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Autumn Term 1 (2023 - 2024)

Autumn 1, Week 8 

We have reached the end of the first half term – wow! The children have been absolutely amazing and have started school very positively. The final week of half term has been ‘Awe and Wonder’ week, where the children learn a little bit about a different religion. This week’s  focus was on Hinduism. Reception learned about the story of ‘Rama and Sita’ and enjoyed talking about what happened in that story.  The children were introduced to Diwali and made some comparisions between Diwali and Bonfire Night. Reception became scientists and, like the rest of the school, learned about a famous scientist. EYFS learned some information about a Solar Eclipse and created a simple painting to represent what  happens.

 

The children behaved perfectly on their village walk, and were able to identify key features of the environment and discuss whether they were man made or created by God. Reception’s skills in PE are continuing to develop. This week the children solidified their handball knowledge and even got to take part in shooting practice! How exciting!

 

Well done for a super first term Reception, we are so proud of you. Enjoy your half term and we will see you when we come back!

Autumn 1, Week 7

Wow! What another busy week Reception have had! First of all, how superb were they in their Harvest Liturgy? We are very proud of the children. They were so brave performing to a large audience and they sang their songs beautifully, well done!

 

This week the children have focused a lot on God’s creations. They developed their fine motor skills by practicing cutting out pictures from magazines which showed examples of God’s creations. The children also used to playdough to represent all of the wonderful things that God made. Reception went litter picking around the school grounds to ensure that they are showing stewardship – caring for God’s gifts and this means looking after the environment that God created for us.

 

As mini-scientists, the children have continued to explore their outside environment and have enjoyed talking about the change of seasons, exploring autumn and predicting what changes they will see outside next week!

 

Following on from listening to the story ‘ It was a cold, dark night’ by Tim Hopgood, the children wanted to make a house for a hedgehog, just like in the story. In outdoor learning this week, the children worked as a team to find natural resources and developed their problem solving skills by building a house for a hedgehog. He loved his new homes! Look how amazing there were!

Autumn 1, Week 6

This week, the children have enjoyed a week full of Harvest activities! This included playing in our Harvest small world tuff tray and baking hedgehog bread rolls! I was incredibly impressed with how well behaved the children were when they were baking and their patience and turn taking was fantastic. You can see how well Reception did, by looking at the photos below.

 

Reception continued to practice their songs for the Harvest Liturgy - ‘I’m a Little Hedgehog’, ‘What do we do at Harvest Time?’ and ‘Jack Patches’. They are getting so good at singing these songs with confidence now and I cannot wait for you to see them perform these songs next week!

 

This week the children were continuing to learn about God’s creation. They worked together and cut out images of things or people that God created and stuck it onto an A3 sheet, to celebrate all the amazing things that God created. The children also decided to represent some of these creations using playdough and natural objects such as leaves and sticks. They had so much fun doing this!

 

Friday was Reception’s first lesson in ‘Handball’. The children learned what a chest pass was and learned the rule of not moving with the ball, unless it was a pivot. Reception practiced their throwing and catching skills with partners and had lots of fun!

Autumn 1, Week 5
We have had another busy week in our EYFS classroom! Reception began exploring the number 6 and helped Colin with his maths mistakes again which the children love to do. They are getting really good with their mathematical knowledge and by helping Colin see ‘what it is not’, secures their understanding in ‘what it is’!

In Religious Education, the children have continued to learn about God’s creation of humans and His love for them. Reception enjoyed the RE activities such as designing their own cross, making their family tree, printing family portraits with their fingerprints and practising making the sign of the cross in a mirror. In RSHE the children have learned about different ways to look after their bodies and keep them healthy and well.

During our outdoor learning session the children made nature puppets. They had so much fun designing them and then finding natural objects to add to their puppet! Reception used this time to think about everything that God created and understood that we need to look after the world, just as God would want us to.

The children have been busy bees in their daily phonics sessions and are getting so confident at reading and writing their CVC words. We have moved onto learning more Common Exception Words now and I am so impressed with their dedication throughout each phonics lesson – keep it up Reception, you are already doing so well with your reading and writing! Well done you!

Autumn 1, Week 4
I cannot believe that the children are half way through their first term at ‘Big School’! The children are doing so well and I am so proud of every child in my class.

This week the children learned more about their families! Reception have been learning that God made them and their families and we should show love and care to our family members, just as God wants us to. The children have drawn their family and we are so proud of their work it will be going up on display in our art area!

On Thursday the children attended their first whole school Mass and met Father Philip for the first time! I was so proud of my children – they were quiet, respectful and brilliantly behaved and Father Philip could not believe it was their first time in church! Well done Reception!

The children have enjoyed their first week of Show and Tell and Wheelie Wednesday. They have had so much fun showing friends their favourite toys and zooming around on their scooters! During outdoor learning this week the children created nature silhouettes, drawing around each other in chalk and adding details using the nature around them. It was so wonderful to hear the children’s laughter and joy as they completed this activity.

 

Autumn 1, Week 3
It's been a wet and windy week but this has not stopped Reception from being outside and exploring the world around them! The children have enjoyed exploring nature and making nature faces and have been using their imagination to create bonfires using the resources they found in our outdoor area.
 
In RE Reception learned about God making them and knowing them by name. The children practiced writing their name in glitter and using the magnetic letters to build their name. They thought about things that make them special and things that they love and made 'Me Soup' - putting all of these things into one big bowl! Our focus in Class Prayers this week was St Therese. The children learned that she was kind and wanted to help through small acts of kindness. Reception thought about how they could be kind and loving to others.
 
The children have been doing so well with their phonics and have began writing some CVC words such as 'dad' and 'dip'. They are reciting the sounds they have learned each day and are joining in with the actions to help them remember each sound. Reception are beginning to blend words to read and segment words to spell and I am so impressed with how well they are doing!
 
We have been looking at our families and who we live with. This week the children represented their families using small pebbles. They had so much fun doing this and it was wonderful to hear the children talking so lovingly about their family members (including pets!)
 
In Maths, Reception have been continuing to explore numbers up to 5 by making marks when they hear sounds or see movements, they are representing 5 on a number track and they are helping Colin (our class reindeer), when he struggles with his numbers and counting! Well done Reception, you are super stars!
Autumn 1, Week 2
What another wonderful week the children have had! First of all, I want to say how proud I am of all my children - they have been super stars with their lunches this week! They have all sat in the hall, with other classes and have enjoyed eating yummy food and socialising with their friends!
Reception started playing on the playground with the older children this week too which has been so much fun! The year 6 children are wonderful at looking out for the Reception children and are looking forward to learning who their buddies are next week!
 
This week the children have started maths sessions, where they have been learning how to count to 5. Reception have used cuddly toys, cubes and number lines to help them as they count.
We began phonics this week, learning the phonemes s, a, t, p. The children can now recall these sounds and make the appropriate action for each sound - well done!
 
The children have loved their independent learning time this week, building dens, playing with dinosaurs, playing in the sandpit and water tray, and colouring to make beautiful pictures. In PE reception began learning the rules of rugby and had such fun running around and playing with the rugby balls!
 
Well done again Reception, I can't wait for us to share full days together from next week!
Autumn 1, Week 1
 
Wow, what an amazing week Reception have had! All the children have started school with such a positive attitude and I am so proud of each one of them already!
 
We have had a busy week learning about school expectations, making friends and exploring our environment. The children have been playing both indoors and outside and have loved using the log trail everyday as well! We have read a new story each day and it has been added to our story corner bookshelf so that we have books that are familiar to us. We have painted our portraits as the first activity for our 'Marvellous Me!' topic and we commented on features that were similar or different to our friends. We practiced some PE skills today to show Miss Berry and Mrs Hill how clever we are at PE.
 
I am looking forward to another wonderful week with my little ones. Well done Reception you have been amazing!