Balance Bikes
Reception children had great fun today learning how to use a balance bike. They were taught how to use their body to balance, improving their core strength. As the children gained in confidence they were able to ride around an obstacle course challenging their new found skills. There was a ramp to ride over, a very narrow plank to balance on, a limbo bar to ride under, and a zig zag track to ride through. The children had a fantastic time and enjoyed every minute.
Harlow Carr Gardens
Reception class had a brilliant trip to Harlow Carr Gardens. They were very excited on the coach and spotted lots of farm animals in the fields on the way. At Harlow Carr they planted some seeds and then explored the gardens and woods. They learned all about who lives in the garden. They were very hungry and really enjoyed having a picnic together before exploring the play area. It was lots of fun and everyone was very well behaved.
Easter Hunt
The children went on a Easter Hunt today around school. The children received a letter from the Easter bunny setting them a task to complete with a surprise at the end! The children went around school looking for the clues using their phonics to spell and write the words, there were 18 to find! The children were so excited! We then went outside to chase some bubbles in the sunshine. We came back to class to find our surprise, the Easter Bunny had left us Easter Eggs! Wipeee!
School Vision
The children have been learning about the school vision “Be my rock of refuge to which I can always go.” Psalm 71 v3. The children have been competing in a competition to design a rock to show what the school vision means for them. Mrs Holliday is going to decide the best from each class to paint on an actual pebble for our prayer garden. Everyone has drawn beautiful visions, Mrs Holliday will have a tough time deciding! Well done everyone!
Salvation - Holy Week
The children have been fully emersed within their learning of Easter. We have been learning that Easter is happy celebration for Christians and exploring ways that we can celebrate Jesus's new life. We've been making Easter gardens using our crosses that we have constructed and tasting hot cross buns. We have explored the symbolic meaning and reasoning of the crosses. The children were able to explain why we put a cross in an Easter garden "Jesus died on the cross but he did not stay dead". We explored further that they remind us of the whole Easter story and Holy week. We are looking forward to our Lent stall, and Easter egg hunt around school!
Blue Planet - Rock Pool Experience
Today the children had another one of their special experiences. We had a mobile rock pool come to school! The children were so excited to see the rock pool creatures up close. We got to see lots of different sea creatures that live in the British rock pools. Such as a hermit crab, a starfish, a shore crab and a spider crab. The children got to see some other wonderful things like a sea urchin and anemone. We learnt lots of interesting facts about the creatures, we tried to be really brave and hold them. We had such a wonderful day with lot's of 'wow' moments.
Baking Gingerbread People
As part of our topic of Traditional Tales, we have been reading 'The Gingerbread Man'. We have been learning and writing the recipe, ingredients and equipment that we need to bake them. Now it was time to use our knowledge. We went to the cooking room which was very exciting. We combined our ingredients, talking about the dry and wet states of them, following our recipes. The children did such an excellent job, we've decorated them, ready to eat! If they don't run away before we get the chance...
Parent Open Morning
Today we welcomed our parents into our classroom. We were so excited to show them our work, our displays and achievements. We were able to see the progress we had made from September. The parents were so excited to see how our magic beans were growing. Thank you for visiting and we can't wait to see you again!
Magic Beans
We have been observing the life cycle of our beans. The children were fascinated by the changes in their bean seeds. Many of us have roots growing along the bottom and some of us have several shoots poking out of the bag! The children described what they could see - describing the roots as 'tentacles like a squid'. We will record the bean seeds changes using our phonics and take them home at half term to plant!
Keeping Children Safe Day
Today the children had lots of carpet discussions about how we can keep ourselves safe during everyday life and online. We read books that matched our topic of Traditional Tales to discuss strangers like the wolf. We learnt a song to keep us safe online which will remind us of what to do if we find something online that we are not sure about such as tell our parents or trusted adult. We spoke about who the children can talk to in school. We loved meeting Pantosaurus who taught us that our pants are private and what to do if someone like a stranger asks to see our pants. We enjoyed decorating some fancy pants for Pantosaurus too using colours and crafts.
Growing beans
The children have been fully immersed in their new topic. We are focused on learning the Jack and the Beanstalk story. They have received magic beans from the Giant and have been challenged to grow the beans without any soil. This will help us to really see the life cycle of the bean plant. I wonder when they will start growing...
Traditional Tales - Jack and the Beanstalk - Drama
This half term our topic is 'Traditional tales'. We have been reading the tale of Jack and then Beanstalk. Today, the children had a drama workshop! We had a special visitor called Lisa who helped us to act out of the story of Jack and then Beanstalk. We worked in small groups to help retell the story, using our knowledge of the setting, characters, the familiar phrases and special items. The children participated in counting and phonics activities that matched their previous learning. The children had so much fun and learnt lots of new skills.
Christmas Party Day!
The children enjoyed their Christmas party day, we started the day with a fashion show so everyone could show off their beautiful party clothes. We then enjoyed lots of Christmas activities in the classroom. We then played Pass the Parcel, it was so exciting unwrapping the paper and finding a surprise. In the afternoon we played even more party games, had some yummy party food and then had a special visit from ...SANTA - he gave us a gift which we were very thankful for. What a successful party day!
Christmas Church Service
Today we went to Leeds Minister for our Christmas service. We listened to the Nativity service and sang some of our Nativity songs. We were able to look around the Minister to spot the special features of the church and the life size figures which helped to bring the story of the first Christmas to life. Back at school we enjoyed our Christmas dinner!
Nativity!
The children have been working so hard for their nativity show. They did such an excellent job learning, singing and signing the songs using Makaton. They were fabulous little donkeys! Well done everyone! It was such a lovely show and reminded us of the meaning of Christmas.
Santa Express!
The children fully enjoyed their special experience of going on the Santa Express at Middleton Railway. We were so excited to get on the coach. When we arrived, we looked at all the old steam trains that were in the museum as we made our way to the platform. When we got to the platform, we found the train and... SANTA waiting for us! We boarded the train and began our journey along the track. We could hear the whistle blowing and the chugging of the wheels on the track. The train was decorated all festive with bright lights and Christmas decorations. Santa came to us 1 by 1 and gave us each our own special present. We'll have to try really hard to wait and open it on Christmas day... We sang some of our Nativity songs for Santa which he loved. Soon it was time to leave Santa, we said thank you and wished him A Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho!
Snow!
The children were so excited about the snow. We went outside to explore, and the children collectively decided to build a snowman. The children found a carrot from the outside role play area and added it to their snowman!
Police Van Visit
Today we had a very exciting visit from our local police officers and their police van. The children loved being able to explore the inside of the van and hear the sirens! We were reminded of the special number we need to ring if we ever have an emergency and need the help of the police.
Light and Dark
The children have started their new term and topic 'Light and Dark'. We have been exploring pumpkins and reading the story 'Pumpkin Soup'. The children have been learning about lots of different celebrations such as Bonfire night, Diwali, Remembrance Day and Children in Need. The children have been using salt dough to create Diya lamps and using glitter to make firework artwork. The children collectively made a huge class poppy for Remembrance day. In this topic we will be learning about the changing seasons of Autumn into Winter and moving into the celebration of Christmas. We learn about why this is an important time of the year of Christians.
International Week!
The children have enjoyed learning about China for International Week. We have been practising how to say Hello in Mandarin and learned where China is on a map using an atlas, globe and technology such as Google Earth. We learned facts about China, looking at what makes China special, like the food, animals that live there and landmarks. We enjoyed comparing the similarities and differences between the UK and China. We enjoyed a music session using drums, following and copying different beats. The children came to school in traditional clothing and showed their parents the dragon dance we have learned, using the dragon masks we made earlier in the week. We learned some songs and poems about tigers and dragons for our music lesson.
Skelton Grange - We're going on a Bear Hunt!
Today the children went on their first trip out of school since being in Reception. We went to Skelton Grange where the children had the opportunity to explore and experience the wonderful outdoors. We had lots of activities for our familiar and loved story of We're going on a Bear Hunt. The children had such a fantastic day, and we were very lucky with the weather. A beautiful autumn day in the great outdoors!
Autumn Nature Walk
Today we went on an autumn walk. We sat in the prayer garden for the first time and took some time to be quiet, still and peaceful. Some children wanted to close their eyes. We thought about what we could hear and feel. We noticed the wind, rustling the leaves and pushing the wind chime. We could feel the sun on our skin and the gentle breeze. We said a prayer to God to thank him for a perfect sunny autumn day. We noticed more signs of Autumn. Children found wonder and awe in their discoveries of the variety of autumn leaves. We found 3 different lady birds! We made sure to show them respect and kindness. We collected natural objects that were a matching pair to use in our maths activities.
All About Me
The children have been settling beautifully into their new classroom and have started some learning for our topic 'All About Me'. The children have been creating self portraits and have been learning about our focus artist 'Pablo Picasso'. They been creating artwork in his cubist style. The children have brought in family photos to share with the class, sharing their special memories and their families. We will use the photos to create a wonderful display so the children can see some familiar faces and have their family photos be part of our classroom!
Transition Meeting
Thank you to all the parents who came along to our meeting this week - here is the information we shared.
Our first week in Reception
The children have completed their transition days in their new classroom! They have enjoyed finding their pegs, trays and new carpet place. They have explored the new areas of learning and all the exciting toys. We've met our new teachers and have been completing some activities. Well done everyone, we are so proud of our Reception children!
Our first day at school!
We have had a BRILLIANT day! We had lots of fun playing with our friends and meeting our new teachers. We tried hard to eat our lunch and then played outside in the big playground. We have had a GREAT day!
Fun Day!
Reception Class had a fabulous Fun day to round off their brilliant first year at St Peter's!
Balance Bikes
The children had a wonderful morning on the Balance Bikes provided by Pro Ride Coaching. The children gained lots of confidence and enjoyed going under and over obstacles. We tried our best and listened to all the instructions. But best of all, we had lots of fun!
Mini-beasts
The children have begun their final topic for this school year, mini-beasts! The children have enjoyed exploring the enhancements of the classroom and going on mini-beast hunts. We had a very successful hunt in our outdoor area, we found a spider, a worm and a ladybug! I wonder what we will find next...
St Peter's Day
The children enjoyed learning about St Peter for our collective St Peters Day. The children learned who he was and why he was important to Jesus. We realised we had heard about Peter before when we learned about the Easter Story so it was interesting to find out more about the man our school is named after. We focused on the day that Jesus met Peter and how Jesus asked Peter to be a ‘fisher of men’. We explored what that means as a class. The children enjoyed many activities for our St Peters Day. We learned a song ‘Fisherman Peter’ and added Makaton actions to help us remember the lyrics. We made playdough fish and boats. We decorated a range of fish, painted Peter and his boat to make a collective display. We did some acting for the day that Jesus and Peter met. The children could use the resources around the room to create fish, boats and record their understanding and learning of St Peter.
On the Farm - Assembly
The children did an absolutely fantastic job in their class assembly this morning. This half term our topic has been about life ‘On the Farm’. The children have been reading ‘Farmer Duck’ as their class story. They have used Makaton symbols and a story map to help remember the words from the book. They’ve worked very hard, and they were very excited to perform for whole school and their parents. Well done Reception we are very proud of you! Click below to watch our assembly.
On the Farm
The children have had many special experiences for our new topic of 'On the Farm'. We were sent eggs to observe and learn about the life cycle of a hen. The children enjoyed holding the chicks once they had hatched using their gentle hands. Today we have had a visit from Ian the farmer who brought a range of farm animals for the children to see, touch and learn about.
Easter Hunt!
The children participated in an Easter bunny hunt around school. They used clipboards and pencils to find bunny clues around the school. The children could read and write the clues matching them to the right number. They had an excellent time and enjoyed looking all around the school for the clues. When we got back to the classroom, we found a surprise! Easter eggs for all of us from the Easter Bunny! Happy Easter everyone.
Easter Garden
The children have used the sticks that we collected on the spring walk to make a cross, we have used the crosses to make an Easter Garden to link with our learning of the Easter Story in R.E. The children have been encouraged to think about why we are making an Easter Garden and what it symbolises. We said a prayer to Jesus thanking him for dying on the cross for our sins. The children could tell me the candle represented Jesus because he was the 'light of the world'. Some children could remember the word 'crucified' to describe what happened to Jesus on Good Friday.
Lent Stalls
The children have worked hard this week helping with the lent stall that we set up for play times, we had a raffle, guess the bunny's name (chosen by the children in Rec) and guess how many gems in the jar. Thank you to all the children and staff who came to spend their money on the lent stall, we had lots of fun! The winner will be announced during Friday assembly, Good luck!
Signs of Spring
The children have been on a spring walk today round the school grounds. We were looking for signs of spring and using our senses to explore the outside. We found lots of spring flowers such as daffodils, bluebells and even some crocuses. The children spotted some buds on the trees and branches while we looked at the beautiful blossom trees. The children have become wonderful artists during their time in Reception, so we took clipboards with us to draw the blossom tree, thinking about the different parts of the tree that we could see. We will add the finishing touches back in the classroom.
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
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!
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!
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!
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!
