Moston Lane Community Primary School
Welcome to
Moston Lane Community Primary School
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:
Week 6 - 'Easter'!
(Understanding the World/RE)
We have been learning all about Easter! We read the Easter story to help us understand why and how Christians celebrate Easter.
Stay and Learn!
Our parents and carers came to our classrooms to join in with our learning today! We played lots of games focussing on developing our Oracy and Language skills. It was so much fun!
International Women's Day 2025!
(Understanding the World)
We have been learning all about 'International Women's Day' and why it is celebrated. We voted for our Friday treat - Film or Outdoor Play, but at first, only the boys were allowed to vote. The girls were not happy and said it was not fair! We talked about 'Emmeline Pankhurst' and discussed her role in fighting for women's rights. It was so much fun!
Weeks 3, 4 and 5 - 'Pets', 'The Farm' and 'Wild Animals'
Over the last three weeks, we have been learning about different animals. We have been learning about animals we can keep as pets and discussing animals that live on the farm as well as in the wild or in the zoo! We are so excited to go on our trip to Blackpool Zoo next half term!
Expressive Arts and Design
We have loved our creative activites this week! We have been drawing, colouring and cutting and sticking to make beautiful art work!
Writing
Look at our fantastic writing! We have been continuing to work hard to write CVC words by segmenting and blending. We have also been practising writing captions and trying to remember to use a finger space between each word.
Maths
We have been exploring simple and complex patterns! We know a pattern is something that repeats. We have been making colour patters, animal patterns and shape patterns. Look at our super work!
PE
We have been continuing to practise our gymnastic stills! When working on the apparatus, we remain 'Safe, Silent and Sensible'. During our lessons, we travel across mats, benches and balance beams and we have been learning to jump and land safely.
We really are becoming great gymnasts!
Music
We have been learning about 'Musical Stories'. This week, we have been using instruments to represent actions. This was based around the story, 'We're going on a Bear Hunt'.
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars over the last three weeks, Viyan, Mariam, Bonnie, Mousa and Affan! They have been working really hard in Reception and making their teachers proud!
Weeks 1 and 2 - 'Once Upon a Time' and 'We Love Books'
(Reading)
We have enjoyed reading lots of stories and traditional tales, such as 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears', 'The Three Little Pigs' and 'Little Red Riding Hood'. We also read 'Cinderella' and enjoyed some Ballroom dancing with Miss Peate!
We have also enjoyed stories written by one of our favourite authors 'Julia Donaldson', such as 'The Gruffalo', 'The Highway Rat' and 'Zog'. We have been acting out these stories with our friends using puppets and props!
World Book Day 2025!
(Reading)
We loved dressing up today as our favourite characters from our favourite stories! Look at our beautiful outfits!
Some children in Year 4 came to our classroom to read to us. We had lots of fun!
Expressive Arts and Design
We have had so much fun creating this week! We have been practising our drawing skills. Look at our amazing pictures!
Maths
We have been learning all about number bonds. This week, we have been finding our number bonds to ten using numicon, ten frames and part-whole models. This is a skill we we be continuing to practise as we need to be able to automatically recall some number bonds to ten by the end of Reception!
PSHE
Our Jigsaw piece this half term is 'Healthy Me'. We have been learning about the importance of keeping our bodies fit and healthy. We know we need to eat a healthy and balanced diet, as well as exercising regularly! We put a timer on for 1 minute, ran on the spot and then told our partners how our bodies felt. We felt tired, out of breathe and felt our hearts beating faster. It was so much fun!
Star of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstar this week, Jabbar! He has been working hard in his phonics lessons and is making fantastic progress in reading and writing! :)
Week 6 - 'Digging for Dinosaurs'
(Understanding the World/History)
This week, we have loved learning about dinosaurs! We have talked about what they looked like and how they might have moved. We have also found out about dinosaurs that were herbivores and dinosaurs that were carnivores. We have enjoyed reading lots of dinosaurs stories!
Expressive Arts and Design
We have explored using stamps this week and created beautiful pictures using them!
Week 5 - 'People Who Help Us'
(Understanding the World)
This week, we have been exploring occupations of people who help us in the community, such as doctors, nurses, firefighters and police officers! We did lots of creative activities based on our topic. We made lollipop road signs, built police cards and lots more!
Maths
We have been learning to measure the length and height of different objects. We have been comparing these objects using vocabulary like 'longer', 'shorter' and 'taller'.
Writing
Look at our fantastic writing! We have been continuing to work hard to write CVC words by segmenting and blending. We have also been practising writing captions and trying to remember to use a finger space between each word.
Chinese New Year (RE)
We have been learning about Chinese New Year and why it is celebrated! This year, Chinese New Year took place on the 29th January, with the beginning of the year of the snake. We have loved learning all about it!
Week 4 - 'Safe and Sound' (D&T)
We have been learning about how we stay safe in school, at home and in the local community! We discussed safety in the kitchen and made our own Gingerbread Men. They were so yummy! We did lots of activities based on 'The Gingerbread Man' story!
Writing
We have been writing about 'The Gingerbread Man'. We have been labelling some characters from the story by sounding out each word and writing the corresponding letters!
Maths
We have been learning to add two parts together to find the total amount using a 'Part-whole Model'. We have also been continuing to solidify our number knowledge to ten by representing each number using cubes and ten frames and also ordering numbers!
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars this week, Amirah and Shane! They have been making amazing progress in all areas of learning due to hard work and great listening! :)
Week 3 - 'Eco Warriors'
We have been learning about how to look after our environment. We have learnt about recycling and what we can do to look after our world. We have talked about plastic in the ocean and even had a go at rescuing some of the sea creatures in our water tray!
Expressive Arts and Design
We read the story, 'The Life of a Little Plastic Bottle' and talked about how the bottle was recycled and reused. We gathered lots of different materials like plastic, cardboard boxes and kitchen rolls to explore junk modelling! Look at our amazing creations!
PE
This term, we are learning to become gymnasts! When working on the apparatus, we are 'Safe, Silent and Sensible'. During our lessons, we travel across mats, benches and balance beams and we are learning to jump and land safely.
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars this week, Roman and Navy-Rae! They received this award for working hard in all areas of learning, especially phonics and writing! :)
Weeks 1 and 2 - 'On the Move'
We have been learning about different types of transport. We have learnt about how we travel to different places on road, tracks, water or in the air. We also did a traffic survey! We stood at the side of Moston Lane and recorded the different vehicles that we saw. It was so much fun!
Writing
We have been practising our writing this week! We have been working hard to write CVC words by segmenting and blending. Some of us have started writing captions this week! We have been learning how to use finger spaces between each word.
Music
This half term, we are learning about 'Music and Movement'. This week, we have been learning to understand why some songs have actions. We have loved learning some simple Makaton signs to accompany the song 'Row Row Row your Boat'!
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars this week, Max and Lujain! They received this award for working hard in phonics and writing! :)
Week 8 - Christmas (RE)
We have been learning about why Christians celebrate Christmas. We have read the Christmas story about the birth of baby Jesus. We talked about different ways that people celebrate Christmas at church or at home with family and friends.
We have made Christmas cards and Christmas decorations to take home. We have learnt Christmas songs and joined in with lots of Christmas activities
On the 1st December, we decorated our Christmas trees and had a visit from two cheeky elves! They brought us a tree, decorations and an advent calendar. For every day in December, we get the chance to win prizes from Santa!
We had a great time decorating our Christmas trees!
Our Christmas Nativity
We hope you enjoyed watching our nativity this week! We have worked so hard, practising our songs and speaking parts!
Our Christmas Party and Christmas Jumper Day!
We had lots of fun at our Christmas party! We danced, played games and had some yummy party food!
We received lots of contributions for the charity 'Save the Children'. Thank you for your kind contributions!
Meeting Santa!
We had a special visit from Father Christmas this week! We sang to him and he gave us a present to open on Christmas Day!
Thank you Santa!
Weeks 6 and 7 - Winter Wonderland
We have been learning about the season, Winter. We have found out about:
- Seasonal changes from autumn to winter.
- The weather in winter.
- Clothes that we wear in winter and how we keep warm.
- What animals do in winter - hibernation.
- Trees, plants and flowers in winter.
Star of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstar this week, Awa! She received the award for always being 'Ready, Respectful and Safe'.
Weeks 4 and 5 - Day and Night, Dark and Light
We have been learning about the differences between day time and night time. We talked about our morning and night time routines and discussed what we do at different times of the day. We also learnt about space. We watched lots of videos of astronauts in space and imagined what it would be like to walk on the moon!
Expressive Arts and Design
We have loved our creative activites this week! We designed and made our own aliens using playdough and pasticine. Look at our amazing designs!
Maths
We have been learning about positional language. We have been using words like 'under' 'next to' and 'behind' to describe where objects are.
Music
This term, we are learning about 'Celebration Music'. This week, we have learnt some of the dances and instruments from the festival of Hanukkah. Look at us dancing the 'Hora'! :)
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars over the last two weeks, Duoduo, Mylah,... They have been
Children in Need and Odd Socks Day! (PSHE)
We wore non-uniform to celebrate Children in Need. Look at our beautiful outfits!
We wore odd socks to celebrate 'Anti-Bullying Week'. We talked about what we need to do to be a kind friend. We also talked about who we can talk to when we are feeling sad or lonely!
Weeks 2 and 3 - What's on the Menu? (D+T)
We have been learning about why it is important to eat a healthy, balanced diet. We designed and made a vegetable soup. It was delicious!
Expressive Arts and Design
We have been practising our cutting skills again this week. Look at our funny potato heads! We have also been learning about different ways we can make art using strips of paper. Look at our paper effects below on our new wow wall!
PSHE
We have been telling our friends what we are good at this week. We have learnt that we may be better at some things than others!
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars over the last two weeks, Trinity, Faris, Ragi and Nael! They have been working so hard in Reception and making amazing progress with their learning! .
Remembrance Day! (History)
We have been learning about Remembrance Day. On Remembrance Day, we think about all the soldiers who have fought in wars to help to keep us safe. Poppies are flowers that help us remember the soldiers who were injured or killed. Look at our beautiful artwork!
Diwali Festival (RE)
In Reception, we like to find out about different religionsand learn about festivals that are important to these religions. This week is the religious festival 'Diwali'. We have been learning about why this is an important time for Hindus and Sikhs. Diwali is known as the 'Festival of Light'. We created some lovely artwork!
Week 1 - Autumn
We have had a fantastic first week back in Reception! We recapped Autumn and talked about what we did doing during our week off. Our RWI 'Talk Through Stories' this week was 'Room on the Broom'. We loved acting out the story and repeating key phrases such as "Iggety, ziggety, zaggety, ZOOM!" Look at our fantastic work!
Maths
We have been learning to name and describe some common 2d shapes this week, such as circle, square, triangle and rectangle. We also matched the 3d shapes to their prints!
Week 7 - Autumn
We have been learning about autumn. We went on an autumn walk around our school grounds. We talked about seasonal changes from summer to autumn. We discussed what the weather is like; what happens to plants and trees in autumn and what animals and insects do as the weather gets colder.
Art and D&T
We have been practising our cutting skills this week. Look at our beautiful autumn trees!
Maths
We have been learning to name and describe some common 3d shapes this week, such as, sphere, cylinder, cone and cube. We looked at which shapes could roll or stack and why! Some children said, "The sphere can roll because it is curved like a ball!"
Writing
We have continued to practise our letter formation this week using a range of writing resources. We love writing on our whiteboards and easels too! We listened for sounds in lots of words and tried to form them correctly.
Music
We played lots of instruments this week and explored the sounds they make. We changed the dynamics of the music, playing loudly and quietly. We also experimented with the tempo of the music, playing slowly and quickly!
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars this week, Oliver and Lukas! They have been working so hard in phonics and maths, learning new sounds and describing 3d shapes!
Weeks 5 and 6 - 'Head to Toe'
We have been learning about our bodies. We have been naming our body parts and talking about what our bodies can do and how we keep our bodies healthy. We discussed eating healthy food, joining in with exercise and making sure we sleep well at night. We have also been learning about our 5 senses.
Sight - We use our eyes to see. We enjoyed the story 'Anna's Amazing Glasses'. The children made their own glasses!
Hearing - We use our ears to hear. We played lots of listening games and could identify lots of different sounds.
Smell - We use our noses to smell. We had lots of smelly tubs and tried to identify what was in each tub.
Taste - We use our tongues to taste. The children were encouraged to use different vocabulary to describe their likes and dislikes.
Touch - We use our skin to feel. We played a feely bag game. The children had to try and guess what was inside!
Literacy
We have been learning lots of new sounds in our phonics lessons. We have been practising our letter formation and pencil control too!
Maths
We have been comparing quantities of identical and non-identical objects this week, using words like 'more' and 'fewer'!
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars over the last two weeks, Prabhnoor, Thomas, Harley and Maryam! They have been using beautiful manners, trying their best and working so hard in phonics and writing!
Week 4 - 'Our Families'
We have been learning about families. Every family is different! We have been talking about who is in our family and what makes them special!
Expressive Arts and Design
We have loved our creative activities this week! We practised our cutting skills and made our own shape houses using scissors, glue sticks and 2d shapes.
Maths
In maths, we have been learning to count. This week, we have been exploring the number 5 and showing 5 in lots of different ways!
PE
We have been learning about dance and movement in PE. We have been enjoying lots of ring games! We have been following our PE rules: Safe, Silent and Sensible and we are getting much better at putting our shoes and socks back on independently!
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars this week, Lily-Mae and Glory! They have been following the rules, being kind friends and being so brave coming into school!
Week 3 - 'Friends'
We have been talking about our friends this week. We have been thinking about what makes a good friend. In Reception, we are caring and kind; we share and take turns; we use kind words.
Maths
In maths, we have been learning to count. This week, we have been exploring number 3 and number 4 and showing these numbers in lots of different ways! We have also been 'Rally Robin' counting with our new learning partners!
PSHE
We have been talking about how we felt on our first day in Reception! Some of us felt happy and excited. Some of us felt a little nervous!
Stars of the Week!⭐
Well done to our superstars this week, Aleesha and Ahmed! They have had a fantastic start to Reception, learning the rules and being kind friends!
Weeks 1 and 2 - 'Welcome to School' and 'I am Amazing!'
We have had a fantastic two weeks in Reception! The children have been exploring their new classrooms and outdoor environment, getting to know their new teachers and playing with their friends.
We have been focusing on making sure 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 their classroom 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 play in Reception!