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 5

Week beginning 5.2.24

It has been a very wet week in Reception this week! But that has not stopped us enjoying being outside. When we are outside there is a high chance that we will get wet, even with our coats and wellie boots on. Please ensure that your child always has a spare change of clothes in school, including socks!

This week was also internet safety week! We learned about how important it is to speak to a safe adult when anything changes when we are using the internet such as a pop up, or a new video after our favourite ones have finished. 

It was also Children’s mental health week and we learned how important our own voice is to speak up for the things we feel strongly about. 

Phonics 

Here are some phonics videos for you to watch at home this weekend.

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

This week in maths we have been learning to identify odd and even numbers, find and represent doubles and combine two groups. We played a fun game where we rolled two dice and identified when we rolled a double.

Wider Curriculum 

In Topic we learnt all about rainbows and talked about why rainbows appear in the sky. We talked about mixing colours together and explored how to make our own rainbow colours.

In music we explored rhythm and beat. We sang a song ‘Shake out the sillies’ and used tapping, actions and musical instruments to tap the beat. 

In PE, we explored galloping like a horse. We talked about show jumping horses and then we explored galloping in our own obstacle course using what we knew about jumping. 

Makaton 

Our new Makaton sign this week was ‘kind’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

Thank you to all the parents for attending parents evening this week! If you have further questions do not hesitate to ask. 

We will see you all again on Monday 19th February. Have a wonderful holiday and we look forward to hearing all about it next term. 

Week 4

Week beginning 29.1.24

We have had a lovely week in Reception which ended with lots of fun for number day! We had fun exploring numbers and shapes in different ways. 

Phonics 

Here are some phonics videos for you to watch at home this weekend.

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

This week, we have been understanding the numbers 6, 7 and 8. We looked at how to represent them and how to find 1 more and 1 fewer using lots of different equipment including counters, ten frames and cubes. 

Wider Curriculum 

In Topic we have explored toys from the past and learned about how sometimes people would make their own toys. We then made our own peg dolls using pegs and craft equipment.

In English we continued to find out about our poem ‘A circle of sun’ and learned how to perform a poem out loud using rhythm, emphasis and actions. 

In PE, we learned about games from the past. We learned French skipping using elastic and practised jumping in and out using both feet. 

Makaton 

Our new Makaton sign this week was ‘sit’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

Next week will be safer internet day and children’s mental health week and we will be finding out more about those things during the week. Next Friday 9th February is also the last day of term and we will be finishing school at the usual time for the half term holiday. 

We hope you have a lovely weekend! 

Week 3

Week beginning 29.1.24

Reception have had a very busy week! Today, we enjoyed our pyjama day, we made cakes and ate them front on the fire whilst listening to a story with some hot chocolate! 

Phonics 

Here are some phonics videos for you to watch at home

Maths

This week, we have been comparing the mass of different objects using balance scales. We used the terms ‘heavier’ and ‘lighter’ and explained how we knew by describing the position on the balance scale as ‘lower’ or ‘higher’. We used counting cubes to make a balance, using the stem sentence ‘The mass of the __ is __ cubes’. 

We also explored capacity, by investigating how many objects would fill the container. We then described the capacity of various containers using the terms ‘empty’, ‘nearly empty’, ‘half full’, ‘nearly full’, and ‘full’. 

Wider Curriculum 

In Topic we have discussed and shared family traditions and celebrations. We shared our favourite meals for a special occasion and drew pictures. 

In English we learnt who an author is and read some poems that famous authors have written. We listened to a poem called ‘A Circle of Sun’ and looked at the illustrations. We spoke about what we liked and disliked about the picture and described what it reminded us of. 

In PE, we developed our take off and landing positions when jumping. We explored this through using low apparatus. 

Makaton 

Our new Makaton sign this week was ‘book’ and ‘story’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

Next Friday 2nd February we will be celebrating number day at school! We are having a fun day of maths activities and we will be taking part in 'Dress up for Digits'. To celebrate, please wear an item of clothing with a number on it (football shirt, cap, netball shirt or even a onesie!). Or get even more creative by dressing in a maths or numbers theme!

We hope you have a lovely weekend!

Week 2

Week beginning 15.1.24

It has certainly been a cold week this week! Please ensure children have a warm coat and hats and gloves as we continue to spend time outside even when the weather is cold. 

Phonics 

This week’s phonics games are below. Please follow the links to practise blending skills. You will also find ditty sheets in your child’s book back that help build on children’s skills in reading short words by including them in short sentences. 

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

This week, we have been consolidating everything that we know about numbers up to 5. We are very confident with subitising and talking about what we can see when we do this. We talked about different ways to make 5 and represented it using dots on plates, counters on a 5 frame and colouring dotty patterns.

Wider Curriculum 

Thank you to all of the photographs that were brought in this week. We had great fun playing ‘guess the baby’! We talked about our grandparents and all the different names we have for them. 

In English we listened to a poem called ‘Sleepy Song’. Before looking at the illustrations we thought about what pictures we saw in our head using our imagination and listening to the words. We all had a go at drawing a picture of what we were thinking. 

In PE, we listened to some different genres of music and dances from the past. We watched videos of people dancing to them and had a go ourselves. We watched people dancing the Waltz, the Tango and Rock and Roll.  

Makaton 

Our new Makaton sign this week was ‘sorry’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

You will have seen in our recent email information about our pyjama day on Friday next week. Children are invited to wear their pyjamas to school. Please ensure they wear sensible footwear as we will still be going outside throughout the day and you may also want to send them with an additional layer of clothing due to the cold weather. 

We hope you have a lovely weekend!

Week 1

Week beginning 8.11.24

Welcome back everyone and happy new year! We were all really pleased to see you all again for a brand new term. We all settled in really well and enjoyed seeing all of our friends. This week has been particularly cold and thank you everyone for sending your children in with appropriate warm clothing. Reading books have been changed after a long holiday and we look forward to reading your comments on Boom reader to see how your children are getting on with reading at home. 

Phonics 

This week’s phonics games are below. Please follow the links to practise blending skills. You will also find ditty sheets in your child’s book back that help build on children’s skills in reading short words by including them in short sentences.

Please note these videos will expire after 3 weeks.

Maths

This week, we revisited representing the numbers 1-5. We looked at the different ways we can represent numbers and sorted them into groups. We used both counting and subitising to help us understand what numbers were represented. We also explored how one object can represent more than one number for example- 2 horses can represent 2 horses, 4 legs or 4 eyes. 

Wider Curriculum 

We began a new topic this term called ‘Long ago’. We will be learning about the past and how people, places and things can change over time. This week, we looked at how objects have changed and sorted them into different categories- modern, old and oldest. We also explored how we have changed since we were babies and investigated the types of toys and support we needed then and now. 

In English we also began a new book focus. This term we are looking at poetry and began investigating different poems from the book ‘Here’s a little poem’. We discussed our likes about the illustrations and words and began choosing our favourite poems to collect over the course of the term. 

In PE, we thought about how to move around a room safely. We played games involving lots of different movements and explored how to stay safe throughout. 

Makaton 

Our new Makaton sign this week was ‘friend’. See if you can use it at home this weekend.

You will have seen in our recent email a request for photographs to be used as part of our new topic. We will be exploring how humans change and using photographs of ourselves and our family to show how much we have changed as we have grown up.  

Well done everyone for a great week back! We hope you have a wonderful weekend!