Reception
Welcome to Reception.
If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to ask any member of the Reception team.
Reception Staff: Mrs Rycroft, Miss Thompson, Mrs Sharkey and Mrs Shanley.
In Reception, we offer a broad and balanced curriculum to prepare our children for a life in modern Britain.
If you would like to view the curriculum map for the whole year, or for previous half term topics, click on the links below:
Team 2's Assembly
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
We hope you enjoyed our assembly. We were very proud of the children's wonderful singing and story telling!
Summer 1 - Week 3 and 4
Fur and Feathers
We have been learning about a range of animals and their habitats. First, we thought about animals that we can have as pets. We learnt about what we need to do to look after different pets and care for them. We also talked about the important job that vets do. We enjoyed looking at photographs of some of the children's pets.
Next, we learnt about animals that live in the wild. We thought about what they look like; how they move; what they eat and the environments that they live in. We made binoculars and used our imaginations to go on a safari to look for animals!
King Charles' Coronation
On Friday we spent the day celebrating the King's Coronation! We had a special lunch; made our own crowns and decorated some yummy biscuits. The children looked wonderful dressed in red, white and blue!
Summer 1 - Week 2
Lifecycles
This week we have been learning about the lifecycles of butterflies, chickens and frogs.
We have our own caterpillars in Reception. Over the next few weeks, we will be observing the changes that they get through. When they turn into butterflies, we will be letting them fly away in our Reception garden.
Eid
We have been learning about the Islam festival Eid.
Eid is a festival celebrated by Muslims around the world. We enjoyed finding out how some of our Reception children celebrated Eid.
Summer 1 - Week 1
The Farm
This week we have been learning all about the farm. We have been learning about the different animals that you might find on a farm. We have also been learning about the important jobs that farmers do such as milking the cows and growing fruit and vegetables. We have been learning about all of the produce that comes from a farm that we eat and drink such as eggs, milk and cheese.
Spring 2 - Week 5
Easter
This week we have been learning about the Christian festival Easter. We have been learning about the Easter story and why Christians celebrate Easter. We hope you liked your Easter cards!
Spring 2 - Weeks 2,3 and 4
Spring
Ready, Steady, Grow!
Brilliant Bugs
We have spent the last few weeks learning about the seasonal changes in spring time. We have observed the changes in weather and looked for signs of spring such as daffodils and blossom trees. We have planted our own sunflower seeds and have been learning about what seeds need to help them to grow. We have also been learning about insects and minibeasts and looking for them in our outdoor area. We will continue to learn about spring, growth and lifecycles next half term.
International Women's Day - 8th March 2022
Today we celebrated 'International Women's Day'. We found out about a woman called Emmeline Pankhurst. Emmeline Pankhurst was from Manchester. She was part of the suffragette movement that helped win women the right to vote.
Today we had a vote to decide on a treat for Thursday, The children could choose either a movie afternoon or a play on the adventure playground. At first we only let the boys vote. We then asked the children if this was fair. This then led to a discussion with the children about why it is important that girls and boys both have equal rights and opportunities.
After everyone had voted, we counted up the votes. The movie afternoon got the most votes so we enjoyed watching 'Encanto'!
Spring 2 - Week 1
We Love Books and World Book Day
This week we have been reading lots of stories by the author Julia Donaldson. We have been learning about what an author and an illustrator does.
We have read:
The Gruffalo
The Gruffalo's Child
The Highway Rat
Zog
Monkey Puzzle
The children have enjoyed using the puppets and story props to act out and retell the story.
On 'World Book Day' we love seeing the children dressed as some of their favourite characters. What a fun day!
Spring 1 - Week 7
Once upon a Time
This week we read lots of traditional stories:
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
The Three Little Pigs
Little Red Riding Hood
Cinderella
The Princess and the Pea
The children enjoyed retelling the stories using puppets and props. We also did lots of creative activities. The children wrote about Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
In maths we have been learning about weight. We have been using the balancing scales to compare the weight of objects. We have been using the vocabulary 'heavy', 'heavier', 'heaviest', 'light', lighter' and 'lightest'.
Stay and Learn
It was lovely to welcome so many family members into our Reception classrooms on Tuesday. The children really enjoyed the grown-ups joining in with their learning! We look forward to doing this again soon!
Spring 1 - Week 6
Digging for Dinosaurs
This week we had lots of fun learning about dinosaurs! We thought about what they might have looked like, sounded like and moved like. We talked about dinosaurs that were plant eaters and dinosaurs that were meat eaters. We enjoyed lots of dinosaur stories!
Spring 1 - Week 5
Eco-Warriors
This week we have been learning how to be eco-warriors! We have been learning about how and why we recycle, reuse and reduce our waste. We also thought about the impact on our planet Earth on what happens to rubbish that is not properly recycled.
In maths we have been learning to combine 2 groups of objects. We have been using the following vocabulary: add, more, how many, equals.
Spring 1 - Week 3 and 4
People Who Help Us
We have been learning about important jobs that people do to help us. We have found out about doctors, paramedics, firefighters, police, lollipop people and lots of other important jobs.
We talked about the emergency services and when we would ring 999. We have told the children to learn their addresses in case of an emergency. Please help your child to do this.
Chinese New Year
This week we celebrated Chinese New Year. We talked about the how it is celebrated and why. We also listened to the story 'The Great Race' and discussed the different animals in the Chinese zodiac calendar. This year is the year of the rabbit!
STEM Day
Today we talked about jobs that scientists and engineers do.
We read the story ‘Lost and Found’ about a boy that travelled to the south pole on a boat. We then investigated items that float and items that sink. Next, we designed and made our own boats!
The Gingerbread Man
We have enjoyed reading the story ‘The Gingerbread Man’. We baked and ate our own gingerbread people. We measured the ingredients and mixed them all together. Next, we cut out the gingerbread people and baked them in the over. They were yummy!
Snow Day
We enjoyed playing out in the snow. We talked about what the weather is like in the winter.
Spring 1 - Week 1 and 2
On the Move
We have been learning about different types of transport and vehicles. We have found out about different ways to travel by road, air, water or on a track. We thought about the best way to travel to different places. We designed and made are own vehicles using a range of construction resources. We did our own traffic survey to see how many vehicles went down Moston Lane. We recorded this on a tick chart.
We have had a lovely few days celebrating Christmas together with our Christmas nativity, Christmas party and lots of Christmas activities in our classrooms. We hope that you all have a lovely Christmas break and we look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Our Nativity
Our Christmas Party
A Visit from Father Christmas!
Autumn 2 - Week 5 and 6
Winter Wonderland
We have been learning about winter time. We have discussed seasonal changes from autumn to winter. We talked about the weather and clothes that we wear to keep warm. We learnt about animals that hibernate. We also went on a winter walk around our school grounds to look at how the trees and plants have changed. We enjoyed stories such as 'Percy the Park Keeper, One Snowy Night' and 'Little Robin Red Vest'.
Autumn 2 - Week 3 and 4
Day and Night, Light and Dark
We have been learning about day time and night time. We read a story called 'Night Monkey and Day Monkey' and made comparisons about what we see in the day and what we see at night. We also discussed animals that are nocturnal.
Next we enjoyed some stories about space such as 'Whatever Next' and 'The Way Back Home'. We designed and made our own aliens! Take a look at our super aliens below!
Team 1 Aliens
Team 2 Aliens
More photos from week 3 and 4...
Autumn 2 - Week 1 and 2
What's on the Menu?
We have been learning about why is it important to eat a healthy, balanced diet. We ready the story 'Oliver's Vegetables' and then we designed and made a delicious vegetable soup to eat. It was yummy!
More photos from a busy 2 weeks...
Week 7 - Autumn
This week we have been learning about autumn time. We have talked about the changes in weather from summer to autumn. We went on an autumn walk to look at the plants and trees. We talked about what different animals do in the autumn to prepare for the colder weather. We also talked about harvest time and the busy jobs that farmers will be doing at the moment.
Diwali
In Reception we recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways. This week we have been learning about the festival Diwali. It is also called the festival of light. Diwali is a very important religious celebration that takes place every year. Although it is traditionally celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs, it can be celebrated by people from other religions as well.
Stay and Learn
We really enjoyed welcoming lots of our children's family members to our stay and learn session. We hope you enjoyed watching the children's phonics lesson and joining in with the activities in our classrooms. We look forward to doing this again in December.
Week 6 - ‘Head to Toe’
Our 5 Senses
This week we have been learning about our 5 senses.
Sight
We see things with our eyes. We read 'Anna's Amazing Glasses' and made our own glasses!
Touch
We touch things with our skin. Our fingers are good at feeling things. We played a feely bag game. We used words to describe what we could feel such as 'hard', 'soft', 'spiky', 'smooth' and 'furry'.
Taste
We taste food and drink with our tongues. We tasted some different foods such as hummus, honey, jam and sweet chilli sauce. We used words to describe how they tasted such as 'sweet', 'sour' and 'spicy'
Smell
We smell things with our noses. We investigated different smells with smelly tubs. We talked about smells that we like and dislike.
Hearing
We hear sounds with our ears. We played a game to guess the different sounds. We investigated the sounds that different musical instruments make.
Weeks 5 - 'Head to Toe'
Our Bodies and Keeping Healthy
We have been learning about our bodies. We have been talking about different body parts and how we use our bodies. We have also been learning about keeping healthy by eating a healthy, balanced diet, exercising and getting a good night's sleep.
This week's photos...
Weeks 3 and 4 - 'Those Nearest and Dearest'
Families - We have been learning about what a family is. The children have been talking about who is in their families and who is special to them. Not all families are the same and it is ok to be different.
Friends - We have been learning about friendship and what we need to do to be a good friend.
- We listen to each other.
- We share our toys.
- We take turns.
- We say kind things.
- We help each other.
- We have fun together.
The children have shown us that they are all lovely and caring to their friends in Reception! We are very proud of them!
Weeks 1 and 2 - 'Welcome to School' and 'I am Amazing'
We have had a lovely 2 weeks in Reception. The children have been exploring their new classrooms, getting to know their new teachers and playing with their friends.
We have been focusing on making sure that the children feel happy and safe at school. We have been learning about different feelings through stories such as 'The Colour Monster' and 'The Worry Monster' and discussing the children's own feelings. We hope you agree that the children have settled in brilliantly. We are so impressed with how they come into the classrooms every morning with big smiles on their faces.
Below are some pictures of your children enjoying themselves, exploring all of the activities that we have. We love learning through our play in Reception!
We will continue to post news and photos throughout the year so please check the website regularly. We will also update you on the phonics and reading that your child is doing in the coming weeks and look forward to discussing your child's progress at parents evening in October.
Please let us know if you have any questions or you would like to discuss anything.
Thank you for your support.
The Reception Team
Team 1's First Day Photos!
Team 2's First Day Photos!
Autumn 1 - Week 1
Welcome to School
Autumn 1 - Week 2
I am Amazing
