Welcome to Reception

In our class we strive to establish an Early Years environment which provides for all its pupils, a happy and secure environment in which to learn and be cared for. It is a place where every child is recognised as an individual and is helped to understand that they have great value for being themselves!

The Early Years curriculum

In our classroom we consider ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’ which promote positive attitudes to learning, an enthusiasm for knowledge and the confidence to become successful learners. 
Characteristics of Effective Learning

• Playing and Exploring
• Active Learning
• Creating and Thinking Critically

The prime areas are:

• Personal, social and emotional development (self-regulation;managing self; building relationships)
• Communication and language (listening, attention and understanding; speaking)
• Physical development (gross motor skills;fine motor skills)

The specific areas are:

• Literacy (comprehension; word reading; writing)
• Mathematics (number; numerical patterns)
• Understanding the world (past and present;people, culture and communities; the natural world)
• Expressive arts and design (creating with materials;being imaginative and creative)

Our Learning

• Reception Autumn 1 Theme 2022 (1).pdf
• Reception Autumn 2 Theme 2022.pdf
• Reception Spring 1 Theme 2023.pdf
• Reception Spring 2 Theme 2023.pdf
• Reception. Summer 1 Theme 2023.pdf
• Reception Summer 2 Theme 2023.pdf

Our focus this week has been about cleaning up our seasides and things we can do to reduce our waste.

We held a book swap and it was a huge success!

Den making with Mrs Wilkinson,
We were just about to be splashed with a bucket of water! 💦

In maths this week we were learning about Sharing and Grouping. The children were shown a bowl of strawberries. They were explained that they were are going to share them into 2 equal groups so there will be half for your and half for your friend. One plate purposely had one more than the other. They were asked if this was fair. They were prompted to show how to share the strawberries fairly. What if another friend arrives? The children were provided with a variety of opportunities to group objects in different contexts.

Our focus topic was week is ‘The lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’. The children made wonderful junk model lighthouses, re-enacted the story and painting pictures of seagulls.

Celebration assembly 👏
Reception showcased their amazing ‘by the seaside’ watercolour paintings today, don’t they look wonderful?

This Term Reception are learning all about the Seaside.

Our topic this term in Reception is 'Ticket to Ride' exploring different forms of transport. We were so lucky to be visited by the Wetherby Blue Fire Brigade. The firefighters were extremely helpful; they showed the children around the fire engine and showed us all their equipment, explaining clearly what it is used for. The children asked some extremely well thought-out questions and engaged in meaningful conversations with the firefighters. They talked about the important jobs they do and about what forms of transport they use to fight fires and save lives.

Our focus topic this week is transport. The students have worked hard to receive their bike license!

In Maths this week we are learning to match, rotate, manipulate objects 😀

This week in Reception we have been learning about transport. Together we have drawn a bus route around our local area of Boston Spa.

Today in RE we learnt about the Islamic Creation Story.rnOnce the world was created, Allah asked the angels to collect 7 handfuls of different coloured
soil so he could model the soil into people. He breathed life and power into the soil and it immediately sprang to life.

This week in PE we focussed on balance. We worked as a whole class team and with a partner.

Look at our amazing animal pictures! We thought carefully about the linework and the colours we needed to use.

This week our Art focus is inspired by Esther Mahlangu. We learnt that she is a South African artist and is known for her bold large-scale paintings. We enjoyed mixing colours and creating lines and shapes to make our own Art.

This morning we looked at the world map to locate Africa. We learnt about the climate and the animals that live there. In our class we explored different African artefacts. We looked at traditional masks and made our own. 🎭

This week in maths we have enjoyed measuring length and height! The children used the vocabulary taller, shorter and longer.

Today in RE we have been learning about Chinese New Year 🧧

Chinese New Year celebrations start on the 21nd, with the New Year on the 22nd.

This year is the year of the Rabbit 🐰

In PHSE we talked about our mental health and wellbeing. We looked at the different things we could do and people we could talk to when we are feeling not quite right.

The focus was about being connected to the world and people around us. We payed a game of connected circle, each child had to pass the hoop to the next person without letting go! They did such a brilliant job.

This week we are thinking about Arctic animals. This morning we learnt all about Emperor penguins and what they do with their young.

As part of our topic on traditional tales the children enjoyed using chalk to draw maps to help their favourite characters. They used positional language and added geographical features such as roads, water and bridges.

Yesterday in RE we learnt about about the celebration of Hanukkah. We had lots of fun making menorahs and playing dreidel.

This weeks story - Goldilocks and the three bears 🐻

We made bear faces, created maps of the story and made porridge.... ‘it was just right’

We really enjoyed our first PE lesson! We explored different ways of moving around the room and using our bodies to create shapes.

This morning we found out about why we celebrate 'Bonfire Night' We acted out the story of the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ 🧨 We learnt about the different roles of the King and the people in the past.

In PHSE today, we have been learning about and celebrating differences. It’s okay to be different! Be colourful and bold.... be who you are.

This week in maths we are think about repeating patterns. 🔴🟢🔴🟢

This week in Reception we are learning about the Hindu festival of light ‘Diwali’ We are enjoying making diva lamps 🪔 , rangoli patterns, mehndi designs and dressing up in traditional Indian clothing. 🎆

This week our book focus is 'Leaf Man' The children enjoyed collecting different leaves and creating their own leaf pictures. Can you guess what they have made?

We enjoyed collecting Autumn leaves and exploring the different colours and textures. We all used the leaves to make fantastic pictures.

Today in RE we talked about ‘special things’ and how to take care of them. We enjoyed drawing our special things and we also made ‘special friends’ to keep and look after.

This week we learnt that collections of objects can be sorted into sets based on attributes such as colour, size or shape.

We looked at the artist Vincent Van Gogh and his famous piece of work ‘Starry Night’ We experimented with pastels and techniques such as smudging. We learnt that Vincent Van Gogh was Dutch and we looked at where the Netherlands are on our world map.

This week our book focus has been 'The Colour Monster' As a class we enjoyed listening to the story and discussing the different feelings. We made our own colour monster puppets and acted out the story. We also made our own emotion sensory bottles.

In maths this week we have focussed our learning on matching. The children were provided with opportunities to find and match items that were the same.

This week in RE we were learning about different houses. What does our house look like? What are the different types? We used lolly pop sticks, playdough, craft modelling, and Lego.

In Reception we enjoy taking part in mindfulness activities. When we practice mindfulness, we focus on the present. It can help us notice negative thoughts and shift our attention to what we are doing or feeling right now. It can also ease stress and anxiety.

As a class we have devised our own class promises in line with the school rules of Ready, Respectful and Safe.
We chose: Kind Hands, Be Kind, Wonderful Walking, Help Each other, Legendary Lining Up, Indoor Voices, Use Kind Words and Share. We have these lovely pictures in our classroom to remind us!

The children in Reception have settled in beautifully to school and have enjoyed exploring the provision inside and out. We are so proud of how well they have started at Primrose Lane!