Reception
Spring Term
We dressed up as superheroes for Red Nose Day 2022 and donated money to charity. We discussed how our donations can help people who are less fortunate than us.
Science Week - Sustainability Theme
On Monday, we looked at the life cycle of a bee and looked at some bee cocoons in person. One bee even began to emerge! We discussed the importance of bees and why we need to help keep them alive. We had a bee keeper visit and tell us how he looks after his bees. We also labelled some pictures of bees.
On Tuesday, we went on a spring walk to look for signs of spring. We worked collaboratively in pairs to tick the signs we spotted. We discussed what we found and compared different coloured flowers and leaves.
On Wednesday, we read a story about a magpie that collected litter. We discussed how littering can damage our natural world and the homes of animals. We shared ideas of how we can all help to stop this from happening by putting our rubbish in the bin or recycling it. We then made posters to remind everyone how they can help.
On Thursday, we explored and investigated ice. We discussed what would happen if all the ice in the world melted. We had some ice in our classroom that we watched melt over the course of the day. We observed and described how it changed over time.
On Friday, we learnt about recycling and what this means. We found out that if we reduce, reuse and recycle as much waste as possible, we can help to look after our world. We learnt a song to help remind us to reduce, reuse and recycle.
For World Book Day, we dressed up as a character from a fantasy story or fairy tale. We read the story “Jack and the Bean Stalk” and compared it to a different version called “Jack and the Jelly Beanstalk.” We dressed up as our favourite story character and Y6 came into our classroom for a shared reading session. We had a special storyteller visitor who came into school to tell us a story. We also held a storybook competition to write our own story and draw our own illustrations.
To learn about Pancake Day, the children have been getting messy this week exploring and creating their own pancake batter. They made pancakes out of the vanilla scented playdough. The children added toppings to some freshly cooked pancakes to taste. They then wrote shopping lists including the ingredients needed to make the batter and had a go at mixing fresh eggs, flour and milk.
For Art Week, the children explored mixing different shades of green. To fit with our book focus of “Jack and the Beanstalk”, the children used these shades to paint their own beanstalks. The children explored some mindfulness art activities and used their imagination to create a cool tree house and draw some characters who were visiting the haunted house.
We used some recycled cardboard to make our own castles to link to our "Jack and the Beanstalk" focus text. We then used our painted castles with the small world characters in our Child Initiated Learning.
We have been learning about Chinese New Year. We listened to the story of Chinese New Year and worked out that 2022 is the year of the Tiger. We practised writing Chinese numbers, making lanterns and using chopsticks. We watched the traditional dragon dance on the interactive whiteboard. We made our own paperchain dragons.
The children in Reception have become Authors and Illustrators this week and have created their very own storybooks. I am sure they would love to tell you their stories...
Our new half termly topic is "Fantasy" and we have been focusing on the book "The Gruffalo" by Julia Donaldson. We have made our own masks of the characters in the story and worked collaboratively to complete a Gruffalo puzzle. What would happen if you took a stroll in the deep dark wood?
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Reception Newsletter - Autumn Term 2021
Autumn Term
We took part in the school play “The Sleepy Shepherd”. We sang the songs and did the actions. We were all sheep in the play. We performed the play to the rest of the school. We are so sorry that you were unable to watch the play and hear our wonderful singing!
During DT week, Reception children designed their own Christmas Rudolph cards. Each child made a painted footprint to start off their reindeer face. They then chose which material they wanted to use for the antlers, eyes and nose, out of the selection of materials available. They ticked their choices on a design sheet. The children used their design sheet to make their Rudolph card using the materials they had chosen. When their card was complete, the children evaluated it and explained what they liked the most and if they would change anything.
We visited the local library and the children were able to look at a selection of books. The children took part in a picture treasure hunt and had to find hidden images all over the library and tick them off on their record sheet. The staff were welcoming and friendly and read a story to the children. There was also the opportunity for children to colour in a picture to be displayed in the library. It is free to join the library - it would be so wonderful if every child in Reception became a member!
History week
This week, we have been learning about the past and the present. We have been focusing on 'People who help us' including police, firefighters, teachers and nurses.
We compared the past and the present. We looked at photographs of schools in the past and discussed the similarities and differences with our school.
We discussed how firefighters, nurses, teachers and police officers have changed since the past and what equipment and technology they have in the present day that they might not have had in the past.
We held our first parent reading morning. The children really enjoyed sharing stories with the adults that were able to join us. Thank you!
We have been learning about Harvest. We learnt about a variety of different fruits and vegetables and painted pictures of them. We discussed how different foods can be harvested and what farmers might use to do this, including machinery. To celebrate the Harvest Festival, we walked to St Mary’s Church in the Old Town with the rest of the school. We showed our paintings everyone and performed our Harvest poem with actions.
This week, we took part in a Brazilian Percussion workshop. We practised singing nursery rhymes and the alphabet song. We used a variety of different instruments and items such as frying pans and drums, to create music. We were practising how to keep a steady beat.
We have been learning, exploring and investigating in Forest school each week and we have been finding out about our natural world We have been learning about the season of autumn and we created artwork using leaves that we had found. This artwork became our beautiful autumn display. We then explored the outdoor space to find natural resources. We used these natural items to glue onto a piece of black paper to create an autumn crown. Forest school has helped us to develop our gross and fine motor skills through pouring, digging, scooping, gathering items, lifting logs and even swinging on the forest school swing.
PE has been an excellent opportunity for the children to practise getting changed, build core strength, speed and agility. The children enjoyed climbing, balancing and jumping on the apparatus this week. The children were very safe and sensible with the apparatus in the hall and they showed maturity and responsibility.
We have been focusing on the book "And Tango makes Three" and have been learning about snow and ice. The children had the opportunity to create their own paper snowflakes. They were practising using scissors with skill and control and decorated their snowflakes with collage materials. Come and see our beautiful display in the classroom!
The children have been enjoying building fine motor strength with the colourful playdough. They have also been building fine motor control in the mark-making area using felt tip pens and other tools. They have been focused and have concentrated very hard.
The children have been exploring the creative area and experimenting with mixing paint colours.
The children have been experimenting with wooden blocks. They have been creating a variety of structures and enclosures. What do you think these children have built?
The children in Reception have settled in really well and have already been exploring and investigating in the learning environment
