Chestnut class is a reception class with preschoolers in the afternoon. We deliver a rich play-based curriculum in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage. Our classroom is a space where each individual is valued and encouraged to initiate and act on his or her own ideas, resulting in a fun, busy and stimulating environment. We create meaningful topics to ignite children’s thinking, imagination and a love of learning. This enables the children’s skills to continue to grow and develop and to have the confidence to make choices and take risks. This offers valuable insight to the children’s abilities. This is where the journey begins….

We are so lucky in Chestnut class to have such a huge classroom as well as a huge outside play area for the children to freeflow inside and outside. We have our own mud kitchen as well as our own mini playground. In our outside area is our den (a mini heated classroom) for small focused intervention work. We are always improving and changing our learning environment to meet the needs of the children.

On this page, you will be able to discover what your child has been learning about in class. We hope you enjoy and share these experiences with your child.

Phonics, Reading and Writing

When the children join us in reception they will be already on their reading journey. Within a couple of weeks of starting school, the children will be taught phonics daily, using the Read Write Inc. programme. In addition to learning the sounds, the children will be able to identify tricky words (also known as common exception words). These words cannot be sounded out and the children need to be able to read these by sight. At Oakhill, we follow Read Write Inc. programme by Ruth Miskin.

For more information on Read Write inc. please visit the website: https://www.ruthmiskin.com/

Maths

In Chestnut class, Maths is a very practical subject based around play and loose parts. We focus heavily upon learning and really understanding the language of maths. We follow the White Rose maths scheme for EYFS.

Seesaw

In Chestnut class, we use an online learning profile called ‘Seesaw’ Seesaw is a useful resource as it allows us to share the learning the children have made in school with you through written observations, photographs and video recordings. It also allows you to upload any learning the children have done at home. You can also communicate to the class teacher via the messenger tab.

Chestnut Reminders

· Please name your child’s clothing – we want to reunite any lost clothing to their owners!

· Please ensure your child brings their reading book and reading diaries into school each day.

· Please provide your child with a named water bottle – this must contain water only.

· Show and tell items – your child is encouraged to bring in any special items from home to share with the class although they cannot specifically be toys. Please talk with your child about the reason behind them wanting to bring something special from home in; why is the item special to them? If it is something they have found such as a feather or birds’ nest; can they tell us where they found it and who it might have belonged to?