Literacy- We have written some super lists for Father Christmas and posted these in his special Christmas post box on Tuesday when we visited Smart Trees. Please take a look at our Smart Trees blog to view photographs from our trip. The children then wrote some super recounts of their day in Bishampton.

Maths- We have been identifying and describing the properties of 2D and 3D shapes. We have been encouraging the children to use the correct vocabulary when describing the shapes e.g. sides when describing 2D shapes and faces when describing 3D shapes. The children also created repeating patterns on an outline of a Christmas stocking.

Phonics- The children have been revising the graphemes previously taught and the new tricky words ‘all’ and ‘are’. We used phoneme frames to help us write our words for the first time and have also been writing lots of captions to build our confidence when writing sentences.

Science- The children created diaries about their broad beans that they have been busy growing at school. We drew a picture of what these looked like when we first planted them and again just before we took them home. We were surprised to observe that some of the beans grew all the way up to the castle and others did not grow at all! We discussed why this might have been the case.

PE- The children engaged in their final gymnastics session of the term, hence PE kits being sent home to be washed and checked over the Christmas holidays. This week we practised our rolls that we have been learning so far; roll on back, pencil roll and teddy bear roll. The children were then introduced to a forward roll and practised this from different starting points such as the spring board, standing on the bench and squatting on the bench.

The children have also been busy with their Christmas craft. Each child is creating a Christmas card, Christmas decoration and a calendar to take home with them next week.

A reminder that next Friday, on the last day of term, it is our school carol concert. This will be starting at 2.30pm over in the church. It would be lovely to see you all there.

Have a very festive week Reception and we’ll see you on Monday for our final week of the Autumn term! Where has that time gone?

What an exciting school trip! The children loved using their maps to try and find the 12 days of Christmas around the Christmas trees. We then met Father Christmas in his magical Christmas grotto and enjoyed lunch in the barn. Afterwards, we experienced a very bumper tractor trailer ride and explored in the play area and maze. We also met many of Santa's reindeer. We were so proud of the children's fantastic behaviour. Well done Reception! We are feeling very Christmassy now!! 

We are SO proud of every person in Reception class. The children blew us away with their brilliant singing and acting. We hope you enjoyed it too! Thank you for being a super audience.

Literacy- On Monday we read Owl Babies and watched the story clip. We discussed the characters thoughts and feelings throughout the story and then the children wrote captions in the owl speech bubbles.

Maths- The children have been showing number bonds to 5 using paint on the ten frames! We have also been subitising (recognising numbers without counting) numbers to 5 and explaining what we can see in different dot patterns. E.g I can see 4 and 1. 4 add 1 equals 5.

Phonics- This week the children have been learning the trigraphs air, ear, ure and the tricky word ‘they’. Your child should have come home with two bookmarks with tricky words on. Please practise the polar bear tricky words and Percy the park keeper tricky words every time you read with your child.

PE- The children were introduced to 3 different types of rolls, a ‘roll on back’ roll, pencil roll and teddy bear roll. We practised these on the mats with a partner. We will be applying what we know about these rolls to the apparatus next time.

Science- We have been continuing our learning about nocturnal animals. This week we finding out facts about bats. We also went on a nocturnal animal treasure hunt outside.

Fit for Schools- We loved playing Quidditch on Thursday with Fit for Schools. We also engaged in a healthy eating session in which we named different fruits and vegetables and talked about the different food groups. Click on the picture at the top to view more photographs. 

We hope those who attended the Read-a-thon on Friday enjoyed spending time sharing a book with their child.

Next Thursday it is our Nativity play at 10am. You do not need any tickets and grandparents/other friends and family are more than welcome to join us in the church too.

It is our Christmas fete at school on Saturday. Please come and join in with the festivities!

Have a lovely weekend!

Literacy- We have started our new topic, Percy the Park Keeper. We read ‘After the Storm’ and discussed the story structure. The children then wrote captions for the characters in the story. We had to think about what the characters might be saying in the speech bubble.

Maths- The children have been showing number bonds to 5 in a range of different ways. We have been developing our number fluency by practising counting in 1s and 2s.

Mr Sidwell has been working with the children matching numerals (numbers on leaves) to quantities (broad beans). They have been practising counting accurately and carefully.

Phonics- We have been learning the phonemes for the following graphemes; ur (turn, curb), ow (brown, cow) and oi (coin, boil). The children have also been learning to read the tricky word ‘you’.

Science- As part of our new topic, we are going to be researching a range of nocturnal animals. This week the children engaged in an owl facts treasure hunt in which we learnt lots of interesting facts. Did you know a group of owls is called a parliament?

During Bedtime Stories we added food colouring and alka seltzer tablets to our oil and water mixture bottles. These created some fantastic lava lamps!!

Thank you to parents and grandparents for dropping your child back at school on Wednesday for Bedtime Stories. The children had a wonderful time!

Have a brilliant weekend, see you on Monday!

Look at our amazing lava lamps! We loved sharing stories at our Bedtime Stories session this evening. The hot chocolate was great too!

Literacy- Mr Sidwell has been finding out about the children’s Bonfire night experiences. We have watched a clip showing different fireworks exploding in the sky. The children then had a go at writing words to describe the fireworks. For example, pop, bang, crash, whizz.

Maths- We have introduced number 9 this week and have been practising showing 9 in different ways. We have also begun to learn the number bonds to 9 too. Miss Roberts ( our trainee teacher) has been using dice with the children to see who is able to subitise numbers (recognise them without counting) and has also been practising showing numbers to 7 on the ten frame and finding one more and one less than.

Phonics- This week we have been learning the phonemes for the graphemes oo, ar and or. We have also been learning to read the tricky words, was, be, he, she, me and my.

RE- Our RE unit the moment is based around the question, ‘Why is the word ‘God’ important to Christians?’ This week we read the story ‘The Precious Pearl’ and discussed how Christians believe that God cares for and loves everyone. The children then wrote the word God and decorated it using collage materials to make it look special and precious.

PE- We have continued our Gymnastics session this week with the children travelling under, over and on apparatus like lions. The children have also begun to observe each other’s movements and make observations about what they liked.

We have also started to practise our songs for our Nativity performance. I’m sure your child has been singing these at home too, I have!

Pictures to follow of our Jack and the Beanstalk banquet!

Have a great weekend!

Welcome back Reception!

I hope you all had a wonderful week last week and are now ready for the run up to Christmas! We have enjoyed hearing about the children’s holiday activities this week.

Firstly, thank you to those who engaged in the ‘The Little Red Hen Home Learning Challenges’. It was so lovely for the children to share their creations and pictures with their friends.

Secondly, you should have now all received a letter about the nativity production and what to bring in. We will provide the rest of your child’s costume. You should have also received a slip informing you of your child’s role in the play and if they have any words. Please practise these at home over the next few weeks. If you have any queries regarding the nativity play then please do not hesitate to ask.

Important dates next week:

Thursday 15th November- Jack and the Beanstalk banquet 2.50pm
Parents are invited to come and share their child’s books with their child. We will be having a special ‘topic exit point’ in which the children will dress up, enjoy food and dance together. Please ensure your child’s dressing up clothes are in a named carrier bag.

Friday 16th November- Children in Need
The children can come to school wearing spots and stripes and they may bring in a donation if you wish. We will be learning about the support Children in Need provide to many children around the UK.

It has been a week of special occasions!

Bonfire Night- The children have enjoyed sharing their experiences with each other and next week will be doing some writing around fireworks.

Remembrance Day- We hope you have noticed our poppy display outside the front of school this week. The children have been learning about what Armistice Day is all about and how special it is this year, commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War. We enjoyed creating hand print poppies to contribute to this display.

Diwali- We have been learning about the Festival of Light which was celebrated on Wednesday this week. The children created their own mehndi design on an outline of their hand, watched some fireworks (on the board), tasted some Indian sweets and danced to some traditional Hindu music. We acted out the story of Rama and Sita as a whole class which the children really enjoyed. In Forest School, the children created rangoli patterns using the Autumn leaves.

Literacy- The children have been thinking of words to describe the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk and writing these words around a picture of the giant.
Maths- We have been practising matching numeral to quantity matching the correct number of beans to the numbered leaf. We have also been practising number bonds to 8 using the ten frames.

Science- The children have planted their own broad bean. We are hoping to grow some huge beanstalks! We will be observing how these plants grow over the next few weeks. The children discussed what plants need to grow.

We also carried out a ‘Colour Clash’ investigation which was linked to our learning in RE about Diwali. The children observed what happened when the Smarties were placed in a circle on a white plate and hot water was added in the middle. The effect was amazing!

Phonics- We have been learning the phonemes for the graphemes ai, ee, igh and oa. The children have also learned the new tricky words ‘my’ and ‘was’.

All of this in just four days! What a busy week.

Have a super weekend Reception!

What a busy first half term it has been! First of all, I would just like to say how much fun it has been getting to know your children. They have settled in well and we are looking forward to the next half term. The lead up to Christmas is an extra special time in Reception.

Over the half term holiday we ask that you try to keep up the caterpillar reading and spelling practise as well as reading as often as possible. However most importantly we hope that you and your child are able to have a well-deserved rest! Next half term will be even busier and so it is important the children come back feeling refreshed and raring to go!

On Tuesday, we visited Worcester Hive library for the Beeline festival. Mr Bennett and I were so proud of all of the children. They were enthusiastic and excited but also very sensible. We really enjoyed watching The Little Red Hen on the stage. The actor managed to make and bake a real loaf of broad in between retelling the story using a range of puppets. We were very impressed! The children responded well to the audience participation and seemed to enjoy the performance.

Literacy- Miss Hill brought in yet another animal linked to our story ‘The Little Red Hen’. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning about Miss Hill’s two hens. We looked at the different foods they eat, talked about their feathers and of course had a stroke. The children then labelled a picture of a hen using the graphemes they have already learnt. E.g. neck, leg, back.

Maths- This week the children have been learning lots of facts about the numbers 6 and 7. We have practised counting 6 and 7 objects and showing 6 and 7 on a ten frame. We have also been practising finding out one more and one less for numbers 1-7. The children have been subitising the dots on a dice. For example, knowing what a five looks like on a dice without counting the dots. Playing board games such as snakes and ladders helps the children develop this knowledge.

Phonics- This week the children have been learning the digraphs (two letters, one sound) th, ch, sh and ng.

Stress Box- The children engaged in a ‘stress box’ session in which they practised calming breathing techniques and used gloves and pads to express their emotions.

RE- We looked at the Muslim sacred book, the Qur’an. We discussed why I had to wash my hands up to my elbows and why the book is kept at the highest point in the school. We talked about what the word ‘respect’ means.

Have a wonderful half term holiday Reception!