaur's Eggs-High Frequency Words: Focus on levels 1,2 and 3. You can go up to Level 5 if children are confident. https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/dinosaurEggsHF/index.html
The Dinosaur's Eggs- Phonics: https://www.ictgames.com/dinosaurEggs_phonics/mobile/
Forest Phonics- Choose a sound and then listen to word which is read out before trying to spell it. https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/forestPhonics/index.html
Viking Full Circle: Listen to the word you have to spell then select the correct letters to spell it. Click the wave and it will read out the next word for you to make. Continue until to make the first word you started with then say full circle! http://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/viking/index.html
Foam Phonemes: Choose different sounds to make words. Click on the letter to hear the sound. Can you repeat the sounds and then blend together to make the word? http://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/foamPhonemes/index.html
Useful Websites:
ICT Games for Literacy and Math
Vooks – Storybooks bought to life (1 month free)
Teach handwriting, Cursive practice
Cbeebies-Alphablocks & Numberblock