🌟 Welcome to Reception! 🌟

Our teaching team consists of:

😊 RDJ - Mrs Jones (Reception Team Leader), Mrs Cadey and Mrs Taylor

😁 RNH - Mrs Hall and Mrs Adams

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 📖 

Children will bring home 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 Monday. 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.

Our Reception Classes

Fruit Kebabs

We have been designers! We made a fruit kebab using the fruit that The Very Hungry Caterpillar had in the story. We practised our careful cutting and peeling skills. We threaded the fruit on to a skewer. We enjoyed trying the different fruit and talking about the taste and texture. It was delicious! 😋 

Our butterflies 🦋 

We were very excited when our butterflies emerged from their cocoons! They are Painted Lady butterflies. We enjoyed watching them move around the net and testing out their wings. We gave them fruit, flowers and sugar water to eat. We were keen to talk about our butterflies and spot their colourful wings, long legs, antennae and long tongue. After a few days we knew it was time to release them into the big wide world. We took them outside and watched as our teacher opened the net. Some of the butterflies flew away straight away. Some of them stayed with us for a while and they even went on our hands. Fly butterfly fly! We will miss you! 

Sports Day 🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️ 

The Reception children did an amazing job on Sports Day! They tried their best in all of the events and made their grown up and teachers so proud. They impressed us with their super speed and stamina, and their amazing throwing and jumping skills. They earned lots of points for their class. Great team work! 🏆 A big thank you to all of the parents and carers who came to watch and cheer us on.

RNH

ZooLab Visit 🕷 

As part of our minibeast topic, we had some very exciting visitors! Eleanor from ZooLab brought us some animals to see - a tree frog, a tarantula, a giant millipede, a cockroach and a corn snake. We learnt lots of interesting facts about the animals. We worked out if they were minibeasts or other animals. We know that minibeasts do not have a skeleton inside their body. We were very brave and got to touch or hold some of the animals! 

Our Caterpillars 

We received a special delivery...the box said to open immediately! Inside we found a letter from The Very Hungry Caterpillar! He had sent us some of his caterpillar friends to look after. Each class has a pot with 5 tiny caterpillars. We have been excited to watch them each day and see how they are changing. 
Our caterpillars have now made cocoons! We are so excited to see them change into butterflies. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 🐛 

We have been learning the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We have enjoyed acting out the story together and discussing the lifecycle of a butterfly. We have been drawing pictures and writing sentences about the story. We have been outside searching for mini beasts.

We are story tellers 📖 

We have really enjoying retelling the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. It was fun acting out the story together using the masks and props in the classroom and in our woods area. We also hot seated characters from the story. We thought of questions for each character and came up with interesting answers! 

Magic bean soup 🥣 

We worked together to make magic bean soup! We carefully grated and cut the vegetables. We poured in the beans and tomatoes. We added the herbs and stirred it in the big pot. We went to our forest school to cook the soup over a fire pit. It was fun eating the soup outside, it was delicious! 

Plant hunt 🌸 

We went on a plant hunt around our school grounds. It was fun looking for different plants and learning their names.

Our plants 🌱 

We were excited to watch our plants grow this term. We enjoyed talking about what we could see and how tall our plants were growing. We measured our plant using a ruler. We drew and wrote about our plants.

The King’s coronation 👑 🇬🇧 

We have been learning about King Charles III and his special coronation day. We have enjoyed designing crowns and Union Jack flags. On Friday, we came to school dressed in red, white and blue. As a special treat, we all had jelly and ice cream. We had a big get together with the whole school to celebrate the coronation. We had a big procession into the playground to sing the National Anthem together. We enjoyed dancing to the school Samba band.

Planting 🌱 

We received a special delivery - it was from Jack from our story Jack and the beanstalk! He sent us some equipment to plant a bean. We followed steps to plant our own broad bean:
First, put soil in a pot.

Then, put 2 seeds in.

Next, put soil on top. After that, water it.

Finally, put it in the sun.

We are excited to watch our plants grow! In our Talk for writing, we have been stating the instructions and putting the steps in the correct order.

Plants 🪴 

Our new topic this term is Plants. We have been learning about the parts of a plant and what plants need to grow. We have enjoyed reading and acting out our story Jack and the beanstalk. We have been role playing in our Garden centre and Flower Shop. We have done some fantastic colour mixing to paint our own flower pictures.

Our car 🚘  

We have been using our imagination to think where we could drive in our new Old Clee car! We have been driving to Cleethorpes, the Lake District and even Spain! We remember to put our seat belts on so we are safe. We are good at sharing and have been taking it in turns to be the driver. I wonder where we will drive next? 

Easter fun 🐣 

We enjoyed talking about Easter and the things we like to do to celebrate, such as eating chocolate eggs and going on an Easter egg hunt. We learnt about the Easter story and how Easter is a special time for Christians to remember Jesus. We enjoyed making our own Easter cards and bunny ears. We tried hot cross buns, they were delicious! 

Careers Day

We had lots of fun on careers day! We enjoyed sharing our costumes and talking about the jobs we would like to do when we grow up. First, we had a talk from the NE Lincolnshire Council Road Safety Education Team. We talked about how to cross the road safely and we even dressed up in a Lollipop Person’s uniform. We listened to a story about Ted and practised crossing the road safely. Next, we met the Firefighters. We enjoyed looking the fire engine and we even squirted water from the fire hose. We took it in turns to sit in the fire engine. We saw all of the different equipment they carry including the extendable ladder, face mask and oxygen tank to help them breathe when they are rescuing people from fires. They showed us their different uniforms that they wear. One is for rescuing people and the other protects them when they are putting out fires. The siren on the fire engine was very loud! After that, we saw the paramedics. They talked about their important job and how they help people and take them to hospital in an emergency. They wear a special green uniform and drive an ambulance. Finally, we met an author. She read us one of her stories about Olliebobs, Duke and the sneaky tiger. She told us that she is writing five more books! We also drew pictures and wrote about who we want to be when we grow up. 

Our visit to Old Clee Church ⛪️ 

We were excited to visit our local church. We met Reverend Lynne and Mark and they took us on a tour of the church. We saw the alter, the font, the bell tower, the organ and the pews. It was amazing to see the beautiful stained glass windows - we spotted Mary and baby Jesus on one of them. We got to dress up in the vicar’s special robes. We talked about special occasions when people go to church, such as weddings and christenings. Some children were chosen to walk down the aisle and ‘get married’. Reverend Lynne told us about the Easter story and we spotted the cross in the church. 

Red nose day 

We came to school in our non-uniform or superhero costumes for Red Nose Day. We enjoyed talking about our superhero costumes and describing our favourite characters. We had a catwalk in the hall to show off our outfits.  It was fun dancing to the Superhero songs together. We made a red nose face and our own superhero masks. We tested our super speed and super balance with some races on the field. 

We made Supertato! 🥔 

We followed instructions to make our very own Supertato model. We used a potato, black tape, felt and googly eyes. We put a ‘S’ on his belt for Supertato. We enjoyed using our superhero to tell the story.

Superheroes

As part of our People who help us topic, we have been learning about superheroes. We have enjoyed talking about our favourite characters and their super powers. We have been painting and drawing superheroes. We have been writing sentences about our favourite superheroes. In maths, we have been measuring superheroes and their footprints. Our Talk for writing story is Supertato. We have enjoyed retelling the story using the props in our small world.

Road Safety

We went to a special assembly to learn about Road Safety. We learnt about the importance of wearing a seat belt in a car and a helmet on a bike. We enjoyed listening to a story about Road Safety and we learnt some tips from Super Cat about how to cross the road safely. We made our own road signs.

Our Special Visitors 👮‍♂️ 

We had some very special visitors as part of our People who help us topic. The Police came to visit us and showed us their uniform and equipment. They talked about their job and how they help lots of people. PC Nick and PC Olegs showed us their Police car. It was fun sitting inside the police car and turning on the siren - it was very loud! We even tried on their helmet! Back in class we enjoyed creating Police pictures.

World Book Day 📚 

It was wonderful to see everyone’s fantastic costumes on World Book Day! We enjoyed talking about  who we were dressed up as and sharing our books. We drew and wrote about our characters and made a book mark.

People who help us

We have been learning about people who help us in the community. We have enjoyed role playing doctors, police officers and firefighters with our friends. We have learnt the story Miss Polly had a Dolly for our Talk for writing. It is fun using the props to act out the story.

Pancake day 🥞 

We have learnt all about Shrove Tuesday and how to make pancakes. We enjoyed choosing our own toppings for our pancakes - they were delicious! We have been writing shopping lists and writing about our yummy pancakes. It was fun doing the ‘I like pancakes’ dance. We enjoyed listening to the funny story ‘Mr Wolf’s pancakes’.

❄️ Elsa and Anna came to see us! ❄️ 

Elsa was so impressed that we had rescued her friends from the ice that she came all the way from Arendelle to see us! We were super excited to meet them! We enjoyed singing Frozen songs together. We told Elsa all about our ice investigation.

Elsa’s ice investigation 🧊 

We received a special delivery from Elsa. She had accidentally frozen her sister and her friends and she needed our help! We thought of ways to melt the ice and rescue the characters. We had some brilliant ideas - put it in the sun, put it on the radiator, tap it with a spoon, put salt on it and pour on warm water. We worked hard all day to get the characters out of the ice. We were very excited when we finally rescued them all! We talked about which method was the best. We found that pouring on warm water melted the ice the quickest.

Number day

On Number day we did some fun maths activities. We worked together to make a big number line up to 20. We used the numicon to practise our numbers. We challenged ourselves to find a partner and work out our doubles facts.

Maths workshop

We were excited to invite our parents into Reception to show them how we learn maths. The children showed their grown ups lots of activities including number of the day, number bonds to 10, number ordering and careful counting. There was a real buzz in the classrooms! A big thank you to all who joined us!

Chinese New Year

This week we have been learning about Chinese New Year which is also known as Lunar New Year. 2023 is the year of the rabbit and we learnt how different animal represent different years in the Chinese zodiac. 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 some Chinese food this week and making lanterns and fans. We even worked together to made 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. We have written sentences about what we can see during Chinese New Year Celebrations. 

Dragon Dance 

RNH

Martin Luther King Day

We learnt about Martin Luther King and his dream for everyone to be treated equally. We talked about how it is important to be kind and respectful to everyone. We know that we are all special and unique. We made ‘Be kind’ posters and drew pictures of our friends. We painted our friends hands to make handprints to make a big class heart.

Winter 

Brrrr it’s cold outside! We have been exploring the winter season. We have been talking about the winter weather and looking for signs of winter outside. We have been writing sentences about what we can see in our winter pictures. We have been talking about what clothes we need to wear to keep warm in winter. We have been reading lots of stories about winter. In the role play area we have enjoyed visiting the winter cafe and drinking hot  chocolate and eating delicious cakes and toast to keep us warm.  

Christmas party day! 🎉 

We came to school in our party clothes. It was fun showing our best dance moves at the disco with Year 1. We played party games such as pass the parcel, musical statues and musical chairs. 

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 all if we had been good and if we had written our lists for him. We sang Rudolph the red nose reindeer together. He told us the reindeer like to eat lots of carrots on their special journey on Christmas Eve. Santa gave us all a present to take home. We enjoyed talking about what we like to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve and the presents that we would like. 

Christmas dinner 🌟 

We discussed what we have on a traditional Christmas dinner. We talked about our favourite part of our dinner. We enjoyed having our Christmas dinner together in the hall with lots of Christmas decorations and Christmas music. It was fun pulling the crackers with our friends! 

It’s snowing! ❄️ 

We were so excited to see the snow today! We put on our warm clothes and went outside. It was freezing! We enjoyed seeing the snow fall and catching the snowflakes. We touched the snow and frost, it was so cold. We noticed frosty cob webs and some ice. It was slippery outside so we had to be careful. We enjoyed drawing Winter pictures and writing Winter words back in class.

Old toys

Our elf brought us some old toys to explore. It was fun looking at the toys and working out how to use them. We talked about how the old toys are different to the toys we have these days…although they are still lots of fun!

Our elf 

A magic elf came to our class on the 1st of December! Each morning we enjoy spotting him and talking about what he has been up to! We have enjoyed talking about our elves at home too, some of them are very cheeky! We know he is watching us to check that we are being good! 

A little Nativity ⭐️ 

We learnt the Nativity story about the birth of baby Jesus. We have been busy practising lots of lines and songs to tell the story. We were excited to wear our special costumes and perform to our grown ups on the big stage. We did a fantastic job with loud, clear voices! Our teachers and grown up were very proud of us! 

Christmas fun 🎅 🌲 

We are getting excited for Christmas! We have been counting the days down to the big day and talking about our Christmas traditions. It was fun role playing in our Santa’s workshop with our friends. We have been writing Christmas words and making lots of Christmas crafts. We made our own Christmas cards and learnt how to write a Christmas greeting. We also learnt about why we celebrate Christmas. We learnt about the Nativity story and the birth of baby Jesus.

Christmas Jumper Day

Today we came into school wearing our Christmas jumpers to help to raise money for a charity called Save the Children. This charity helps to make the world a better place for children all over the world. We enjoyed designing our own Christmas jumpers too! 

Christmas phonics

We had a lovely, fun morning practising our phonics in a very Christmassy way! We enjoyed splatting the Christmas words that we could read, sounding out clothes for Fred the frog to wear, posting sounds in the letter box and finger paint sound splat. 

Potion Making 

We received a special delivery from the witch in our story. She sent us some spooky ingredients to make our own potions! We carefully poured the ingredients into our cauldrons and then added the magic powder. We waved our wand and said our magic words and WOW our potions were amazing!! We enjoyed talking about what was happening and explaining what the potion would turn us into!

Room on the Broom

We have enjoyed learning the story of Room on the Broom. It is fun acting out the story in our small world area and retelling our story through talk for writing. We have been learning how to write the character names and sounding out spooky words. We have created lots of witch and wizard craft! We have had fun with our friends making spooky food in the witch’s kitchen. We have also been talking about what we would put in our own magic potions.

Healthy teeth 🦷 

We had a visit from Tracey, our Oral Health Promotion Officer. She came to teach us about dental hygiene and how to look after our teeth. We talked about how it is important to brush our teeth twice a day - in the morning and before bedtime. We sorted food into two different groups - food that is good for your teeth and food that is bad for your teeth. We learnt about the amount of sugar in different types of food. We all received our very own toothbrush to take home. 

World Cup 2022 ⚽️ 

To celebrate the start of the World Cup 2022 we came to school dressed in red and white clothes or our football kit to support England. We enjoyed taking part in different activities linked to football - we designed a football kit, created a football cutting picture and made an England flag. We enjoyed watching England’s first game against Iran and cheered them on! We were super excited when England scored a goal and we were very proud when England won the match 6-2! 

Children  in Need 

To celebrate Children in Need we came into school dressed in Pudsey clothes, fancy dress or pyjamas. We had lots of fun showing and talking about our outfits. We took part in a special Children in Need dance called Jump up and Dance. Throughout the day we had lots of fun making Pudsey pictures and learning how to write his name. We also made Pudsey ears and finger painted a spotty eye patch for Pudsey. At the end of the day, we listened to a story about togetherness. We were proud that our donations will help other children.

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 how we can be kind all of the time both at school and at home. 

Remembrance Day 

On November 11th we learnt about Remembrance Day. It is an important day to remember all of the brave soldiers and the people who sadly died fighting in the war. We wore our poppies and at 11am we took part in a two minute silence to remember the soilders. We enjoyed painting poppies and drawing poppies. 

Bonfire Night

We were all so 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. We had a special assembly all about fire safety and Fireman Sam gave us some safety tips too. We enjoyed creating our own drawings and pastel pictures of fireworks. It was fun using the scarves and streamers outside to make firework shapes and sounds. 

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 acting out the story using the masks and props. We have also been enjoying our role play in the Witch’s kitchen and Magic Shop.

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 twigs, berries, acorns and leaves. We discovered lots of different coloured leaves on the trees and on the ground. 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 enjoyed naming and describing the items back in class.

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 we voted for our favourite colour. We had a rainbow disco in the hall with nursery. We had a colour mixing challenge from the Rainbow Fish. We used finger paint to mix two colours together to make orange, purple and green. We made our own rainbow using coloured paper, cotton wool and a paper plate.

Internet Safety

We went to a special assembly to find out how to stay safe when we use computers. We listened to a story about a boy called Billy and learnt some tips on how to use the Internet safely. We sat smartly in assembly and listened really well. The visitor and our teachers were very proud of us!

Recycling week

The early years children enjoyed taking part in our very first Book Swap! They were excited to look at all the books and find a new book to take home.

We have been learning about how we can look after the world. We made a poster about what we can recycle. We talked about the importance of putting other litter into the bin. We were disappointed to see lots of litter on our school field so we had a team of litter pickers to help tidy up the school grounds! 

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 practising writing some of the character names from the story.

Settling into Reception 

We have all settled into our new classes and had lots of fun together! We have been making new friends and exploring our inside and outdoor areas.