Grasshoppers Class
Welcome to Grasshoppers Class 
Grasshoppers (Reception) class is the most wonderful year. Being the first year of 'proper' school we bridge the gap between nursery and Year One. We work hard and play hard. In this year children make a huge leap in terms of their learning and development.
Meet the Team
Class teacher- Mrs McLean
Teaching Assistants - Mrs Davies, Miss Baker, Miss Ahmed
Our Early Years curriculum
Below you will find information about our Early Years curriculum, which is planned around the seven areas of learning from the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. We hope the information provided will help you support your child at home and provide you with insight as to what your child will learn while with us.
Phonics
At Watling Lower School we use 'Essential Letters and Sounds' to teach your child how to read and write. Phonics is explicitly taught every day during a dedicated slot on the timetable. Children are given the knowledge and the skills to then apply this independently.
Throughout the day, children will use their growing Phonics knowledge to support them in other areas of the curriculum and will have many opportunities to practise their reading. This includes reading 1:1 with a member of staff, with a partner during paired reading and as a class.
Our phonic lessons also introduce children to letter formation and handwriting. Each grapheme is taught alongside a rhyme/mnemonic to support the children in knowing how to form the letter, and we practice these daily.
For further information about Essential Letters and Sounds and how you can support at home, take a look at the Phonics page on our school website.
One common problem that parents face when supporting children at home is pronouncing the pure sound for each letter of the alphabet. Please click on the links below to hear how each sound should be pronounced, with soft, pure sounds.
Even more information can be found on the Essential Letters and Sounds website
Maths
We follow the NCETM Mastering Number program for our daily Maths lessons. Over time,
through participating in Mastering Number sessions, our children will:
• Develop fluency in calculation and a flexibility with number that exemplifies good number sense.
• Be able to clearly communicate their mathematical ideas.
• Make good progress towards the Early Learning Goals
• Demonstrate a willingness to ‘have a go.
Each week the children will also participate in a Shape, Space and Measure session, following the White Rose Maths scheme.
Communication and Language
Developing your child's communication and language is at the heart of everything we do. Our daily phonic sessions introduce aspiring vocabulary from day 1- one of the first words we read is 'sap'. We never shy away from challenging vocabulary, in fact, we relish learning new, unknown words.
Through our weekly 'Helicopter Story' sessions, children create and dictate their very own stories, which are later acted out by the class. We share stories daily and these are selected carefully to ensure children are immersed in an environment full of rich language.
English
Along with the rest of the school, in reception we use Essential Writing for our English curriculum. This is enjoyed by all in reception as it takes the form of a weekly book making process. We use a range of aspiring texts to encourage and support the children in creating their own books, ranging from books about them and their favourite things, to animals and sustainability. The children are taught the difference between a letter, a word and a sentence, and work towards the goal of writing their own phrase or sentence by the end of the year.
Physical Development
We are incredibly lucky to have a huge outdoor space to run around in and develop our gross motor skills. The children have access to this space all day, and can free flow between inside and out. The children are also lucky to enjoy a weekly PE lesson taught by a sports specialist, developing their balance and co-ordination.
Each morning the children complete their 'busy fingers' jobs. These are fun activities designed to support their fine motor development. They include lacing, threading, balancing, stacking, twisting, squeezing. All of these are important to develop so that the muscles in their hands are ready to hold a pencil.
Our Planning Overviews
Below you will find an overview of what your child will learn each half term. Support from home is always encouraged, especially at this early stage in your child's education journey.