Healthy: Inside and out day.

The children have been reflecting on their learning journey so far and the progress they have made. We celebrated all the achievements they were proud of and even made some medals to congratulate each other.

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

The children had a fabulous day celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. We learnt about Queen Elizabeth ll and ordered pictures of her 70 year reign. We made crowns, decorated biscuits, made Union Jack flags, built our own palaces and painted portraits of the Queen. We also enjoyed a Jubilee picnic and singing the National Anthem with the rest of the school. What a busy day!!

Doubling

This week we have been busy investigating doubling using dominoes, dice and Numicon. We’re trying to remember double facts to ten. 

Trip to Cannon Hall Farm

We had a wonderful day at Cannon Hall Farm. It was incredible to see some pigs with their piglets although they were a bit smelly. We fed the greedy goats and watched the vet check over a very young foal. The children really enjoyed the sheep race and had lots of fun in the play area. 

The Chicks

We had 9 eggs hatch into gorgeous fluffy chicks. When they had grown big and strong enough the children were very excited that they could hold them. They were very gentle and took very good care of them.

The chicks have inspired us to be creative and build our own incubators.

Planting

We enjoyed planting lots of new bedding plants in our outdoor area. We took turns to use the equipment and water them. Now we will take good care of them by watering them regularly and treating them gently. We can’t wait to watch them grow 🪴 

Bramley Baptist Church

The children enjoyed a visit to Bramley Baptist Church as part of our RE topic - Which Places are Special and Why? Vicar Paul talked to the children about why it was special to him and they went on a treasure hunt to find symbols and objects that are found in many Christian Churches.

First, Then, Now

We have created addition sentences using the words, first, then and now. We enjoyed using the smart board to tell our number stories. 

The Chicks

It was very exciting in Reception as we waited for the chicks to hatch. We had to be super quiet and patient as they cracked open the eggs and forced their way out. 

The Little Red Hen 

The children produced some fabulous independent writing this week. 

Terrific transient art

The children are building their creative skills. 

3D models

We used a picture to help us build 3D models. Can you name the 3D shapes we have used? 

How do we make larger numbers?

We have explored how to make numbers 11 to 20 using ten frames to help us. We know that we need to start with ten objects then add some more. We’re also learning to order numbers to 20 using the 1 to 9 pattern.

A Squash and a Squeeze

The children listened carefully to the story then retold it through pictures.

Just look at their fabulous illustrations. 

How tall will our sunflower grow?

This week we read Sam plants a sunflower and discussed what we thought the seed would need to grow. Then each class planted their own sunflower seed. We will now observe closely to see what happens and measure our plant to compete for the tallest sunflower 🌻. 

Our New Sandpit

All the children have really enjoyed digging and building in our new sandpit. There has been some great team work to build some impressive sand castles. 
 

Outdoor play

The children had great fun on the trim trail and tyres. They practised climbing, jumping, balancing and swinging. 

Down on the Farm

We will be learning about Farm animals including visiting a farm. The children will be finding out how to look after living things. They will be growing sunflowers and helping to care for chicks. 

The Three Little Pigs

After listening to the story of The Three Little Pigs, the children enjoyed exploring how a big bad wolf or a little pig would move. They are learning to move like Champion dancers by displaying more control and balance. 

Number Bonds to 10

We explored different numbers which add together to make 10. We used ten frames and the part whole model to help us. 

The Hundred Decker Bus

We really enjoyed reading ‘The Hundred Decker Bus’ written by the author Mike Smith. We created our own buses with lots of decks and wrote some fantastic sentences about where the hundred decker bus travelled to. 

Amazing Models 

More than, fewer than or equal to

This week we have been comparing numbers. We counted people on to the ten frame bus, counted the spots on the dominoes and counted the votes for the end of the day story. We have used the words, more than, fewer than and equal to to make comparisons. 

Spring Flowers

The children have been busy noticing lots of signs of Spring in the world around them. They have loved finding out about different flowers and plants that start to grow in Spring and observing them carefully to help with their drawing and painting skills.

Easter Gardens

We have been learning all about the Easter story. We have re-enacted the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, made Easter Gardens to represent Jesus' burial and talked about why there is a cross on our hot cross buns.

World Book Day

We loved reading lots of stories by the author Rob Biddulph. He also helped us to become incredible illustrators too. Everyone enjoyed reading lots of fantastic stories, going on a book scavenger hunt and acting out part of the stories. 

We were amazed by the creative ways you made your ‘books in a box.’

Dance

We have been exploring different ways of moving through dance. We used the nursery rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty’ as a stimulus for it. 

Height and Length

This week we have been developing our use of mathematical vocabulary to describe height and length. We compared towers to see which was the tallest or the shortest and we compared the length of caterpillars and worms to see which was the longest or shortest.  

Collaborative working

It was wonderful to see the children working together to build models, role play and get creative. 

Healthy: Inside and Out Day

Ravi’s Roar is about temper tantrums, feelings and coping with your emotions. 

Ravi gets so furious he roars like a tiger and upsets all the people around him. It’s only when Ravi calms down and says sorry that he begins to feel better. The children explored how they were feeling through drawings. They talked about activities which can help them to feel calm and happy and who they can talk to if they feel angry, worried or upset. They shared their ideas through circle times and focused activities. 

On our way!

We will be listening to stories about different types of transport including bicycles, hot air balloons and buses. We will be asking why and how questions about where we live and drawing maps. Using a variety of joining techniques to make some model vehicles.

Float or sink?

The children have enjoyed making boats and investigating whether they floated or sank.

Ramps

Which vehicle will whizz down the ramp the quickest? 

Terrific Transient Art

The children are exploring colour, shape and pattern in our art area. 

Amazing Models

Making Pairs

It’s been another busy week in Reception. The children explored small groups of objects to determine whether they could be made into pairs or whether there was an odd one left over. 

Poles Apart

This week the children are developing their geographical skills by locating the North and South poles. They listened carefully to the story as the Pilchard-Brown penguin family travelled around the world with Mr White the polar bear; visiting the Arctic, America, Italy, India and England before returning home to Antarctica. They also enjoyed drawing and painting polar bears. 

The Little Green Bookshop

This week the children were delighted to visit the Little Green Bookshop with Mrs Finn. They enjoyed looking at the books and selecting one to take home and keep. 

6, 7 and 8

The children have enjoyed exploring the numbers 6, 7 and 8. We have been forming the digits, sorting objects and making some creatures with 8 legs. 

Science Day

Our theme for the day was slippery slopes. The children enjoyed sorting solids and liquids and investigating how solid ice turns into a liquid when it gets warm. 
In the afternoon we investigated how fast different liquids slid down the slopes. We predicted which liquids we thought would be the fastest and slowest then tested out the liquids down the slopes. 

Gymnastics

We have been moving over the apparatus at high and low levels. To show our ‘Champion Gymnast’ pointed toes and fingers, we have been using the equipment to show some balance shapes. 

Penguins

This week we have read non-fiction texts about penguins. We thought of different facts about them. We also enjoyed creating collage penguins and developing our scissor skills. 

Repeating Patterns 

We have created repeating patterns in the different areas of learning. 

Gymnastics

This half term we are working hard to become ‘Champion Gymnasts.’ We are exploring how to move at high and low levels and how to create a shape by balancing and holding still. To be a champion gymnast we also need to point our fingers and toes. 

Evil Pea Rules

The children enjoyed reading ‘Evil Pea Rules’ by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet. Evil pea had frozen all the vegetables so the children helped them escape from the ice. The children also created some of the characters using playdough, paint and materials from the creative area. 

Colour Mixing

We used our colour mixing skills to make orange, purple and green so we could paint the fruit and veggies who escaped from Evil Pea. 

Exploring 5

We are becoming strong mathematicians in Reception. This week we have used the part whole model to investigate different ways to make 5. 

Anti-Bullying Day

Our theme for the day was One Kind Word. We thought about what it means to be kind and how we could show kindness in Reception and at home. We enjoyed wearing our odd socks to remind everyone that we are all unique.  

Winter

Things have been getting wintery in Reception. The children have enjoyed creating lots of wintery things to find out more about the season. 

Healthy: Inside and Out

Today the children listened to the story of The Dot by Peter Reynolds. They considered what they are good at and what they would like to get better at. We thought about what it means to have a growth mindset and practised the phrase “ I can’t do it yet.” 

Poles Apart

This half term we will explore where Polar bears live and how it is different to where penguins live. We will be doing some investigating with ice and water including making some boats. 

Away in a Manger

Well done to everyone on their amazing performance of ‘Away in a Manger’. They have worked so hard on learning the songs and lines and looked wonderful in their costumes. 

1 more 1 less

This week we have explored finding 1 more and 1 less. 

Christmas fun

Santa

We had a very important visitor in school today. All the children were very excited to go and see him in his grotto. 

Number 5

This week we have been exploring number five. We are learning to count accurately to five and discover different numbers which add together to make 5. 

1st December

The countdown to Christmas has started. The children are learning songs and lines ready for our nativity performance and we are ending each day with a special story from our Christmas book tree. 

Fun in the snow

Today we took advantage of the snow and the children enjoyed playing outside.
We also placed some snow into our tuff tray indoors and the children played with the polar bears and explored how patting and mixing the snow with a spoon made it melt. 

Is it more than, fewer than, or equal to 4?
This week we have focused on number 4. The children used Numicon, multilink and five frames to create representations of numbers which were more than, or fewer than 4. We also looked at 2D shapes and counted the number of sides to see if they had more or fewer than four sides. 

Transient Art

The children enjoyed manipulating the materials to explore different shapes, patterns and designs. They were keen to share their unique creations with us. 

Outdoor Fun

The children are learning to run, jump, climb and negotiate space and obstacles safely. 

RE

We set up a ‘stable’ and dressed up in Nativity costumes to retell the Christmas story. 

International Day

On international day we thought about what is happening to the polar bear’s habitat. Everyone enjoyed exploring what happens to ice in the water area. The children also created paintings of icebergs using ice paints and making habitats in the small world. We made a pledge to put paper in the recycling bin to help stop the earth from getting any warmer.

Number 3

This week the children have been exploring number 3. They are learning to count and subitise 1, 2 and 3. They enjoyed sorting objects to represent each number. 

Mark Making

The children are exploring mark making through different media. The are beginning to demonstrate their phonic and mathematical knowledge by writing letters and numbers as well as drawing pictures. 

Remembrance Day

The children created some beautiful poppies to help us understand the significance of Remembrance Day and why we wear poppies.    

Maths

We have been thinking about the number 2. The children have been excellent number detectives searching for all the different ways number 2 can be represented.

Diwali

This week Mrs Kothapalli has been telling the children all about the festival of Diwali and how it is celebrated by families in Leeds and all over the world. They loved using the clay to make and decorate their own Diya lamps. 

PE 

The children enjoyed their first PE lesson in the gym. They explored how to find a space and how to roll a ball with control. 

Let’s have a party!

This half term we will be thinking about different celebrations such as Bonfire Night, Diwali and Christmas. 

Healthy: Inside and Out Day

Today the children thought about what makes them unique. They looked into mirrors to compare themselves and see what was the same and what was different to their friend. We named some different emotions and talked about how we all feel different too. Some children enjoyed showing different emotions on their faces for us to guess. The children shared ideas about what makes them feel happy. 

Autumn

We have been investigating what we can see during Autumn. We have been enjoying looking at all the leaves, seeds and berries we collected on our Autumn walk. 

Comparing size

The children were keen to build towers using the multi-link cubes. We then introduced lots of mathematical language to compare their towers with their friends. 

We used the story of The Three Bears as a stimulus to discuss size vocabulary. 

Comparing Amounts

The children explored different amounts. We talked about whether they had ‘more than,’ ‘fewer than’ or ‘the same’ amount of objects as their friend. 

Alma Thomas

The children enjoyed learning about Alma Thomas. She was famous for her teaching and colourful artwork. They then used their artistic skills to create some colourful works of art just like her. 

Sorting

In maths we have been sorting objects. We have been talking about the different groups we can use to sort the objects and which group each object belongs in. We sorted the objects by colour, shape and size. 

Matching

We provided opportunities to find and match objects which are the same. We used the language of ‘the same’ and ‘different’ to discuss them. 

Pumpkins

The children were fascinated with the pumpkins we added to the provision this week. They have spent time mixing colours to paint them, making observational drawings, reading stories about pumpkins and we even cut them open to find out what was inside. In our tuff tray they enjoyed making 'pumpkin soup' and 'pumpkin pie'.

Phonics

This week the children have loved writing the first set of letters in lots of creative ways - glitter, paint, chalk, whiteboards and salt! The Little Wandle formation rhymes have really helped them form the letters correctly. We have also been finding lots of objects around the classroom that begin with ‘s’, ‘a’, ‘t’ and ‘p’. 

Matching

In maths we explored matching objects. We talked about whether two objects were the same. We looked carefully at pairs of animals to see if they were the same or different. 

Marvellous Me

We have started our first Reception topic. The children have been thinking about what makes them special and how they are unique.

Outdoor Play

This week we have enjoyed playing outside in the sunshine. We have practised balancing on the beams, bikes and tyres and spinning in the big cones. We are also learning about how to make new friends. 

Our First Week in Reception

The children have settled really well into their new classes. 

Stay and Play

We have loved welcoming the children and parents in to explore their new classroom environments. We saw lots of happy smiley faces and were impressed with how confident and chatty all the children were. We look forward to them all starting their learning journey with us over the next couple of weeks.