What a super week!
In literacy, we found out lots of new facts about penguins and compared the two polar regions. The children chose their favourite fact and wrote it in a sentence.
In music, the children continued learning about pulse through movement. They listened carefully to the song When the cold wind blows again and responded appropriately by using coordinated movements with the parachute.
In maths, the children continued to develop their understanding of composition, or the numbers within numbers. We used the Hungarian number pattern (die pattern) to explore ways to represent numbers. By using this die pattern, it is helping the children understand the ‘5-ness’ of 5.
We started by sing the ‘5 Little Aliens in a Flying Saucer’ song to help us see remember the pairs of numbers that make 5. When another alien joined the gang, they quickly realised there was no space! HN said, “We need to build another spaceship.” Therefore, we used a double dice frame to begin to explore 6 and 7 as numbers that are composed of ‘5 and a bit’.
Outside, the children had fun making their own track games for their friends to play.
Have a look at what else we have been up to this week.
Home-Link Challenge
Finally, a new maths app has come out called 1-minute maths. If you download the app, we recommend using the subitising section.
This week’s bible story
Moses: Exodus 20.1-17
Moses is one of the great biblical heroes and is revered by Christians, Jews, and Muslims. There are many stories about this great and inspirational leader, but one of the things that we most associate with Moses is the Ten Commandments. The ten commandments are ten instructions about the way people should live if they are to be happy and live together in peace.
Read the story of Moses and the ten commandments.
Moses tried to keep the people’s spirits high and led them on through the desert until they came to the Oasis of Sinai. Here, there was water and food and they could set up their tents for a while. It was on Mount Sinai that God gave Moses a list of rules about the best way to live.
Reflection:
The first three commandments are about loving God, but the others are about loving other people. The world would not be a good place if everyone just did whatever they felt like doing all the time. If there were no rules, people could do bad or unkind things and get away with it. Rules are important so that we learn about what is right and wrong, good and bad, helpful and unhelpful. Rules are there for a reason: to help us stay safe.
In the New Testament part of the Bible, Jesus spoke about a new commandment that has two parts. He stated that people should love God and love others. How could we do that today?
Prayer
Dear God,
Help us to see that rules are there to keep us safe and happy.
Help us to love other people and to act in a way that shows care for them.
Help us to follow the best ways.
Be near to us when we find it difficult.
Guide us to live together in peace and harmony.
Amen.
Lost and Found & more…
In literacy, we continued reading the story Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers.
We began by re-reading the story and talking about what we already know about Antarctica.
IM – It is very cold in Antarctica.
ZS – Penguins live in Antarctica.
CW – Antarctica is at the bottom of the world. It is also called the South Pole.
We talked about what the boy and the penguin would need to pack for their journey. The children came up with lots of fantastic suggestions.
FJ – A coat to keep them warm.
JD – A bowl to put their snacks in.
PB – A hat to keep the boy’s head warm.
For our writing challenge this week, we pretended we were going on a journey to the South Pole. Everybody successfully wrote a list of things they would pack in their suitcase.
On Tuesday, we closed our eyes and imagined what we would do if a penguin was standing at our door. The children shared their ideas using the stem sentence: If I found a penguin, I would…
SF – take it to the park and put it on the swings and slides.
OR – give it breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then put it to bed under my bed.
PB – take it shopping for some pretty dresses.
RF – play lots of games with it.
Some of the children had a go at writing their idea. Check out their amazing writing!
In Phonics, we recapped all of the phase 2 sounds. The children are really starting to show off their amazing phonics skills when doing their independent learning in the areas of provision. Thank you to those that have managed to get online and read your child’s eBook with them. A new book is issued each Friday.
Little Wandle has some great resources for parents, including videos and information sheets. Click here to find out more about supporting reading at home.
Reception had a fantastic PE lesson this week! We practised bouncing, throwing, and catching a ball. The children initially practised bouncing and catching the ball standing still. When they felt confident with that, we tried bouncing and catching the ball on the move. After that, we practised throwing and catching skills. A lot of children found this very tricky, but they didn’t give up!
And more…
Take a look at some more amazing learning from this week:
Diary Dates…
Tuesday 15 & Thursday 17 February – Parent-Teacher meetings
Monday 28 February – School closed: training day
Thursday 03 March – World Book Day
Home-Link Challenge
This week’s bible story
The Lost Sheep: Luke 15.3-7
Have you ever received a card with the words ‘Love from . . .’ written in it.
What do you think the words mean. ‘What does “love” mean?’
The dictionary defines it as ‘a strong feeling of affection’.
Think about things that they love. Who are the people whom they love? Who loves you? How does it feel to be loved?
There are times when everyone feels alone or unloved. Maybe we have done something wrong and are in trouble, or maybe we just feel down in the dumps and it makes us feel like no one cares about us very much.
Christians believe that no matter what happens to us, God always loves us. There are many stories in the Bible about God loving people. One of them is the story of the lost sheep. In this story, the shepherd loses a sheep, but cares for it so much that he looks and looks until the sheep is found again.
Read the story from Luke 15.3-7. The story makes the point that no matter how many of us there are in our school, our family or the world, each one of us matters to God. Remembering this can help us never to feel alone and always to feel special.
Reflection:
Let’s think about the people who care for us and show us love.
Pause to allow time for thought.
Let’s think about the people whom we love. How can we show love to them?
Pause to allow time for thought.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the people who love and care for me.
Please help me to show them that I am grateful and a happier person because of it.
Being loved makes me feel safe and happy. I feel warm inside and special.
Help me to love others so that they may feel that way, too.
Help those people who feel lonely and sad.
May they remember that they are loved by you and are never alone because you are always there.
Thank you for loving me.
Amen.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! We hope that you all had a fantastic Christmas. It was lovely to see lots of happy smiling faces when I opened the classroom door on Tuesday morning. We particularly enjoyed listening to all of their wonderful Christmas memories.
Now that Christmas is over, we head into a very cold and frost half-term. However, we love the frosty weather in Reception because it’s a fantastic stimulus for our ‘mini’ topic: Frozen Planet. Throughout the next three weeks, we will investigate ice, use our senses to describe how the weather has changed. We will also look at the coldest regions on Earth and learn about different Polar animals.
This week the children enjoyed being back with their friends and have been settling back into their daily routines.
Here are some highlights from a fantastic first week back.
Making igloos with sugar cubes.
Reading the new winter books in the igloo.
Making different arrangements with five 2d shapes.
The small world and construction area was a very busy area this week. We saw lots of great teamwork, designs, and building skills.
Reading
Yesterday, your child brought home a letter explaining our new phonics scheme (Little Wandle) and the new Collins e-books. Please make sure you read this letter. If you have any questions about this, please do ask!
Moving forwards, your child will read in school at least three times a week. After your child has read in school, your child will be assigned the same book as an e-book every Friday for them to show off their reading skills. They will also bring home an extra physical book to read at home.
Library books will continue to be changed every Thursday.
What will my child bring home to support their reading?
- E-book – assigned every Friday
- Extra physical book – changed every Friday
- Libary book – changed every Thursday
Reminders
- The weather is very mixed at the moment. Remember to wear a warm, waterproof coat to school and bring a named hat and pair of gloves.
- PE is every Wednesday. Please make sure your child comes to school wearing the correct clothes. If you are unsure and need a reminder, please see our uniform policy.
- Due to the current situation, the stay and learn sessions (20/01 & 07/02) are cancelled.
Home-Link Challenge
This week’s bible story
‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.’ (1 Corinthians 13.4-8)
In February, we celebrate Valentines Day. This was originally the day for the Church to celebrate or remember St Valentine, but over time, it has developed into a day to send cards, buy presents or flowers and celebrate love. What do you think love means?
Watch this video of Anna and Hans from Frozen. Anna and Hans have apparently fallen head over heels in love: love at first sight! Ask the children what love looks like to Anna and Hans. There is so much more to love than this. Love is something that we all experience, and in different ways: the love of parents or carers, of grandparents, siblings, friends . . . these are all different types of love, but they all give us a glimpse of what love is.
Reflection:
There is a passage in the Bible that tells us more about what love is like. It is a passage that is often read at weddings.
‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.’ (1 Corinthians 13.4-8)
This definition sets the bar pretty high! In truth, as human beings, we do boast and we aren’t always patient and kind. However, when we feel love, we get to experience the qualities in this definition, such as patience and kindness.
Christians believe that love is God’s gift to earth, so when Jesus came to earth and died on the cross, he did it to demonstrate this love.
How we can show this love to others. How can we be the people to demonstrate love in the world around us?
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for your gift of love.
Please help us to show this love to other people.
Amen.
Christmas week
It’s been a very busy exciting last week in Reception.
At the start of the week, the children enjoyed doing some Christmas activities…
Making reindeer food.
We hope you remember to sprinkle your magical reindeer food outside on Christmas Eve.
Having fun (and getting very sticky!) making Christmas decorations.
On Wednesday, Miss Feldman kindly brought in some freshly baked Gingerbread Men for us to decorate.
After decorating our Gingerbread Men, it was time to sit down for Christmas dinner. It was lovely to see the children enjoying their Christmas dinner, laughing together, and pulling crackers with their friends.
After eating our Christmas dinner, the excitement continued… it was time to PARTY! We were amazed at the children’s dance moves. They popped, boogied, and danced the afternoon away.
After some party games, we sat down to eat our party food and watched a video from Santa.
Finally, we hope you have a happy and healthy Christmas. Enjoy spending some quality time with friends and family.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year from all of the Reception Team!
Christmas Dinner
What an amazing Christmas dinner we have all had together. The kitchen staff have been beavering away so that we could enjoy our traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings (plus vegetarian option!) 
We all enjoyed sharing a joke or fact from our Christmas crackers.
It was great to celebrate as a whole school family.
Some of our nursery children joined us too!
Key Stage 2 all made party hats to dazzle us with. You may even spot a few sporting a moustache.
So thank you to our amazing staff!
This week’s bible story
Perseverance despite circumstances: Daniel 6:1-28 (omit verse 24)
Read the story of Daniel (omit verse 24 for younger or sensitive children)
Daniel was captured, along with many more of God’s people, and taken to live in a foreign country. In this country, they had different traditions and customs and it was not acceptable to worship God. But Daniel chose to continue serving God. Even though it meant that he was risking death, Daniel knelt down and honoured God by praying three times a day.
When the king discovered that Daniel was breaking the law by praying to God, he had Daniel thrown into a den of hungry lions. God stood by Daniel and rewarded his unwavering commitment to righteousness by protecting him from being eaten by the lions.
Reflection:
Do you think Daniel was lazy, or a hard worker?
When Daniel found out that he would be thrown into a lion’s den if he continued to pray, what did he do?
Why do you think Daniel continued to kneel down to pray instead of praying quietly in his head so that others could not see that he was praying?
How did God reward Daniel’s perseverance?
Prayer:
Dear God,
We can often end up in situations when life feels hard or difficult or when we feel we are out on a limb compared to everyone else.
Help us to persevere when times are tough.
Amen
Christmas production and Christingle
The Christmas production is live!
Make sure you scroll down our class news page to watch it. Well done to all the Reception children. You really were the STARS of the show!
Christingle
On Tuesday, we made our Christingles. We talked about the different parts and what they mean.
The orange represents the world.
The candle represents Jesus being the light of the world.
The raisins represent God’s creations in the four seasons.
The red tape represents the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross.
The children were fantastic at following instructions when making their own Christingles.
Yesterday, we walked to St James’ Parish Church to join the rest of the school at the Christingle service. You wouldn’t;t have thought it was their first time because they were all so sensible – well done Reception! A big thank you to the four Reception parents that helped us get there and back in one piece.
Talk to your child about the Christingle service and see if they can remember the meaning.
Next week…
Wednesday 15 December
Christmas party day
Your child can wear non-uniform.
&
Christmas dinner day
Your child will be bringing home lots of lovely Christmas things on Wednesday. Please make sure your child brings a labelled carrier bag by Wednesday 15 December.
Home-Link Challenge
Have a lovely weekend! See you next week for a jam-packed fun Christmas week.