Welcome to Reception!

Every week this page will be updated with information about what we have been doing for that week. There will be recaps of the learning, activities recommended to try at home, phonics videos to watch with your child and photographs of the children learning at school. We recommend that you check the website weekly and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask your child's class teacher.

Week 7

Week beginning 11.12.23

What a busy week we have had in Dragonfly class! We have been so busy getting festive with lots of fun Christmas learning opportunities. On Thursday we performed our Nativity production to all of the grown ups! Thank you all so much for attending. We all very much enjoyed performing for you all and worked very hard learning lines, songs and stage directions. On Friday we also had a Christmas craft event with all of the grown ups at home and had fun making Christmas decorations with our loved ones to share at home. To top it all off we had a special guest on Friday- Father Christmas! We asked him questions and he kindly gave us all a Christmas present! 

Phonics 

In phonics this week we began using our phonics to help read and write simple sentences on a ditty sheet. We will be continuing this after Christmas and children will be taking home a ditty sheet to practice with at home. Ask Mrs Bennett if you would like any advice on how to tackle this if you are unsure. 

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

This week, we practised a wide range of mathematical skills we have learned over the last few weeks in a Christmas context. We explored sorting, counting, representing numbers and positional language. 

Wider Curriculum 

In topic we looked at different kinds of pop up books and explored how they were made. We began looking at concertina pop ups and tried to make our own Christmas concertina pop up toy! 

In English we finished learning about our story ‘On Sudden Hill’. We discussed what we liked and disliked about the story and thought about what we might say to a friend about it.

In Jigsaw, we began a new puzzle piece called ‘Dreams and goals’. For our first piece of the puzzle, we learned about challenges. We explored how challenges make us feel and what we can do to overcome them in order to reach our goals. 

Well done everyone for another great week and have a wonderful weekend! Thanks everyone again for all of your support these last few weeks in helping children prepare for their Nativity. Thank you also for attending the show and the craft event as it really does mean an awful lot to everyone!

Week 6

Week beginning 4.12.23

We have had a particularly busy week in Reception. On Monday we moved classrooms and are now enjoying the new outside play area during exploring time. We had a fly over from Father Christmas who gave us a wave from his helicopter. We have also been very busy preparing for our Nativity show which we will be performing to you all next week! We can’t wait to share it with you. 

Phonics 

In phonics this week we looked at the sounds ck, ss, ll and ff. They are special friends which means there are 2 letters but it makes only one sound. We blended sounds to hear and read words and have segmented short words into their individual sounds to spell words using letter cards. Here are this week’s phonics videos for you to watch at home together. 

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

This week, we worked with the numbers 1 to 5 in different ways. First we represented them using cubes and looked at picture representations of numbers before organising ourselves into number groups. We practised subitizing which means recognising an amount without having to count them. We also practised adding and subtracting as well as finding one more and one less. 

Wider Curriculum 

In topic we continued used our designs to build robots from recycled materials. We then painted them in metal colours so that they will be ready for their final decorations next week. We are looking forward to sharing our amazing robots with you all. We also looked at real life robots- beebots. We programmed them to move in different directions. 

In English we explored emotions of characters and created a emotional timeline to show the different feelings Birt experienced in the story so far. 

In PE, we continued to learn about movement. This time we explored moving our legs in different ways including hopping, striding and tiny steps on tip toes. 

In Jigsaw, we looked at how we can solve problems and stand up for ourselves using the phrase ‘Please don’t do that’ and helped Jigsaw Genie solve a problem with his friend. 

Makaton 

This week our  makaton sign is ‘daddy’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

Well done everyone for another great week and have a wonderful weekend! Thanks everyone for getting your costumes in for us to use in our first dress rehearsal next week! 

Week 5

Week beginning 27.11.23

We have had another lovely week in reception and have been busy getting ready for our nativity play! Please remember to bring your child’s costume in a labelled bag before the 5th December so that dress rehearsals can begin. The weather has also become a lot colder in recent days. Please ensure that your child comes to school wearing the appropriate clothing including hats, gloves, scarves, so that they can enjoy the full curriculum on offer outdoors. It is also the season for coughs and colds and we have been talking a lot about hygiene in class, please consolidate our message at home! Catch it, bin it, kill it! 

Phonics 

In phonics this week we revised the sounds p, g, b, f and k. We blended sounds to hear and read words and have segmented short words into their individual sounds to spell words using letter cards. Here are this week’s phonics videos for you to watch at home together. 

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

This week, we continued to learn about shapes. This time we focused on 4 sided shapes such as squares and rectangles. We spotted them in our environment and found them in pictures of real places. Later in the week we began to think about time. We discussed things that happen during the day and night. We also looked at clocks and identified the different features before making our own moving parts clock. 

Wider Curriculum 

In topic we looked at emergency vehicles. We discussed how they help us and learned about the different people who work in emergency vehicles. Then we explored how cars move differently and at different speeds depending on the surface they are on. We used cars on different types of floor including carpet and laminate and thought about how ramps can increase their speed!

In English we used visualization to imagine what it would be like to be a character in the story. We generated ways to describe the characters and the scene, wrote a diary from the perspective of the character and went on to explore rain in more detail by creating beautiful raindrop paintings. 

In PE, we continued to learn about movement. This time we explored stretching and reaching from different positions in order to move a brick beyond a line. 

In Jigsaw, we focused on friendship and made a list of helpful tips on how to make a friend. 

Makaton 

This week our  makaton sign is ‘mummy’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

Well done everyone for another great week and have a wonderful weekend!

Week 4

Week beginning 20.11.23

We have had another lovely week in reception. We have had a big focus on our mini topic ‘Puppets and pop ups’ and children have been exploring all kinds of puppets and using them in their play. We also had a visit from the library on Friday and children really enjoyed hearing the interesting stories they shared and joining in with their rhymes. 

Next week, we will be having a new focus in our workshop area! Please could you save any boxes, tubs, pots etc from your recycling so that we can use them in a special workshop project next week. Thank you! 

Phonics 

In phonics this week we revised the sounds th, ch, qu, ng and nk which are special friends- 2 letters that make one sound. We blended sounds to hear and read words and have segmented short words into their individual sounds to spell words using letter cards. Here are this week’s phonics videos for you to watch at home together. 

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

We moved on to a new unit in maths - shapes. This week we focused on circles and triangles. We learned how to identify them based on their properties, spotted them in our environment and made pictures using them. We also looked at positional language such as under, on, in, behind and practised using them to explain where coco the cat was! 

Wider Curriculum 

This week, we had a big focus on our side project ‘Puppets and pop ups’. We made sock puppets, used hand and finger puppets in the theatre and began making paper plate puppets which we will finish next week. 

In topic we used our observations to closely look at pictures of machines before we drew them. We looked at the different parts that made up the machines, the shapes we could see and also the types of lines we could spot before carefully copying our observations into our books. We also looked at how machines have changed over the years, looking at similarities and differences between them. 

In English we acted in the role of Birt, Etho and Shu, the characters of Sudden Hill, and  created a freeze frame of a scene. We also explored emotions and used our inference to understand how Birt was feeling and why. 

We had a special PE lesson this week as we explored how to move our bodies like a robot. We drew inspiration from professional dancers and created our own robot dances to the music of Daft Punk. 

In Jigsaw, we continued to learn about how our differences make us special. This week we focused on homes and how homes come in all shapes and sizes! 

Makaton 

This week our  makaton sign is ‘more’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

Well done everyone for another great week and thank you to everyone who has helped stock our workshop with materials for our machine making!

Week 3

Week beginning 13.11.23

We have had a lovely week in Reception. This week we have been thinking about Diwali- learning about the festival and enjoying lots of lovely activities to explore the festival further. It was also anti-bullying week and we have been focusing a lot on how to be a good friend to each other. We also ended the week with a fundraising day for ‘Children in Need’. We all had fun wearing spots and learning about the charity and Pudsey bear! Thank you all for your generous donations! 

Phonics 

In phonics this week we revised the sounds y, w, z, x and sh. We blended sounds to hear and read words and have segmented short words into their individual sounds to spell words using letter cards. Here are this week’s phonics videos for you to watch at home together. 

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

In maths we continued to build on our knowledge of matching and used this to help us sort. We looked at what was the same or different between the 2 groups in order to recognise how items had been sorted. We thought of our own ways to sort objects by identifying similarities and differences and grouping them accordingly. We also spotted the odd one out by thinking out the sorting rules and which one of the objects broke the rule. 

Wider Curriculum 

This week, we found out about Diwali. We investigated Diwali and created rangoli art work using rice and collage materials. We also made diva lamps from clay and will be decorating them in bright colours once the clay has dried. 

We also began our side project ‘Puppets and pop ups’. This week we watched clips of puppet shows and have begun creating some puppets using pipe cleaners. We also continued with our main topic about marvellous machines- this time using machinery parts to create transient artwork!

In English we began to read our new story ‘On Sudden Hill’. We learned about the 2 main characters and made inferences about how they felt and what they were like. 

Makaton 

This week our  makaton sign is ‘home’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

Well done everyone for another great week and for helping to raise money for ‘Children in need’. Have a wonderful weekend.

Week 2

Week beginning 6.11.23

We have had a very busy week in Reception which has been jam packed with lots of great learning. On Wednesday we had an amazing train journey to Reading! We saw first hand what it was like to ride a train as well as see the inside of a train station. We also had our flu vaccinations earlier in the week which will help us stay fighting fit for a very busy term in the lead up to Christmas! Our practice for our nativity is in full swing and children have now learnt a number of songs to wow you with in our production later in the term. 

Phonics 

In phonics this week we revised the sounds u, l, h, j and v. We blended sounds to hear and read words and have begun to segment short words into their individual sounds to spell words using letter cards. Here are this week’s phonics videos for you to watch at home together. 

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

In maths we have been looking at matching. We identified similarities and differences between different objects in order to match the pairs and have begun to make sets by matching larger number of objects for example making a set of triangles or a set of red things. 

Wider Curriculum 

In topic, we looked closely at the insides of machines and discussed the kinds of things we might find inside a machine to make it work. We also compared machines of today with machines of the past, looking at what is the same and what is different. 

In English we continued to think about our box play from last week. We wrote a caption for our box design using our phonics to help us fred talk and spell words. Then we wrote a set of instructions to help others create their own versions of our creations. 

In PE we continued to explore balance and tried hard to balance a foam brick on different parts of our bodies and pass it on to our team mate without dropping it on the floor. 

In Jigsaw, we continued to think about the things we are good at that make us feel special! We made a paper chain to show all the different talents we have as a class and to show how special we all are. 

Makaton 

This weeks makaton sign is ‘food’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

Well done everyone for another great week and for making all of the teachers very proud on our trip on the train! Have a wonderful weekend.

Week 1

Week beginning 30.10.23

It has been a very busy week in Reception and everyone has settled in well after their half term. It was lovely hearing all about your half term holidays.This week, we began a new topic called ‘Marvellous Machines’ and we also started looking at a new book in English. Our classroom is looking a little different too, and our kitchen has been replaced with a workshop where we can create all kinds of marvellous machines. We will be needing lots of junk modelling this term so please do think of us before throwing any recycling away as we would greatly appreciate any donations you can spare. We also began to learn songs for our Nativity show that we are excited to be sharing with you later in the term. Watch out for letters in your book bag outlining your child's role in the play, what words they may have to learn to say as well as details regarding their costumes which will be sent home in the next few weeks. On Friday we had a visit from some firefighters and got to explore their fire truck…. We even got to hold some of their equipment including a hose!

Phonics 

In phonics this week we learnt the new special friend sounds ‘ng’ and ‘nk’ and have now learned all of the set 1 sounds. For the rest of the week we have been recapping sounds that we already know and focusing more on reading short words as well as segmenting words into their individual sounds. These included: d, t and i.Here are this week’s phonics videos for you to watch at home together. 

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

In maths we have been looking at measures. We compared size, mass and capacity and have been able to use lots of key mathematical language when we have compared them such as big, small, light, heavy, full, empty, nearly full, nearly empty and half full. We enjoyed using practical equipment to help us explore these new concepts.

Wider Curriculum 

In topic, we began to find out about machines. We used a kitchen machine to help us make toast and had a lovely time adding our toppings. We explored talking machines such as telephones and had fun discovering how sound travels using paper cup telephones. We also loved using our new workshop to create our own machines during exploring time!

In English we have begun to look at a new story. We have not revealed the name of the story yet, but we have explored the images and made inferences and predictions about what we could see. We also looked at box play and discussed and explored the different we can use boxes imaginatively including turning it into a plane or pretending it is a castle. 

We started our writing lessons this week too. We used our fred talk to identify and write the initial sounds in words. 

In PE we explored balance and tried hard to balance a foam brick on different parts of our bodies such as head, shoulder and forearm as well as in different positions such as walking or crawling. Despite the challenges, we all persevered and got better and better!

In Jigsaw, we have begun a new puzzle ‘Celebrating differences’. This week we talked about the things we are good at that make us feel special! 

Makaton 

This weeks makaton sign is ‘yes’’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

Well done everyone for a great first week back! Have a wonderful weekend.