St Peter's Church of England Primary School

Cromwell Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS9 7SG

0113 2934411

liz.holliday@stpeterscofe.org.uk

Reception

Aqua Explorers!

Rock Pool Experience - Blue Planet

For our new topic of 'Blue Planet' we had our Rock Pool Visit! The children were so excited to be up close to all the sea creatures from British Rock Pools. We began by comparing the starfish, looking at what made them different and what made them similar. One star fish, which was called a 'sea-star' had 9 arms! We learnt that starfish do have eyes, they are at the end of its arms! We felt very brave and listened to the instructions of how to touch the starfish and were able to touch it very gently. Some children weren't too sure about touching but were still able to observe the starfish. We then saw what looked like an ordinary shell, but living inside the shell we discovered there was a hermit crab! We could see it's legs and pincers hiding inside. When the hermit crab was in the water, we could see it emerging from the shell and walking along the bottom of the tank. We then looked at a different type of crab; this crab has a hard shell for its body and did not need a seashell on its back. We decided this crab looked like a spider and we found it is actually called a spider crab! We touched the anemones and mussels. We learnt that crabs lay eggs, starfish like to eat the mussels and we held a shark egg/sack. We also learnt that mussels keep the sea clean by eating at the fish poo! We found this very funny as well as interesting. The children used words to describe what they have felt such as hard, soft, bumpy, wet, cold, slimy, silky, sharp, prickly. The children asked questions such as what does a crab like to eat? Does it hurt if you get pinched? And asked questions about other types of sea creatures such as fish and sharks. We were given the opportunity to think about how we can help the sea creatures by making sure to recycle and dispose of our rubbish properly. We are excited to do some writing about our rock pool experience back in class.

Snow! 
Yesterday the children enjoyed playing in the snowy weather! We had lots of fun! 
 
Police Visit
The children had a very exciting visit from our local police officers who brought their police van for us to see. The children enjoyed sitting in the van, exploring the inside of the van and hearing the sirens. We recognised special numbers on the side like 999 and 101 and we discussed what they meant and when you'd need to use those numbers. The children have completed some wonderful writing from today's visit, using their phonics to write simple sentences such as "I can see the van, I went in the van". 
The Gingerbread Man
Today for our end point of our topic ‘traditional tales’ we’ve been making gingerbread people. We have discussed the ingredients, the method, the recipe and the equipment. We talked about where the ingredients come from such, eggs, butter and flour. The children were amazed to know ginger comes from the ground! And that butter comes from cows milk and not the ‘butter shop’!  The children could use their previous knowledge of scales from our capacity lessons in maths to help measure the ingredients. We began to combine the ingredients and the children enjoyed using their hands to mix and make the mixture crumbly. When we added the remaining ingredients, children used the vocabulary sticky, thick, firm to describe the dough. They were very excited after we used the gingerbread person cutter. Hopefully no one made any magic wishes to bring our gingerbread people to life, so that they don't run away before we manage to eat them!
Keeping Safe Day 
Today we had “keeping children safe” day. We thought about topics surrounding the behaviour policy (golden rules and how they keep us safe), as well as how the children can keep themselves safe in everyday life and online. We thought about adults we trust. We had a discussion about how we should treat strangers and how we tell if it is a stranger. We talked about road safety and how we should travel in the car (wear a seatbelt). We also learnt the PANTS song to keep our bodies safe. We also discussed how we should treat people who might be different from us and said kind words to our friends. The children participated in a range of activities surrounding these talking points. We used a majority of traditional tales to help discuss strangers and equality.
Parent's Open Morning - January 2024
This week we opened the doors to our mummies and daddies to show them our current work and classroom. The children were so excited, and we had lots of parents attend. We enjoyed showing them the current work from our Traditional Tales topic on our clipboards and our learning profiles which contains work from the previous topics. The progress that we have made in our learning was really clear and we loved showing our families our favourite areas to play and the displays with all our hard work. Already looking forward to the next one!
Traditional Tales
The children have been enjoying their new topic of 'Traditional Tales'. We have been reading the class story of 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. We were so excited when we saw that the Giant had sent us some magic beans to plant so that we can grow our own beanstalk! We have learnt about the life cycle of a bean and compared the different beans using our sense of touch and sight. Some were 'smooth' and 'shiny', others are 'bumpy' and 'dull'. We enjoyed dipping the cotton wool into the water and trying our best to squeeze the excess water out using our writing fingers to help build strength. We are using bags to plant our beans so that we can really see the life cycle happening while we observe our beans. I wonder how tall they will grow...
Christmas!
In reception we have been preparing for Christmas! We helped decorate the classroom and added a bauble to the tree. We then had our first special experience of going on the Santa Express! We were very excited to get on the train and see Santa! We were very well behaved, and Santa even gave us an early present. We then participated in our Christmas Nativity, the Twinkly Nativity. We have worked hard to learn the songs and the Makaton signs, and we did an excellent job performing for our parents. We are looking forward to our minster trips next week for the Christmas service and Nativity Workshop.
Light and Dark
The children have started their new topic of 'Light and Dark'. We are reading our new class story, Pumpkin Soup. The children have enjoyed using the outdoor area to create their own pumpkin soup, scooping out real life pumpkins and collecting the seeds. The children are enjoying the shadow area, using the torches to explore shadows and light. We have been casting shadows of different items and shapes, we've changed the colour of the light using material and seen how far the light can travel. We enjoyed a visit from Road Safety, we learnt how to stay safe on the roads and how to stay safe when travelling in our cars. 
International Week!
The children have enjoyed learning about China for International Week. We have learnt how to say Hello in Chinese and learnt where China is on a map. We learnt facts about China, looking at what makes China special, like the food, animals that live there and buildings. We enjoyed comparing the similarities and differences between the UK and China. We enjoyed a music session on the Bamboo Tambo. The children came to school in traditional clothing and showed their parents the dragon dance we had learnt, using the dragon masks we made earlier in the week. 
Skelton Grange
Yesterday the children went on their first trip out of school to Skelton Grange. We participated in the Wild Literacy, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt". The children had an excellent day, retelling the familiar story and using new vocabulary. They developed their fundamental movement skills such as crawling, climbing and running to go "through" different obstacles. The children loved finding the bear and exploring the wooded area after lunch. We are very proud of all the children for their wonderful day out and bear hunting!
October
The children have begun to learn Phonics, we have been practising set 1 sounds - s,a,t,p. The children have been trying their best to form the letters, we are very proud of all Reception children! We have been continuing to compare and sort in maths. We have compared mass, using our bodies as a human scale to see which item is light, which is heavy. We have been comparing capacity, finding the right size boxes to fit the animals inside. The children have been focusing on 'self-portraits' and created a self-portrait in the style of Picasso, trying to draw our faces from different angles and using a range of colours and shapes to finish our cubist piece of artwork. We celebrated Harvest Festival, the children learnt and performed the song 'Big Red Combine Harvester'. The parents have been very generous with their donations and the children enjoyed adding their donations to the display in the entrance.  The parents have sent in some lovely family photos for the children to share in class, the children have been able to name and describe their special people. 
September 
The children have been continuing to settle into their new routines and classroom. We have been practising our names and developing our motor skills inside and outside of the classroom. The children have been developing their comparing and sorting skills, seeing which set has more, fewer or the same.
Autumn Walk
In maths we have been learning about matching pairs. We went on an autumn walk around school exploring the natural items around us. We tried hard to find a matching stick, leaf or rock. We went to the prayer garden and used our senses to talk about what we could feel, taste, see, hear and smell. We will use our natural objects to make sorting rules and make matching sets. 

Reception Transition Meeting

Reception Class Rules

Our first day at school

We have had a BRILLIANT first day!

Sports Day
The children participated in their sports day. They worked in teams to try and earn lots of points. We had so much fun and we even managed lots of different sporting activities before the rain came!
Mini-beasts Topic
The children have been fully engrossed within our mini-beast topic, they have searched the outdoor areas daily and have found a variety of bugs, such as grasshoppers, beetles, snails, caterpillars, ladybugs and even an earwig!  We are currently reading the 'Mad about Mini-beasts' book. The book combined with our mini-beast hunts has inspired us to write poems and rhymes about the mini-beasts we have found. Together we created a poem about a snail that we found on the bricks. The children have enjoyed creating the snail poem and have decided to create another poem about a bee, using their bee knowledge, facts, and describing words. In music, the children have been developing their movements in response to music. We have moved our bodies to 'Caterpillar Capers', thinking about the small, slow and crunching movements for the caterpillar, spinning for the cocoon and then flutter motions with our arms after we have metamorphosed. The children have developed their skills using instruments, moving their instruments to a Jamaican poem about a spider, using slow, medium and fast paced movements. 
We are Gardeners! 
Today we decided to harvest the potato plants that we planted in the spring. The children began to dig using a range of gardening tools and to our amazement, we dug up over 50 potatoes! The children were so excited and made sure to dig all the way to the bottom of the tire planters. The size of the potatoes varied from tiny to enormous! The children were so engaged, they loved using their gardening skills, calling themselves 'gardeners', counting the potatoes and comparing the sizes. The children used all their senses, smelling the earth and potatoes, feeling the potatoes, and soon we'll get to taste them! Well done Reception!
Parents Open Morning 
The parents enjoyed another open morning in Reception; they were able to look at the children's most recent work and achievements - the parents also looked at their child's profiles where they could really see the progress through the whole academic year, even the children were amazed at their progress and could not believe their drawings and writing from the start of the year. The parents were very proud of their Childs work. The children enjoyed showing their parents the classroom, garden and current displays. 

Balance Bikes

Balance Bikes - Today the children had the opportunity to go on the balance bikes! We wore helmets to protect our heads and made sure they fit us perfectly. Then we were ready to set off! The children were very confident and we all tried really hard, even when some of us found it challenging, we did not give up! We played games and did some races to different coloured cones, using our great listening skills. Next, we started our obstacle course, we had to duck under the pole, 'ride the plank', fly over the ramp, then in and out and cones. The children use words like 'awesome, amazing, fantastic, exciting' to describe their time on the bikes.

Mini-beasts and Mystery Readers
We have started our new topic of Mini-beasts for our final term in Reception. The children have enjoyed exploring their new topic and using the outdoor area to go on a mini - beasts hunt.
We have also started our parent 'mystery readers' this week! We were so excited to see Jessie's Mum and listen to her story. I wonder who it will be next... 
On the Farm Assembly
The children performed in their first ever assembly this morning in front of parents, family and the whole school! They were able to retell the story of Farmer Duck using hand movements to help. We performed 'Dingle Dangle Scarecrow' and shared some of the work from our special experiences this half term. Our parents were so proud and so are the teachers! Well done Everybody!
Parents Open Morning 
This morning we had an open morning for our parents. They were welcomed into class by the children and teachers to show their amazing hard work! The children enjoyed showing their adults the classroom, displays and our garden. All the parents who attended were very proud of their child's achievements and enjoyed completing some activities with their children. Can't wait for the next open morning! 

Coronation Party

Today we have celebrated the upcoming Coronation for King Charles. The children came to school in either red, blue and white or in a king/queen outfit. Everyone looked incredible and made a fantastic effort in their outfits. The parents have been very generous and supplied Reception with some delicious treats to enjoy at our picnic. We wore the crowns we made earlier in the week and we made sure we wore them in our parade in the playground. We played some Coronation games such as putting the crowns jewels on the crown and pass the crown! We had an excellent morning and we cannot wait to celebrate the Coronation even more!

Ian's Mobile Farm
Today we had a visit from Ian and his farm animals. First, we got to learn about a Guinea pig, a rabbit called Benjamin, a duck and a Rooster. Ian gave us the opportunity to feel the animals if we felt like we wanted to. Some children were unsure to touch but they did use their looking eyes to observe the animals. The children all remembered to use gentle, kind hands with the animals. Then Ian started to bring us some larger animals. A goat called Tiny Tim and sheep called "Baarbra". We learnt facts about the animals, such as, goats have 4 stomachs! And that sheep have their wool sheared in the summer to help keep them cool. The children described the textures of the animal's coats 'rough' 'soft' 'thick'. Ian gave us the opportunity to come and look at the larger animals such as the donkeys and alpacas. We were even able to brush them. Some children enjoyed playing fetch with Meg the sheep dog, she was able to jump up in the air to catch some of the balls! Overall, we've had a wonderful first-hand experience with the farm animals and we will work on some writing to retell our past experiences.
Signs of Spring
Today we went on a spring walk! We went to see the signs of spring and verbally compared and contrasted from our autumn and winter walks. The children enjoyed noticing the change in the trees and the plants that were growing. We found daffodils, blossoms, buzzing bees, a range of different coloured leaves and tulips! We will record our findings and create artwork inspired by our spring walk. Our Reception garden has started to sprout and we are making sure to water our herbs and plants every day! We have continued to look after the chicks and children have been so brave holding the chicks with very gentle hands. Looking after the chicks has inspired some independent writing and crafts about the chicks. 
Chicks!
Today the children have been very brave and were able to hold the chicks! We brought them into the classroom and the children practised how to cup their hands together, making a safe place for the chick to sit. The children used describing word when holding the chicks "They're beautiful" "it's so soft". The children were amazed by the chicks progress and how they were able to stand and walk because, before the weekend they were still very wobbly! Some children needed some support holding the chick as they weren't quite sure but we've set the challenge to be brave and to try and hold the chick together with Miss Smith.
Dora's Eggs
We received the eggs from Dora the Hen! The eggs have started to hatch and the children have been writing letters to let Dora know we have hatchlings. We have engaged in lots of outdoor maths this week, representing numbers to 20 in different ways. 
On the Farm
We have started our exciting new topic for Summer 1, "On the Farm". The children have been exploring their new areas of learning and meeting some new members of the classroom, the farm animals! We have received a special letter from Dora the Hen, asking us to look after her eggs! We are waiting for the Farmer to bring the eggs from the farm. While we are waiting, we have been writing letters back to Dora to let her know that we will look after her eggs! 
Holy Week 
This week we have been focusing on Holy Week. We have learnt about the Holy days surrounding Easter and why Easter is a special time for Christians. Outside, we collected items to make an Easter Garden, to remember Jesus, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We made a hill using soil to represent the hill Jesus climbed with the cross. We collected leaves, and rocks to create a tomb and we lit a candle for Jesus. We collected sticks to make 3 crosses. We sang songs and said a prayer around the garden. We also sang in our first Easter Concert in the hall today. The children sang their song about hatching Easter chicks in front of the whole school. Well done Reception. 
Save the sea creatures!
Today we were sent a challenge to try and save the sea creatures frozen in ice! We needed to use different white substances to try and melt the ice. The children enjoyed experimenting and seeing which white substance melted the ice the fastest. The children could name and describe the sea creatures they could see trapped in the ice, using great describing vocabulary. The children worked all morning to set the animals free, they quickly found out the salt was melting the ice the fastest. First, we managed to save the star fish, then the string ray, but whale and shark were really stuck! The children did not give up, they worked together as a team and finally all the sea creatures were free! We reflected as a class back in the classroom, deciding salt helped to melt the ice the fastest!
We have tested our boats that we built with recycled junk modelling. We tested them in the water to see if we constructed boats that could float, or sink! The children used their new vocabulary to form verbal sentences to explain and describe what was happening. We had to be careful our boats didn't hit the icebergs and sink like the Titanic! The children explored who's boat could hold the most before starting to sink. The children were able to do some outdoor writing to record their findings. 

Skelton Grange Trip - The Gruffalo

Today we went to Skelton Grange outdoor centre for a Wild Literacy experience, "The Gruffalo".  We started our day with a reading of the story in the roundhouse. We then split into three groups and engaged in activities around the animals in the story.

A favourite game featured the owl and here the children’s senses were tested with a game of find the owl. This was followed by a matching word game where they looked around the area to find the objects named. We also played a game of hide and seek, listening to the hiders owl noises to try and find them!
The children tried to sequence the story of the Gruffalo like a clever fox and match the phrases, then retell the story. In the bug house area they went looking under logs to see if there were any snakes hiding, but luckily found only worms and slugs!! The mouse was looking for nuts in the story so the children went on a nut hunt to see if they could find anything for the mouse to eat. After lunch, it was into the woods where the children could explore the activities freely. They had so much fun den building, balancing on the tightropes, rolling balls down homemade guttering runs and cooking some delicious ‘food’ in the mud kitchen.

We never found a Gruffalo but we had an amazing day, thank you Skelton Grange!

Learning today - Friday 10th March

 

Hi Children!
How exciting, all of this SNOW! I am sad not be spending the day with you but I want you to enjoy the snowy weather! I'm going to set you some tasks to complete outside!
1st task - put on some warm clothes and go outside! Don't forget to describe what you can feel, see and hear when you're enjoying the snow.
2nd task - Build a 3D Sphere - a snow ball! Can you throw it at a target? Like a branch or wall?
3rd task is there enough snow to make and build a snow person? Don't forget to find parts of the body like arms, and parts for face like eyes and nose.
When you get too cold and it's time to come inside, there is the Numbots competition to complete online and reading books on Bug Club. 
https://play.numbots.com/#/account/search-school 
Schools postcode is LS9 7SG , your log in details are in your reading record
school code is ajmc - log ins can also be found in the reading record
The links to Numbots and Bug Club are also on this page to the left. 
Please draw a snowy picture of all the lovely things you've done outside, try and write some simple sentences such as "In the snow I can..." bring your pictures in on Monday to show your friends.
Have the best day!
 
Love Miss Smith xxx
Snow and Even More Learning!
This week we have explored 3D shapes in maths. We learnt their names, compared them to 2D shapes and made some repeating patterns by printing with the 3D shapes. We explored why some 3D shapes roll easier down the ramp than others and enjoyed making our ramps for the shapes to try and roll down. In Music, we moved our bodies to the sounds of stormy weather. We experimented with making sounds with our bodies to sound like rain, wind and cold. Then we got to experience some snowy weather! The children described what they could hear, feel and see outside. We sang and danced in the snow. The children tried to catch the falling snowflakes but it was very tricky! In PE we have been learning how to move and control our bodies in different ways, using music to help us. In RE we have began to learn about Easter and why we celebrate Easter. We learnt about ocean pollution and made posters to try and keep plastic out of the sea! 
Floating and Sinking
The children have been exploring floating and sinking this week in our outdoor area. We experimented with a range of different objects, we predicted which items would float or sink then put them to the test! Some of our predictions were correct. We made sure to record our findings and were able to write some simple sentences. Next week we will use our knowledge of floating and sinking to try and make boats from recycling pieces...I wonder who's boat will float! 

World Book Day

In Reception for World Book Day, we had some pirate challenges to complete to continue with our topic of Blue Planet! We enjoyed a word hunt game, finding key words within focus books and texts, such as 'fish, foam, shark, monster, boat' and recording which book we found them in. We hunted for decodable words on pirate treasure, inside and out of the classroom! We made a list of the ones we had found and read them to our friends. We picked a reading buddy to read a story with and enjoyed a range of stories throughout the day. Lots of children brought books in from home to share with their friends. We really showed our love of reading and learning from books! Pirate challenge completed!

Aqua Explorers! Rock Pool Experience - Blue Planet 
For our new topic of 'Blue Planet' we had our Rock Pool Visit! The children were so excited to be up close to all the sea creatures from British Rock Pools. We began by comparing the starfish, looking at what made them different and what made them similar. One star fish, which was called a 'sea-star' had 9 arms! We learnt that starfish do have eyes, they are at the end of its arms! We felt very brave and listened to the instructions of how to touch the starfish and were able to touch it very gently. Some children weren't too sure about touching but were still able to observe the starfish. We then saw what looked like an ordinary shell, but living inside the shell was a hermit crab! We could see it's legs and pincers hiding inside. When the hermit crab was in the water, we could see it come out of the shell and walk along the bottom of the tank. We then looked at different type of crab; this crab has a hard shell for it's body and did not need a sea shell on its back. We decided this crab looked like a spider and we found it is actually called a spider crab! We touched the anemones and mussels. We learnt crabs lay eggs, starfish like to eat the mussels and we held a shark egg/sack. The children used words to describe what they have felt such as hard, soft, bumpy, wet, cold, slimy, silky, sharp, prickly. The children asked questions such as what does a crab like to eat? And asked questions about other types of sea creatures such as fish and sharks. We are excited to do some writing about our rock pool experience back in class. 
Pancake Day!
Reception Class had a great time celebrating pancake day! We learnt the reason why we celebrate pancake day and looked how it is celebrated around the world. In the afternoon we got to add toppings to our own pancakes and give them a taste! Yummy!

Keeping Safe Day

Today we had “keeping children safe” day. We thought about topics surrounding the behaviour policy (golden rules and how they keep us safe), as well as how the children can keep themselves safe in everyday life and online. We thought about adults we trust. We had a discussion about how we should treat strangers and how we tell if it is a stranger. We talked about road safety and how we should travel in the car (wear a seatbelt). We also learnt the PANTS song to keep our bodies safe. We also discussed how we should treat people who might be different from us and said kind words to our friends. The children participated in a range of activities surrounding these talking points. We used a majority of traditional tales to help discuss strangers and equality.

Marvellous Magic Beans

Today we planted our magic beans into pots and completed our bean diaries. The children could write sentences such as 'the shoot is tall, the roots are long' using their phonics and some of their new phase 3 diagraphs. 

Baking Gingerbread People
This week we have been learning the recipe to make gingerbread people. We have discussed the ingredients, the method, the recipe and the equipment. We talked about where the ingredients come from such as, eggs, butter and flour. The children were amazed to know ginger comes from the ground! And that butter comes from cows milk and not the ‘butter shop’! We went to the cooking room for the first time to begin measuring our ingredients. The children could use their previous knowledge of scales from our capacity lessons in maths to help measure the ingredients. We began to combine the ingredients and the children enjoyed using their hands to make the mixture crumbly. When we added the remaining ingredients, children used the vocabulary sticky, thick to describe the dough. They were very excited after we used the gingerbread person cutter and they could see their gingerbread person take shape. Hopefully no one made any magic wishes to bring our gingerbread people to life... When they were cool it was time to decorate! We enjoyed eating our gingerbread people together at milk time while listening to the Gingerbread Man story. We have also enjoyed the outdoors, using shaving foam to create houses for the 3 little pigs. Using our knowledge of the text to retell the familiar story.
Our Magic Beans
We have been observing the changes and growth of our magic beans - some bean shoots are starting to grow out of the bag! I wonder if they'll reach the clouds... 
We have also been practising our ball skills in P.E. - Throwing, catching, rolling and kicking. 

Traditional Tales and Magnificent Maths

We have been learning a song in our music lesson to match our topic of Traditional Tales about Mama Bear from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We introduced some musical instruments such as egg shakers. The children could quickly pick up the beat and the rhythm of the song and independently matched the movements of their shakers accordingly. I was very impressed with their listening skills and beautiful singing. We have also enjoyed our learning in Maths this week, learning about mass and capacity. We have learnt new vocabulary such as heavy, light, balanced, full, empty, nearly full, nearly empty. We used our new vocabulary in practical experiences in and out of the classroom. 

Click on the image below to hear the lovely singing:

Science - Growing Magic Beans 
 
This week, we were sent a challenge by the Giant. He sent us some magic beans to try and grow! But he wanted us to experiment with them. The challenge is to see if the beans will grow in a bag! We begin by looking at the life cycle of a bean and thought about what our bean would grow into. We then discussed what a bean needs to be able to grow, water and warmth. We used cotton wool and a wet paper towel to help provide those things for the bean without using soil. We will keep a track of our bean progress by creating a bean diary which will help us to record our findings for the Giant. We have also enjoyed lots of outdoor learning this week.

Traditional Tales

We have started our new topic of Traditional Tales. We have fully immersed ourselves into the topic and enjoyed exploring the enhancements in the areas of learning. our class story will be 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'The Gingerbread Man'. We found a golden egg and some magic beans in our classroom when we returned after Christmas and we decided it must have been Jack or the Giant who left them behind! We will look after them!

Christmas Dinner!

Santa Express!

For our first special experience, we went on the Santa Express! We made sure to wear our Santa hats before leaving school and boarded a big coach which took us to Middleton Railway. We had some time to write Christmas cards for Santa before going to the platform. When we got to the platform, Santa was waiting for us! We sat on the train, received a special gift from Santa and sang some of Nativity songs. Santa was very impressed with our singing. We had a magical afternoon! Thank you Santa!

Christmas in Reception
The children have started to get ready for Christmas, we have made Christmas cards, calendars and decorations. We have been excellent helpers and have decorated the classroom and tree. We also had a very exciting delivery from the North Pole, our very own Elf who we have named Peter. He will be making sure we stay on the 'good list' til Christmas!
Continuing our 'Light and Dark' Topic
We enjoyed a very tasty treat from Pudsey the Bear on Children in Need in our non-school uniform and enjoyed our outdoor learning. We had a well-being lesson to practice sharing and turn taking with toys. We worked and created collectively to create our 'kind hands' poster.
Funny Bones
In Reception the children have started their new class story - Funny Bones. They have worked hard to create pieces for their own role play and small world areas. Such as bones and houses for their 'dark dark town'. We have begun to create pieces of art in the style of L.S. Lowry, using charcoal for the first time and focusing on the dark figures and dark smoky clouds. In Maths we have been looking at shapes and using the shapes to create pictures and shape pizzas! Children have been able to name the shapes and explain what they have used them for. We have also practiced our positional language and had lot's of fun hiding the teddys for the adults to find while using the positional language! 

We are working hard!

Reception class have been thinking about remembrance Day. They worked together to make a beautiful poppy collage. They also thought about our skeletons and made some bone shapes. 

Another Busy Week!

We have returned to our clay Diya lamps to decorate them now the clay is dry. We made 'firework' biscuits using swirly icing and sparkling sprinkles, they were delicious! We have enjoyed music and PE, moving our bodies to the music. 
Light and Dark
We have started our new topic of 'light and dark' for this half term. The children have made Diya lamps for Diwali, using a design sheet to plan their lamp and then moulding clay. When the clay is dry, the children will return to their Diya lamp to paint and decorate it. We have been listening to the story 'Pumpkin Soup'. The children have enjoyed retelling the story using masks "The cat slices the pumpkin" "The squirrel stirs the soup". We have deconstructed pumpkins, learning the life cycle of a pumpkin and collecting the seeds ready to plant in the Spring. We have created sparkling and glittering bonfire and firework pictures and learnt how to keep safe on Bonfire Night. The children are starting to use their phonics knowledge to spell and write simple sentences such as "a big cat". We have started our focus on "1,2,3 It's Me!" for our White Rose Maths, the children have been going on number hunts for 1,2 and 3 and making number posters. 

International Week

This week Reception have learnt about China. The children learnt how to say hello in Mandarin and could locate China on a world map. The children explored some of Miss Smith's items that she had brought back from her previous visit to China. We even got to see some of her travelling photos from Beijing and Shanghai. We engaged in many craft and sensory activities throughout the week. We even had a food tasting afternoon, we said what we liked about the food we had tried. The children used words such as 'tasty' and 'delicious'. We compared food from the UK to China, we discussed what makes the food the same and what makes it different. We read a nonfiction text "Welcome to our World" which explored the routines of children in different counties. We had a drumming session, which we thoroughly enjoyed! After our session was complete, we continued with drums in class. On the final day, the children performed a dragon dance using the dragons we had made for the parents who came to see in class. We loved international week and learnt a lot!  

Phonics Fishing
We used fishing rods to fish for phonics outside. Children could identify the graphemes we have learnt so far. Some children were able to segment the CVC words and others could blend the simple words. 
Repeating Patterns
The children have engaged with a range of activities for our focus on repeating patterns. We use a wide range of resources to copy, continue and create our own repeating patterns. We used vocabulary such as 'rule', 'continue' 'next' 'after' when talking about our patterns. 
Repeating Pattern Fruit kebabs
For the end point of our topic 'All About Me", we have made repeating pattern fruit kebabs to link with our learning in maths. 
Maps
The children have enjoyed learning about maps. We looked at our local area and thought about a 'bird's eye view'. We then made maps of our classroom, playground and our houses. Some children were able to use their phonics to spell and write and the word 'map'. 

A Lot of Learning!

This week we have been practising the mathematical language of 'tall' and 'short' to describe the towers we have built in the areas of provision. We have enjoyed developing our gross motor and balancing skills in our outdoor area and in PE using the large apparatus. We learnt that God is the creator and giver of all life, including the jellyfish

Comparing Size in Maths
The children have used key vocabulary in maths such as 'big, small, little, and large' to describe the teddys and set up a teddy bears picnic. 

A Busy Week in Reception

This week the children have started their phonics lessons. They have learnt S A T P and practised writing in a range of multi sensory activities. We have been developing our motor skills using pincers to pick up different sized pompoms and conkers. We learnt that God is a VIP in our RE lesson and enjoyed forming the letters v i p with our hands and arms.

Outdoor Matching Pairs Treasure Hunt
The children enjoyed finding matching pairs in our outdoor area in maths.

Outdoor Science

We made our own volcanoes in science - we learnt lots of new words and loved watching the lava erupt!

Our first music lesson and our Autumn walk 

Week 3 in Reception Class

Week 2 in Reception Class

Welcome to Reception

This week was our first week in our new reception class! We met our new teachers, explored our new classroom and practised sitting on the carpet. Everyone had a wonderful first week and we are looking forward to Monday!

Our first day at school

We are having a BRILLIANT time!

Trip to the Farm

Reception Class had a fabulous time at Hesketh Farm. They fed the lambs, brushed the guinea pigs and held some baby chicks. The children enjoyed the bumpy tractor ride and had fun being farmers on the little tractors.

Party time!

Reception class had a fantastic Christmas party. They played lots of games and did some super dancing. They looked brilliant in their party clothes too. 

Santa's Express

Reception Class had a fabulous morning going on a steam train with Santa at Middleton Railway. All the children had a brilliant time and were delighted to receive a present from Santa.

International Week - Eritrea

Reception have been learning an Eritrean song about our senses, thanking God for making us.

Reception Newsletter 2

Find out what the children in Reception will be learning.

We were AMAZING at lunchtime!

Reception Newsletter 1

Find out what the children will be learning in Reception.

Our first day at school...

We have had a brilliant day! 

Hesketh Farm

Reception Class had a fabulous day at Hesketh Farm, they met lots of different animals and enjoyed feeding and cuddling them all - they were a great help to the farmer!

Home Learning

Good morning Reception

Mrs Smith and Mrs Brogan has planned lots of lovely learning for you all. Click on the link below to find out what they would like you to do. Let her know how you are doing on the blog.

Remember - only do the activities you have been asked to do.

We miss you lots - stay safe!

Love Miss Parry xxx

Remember to log onto Purple Mash (see below for the video instructions and link) and leave a comment on the blog to tell Mrs Brogan what you have been doing show her your wonderful work EVERY DAY. Thank you. 

Do some reading on Bug Club too.

Week 8

This will be our last week of home learning and we are looking forward to seeing you all back in school on Monday 8th March. 

3 more sleeps until school starts!!!

Home learning for Friday 5th March

Home learning for Thursday 4th March

Home learning for Wednesday 3rd March 

Home learning for Tuesday 2nd March

Home learning for Monday 1st March

Week 7

Home learning for Friday 26th February

Home learning for Thursday 25th February

Home learning for Wednesday 24th February

Home learning for Tuesday 23rd February

Home learning for Monday 22nd February

Monday 22nd February is a training day so teachers will not be on the blog as they will be busy doing other jobs today.

Week 6

Home learning for Friday 12th February

Home learning for Thursday 11th February

Home learning for Wednesday 10th February

Home learning for Tuesday 9th February

Home learning for Monday 8th February

Week 5

Home learning for Friday 5th February

Home learning for Thursday 4th February

Home learning for Wednesday 3rd February

Home learning for Tuesday 2nd February

Home learning for Monday 1st February

Week 4

Home Learning for Friday 29th January

Home Learning for Thursday 28th January

Home learning for Wednesday 27th January

Home learning for Tuesday 26th January

Home learning for Monday 25th January

Remember to do some reading on Bug Club too Click on the link below. 

Week 3

Home learning for Friday 22nd January

Home learning for Thursday 21st January

Home learning for Wednesday 20th January

Home learning for Tuesday 19th January

Home learning for Monday 18th January

Week 2

Home Learning for Friday 15th January

Home Learning for Thursday 14th January

Home Learning for Wednesday 13th January - please start your new booklet today

Home Learning for Tuesday 12th January - use the Day 10 Booklet

Home Learning for Monday 11th January - use the Day 9 Booklet

Week 1

Home Learning for Friday 8th January - use the Day 8 Booklet

Home Learning for Thursday 7th January - use the Day 7 Booklet

Home Learning for Wednesday 6th January - use the Day 6 Booklet

How to use Purple Mash

Click above for a short clip to show you how to use Purple Mash - thank you to Mrs Vickers for putting it together for us. Please help your child to send messages to their teachers in the blog and upload pictures of their work. We look forward to hearing from you!

Click below for a link to Purple Mash

Happy Christmas from Reception!

Santa's Farm

Home learning

Good morning Reception Class!

We hope you are all well and are ready to do lots of lovely learning at home! Click on the links below each day to find out what to do and use the things in your learning pack to help you.

Monday 2nd November

Tuesday 3rd November

Wednesday 4th November

Thursday 5th November

Friday 6th November 

Important Letter for Reception Parents

International Week

We have been learning about France. We know 2 songs in French and can answer the register saying "Bonjour".

 

Our first P.E. lesson

We were amazing in P.E. this week. We listened really well and followed the instructions brilliantly. We made lots of different shapes with our bodies and enjoyed playing 'Pop the balloon'!

Our first day at school

We have had a brilliant first day at school!

Hello Reception Class!

Click on the links to read messages and information from your teacher. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar...

Well done Sharon on your amazing work on the Very Hungry Caterpillar!!!

Gymnastics was great! 

It was our first PE lesson today! It took us a little time to get ready but we tried very hard. We had lots of fun and were great at listening and making different shape with our bodies. 

Our first day at school!

We are having a brilliant first day at school. We have played with our new friends and had our lunch. We are having lots of fun!

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

Reception Class enjoyed a fantastic sunny day at Skelton Grange Environment Centre. They followed the Story of the book they have been reading - We're going on Bear Hunt - and had an amazing time looking for bears. On their journey, they went through the dark forest, squishy mud and water, finding lots of minibeasts along the way. They also enjoyed a lovely picnic in the sunshine.

Lotherton Hall

Reception have been learning about Polar animals so we went to Lotherton hall to look at the Humbolt penguins - we had a fabulous time!