Fairy Tales in Reception

The children followed the Jolly Postman on his journey's in Term Two.  They arrived at school to discover that a mischievous girl had been busy in the classrooms breaking the furniture! After some research they found out that it was Goldilocks. However she saw the error of her ways and decided to apologise to everyone by having a party. The children wrote to her asking her for the details of the party so that they could attend!

They also read about him visiting the Witch at Gingerbread Cottage, found about the potions the Witch was making and decided to make their own.

Term Two Topics

EYFS learnt all about the important Hindu festival of Diwali. They read the story of Rama and

Sita and made diva lamps to guide Rama home!

During their literacy sessions, the children read "The Jolly Postman" and created a story map of his route and the characters he met. They have also asked their adults at home about the post they receive, how much the stamps are, and where their post box is.

Reception are visited by an Alien!

EYFS read the story of Beegu, an alien from another world, who somehow gets lost on Earth and wanders off to find some friends. They used the text to think about how they would feel if they found themselves somewhere new and different. They also made up their own planets. We loved Sophie's idea of a family planet!

Understanding the World in Reception

As part of their "Understanding the World" topic, the Reception Children read "Bear's Birthday", exploring their own different birthday experiences with their talk partners.

The office thanked Lois Amelia and Isla for all their help when the girls independently made their own cardboard laptops and wearing their staff lanyards helped Mrs White and Mrs Wolfe answer the phones and emails!  They have started on their career paths very young!

Welcome to Reception!

We were so impressed with how our new Reception Children settled into the school routine so quickly. They made new friends and discussed what they like to do; if they have any brothers or sisters and what they liked about school. They discovered the different resources in their classrooms, enjoyed their lunches and played outside.

The Empty Pot

The children made their own coil pot and wrote instructions for their friends to follow as our focus book was "The Empty Pot". The story about a boy who loves flowers but is unable to grow one in the emperor's contest. It show's how Ping's seeming failure is turned around into a tale of honesty rewarded.

"Immi"

The children read the book "Immi".  The story is set in the frozen North and Immi finds a beautiful wooden bird at the end of her fishing line. Everyday she discovers something new, until her igloo is the brightest in the land. This inspired the children to think about the colours she found, linking them to their emotions and feelings.

Peter Pan Workshop

The children really enjoyed re-enacting the story and searching for Peter's buried treasure during the Peter Pan Workshop. The workshop was led by Perform and included drama, dance and singing.

Pretty Salma

EYFS have been reading the story of "Pretty Salma"as part of this term's topic "Around the World". The children discussed the story, making links to other traditional tales they knew. Using adjectives, they described the items in her basket and enjoyed dressing up in traditional clothing.

Cycle Tots

Reception enhanced their knowledge of road safety, combining it with having lots of fun during the Cycle Tots visit. During the morning they learnt why you must always wear a helmet when riding a bike and how to be aware of other road users. They also learnt the importance of balance, co-ordination and resilience, as well as developing their gross motor skills.

Thinking About Buddhism

We said a very big "thank you" to Mr Garner who talked to the children about Buddhism and his experiences and beliefs. They learnt about meditation and thought about how they could practice it in class.

Reception are Down at the Bottom of the Garden!

Term Five's learning journey is "Down at the Bottom of the Garden" and we started it with a wonderful "WOW" visit to Wakehurst! The children were taken on a tour of the beautiful gardens by the Garden Fairy who taught them about the plants growing in their grounds. They collected twigs, leaves, tree bark and petals to decorate their own crowns and wands. After their delicious lunch they made ephemeral art sculptures before getting the bus back to school.

They retold their day, adding details about what they have learnt for their learning journal.

They also read the book "From Caterpillar to Butterfly". Using the text they learnt about the life cycle of their visitors - the caterpillars! Everyone was excited to see their progress as they slowly evolved into beautiful butterflies and the children have all raced in each day to see the transformation from caterpillars into butterflies.  They were both excited and a little sad as they released them into the wild.

The other focus book was Tadpole's Promise. The children wrote simple sentences about the life cycle of a frog, and discussed the meaning of promises and the concept of forgiveness just like caterpillar and tadpole in the story.

Wonderful Water

Term Four's EYFS topic is Wonderful Water. In literacy the children read "There was an old lady that swallowed the sea" and explored rhyming couplets. They also read "The Night Pirates" and were introduced to a crew of girl-only pirates. The story is about Tom, a boy who joins the crew, which takes him on an adventure across the high seas to steal the treasure from the grown-up pirates. Following this they created their own treasure maps and "Wanted" posters.

They practised their weaving skills and built simple circuits to light up their lighthouses, like the "The Lighthouse Keeper"; and made their own crazy wishes like the "The Fish That Could Wish"!

In literacy the children listened to the poem "Listen" by Brenda Williams. The poem describes the swishing, swirling sounds of the sea and the children imagined the sounds that they would hear standing by the shore.  They took part in a sound lotto game and wrote sentences to predict what they could hear, and walked quietly around the school grounds to listen to all the sounds of Spring.

Knowledge and Understanding

In their Knowledge and Understanding subject, they sorted different creatures into groups beginning to understand their different clarifications.

Construction and Digging!

The children focused on the story "Callum's Incredible Construction Kit". They designed their own machines and wrote instructions for others to follow, just in case they wanted to copy their inventions.

They also became Palaeontologists bringing the story "Dinosaur Dig" to life by discovering some interesting bones in the school digging area.

During their art lessons they looked at real fossils and developed their line drawing to create observational drawings.

Going on a Bear Hunt in Reception!

Reception children started their new term by going on a bear hunt! They built dens and caves, discussed the story, created actions and sounds for each part of the family's journey. They even went on their own Bear Hunt to the woods!