We Change as we Grow 

We have been learning about ourselves in the first few weeks of Reception class. We have been looking at ourselves within our families and our own timeline. We thought about us in the present and created self portraits. We then discussed ourselves in the future and what we would want to be when we grow up. We have a few children's who are aspiring police officers, vets, firefighters, teachers and artists!

UTW- How do Trees Change Throughout the Year?

 We have started our year long science investigation into 'How trees change throughout the year' by looking for signs of Autumn. On our Welly Walks we found conkers, brown leaves, muddy footpaths, change in weather and different animals getting ready to hibernate. 

Creative- Making our own Salt Dough Dinosaur Fossils

After learning about what a fossil was we made our own. We discussed which would be the best material to use to make these. We made the salt dough together, following a recipe and measuring the flour etc. We then used skills like kneading and printing to get the desired effect!

Thankfulness Collective Worship

Today we did our first Reception Collective Worship. We have been thinking about our value this term- thankfulness. We thought of scenarios where we have been thankful and when we have said thank you. We showed everybody who and what we are thankful for and even showed them our thankfulness song. 

PSED- Little Feet

We have had a visitor from Little Feet. She told us about the importance of walking to school and how its not only healthy for us but for the environment too!

 Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert- Map Making 

We made our own map based on the Leaf Man Story and decided where our leaf men would go. We used symbols to make a map to the park and even tried labelling them! We then followed our maps to see if they actually took us to the right location... they were a success!

UTW- Waiting Out the Storm by JoAnn Early Macken

We have been reading Waiting Out the Storm by JoAnn Early Macken.  We have been learning about weather, storms and how they have affected our local area, transition into winter and floating and sinking. We made our own boats to test floating and sinking. We planned how we would make them and what materials we would use. We looked at waterproof and non waterproof materials. We then tested them to see if they would float or sink. If they floated we tested how many marbles it could hold before sinking. We then looked at which were the best boats and which were the worst. This was lots of fun!

Porridge Making

Our key text this week has been Peepo by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. We have been learning about the past. In the story the mummy makes porridge! We were intrigued on how to make porridge and what it tasted like! We worked together to make a batch of porridge. We chose our own toppings. We then made some instructions. It was very yummy!

Peepo 

As part of our learning around our key text Peepo by Janet and Allan Ahlberg we have taken part in lots of activities. We looked at houses and how they have changed from the past. We then planned, built and evaluated junk model houses. We went on a trip to Towneley Hall and looked at the kitchen from the past and discussed similarities and difference to rooms in houses now.

Shrove Tuesday

In Reception Class we have been learning about Shrove Tuesday. We learnt about what this day means for Christians. We learnt about how it is linked to Lent and Ash Wednesday. We sequenced instructions of how to make pancakes. Then we had a go at making some, they were very yummy! We also learnt about how other countries celebrate pancake day differently.

Signs of Spring 

This half term we have been looking for signs of Spring. On our welly walks we have been making lists of the things that we have spotted or things that have changed e.g. flowers growing, blossom on trees, less puddles etc. We then had a go a drawing some of these signs of Spring. 

Im In Charge

Our key text has been 'Im in Charge' by Jeanne Willis. This story is set in the African Savannah. We have been learning about the African Savannah and Africa using non fiction books. We have looked at zoo maps and planned a map with a key. We then used this to build a zoo! We also did an experiment... the children's enquiry questions was 'Which material would be the best for a zoo keepers glove?' 

Fruit Salad

As we have been learning about farms (with our key text being 'What the Ladybird Heard' by Julia Donaldson) we made a fruit salad. We planned what we wanted and what we wanted to try. We then went to the shop to buy it. After that we made and ate our fruit salad. Finally, we wrote about what we liked, disliked and would change. 

PSED- Feelings 

Our key text for the first few weeks of Reception has been 'The Worrysaurus' by Rachel Bright. From this we have talked about the feelings of the Worrysaurus and those of ourselves. We have learnt some different  'feelings words' e.g. worried, relaxed, jealous, joyful. We discussed what a worry is and came up with some ideas to calm our worries. We used mirrors to act out certain emotions and look at our facial expressions. This has helped us in identifying feelings of those around us. 

Maths- Sorting and Matching

In Maths we have been learning how to sort and match. We have been using these skills in different ways throughout the provision by playing matching games; sorting dinosaurs into herbivores and carnivores; sorting animals by creating our own sorting rules such as big and small, wild and farm animals etc. 

UTW- DINOSAUR FOSSILS!

Reception class had a present delivered... lots of sand! Inside the sand we found something that looked like rocks. We asked some questions to see if we could get any clues to what they were. We then used a non fiction book to find out that they were fossils. We looked at Mary Anning and how she found fossils and then made our own! We tested whether salt dough would be better to use than play dough. After the test we found that salt dough would be the best option and so we used this. 

Creative- On Sudden Hill by Linda Sarah and Benji Davies.

Our key text has been 'On Sudden Hill' by Linda Sarah and Benji Davies. In the story the friends create things from cardboard boxes. We tried the same. We planned what materials we could use. We planned how we build and join the house together. We then built it together. Afterwards we spoke about what went well and what we would change! The children loved using their imagination to create things from just a cardboard box!

Hibernation, Building Hedgehog Dens, Waterproof Materials

Our key text has been Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. We have been learning about hibernation, nocturnal animals and how seasons cause changes in our environment. We finished our learning by planning and building a hedgehog den ready for hibernation! The children were split into groups and built hedgehog dens with different materials. We then predicted which material would be the best and tested them with water! This then led us on to exploring and experimenting waterproof and not waterproof materials within the provision. 

UTW- Diwali

We have been learning about Diwali in Reception Class! Not only have we been learning about the culture and traditions but we also had a visitor from Dance Days. Our visitor taught us some traditional Indian Dancing and played us traditional Indian music. We loved learning a new style of dance!

Collective Worship- Trust

This half term our value is Trust. We looked at the Bible Story 'Daniel and the Lion's Den'. From this we looked at how Daniel put his trust in God to keep him safe. 

Mini Olympics

Reception class took part in the Mini Olympics this week at the Sports Centre. This involved us working as a team, taking part in all the activities, persevering, throwing, balancing, running, jumping etc. Reception did an amazing job!!!!

Why do Christians put a cross in an Easter Garden at Easter?

This term Reception class have been answering the questions 'Why do Christians put a cross in an Easter Garden at Easter?'  We have been looking at what each part of an Easter Garden symbolises by looking at the Easter Story. We then looked at other ways Easter is celebrated. We had a go at all these activities e.g. painting eggs, making hot cross buns, making palm crosses, sequencing the Easter Story and building Easter gardens out of junk modelling or in the construction area. We then went to Church and re-enacted the part of the story where Jesus washed the disciples feet. 

Science Week 

The theme for this years Science Week was 'Time'! Reception chose several investigations to carry out. Here are some of our enquiry questions... 'How do shadows change over time?' and 'Does the colour of the apple depend on how fast it rots?'

Trip- The Forgotten Forest

Reception class went on a trip to the Forgotten Forest. Here we followed our key text 'What the Ladybird Heard' by Julia Donaldson. We then explored the forest setting by playing, exploring and actively learning while taking part in trying new activities such as toasting marshmallows.