Year R
Here you will find key information and helpful tips to support your child as they start their school journey.
What have we been learning this week?
Week Commencing Monday 13th April 2026
Welcome back to the Summer term, our final term of Year R - can you believe it??! We would like to also extend a very warm welcome to several new families that have joined our school in the past few weeks.
We started back to some gardening type clues, linking us to the rhyme Mary, Mary, quite contrary. The children have enjoyed singing and acting out this rhyme using flowers, bells, cockle shells and a watering can. We have looked at many different seeds and what plants they will grow into and have named the key parts of a plant - root, stem, leaf, flower. Other words we have explored this we are bulb, petal, pollen, seed.
We have planted sunflower seeds and can't wait for them to start growing! Once they have emerged from the soil we will send them home. Please send in a photograph of your green-fingered results - I wonder whose will grow the tallest? As we planted our seeds we talked about each step which helped us to write some instructions for how to plant a sunflower seed. We were delighted with the progress the children have made with their writing skills.
In maths we have explored the number 16 and printed 16 flowers with paint and by drawing them on Purple Mash and in music we recapped some of the many rhymes we have learnt this year.
How you can help:
Please remember to sign the reading diary when you have read with your child. A short comment about how your child has read the book, any strengths and difficulties or what you have discussed will help contribute to our assessment of your child's development at the end of the year. As the minimum we ask that you record the book title, date and your initials.
Thank you for your support.
Number Formation Guide
Practise numerals at home with this printable number formation guide. All numbers are formed by starting at the top.
Curriculum Presentations
Thank you very much to the parents who attended the Year R curriculum meeting and the Phonics and Reading evening.
Please find the three presentations below as well as some ideas for supporting your child with phonics and reading games, wordless books and some examples of questions to ask your child when reading with them.
Thank you for your support.
If you have any questions, please pop and see the class teacher.
Letter formation and handwriting
Please find images of how to support your child in achieving the correct letter formation.
- lower-case letters start at the top
- dots and horizontal cross lines are added after the main part of the letter has been formed
- capital letters start at the top and go down first, the pencil is then taken off the paper to add the horizontal lines
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It is extremely important that your child uses a comfortable and efficient pencil grip, even though this may not be the same as your own. This should be the pincer grip.
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Climbing the tree to a better me
Our special tree focuses on the Social, Moral, Spiritual and Social aspect of our learning. In Year R we are practising using our manners, being a good friend and being respectful and responsible.
We can earn three stars for each rung of the ladder and at the end of the year we can earn a special sticker at the top of the tree for our effort in trying to show these things.
When we have collected three stars of the same colour we can show our certificate in assembly and our name is moved up the ladder in class to show our progress.
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