Friday 16th October

In Phonics we learnt the phonemes ‘h b f l’ and used these sounds to sound talk and blend words. We practise hearing the sounds in words by completing oral blending games and then applying our knowledge to read words. Our new tricky word this week is ‘the’ and we talked about how we use it a lot when we speak and write.

We continued to explore our text ‘A Brave Bear’. This week we thought about all the ways that the very hot bears could cool down and came up with some very good ideas. We then wrote about how we would cool down if we were too hot. The children had to try to hear the sounds in the words in their suggestions, look at the sound sheet and write them down.

Our focus in Maths this week has been on recognising amounts as more and fewer. We did lots of practical comparison with the help of our Maths puppets and independently. We explored if the outcome was changed if the items were different and we concluded it was not. We also explored 2D shapes, learning their names and the features of each shape.

In RE we thought about how we could look after ourselves and others. We talked about the need to take care of everyone since God made us and loves us. We recorded our thoughts on different things we could do to keep ourselves healthy and help others.

Furthermore, in our second week of Black History Month. We learnt that Wilma Rudolph had at one time in her life been the fastest woman on earth! We made medals to reflect her Olympic successes. On Tuesday we took part in an African Dance Workshop, combining dances from South Africa and Kenya.

Friday 9th October

We have had a busy and exciting week! We celebrated Space Week and all enjoyed taking part in space themed activities as well as dressing up as space on Wednesday. We learnt about the solar system and used paint and collage to create our own textured planet. We also shared all of our balloon rocket investigations that we completed at home.

On Thursday we took part in the Grand Opening of the Nursery. We engaged in the liturgy and sang our hymns beautifully. We enjoyed eating the St Helen’s cake at lunchtime also.

In Phonics we learnt the phonemes ‘ck e u r’ and used these sounds to sound talk and blend words. We practise hearing the sounds in words by completing oral blending games and then applying our knowledge to read words. We also learnt the tricky word I and talked about how it always has to be a capital letter.

We started a new text in Literacy this week called ‘A Brave Bear’. We focused on the first line in the story ‘Everything was hot.’ and thoroughly discussed the concept of hot. We made lists of things that are hot and then share wrote a hot poem that we performed with instruments and expression.

Maths this week focused on subitising, which is knowing how many there are without counting, like when playing a game with a dice. We also learnt about the composition of the number four. Counting objects up to four and recognising amounts. Then we used blocks to copy models of four, describing what we saw. We also talked about the concept of long and short, comparing objects and describing them.

In RE we discussed the sacrament of Baptism and how this is a celebration of God inviting us to join his family. We role played a Baptism and discussed the symbols of Baptism. We also shared our own Baptism photos with the class.

Furthermore, we started our learning for Black History Month. We read information about Wilma Rudolph and talked about how we could get better at something that we find hard. We also took part in an African drumming session on Friday! What a great way to end the week!

Friday 2nd October

What another fantastic week in Reception!

The morning routines are now running smoothly with everyone able to put away their own things and self-register, with just a few reminders, before settling down to our fine motor activities – well done!

In Phonics we have learnt 4 more sounds: g, o, c & k. The children have been identifying things that begin with those sounds and learning the rhymes that help us to form the letters correctly. The children are now blending orally and practising recognising and saying the sounds in CVC words to blend them and read the word. For example: c-o-g, cog.

In Literacy we finished The Everywhere Bear and found out how he returned to the classroom after all his adventures. The children created a story map together and then worked on their own independently. We came up with questions we would like to ask the Everywhere Bear about his adventure, introducing question words and the question mark. We considered all the different jobs that the adults did in the story and the children answered the question: What job would you like to do when you grow up?

In Maths the children have been learning about the composition of number – how can this number be made? We have been learning that numbers can be combined to make a different number, e.g.1 and another 1 is 2. We looked at all the ways of making 2 and 3 and then noticing if amounts of 2 or 3 are the same or different. These are the steps that will help us to learn our number bonds to 5 and beyond in due course. The children also looked at ordering items by size from the smallest to the biggest.

In RE we have been talking about our families and how they are a gift from God. The children have talked to their talk and listen partners about the things that they enjoy doing with their families. We also thought about how we all look after and care for each other. We discussed sharing special occasions with our families and how even eating a meal together can be fun, loving and sharing together.

For Fairtrade Fortnight the Reception opened a Coffee Shop outside and enjoyed telling each other why we should all be trying to buy fairtrade products, so that the farmers and producers earn a fair living for themselves and their families.

Friday 25th September

What a fantastic second full week in Reception. The children are quickly picking up the classroom routines and starting to explore all the areas of learning, both inside and outside. Also, the sun has shone all week!

In Phonics this week, we learnt the phonemes: i, n, m, d. We enjoyed shuffling all the cards for the phonemes we have learnt so far, reading and saying the sounds and then spotting the newest one. We are revising the grapheme and phonemes to date every day and the children are enjoying sounding and blending simple words.

In Literacy we continued to read about the adventures of The Everywhere Bear. This week we used instruments to create soundscapes for the stormy sea that the Bear was rescued from in a net. We also came up with questions we would like to ask the Everywhere Bear at this point in his adventure. We gave ideas for advice to give to the person who found the bear about how she could return him to his owner.

In Maths we concentrated on our counting, making sure that we helped our class puppets to count correctly! We showed him how to move each small object as he counted so he did not get in a muddle. We also counted actions and sounds. The children put this into practise independently and worked on remembering the cardinal number (the number given to count out).

For RE we explored how God created our families as a gift to love and support us. We shared pictures of our families and what we liked to do with them. We drew our families eating, playing and out and about together.

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.