🌟 Welcome to Reception! 🌟

Our teaching team consists of:

😊 RDJ - Mrs Jones (Reception Team Leader), Mrs Boswell & Miss Carrie

😁 RNH - Mrs Hall, Mrs Cadey & Mrs Baumber 

We are Reception 💫 

Important Information 👍

Early Learning Goals 

These are the end of year targets for the children in Reception. 

RECEPTION NEWSLETTER

Home School books 📚 

Please bring your yellow home/school contact book to school every day. This book is to inform the class teacher of any change to collection/drop off routines. It is also used to pass messages or information to your teacher and also to enable the teacher to communicate messages back to parents.

Reading books 📖 

At the start of the year children will bring home a picture book and a sharing/library book. Please share these at home and encourage your child to tell the story using the pictures.

When the children start Read, Write, Inc they will bring home a sound activity or a reading book linked to their phonics group. Please ensure children bring their reading book to school each day. Please practise reading the sounds and words with your child. We recommend the children read a minimum of 3 times a week at home to continue to develop their skills. Please make a note of your child’s reading in their Reading Record.

Homework

Homework books will be sent out each Friday with an activity for your child to complete at home, please help to support your child in completing this. Homework books will be collected in on the following Thursday and homework will be shared in class. 

PE 🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♂️ 

Please send your child to school wearing their PE kit on a Tuesday. They will stay in their kit all day. Please ensure all kit is labelled with your child's name.

💧 Water bottle 

Please send your child to school with a labelled bottle of water each day. This is for their use only throughout the day to keep hydrated.

Planting a seed 🌱 

We received a special delivery from Jack from our story Jack and the Beanstalk. He sent us some planting equipment and some beans…we wonder if they are magic beans? We planted our very own bean in a pot. We gave it some water and put it the sunlight. We are looking forward to watching our plants grow! We can recall the 5 steps and put the steps in order.

Plant Hunt

This term we are learning about plants. We are learning plant names, the needs of plants and the different parts of plants and their important job. We enjoyed going on a plant  hunt around our school grounds. It was fun looking for different plants  and learning their names. 

Superhero Day

We came into school in non-uniform or superhero costumes for Superhero Day. We enjoyed talking about our special costumes and describing our super powers. We had a catwalk in the hall to show off our outfits. It was fun dancing to the Superhero songs together. We made Superhero cities, designed Superhero logos and  drew which character we had dressed up as. We had a fun day celebrating the end of our People who help us topic. 

Easter 🐣 

We have been getting excited for Easter! We have been talking about all the things that we love at Easter time, such as Easter egg hunts, the Easter Bunny and eating chocolate eggs. We have also learnt about why Easter is a special time for Christians. We listened to the Easter story about Jesus and his resurrection. We know Easter is a time to celebrate new life. We have enjoyed going on an Easter egg hunt, writing about Easter and making lots of Easter craft.

Hot Cross Buns 

We have been learning about Easter and today we enjoyed trying hot cross buns. They were delicious! 

Science Boffin Visit 👨‍🔬 

We had an exciting assembly with Boffin Keiran. He showed us an experiment where he made water disappear! He held the cup over our heads and no water came out! He told us that he used nappy powder (sodium and polyacrylate) to make the water disappear. He also showed us some special flash paper which he set alight and it disappeared! It turned from a solid into a gas. Keiran also gave us some defraction glasses which showed the colours of the rainbow in the light. 

Science Week 🧑‍🔬 

This week’s theme is Time. We learnt about dinosaurs that lived millions of years ago. We thought about how we know that dinosaurs existed and were excited to explore real fossils such as a dinosaur tooth and a piece of dinosaur egg shell! We used clay to make our very own dinosaur fossils. Across the week, we worked together to make a papier-mâché volcano. We made our volcano erupt using vinegar, washing up liquid, red food colouring and bicarbonate of soda. It was exciting seeing the ‘lava’ flowing out of our volcano!

Red Nose Day

We came to school in red or non-uniform to celebrate Red Nose Day. We talked about how the money we raised today will help charities in the UK and abroad. We enjoyed making our own red nose pictures.

Supertato

We have loved reading the story Supertato. We can enthusiastically retell the story using our story map. We enjoy telling the story using the props in our small world. We have been drawing characters from the story and writing about Supertato. We were excited to make our very own Supertato using a potato, felt, googly eyes and black tape.

Our Police visit

Chris, Lewis and Olegs the Police Officers came to see us! They told us about their job and how they help to keep people safe. They showed us their important equipment, including a radio, handcuffs, note book, torch and badge. It was fun trying on the Police helmets and hi-vis vests. We enjoying seeing the Police car and hearing the siren - it was very loud.

World Book Day 📕 

We have had lots of fun on World Book day! We enjoyed sharing our costumes and talking about our favourite books. We have been drawing and writing about our favourite characters and making a book mark. Bethany Walker, a children’s author, came to see us. She read us part of her story ‘Do lions hate haircuts?’ and told us about her special job writing books for children. We shared our fantastic entries for our Book in a jar competition and used the clues to guess the book. We also chose a book in our Reception Book Swap.

Our firefighter visit

We had some special visitors! The firefighters came to see us and talk to us about their job. They showed us their fire engine and the special equipment they use in an emergency. We saw the ladders, the hoses, the protective clothing and tools. It was lots of fun to squirt water out of the hose pipe. We heard the loud siren they use when they have to get to an emergency quick. We know that firefighters are very brave and strong.

People who help us

We have been learning about people who help us in our community. We know to call 999 in an emergency for the Police, Fire bridge, Coast guard or ambulance.  We have enjoyed retelling and acting out our story Miss Polly had a Dolly and role playing in our Doctor’s Surgery.  We have been using our imagination in our small world to tell a story about an emergency. We have enjoyed role playing police officers and fire fighters outside.

Mental Health Day 

As part of Children’s Mental Health Week, we listened to the story of The Colour Monster. This story taught us about different feelings and how it is important to talk about how we feel. The Colour Monster was feeling very mixed up and very confused because all of his feelings were mixed together. We discussed different feelings and what makes us happy, sad or angry. We talked about what we could do to help if someone is feeling sad or upset. We enjoyed drawing our own pictures of the Colour Monster and colouring in pictures of the Colour Monster using different colours  to represent different feelings. 

Internet Safety

Internet Safety Day took place on 6th February. We listened to a story about two children Mo and Jaz and learnt how to use the Internet safely. We discussed that if we see something online that makes us worried or frightened that we must tell a trusted adult. We discussed who are trusted adults and that they can help us to keep safe when using the Internet. We also listened to the “Funny Tummy” song which taught us how to stay safe online. 

Dragon Dance 

Chinese New Year

This week we have been learning about Chinese New Year which is also known as Lunar New Year. 2024 is the year of the dragon and we learnt about how a different animal represents different years in the Chinese zodiac. We listened to the story of The Great Race. The celebrations last for 16 days. The first week is celebrated with visits to family and friends following traditions to bring good luck! We learnt that red is a lucky colour. The second week ends with a lantern festival. We have enjoyed tasting Chinese food and eating using chopsticks. We have made paper chain dragons and red Chinese lanterns. We even worked together to make a dragon head and went to the hall to do a special dragon dance. We learnt how to say “Hello,” “Thank you” and “Happy New Year” in Chinese. 

The Polar Bear’s Ice Investigation 

We received a special delivery from the polar bear from our story of The Polar Bear and the Snow Cloud. His friends from the Arctic had accidentally been frozen in the ice and he needed our help to rescue them. We thought of ways to melt the ice to free the animals. We had some brilliant ideas - put next to the radiator, tap it with a spoon, pour warm water over the ice, rub the ice with our hands and pour salt over the ice. We took it in turns with our friends and worked hard to free the animals. We were very excited when we managed to free all of the animals! We talked about which method was best. We found that pouring on warm water melted the ice the quickest. 

Polar animals 🐻‍❄️ 

We have been learning about polar animals that live in the Arctic and Antarctica. We can name the animals and describe them. We have learnt lots of interesting facts about polar bears. We have learnt about the Inuits and how they live in such cold places. It has been lots of fun role playing in our igloo, meeting the polar animals and ice fishing.

Winter ❄️ 

We have been learning about the season Winter. We have been talking and writing about things we can see in Winter. We are hoping to see some frost and snow one day! We have enjoyed creating some winter craft and learning about animals that live in the snow. In our role play area, we have been shop keepers and customers in the Winter Clothes Shop.

World Religion Day

What a fantastic few days we have had in Reception celebrating World Religion Day. We have been looking at the religion Hinduism. We learnt that Hindus worship Gods at a temple called a Mandir and they have a special religious book called a Veda. We have been learning about the Hindu celebration Diwali, which is the Festival of Light. We learnt how to say “Nameste” which is hello in Indian. We found out about the story of Rama and Sita and how people celebrate Diwali. We made diva lamps out of clay and some colourful Rangoli patterns using pastels. We enjoyed learning some Indian dance moves and singing the Diwali song. We even tasted some delicious Indian food, we tried chapatis with mango chutney and raita dip. 

Christmas party day

We came into school in our party clothes. It was fun showing our best dance moves at our disco. We played games such as pass the parcel, musical statues, musical chairs and musical bumps. We enjoyed eating lots of party food too. 

Santa came to see us 🎅 

We had a special visitor- we heard his bells and heard him say “Ho ho ho!”. It was Santa! He asked us if we had been good and if we had written lists for him. We sang some songs together. He told us the reindeer like to eat lots of carrots in their special journey on Christmas Eve. Santa gave us all a present to take home. 

Wriggly Nativity 🌟 

We practised for many weeks to learn our lines and songs to tell the Nativity story. We were excited to wear our costumes and go on the big stage to perform to our grown ups. We did a great job and impressed everyone! We sang our songs enthusiastically and remembered all of our lines, moves and dances. Well done Reception! 👏 

Our visit to Old Clee Church ⛪️ 

We were excited to visit our local church. Reverend Lynne told us all about Advent and the count down to Christmas. She showed us the special candles that are lit on the run up to Christmas. We got to try on the vicar’s special advent robe - it was purple to represent ‘hope’. Mark read a story about the importance of being kind to others. We spoke about the nativity story and we enjoyed looking at the nativity models. We spotted lots of crosses in church and the colourful stained glass windows. We also sang some of our nativity songs in church. It was a very special visit and Reverend Lynne commented on how the Reception children are a credit to our school!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas 🎄 

We are counting down the days to Christmas in Reception! We have been busy making Christmas cards and calendars. We have been learning all about the Nativity story and practising our show Wriggly Nativity. We have had lots of fun in Santa’s workshop making the presents and delivering them on the sleigh. We have been decorating our Christmas tree and creating lots of Christmas craft. A cheeky elf has also appeared in Reception! We have enjoyed spotting him each day and talking about his antics!

Christmas jumper day 🎅 

We have had a very festive day! We came to school in our Christmas jumpers and dresses. We enjoyed designing our own Christmas jumpers. We also had a Christmas dinner in the hall with Christmas music, decorations and crackers! It was delicious!

Road Safety Week

We came to school in our bright coloured clothing for Road Safety week to remind everyone to “Be safe, be seen!” We had a special assembly in the hall. Mark, a Road Safety Advisor from the Humberside and Fire Rescue Service, talked about how we can stay safe when crossing the road. We learnt the special rules - STOP, LOOK, LISTEN AND THINK! Mark used an egg to teach us how important it is to wear a helmet when riding our bikes and scooters. We also watched the silly family and the sensible family in a car crash simulation to show how seat belts keep us safe. In class, we enjoyed making traffic lights and stop and go signs. We listened to Super Cat’s story on how to stay safe when crossing the road.

Children in need day 

We came to school dressed in our Pudsey clothes, spots, fancy dress or pyjamas for Children in need. We talked about how the money raised will help children all around the UK. We enjoyed creating Pudsey bear pictures, finger painting Pudsey’s eye patch and creating our own Pudsey ears. 

Odd Sock Day

Today we came into school wearing our odd socks to celebrate that we are all different and unique. Odd socks is a national event and it is organised by the Anti-bullying Alliance who works to try and stop bullying. We had lots of fun designing our own odd socks and talking about the different ways that we can show kindness both at school and at home. We enjoyed reading the story ‘Did you fill a bucket today?’ which gave us ideas on how to be kind to others.

Remembrance Day  

We learnt about Remembrance Day which is on November 11th. It is an important day to remember the brave soldiers and people who sadly died fighting in the war. We have been wearing our poppies with pride. We have enjoyed drawing our own poppy pictures and making poppies using the playdough.

Bonfire Night

We were excited for Bonfire Night. We shared our experiences of fireworks, talking about the sounds, colours and shapes. We talked about how to stay safe on Bonfire Night and we had a special visitor. Steve the fire fighter came into school to give us some tips on how to stay safe near fire and fireworks. We enjoyed chanting and acting out “STOP, DROP AND ROLL!”. We created our own firework pictures using pastels.

Spooky fun!

We have enjoyed talking about Halloween and sharing how we celebrated this spooky day. We have been reading our new story Room on the Broom and we have had lots of fun retelling the story using words and actions. We have also been enjoying our role play in the Magic Shop. We have been making spooky potions in the Witch’s Kitchen.

Autumn Walk

We have been learning about Autumn and the four seasons. We went on an Autumn Walk around the school grounds and looked for different signs of Autumn. We found lots of different coloured leaves, twigs, fungi, berries, acorns and we even saw a squirrel! We enjoyed talking about the different autumnal colours that we could see. We worked with a partner to collect lots of Autumn objects and we have enjoyed exploring the objects and describing  them back in class. We have been drawing the signs of Autumn and creating Autumnal artwork.

Harvest Festival

We enjoyed coming to school in non-uniform today for Harvest Festival. We learnt that Harvest is a time to be thankful for the food we have. We were all very kind and brought in food to donate to St Andrew’s Hospice. We had a special Harvest assembly with nursery in the hall. It was fun singing our Harvest songs - Dingle Dangle Scarecrow and I can see cherries.

The Little Red Hen

We have enjoyed learning the story of The Little Red Hen. We can retell the story using the story map. The hen’s friends didn’t want to help her to make the bread so in the end she didn’t want to share her bread! We learnt that it is important to help our friends. We have been drawing pictures of the hen and writing her name. We even got a letter from The Little Red Hen. She had sent us some bread to try - it was delicious! 

Rainbow Day🌈

We had lots of fun on Rainbow Day! We came to school dressed in bright colours. We enjoyed talking about different colours and singing the Rainbow song. We spotted the colours in our clothes and discussed which were our favourite colours. We had a Rainbow disco in the hall and enjoyed joining in with lots of dances. We had a colour mixing challenge from the Rainbow Fish. We used finger paint to mix two colours together to make purple, green and orange. We made our own rainbow and enjoyed dot painting pictures of the Rainbow Fish using cotton buds. 

Rainbow Fish

We have been reading the story of The Rainbow Fish. We have learnt how it is important to be a good friend and share, just like the Rainbow Fish shared his shiny scales. We have enjoyed acting out the story and making pictures of the Rainbow Fish. We have been learning about other sea creatures that live under the ocean and have enjoyed learning different under the sea songs and dances.  

Settling into Reception 

We have all settled into our Reception unit and had lots of fun together! We have been making friends and exploring both our inside and outside environments.