Key dates for Autumn 2025
Friday 14th November - Children in need
Friday 28th November - INSET day - no chidren please
Monday 1st December - Occcasional day - school closed
Wednesday 3rd December - Flu Vaccinations
Friday 5th December - Pantomime visit in school
Friday 12th December - Reception Christmas Play (pm)
Monday 15th December - Friends of Cranborne Christmas Fayre and Santa's Grotto
Thursday 18th December - Christmas lunch and jumper day
Friday 19th December - Last day of term - Finish at 1:15pm.
Link to the school calendar
Extra information :
Our PE day is a Thursday. On a Thursday all children can come in to school wearing their PE kit and stay in this all day.
What we have been up to...
What we have been up to...
WC 3rd November
What a lovely week we have had! We are doing so well with our phonics and learnt sounds i, p and n this week! Thank you for supporting your child to complete the handwriting sheets that come home in their folders. In Maths we have been practicing counting different quantities of objects and writing the total. In PHSE we talked about what we were good at. The children shared their ideas really well with the rest of the class. We learnt about why we celebrate with Fireworks on the 5th November each year. The children made their own firework pictures and enjoyed exploring colours! In English we have began making our own book, this week about someone who is special to us. The children have been encouraged to iuse their phonic knowledge to sound out simple words.
WC 20th October
As we enter the last week of our first half term, we can't believe how the half term has flown! The children have settled really well and made new friendships which is lovely to see! Your child may come home singing snippets of Christmas songs - don't be alarmed! We have actually begun playing the children songs for our Christmas show (the time will fly once we return!). In English this week, we have been looking at the book 'Room on the Broom' by Julia Donaldson. We have been learning about simple rhyming and describing characters. In Maths, we have been ordering numbers and practicing forming them. We have also been creating simple arrays to 5. In Art we have been using our new found knowledge of mixing secondary colours to create our own paintings! The children are all very excited for the Halloween Disco on friday! Happy half term everyone!
WC 13th October
We've had a lovely week singing Harvest songs and we even made our own bread! The children loved mixing the dough and tasting the bread! In Maths, we focussed on numbers 6 to 10 and then ordered digits 0 to 10. The children enjoyed working in teams to find different quantities of objects to match to the digit card. In English we were looking at the story 'The Stick Man' by Julia Donaldson. We focussed on labelling the character, creating speech and made predictions about what might happen next. In PHSE we created a class charter full of classroom rules that we carefully thought about. In Art we began mixing secondary colours - and sang a song about it!
WC 6th October 2025
The weeks are simply flying by! The children have enjoyed exploring the character 'Stickman' by Julia Donaldson and have labelled the character and added speech to the character. Some of the children decided to draw pictures of the Stickman and describe him and how he was feeling about being lost! In maths this week, we focused on counting and ordering numbers zero to five.
We enjoyed practicing having a try at writing numbers too. In art, we experimented with primary colours to create our own paintings. We learnt how to look after our brushes and used them to try and keep within the lines. In music, we sang our harvest songs. In PHSE we talked to the childen about using gentle hands.
WC 29th September 2025
What a lovely week we've had! We have now completed the Reception Baseline Assessments and have been so proud of how well the children have done! The children have enjoyed continuing their own books this week. We were creating pages about our homes, our favourite foods, favourite toy and family. We have been singing Harvest songs including 'Big Red Combine Harvester', 'autumn leaves' and ';Dingle Dangle Scarecrow'.
We did some leaf rubbing and drew our own self portraits, looking at ourselves in mirrors. In PHSE, we talked to the children about resolving minor conflicts with peers and how to be a good friend.
WC 22nd September 2025
We've been really impressed with how the children have settled into school life! We have played some lovely 'getting to know you' games and the children have began to share their 'all about me' books with the class. We have talked about Autumn and given the children opportnities to explore leaves, conkers, acorns and all things autumnal! Some children even decided to draw some of the objects.
We are still continuing with the Reception Baseline Assessment and hope to conclude by the end of next week. We started making our own books in literacy that are all about them. We started to use our phonics to write words on the front cover and inside the first three pages. Children have really enjoyed this activity and having ownership of their books.
WC 8th and 15th of September
The children have been enjoying their first few weeks in Reception! They have settled really well and made lots of new frends.
We have spent most of our time these few weeks finding out what areas are available to us and what resources we have. The children have enjoyed playing in the sandpit, using the resources to transport water, getting in to character in the role play area, building with construction resoruces and so much more! We have also started each day with a wake up dance and song!
We have read 'Hello Friend' and spoken about how we treat other people and talking about how to make new friends.
We also read 'The Everywhere Bear' and predicted where the bear may go on an adventure. We also drew a story map of the bears journey.
Our learning environments in Reception
RA Classroom
RB Classroom
Outside area
Bespoke Curriculum and Curriculum Map
Below you will find our Bespoke Curriculum and Curriculum Map which outlines the learning across the year!
Home reading
Some things to think about when reading with your child- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHMl70ZmxIQ -
OXFORD OWL
Oxford owl is a website we register for where you can access free online e-books linked to our phonics scheme.
Username: cranborne
Password: school 1
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/
Herts Library Service
Herts Library Services are offering free online books too however again, these will be sharing books.
Follow this link to access it.
Snow Day Activities
Here are some suggestions for having fun in the snow:
- Make a snow angel - great for exercising your arms, legs and core muscles
- Build a snow sculpture - it does not have to be a snowman!
- Go for a winter walk and search for footprints in the snow - who or what do you think made the footprints?
- Look for icicles - how do you think they were formed?
- Can you write your name in the snow?
- Try painting in the snow - simply mix snow and liquid paint in a pot then off you go!
- Hide some objects in the snow then try to find them - don't forget to wear gloves for this!
- Target practise - line up a set of objects then try to hit them using a snow ball
- We would love to see what you have been doing in the snow; why not post your photos on Evidence Me?Enter text...
USEFUL WEBSITES
General
The BBC have some fantastic resources for children. Have a look on their page here for links to resources to help with most areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zks4kmn
Phonics and Reading Resources
Useful websites:
http://www.focusonphonics.co.uk/sound.htm (for pure sounds)
http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/resources/sound-pronunciation-guide/ (for stretchy and bouncy sounds)
http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ (for games and resources)
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading-owl/find-a-book (for reading books and resources)
Alphablocks - https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/alphablocks
Maths Resources
At Cranborne, each pupil has a unique username and password for Mathletics. This is found on the inside front cover of their reading record. Visit www.mathletics.co.uk
Other Websites:
Numberblocks - https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/numberblocks
http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/mathematical-resources/top-ten-websites-and-online-resources/
http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/what-to-expect-when/
https://www.purplemash.com/sch/cranborneen6can