Thursday 6th July 2023
We can’t believe in 2 weeks’ time it will be the end of term, it has gone so quick! We have enjoyed discussing how we are feeling about our transition into Year 1! We are very excited to have a visit into a new classroom very soon.
In English, we are continuing our topic about traditional and twisted tales focusing on the different types of characters and their personalities. We have begun planning our own characters ready to write our own twisted tale next week! In play to learn time we have created some fabulous houses using a variety of materials.
What is a twisted tale?
What is a traditional tale?
Which type of materials do you think are best for creating a strong house?
In Maths, we have shown a fantastic interest in 2D and 3D shapes. We are brilliant at spotting shapes in the environment and identifying whether they are 2D or 3D. This week we have continued looking at sharing. In our Maths lesson today, we worked together to equally share out some objects – great team work!
What is a 2D/3D shape?
How many 2D/3D shapes can you see in your home?
Reception are really enjoying our topic in RE ‘Our World’. This week’s questions were ‘What do you love about our world? And ‘What do you wonder about our world?’. We also gave some great explanations about how we can keep our world safe and happy! We remember that God made us and we are here to spread happiness and keep each other safe.
Can you name 3 things that we can do to help protect our world?
I hope you all have a brilliant weekend! Let’s hope the sunshine comes out!
Miss Cranney
Thursday 29th June 2023
What a fun and exciting week in Reception. This week we have been learning about different careers and jobs. Mr Flynn shared his experience of being a lawyer. We learnt about the importance of rules and following the law! in addition, we learnt about the very important role of a GP. Mrs Mcternan came to visit, bringing along her special doctor's bag. We had great fun exploring the different items such as stethoscopes and a reflex hammer.
In Math sessions we have been learning about grouping. We have grouped different amounts of objects whilst working in small teams. We have also enjoyed sharing different versions of the Three Little Pigs. Our favourites are The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot and The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad shark.
We also had a great fun with Now Press Play, going on an adventure and learning about healthy living. We learnt about eating fruits and vegetables, the importance of a good nights sleep and how we need to be active.
Have a fun filled weekend everyone,
Mrs Birkbeck!
Week Beginning 19th June
This week we have have been super stars! During our Celebration Assembly, we did a fantastic job sharing all of the wonderful things we have learnt during our time in Reception. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did sharing it with you!
This week we have been learning about keeping our teeth healthy. We have shared and discussed what we must do to keep our teeth clean and cavity free. We must brush our teeth at least twice daily and avoid foods that are bad for our teeth. We practised cleaning a range of dirty teeth using toothbrushes.
In Maths we have been weighing various objects using weighing scales and have found different things around our classroom that are heavier than an apple. We have also been practising our number bonds to 5 and 10. What great mathematicians we are!
We have had great fun using the large polydron. We have created rockets, houses and cages plus many more fantastic creations!
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Birkbeck
Week Beginning 12th June
This week we became architects. After sharing the story the Three Little Pigs, we created our own house designs using different materials! We particularly enjoyed using the foam bricks, shaving foam and trowels outdoors. We experimented with straw, sticks, miniature bricks and various other materials we could find from around our classroom. We put our houses to the test by blowing on them to see if they were strong enough. We sequenced the story and used story props to retell the story in our own words.
This week we became architects. After sharing the story the Three Little Pigs, we created our own house designs using different materials! We particularly enjoyed using the foam bricks, shaving foam and trowels outdoors. We experimented with straw, sticks, miniature bricks and various other materials we could find from around our classroom. We put our houses to the test by blowing on them to see if they were strong enough. We sequenced the story and used story props to retell the story in our own words.
we enjoyed taking a dive in the ocean and used small nets to fish out various sea creatures hiding beneath the seaweed in our water tray.
We had great fun in maths learning to share amounts equally. We had a teddy bear’s picnic. We made sure each bear had the same amount of each snack, sharing them equally and making sure it was fair.
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Thursday 18 May
On Friday, Reception followed instructions to ‘Grow a Beanstalk’. They gathered the materials they needed and followed each step of the instructions carefully. They added special castles to their pots. We wonder whose beanstalk will be first to reach the top? We are excited to see how tall our beanstalks will grow.
We will be observing the changes to our beans over the coming weeks.
We will be observing the changes to our beans over the coming weeks.
Some of us have enjoyed exploring the fine motor beanstalk activity. Using hoops, leaves and playdough to construct beanstalks! I think you’ll agree they are fabulous.
We have also been racing characters from our class book, along a number track, using the language First, Then and Now. During our Maths session, Jack pipped the Giant to the winning spot, by landing on 10 first.
Thursday 4 May 2023
What a wonderful week in Reception! We’ve had fun taking part in activities linked to King Charles III and the upcoming Coronation. The children have had the opportunity to make flags, decorate crowns and learn lots of facts about King Charles III. Some of us created fabulous fact files about King Charles III and we began to make a list of questions we would like to ask the King.
Throughout the week, we have been learning and practising a new rhyme called ‘If You're a King and You Know it …’ We can’t wait to perform it tomorrow, wear our crowns and attend a Royal Tea Party.
Have a fabulous Bank Holiday weekend!
Mrs Birkbeck
Thursday 30 March 2023
What a fantastic week in Reception! Our caterpillars have now made their chrysalis and we have been fascinated about how they do it! We learnt that they shed the outer part of their body a bit like a snake! We can't wait to see the butterflies after the Easter holidays!
We have been consolidating our understanding of number and numbers are composed of different amounts.
We planted our cress seeds and have continued to learn about the lifecycle of a plant. We can't believe how fast our cress has grown, from a tiny seed, to a shoot and now a full cress plant!
Have a lovely Easter holiday!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 23 March 2023
This week we have continued our theme of lifecycles by looking at the lifecycle of a plant. We have learnt about how a plant starts as either a seed or bulb. We have observed how plants grown and change over time. We have learnt the names of key arts of a plant and what they do. We have also learnt what we need to give a plant in order for it to live and grow. We planted our very own cress seeds and we are looking forward to watching them grow.
Our class caterpillars are very big now and we think they are about to cocoon!
In maths, we have consolidated our understanding of sharing (early division). We have been sharing whole amounts between different groups e.g. 12 shared between 3, 16 shared between 4. We have been equally sharing by moving objects one at a time using '1 for you, 1 for you' to ensure it is the same.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 16 March 2023
Reception have been very excited to receive our class caterpillars! We are exploring the topic of Spring and looking at how the seasons are changing. We have looked at the types of animals and flowers we are going to see in Spring. We have learnt about the lifecycle of a caterpillar through the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It starts as an egg, then a caterpillar, then a cocoon/chrysalis, then a butterfly. Then the butterfly lays an egg and the lifecycle starts again.
This week we visited St Charles' Church as part of our RE topic 'Gathering'. We got to identify the different features of the church and Fr Michael came to speak to us.
Thursday 02 March 2023
A super and busy week back for Reception. We have begun our new topic of 'Old and New'. The children have enjoyed looking at old and new images and objects. We have explored transport and toys.
We enjoyed the launch of 'The Big Lent Walk' and we are excited to walk all of our steps to help reach the school target!
We loved World Book Day. We dressed as our favourite book character. We enjoyed reading lots of stories and recreated 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea' in a concertina book.
In RSHE, we have been learning about our Family Tree. We discussed who is in our family and why they are special to us. We created our own family trees.
In PE, we started our Gymnastics unit of work. We practised different positions such as tuck, pike, split, star and straight. We moved across the floor in different ways and made different shapes with our body.
Have a fab weekend!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 2 February 2023
This week we have been exploring the story 'Handa's Surprise'. We enjoyed sequencing the animals and the fruits and matching these correctly. We created story maps to order the events and used our phonic knowledge to label them.
In RE, we finished our 'Celebrations' topic and enjoyed sharing our liturgical prayer with some of our families.
We continued to explore addition and subtraction and have become really confident to add and subtract and link this to more and less.
In PE, we explored through a forest and had to climb over fallen logs, tree stumps, through streams and over lily pads. We worked on balance, control, using a safe space and jumping.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 26 January 2023
Reception have had a super week! We have been learning more about position and direction and working on key vocabularly. We used the Beebots and programmed them to find specific places on the map. We discussed what we thought our Beebot had to do to get there.
In RE, we learnt about the sacrament of marriage. We enjoyed creating our own role play weddings and dressing up!
We have been focusing on the wider world learning the 7 continents of the world and that we live in Europe. We have begun comparing our home to the continent of Africa. The children are enjoying learning about the different African animals and how they differ to animals from our country.
Have a fab weekend!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 19 January 2023
Welcome back!
What a brilliant start to the half term we have had! The children have loved exploring our topic of winter caves and learning lots about the season of winter, what happens to different animals and in particular lots of facts about bats! We have been looking at key vocabulary such as nocturnal, hibernation, echolocation. Ask your child what these mean! I have been very impressed.
We loved exploring in the snow this week - a real sign of winter! What perfect timing.
In maths, we have been exploring more, less and fewer linking these to add and subtract. We have begun to look more closely at subtraction starting with 1 less (subtract 1).
We have been on word hunts around the classroom applying our phonic knowledge to help us read the word and identify the matching picture.
I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 22 December 2022
Merry Christmas! What a fun filled last week of term we have had! The children enjoyed Mr Merlin the magician, the cheeky elves tying up Mrs Nealings, party day and much more!
The children have been super. We have continued to explore maps, landmarks and our local surroundings. The children enjoyed creating messy maps!
In maths, we have been learning to recognising numerals and how to present these as well as learning the word 'equals'. This means the same as.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 15 December 2022
What a busy week we've had! Firstly, the brilliant nativity performances! The children were super stars! Amazing singing, dance moves and speaking on stage!
Peppermint, our cheeky elf, has been up to lots of tricks and asked us to write letters to Santa! We used our phonic knowledge to help us. We practiced our scissor skills to trim Santa's beard following wavy and zig zag lines.
We have looked at Santa Claus is Coming to Newcastle and begun exploring maps and atlases to learn about where we live. The children have been exploring vocabulary such as Planet Earth, the world, Country, England, City, Newcastle upon Tyne and Gosforth. We have explored landmarks on Google Earth such as the Tyne Bridge and The Angel of the North.
In maths, we have been ordering numerals, finding missing numbers and creating physical number lines. We have been practicing writing numerals especially numbers 10 - 20.
We loved playing out in the snow! Hopefully we have a snowy weekend! Enjoy!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 1 December 2022
Reception have had a super week! We have loved the start of advent in school. Our new RE topic is 'Birthdays' and we are very excited for Jesus' birthday - Christmas Day! The children helped to decorate our class Christmas tree, they created a class birthday card to Jesus and selected a beautiful picture to put on the front. They enjoyed creating birthday parties in the home corner and making cards in the creative area.
In English, we have started to read the story 'Stick Man'. We will be creating story maps to retell the story using images and words. We have been practicing writing words to label parts of the story!
I hope you have a great weekend!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 24 November 2022
We started our new class text 'The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza'. We have been learning about instructions, recipes and ingredients. As part of our learning we went on a school trip to Pizza Express. We loved riding the Metro, looking at the window and hearing the sounds and movements when we went underground. It was very exciting. At Pizza Express, we learnt how to make our very own pizzas. We used flour, stretched out the dough, pushing the air out and pulling it to fit in the pan. We added our toppings and enjoyed eating them for lunch. They were delicious!
In RE, we began our new topic of 'birthdays'. We have moved to advent and are thinking about how we prepare and wait for Jesus' birthday - Christmas Day! We have explored birthday songs, birthday cards, birthday teas and birthday decorations.
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 17 November 2022
This week we have been focusing on our new class text 'Not a Stick' by Antoinette Portis. We have been thinking about how imaginative we can be and what a stick could be used for. We went to forest school and collected lots to use in our creative area. We made fishing rods, swords, pick axes and wands. We showed super perseverance skills to cut, tie and tape our sticks and resources. The children then used their phonic knowledge to label their design.
We have been thinking about what makes a good friend as part of Anti-Bullying Week. We painted our handprints into a heart to show we care and love all our friends.
As part of World Nursery Rhyme Week, we have focused on Incy Wincy Spider. We enjoyed singing the song and performing the actions. We practiced tracing spider webs to develop our pencil control and threaded pipe cleaners on to a spider's body. We counted 8 legs and developed our fine motor skills to tie them on.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 10 November 2022
A brilliant week in Reception! We have been busy completing different challenges across the week starting with name practice, reading CVC words and building number blocks 1 - 5. We revisited our learning about materials and started to think about our big question - Can you make a fork out of paper? We made predictions with lots of brilliant ideas. We then tested out different forks to pick up a range of foods. We tested plastic, wooden, metal and paper. We found out that paper didn't work very well. It was too 'bendy', floppy', 'soggy', not 'hard'. Have a think about which materials are used for different items around your house and why. Finally, we have been learning about Remembrance Day. The children have thought about what it means to remember and in particular we are remembering the soldiers who fought in the war. We made some beautiful artwork of a poppy field.
Enjoy the weekend!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 03 November 2022
Reception have enjoyed exploring our new topic of 'Materials'. We have looked at a range of materials and have explored the classroom and outdoor area to identify different materials. We discussed how different materials felt eg hard, bumpy, smooth, bendy.
In maths we have been looking at measurements of length and height thinking about the language longer, shorter, taller and shorter. You could compare items in the house.
We loved our Commando Joe's Day today where we completed a range of challenges. We worked together as part of a team, focusing on our listening and responding skills. The children were brilliant at creating their own shelters that had to have a roof to protect them from the rain! Luckily, they worked and we didn't get wet!
I have been very impressed with everyone's reading over the half term holidays. The children have been working very hard in our phonic sessions.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 20 October 2022
Reception have been very busy! We enjoyed the Teddy Bear Hospital visit. We were very good at caring for our teddies. We loved our Art Days focusing on creating a Stormy Sea. We created a class piece using coloured paints and tissue paper.
In English, we have been exploring rhyming words and loved the Oi Frog story. We focused on the sounds at the end of the word and carried on rhyming strings! Try at home.. What rhymes with cat, mat, sat? What rhymes with stop and hop?
The children have been busy making potions, measuring amounts, mixing colours and thinking of magical outcomes if you drank the potion! We have developed our fine motor skills by hammering on the harvest food as well as a pen disco.
We have been practicing making Fred words using our phonic soun cards and blending to read green words.
It was lovely to speak to everyone at Parents' Evening. I hope you have a wonderful half term!
See you on Monday 31st!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 06 October 2022
We had lots of fun this week exploring a range of art techniques! We have been printing, making leaf rubbings and making collages. We created Leaf Man collages after reading the story Leaf Man. We explored the texture of the leaves and noticed the underside was bumpy. We used our new vocabulary of 'veins' to describe the lines we could see on the leaves. We used the bumpy side to make leaf rubbings.
We have discussed the change in weather and thought what we would need to pack in our suitcase for this season! The children have been busy writing initial sounds eg c for coat, s for scarf, h for hat.
In maths, we have explored pattern and looked at how to create a repeating pattern using 2 objects. We have continued to explore numbers, representing amounts, subitising groups of objects and writing the numerals.
Below are the number rhymes for 1 - 5.
1 - Start at the top and down we run, now we've made a number one.
2 - Half a heart says I love you, draw a link that makes two.
3 - Around the tree, around the tree that's the way to make a three.
4 - Down and across and down once more, that's the way to make a four.
5 - Short stick, belly fat, number five has a hat.
Enjoy the weekend!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 29 September 2022
This week, we have begun exploring the signs of Autumn. We have learnt about the four seasons of the year and explored how we know it is Autumn. We went on an Autumn walk and observed the differing colours of the leaves on the trees as well as on the ground. We found acorns, pine cones and mushrooms in Forest School.
In maths, we have practised our subitising, counting, and ordering of numbers. We have collected amounts and thought about how to represent a number using different objects as well as starting to form the numerals.
Have a lovely weekend!
Miss Micklethwaite
Thursday 22 September 2022
Reception have had another brilliant week! We have been busy exploring and learning about each other and our families. We have looked at similarities and differences between ourselves and our friends and discussed how everybody is different.
We have been super at learning our phonic sounds and have begun blending to read in our phonic sessions. All the children are working very hard on their letter formation as well as practising their name writing.
In maths, we have been learning about shapes - you could have a shape hunt in your house! What shapes can you see? We have looked at 2D and 3D shapes - square, circle, oval, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, cube, cone, cylinder, sphere.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Micklethwaite
We join with Bishop Robert and the whole of BBCET, to mourn the loss of our beloved Queen. We pray for the repose of her soul and for her family. We are very grateful for her years of service. We give thanks to God for everything she has done.
May she rest in peace.
Thursday 08 September 2022
Reception have made a brilliant start to school this week! The children have explored their new classroom environment and have been getting to know their new friends. It has been lovely to spend time getting to know every child.
We are looking forward to next week when all the children will be in school full time!
Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Micklethwaite