Friday 18th September

What a fantastic first week we have had! Reception have settled into their first full time week with enthusiasm and curiosity for all the new learning opportunities.

We have been learning our new routines in class and are now settling into our fine and gross motor activities on arrival. The children have learnt which group they belong to and are mostly managing to follow group instruction.

In Phonics we have been learning our first 4 sounds: s, a, t and p. The children have been identifying things that begin with those sounds, starting to blend orally and learning the rhymes that help us to form the letters correctly. E.g. for ‘s’ – ‘down the snake from head to tail’.

In Literacy we have been introduced to our new Power of Reading book: The Everywhere Bear. The children have considered the setting of the book, how the characters might feel and making predictions about what might happen. In addition, they have been introduced to our own class bear who will come home with the Star of the Week each weekend. The children suggested names for our bear and after a process of voting they have named it Waffle!

In RE we have been learning about the Creation Story. The children have been discovering what God created on each of the 6 days and how God rested on the 7^th. We have painted pictures of the different days and also sequenced the days using sequencing cards. The children all took part in collaging our own Earth, showing the land and the sea. We have also learnt that God created all of us and loves us dearly. We have started learning to make the Sign of the Cross.

The children have also experienced PE (just a reminder, please remove earrings on Tuesdays and Thursdays). We were working on moving safely and with control while following simple instructions to walk, jog and stop.

In PSED the class put together their own ‘Toolkit’ of simple activities that they can do if they are feeling over excited or need reminding about our class rules. The children can select an activity from the toolbox (having a drink, taking 10 deep breaths or cuddling a teddy) to do as they calm themselves.

It has been a really exciting first week and everyone has done brilliantly. They deserve a lovely rest this weekend.

Friday 11th September

Reception have had a lovely time settling into our school journey this week. We have been learning the classroom rules and working on understanding the routines of the school day. This week we all brought in our teddies from home and talked about why we liked them. We all had dinner in the hall on Friday and it was so exciting to eat fish fingers and chips together. We all worked really hard at listening for our names to be called at the end of the day while our teachers got to know our parents and adults.