We’ve had a very productive start to our Summer 1 half term and the children have returned from their Easter break with even more enthusiasm and determination than before! We can really see how they are taking their learning to the next level by reflecting on what we are looking for and fixing any mistakes. Our brains are definitely going to grow again this term; just like those beanstalks we planted!
(Thank you for the pictures of them, we have enjoyed looking at them together!)
What have we been learning this week:
RE: This week in RE we thought about what happened after Jesus died on the cross. We talked about how He rose from the dead and we reflected on how people might have felt at first. We discussed different feelings and expressions such as shock, confusion, astounded, amazed, delighted and excited. We heard thought about how we might have felt if we went to visit the tomb or if Jesus spoke to us as he did his disciples.
Literacy: This week in drawing club we have been exploring the book ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’. We have been focusing on the character and what words we could use to describe him. We used these ideas to create labels and sentences in our books. Our new vocabulary this week was: slurping, feast, cautious, suddenly, total, crouch, farewell and arrive. We demonstrated our understanding of these words by using them in sentences and linking them to the story. Reception, can you show your grown ups to actions at home?
Maths: This week in Maths we have been thinking about the word ‘equal’. We looked at some examples of equal parts and noticed that they were equal because both parts were the same. Then we dug a little deeper and explored what happened when we put those equal parts together to make a whole and we used the word ‘double’ to describe the whole. We used a STEM sentence to help us understand this: e.g. “4 is a double because 2 is a part and 2 is a part”, 10 is a double because 5 is a part and 5 is a part” etc. We practised rolling two dice to see if we could make a double. Reception, can you have a go at this at home and see which doubles you can roll?
Understanding the World: This half term our topic is ‘Water’. Over the next few weeks we will be discussing what we already know about water and its different forms / different bodies of water and what we want to find out. This could be linked to melting and freezing, water cycles, weather or through science experiments. To help us start this topic there is a suggested challenge which you could do at home and share with us in school. More information regarding this can be found further along in this blog.
Let’s Celebrate…
This week’s learning and virtue role models are:
Enthusiastic Bobby Bee: Eliza!
Eliza, your enthusiasm is just wonderful and we see it from right from they very moment you walk in and say good morning! This enthusiastic attitude has helped you take on challenges with a positive mindset and to keep on smiling even if something is tricky. It’s lovely to see you believing in yourself; we believe in you too. We’ve seen this enthusiasm across all of our learning this week and I can see that you have especially enjoyed our maths ‘double’ activities!
Well done Eliza!
Determined Sadie Spider: Dee-Dee!
Dee-Dee, we have really enjoyed seeing how you have challenged yourself to be a determined learner over the last few weeks. You have taken on learning challenges with a positive attitude which has shown in your achievements. We have seen this when you are solving number problems in provision and when you are using your phonics knowledge in your writing. You have remembered so many special friends and can hear them in the words you write. Keep up this brilliant determination!
Well done Dee-Dee!
Whole School Virtues - Learned and Wise: Sydney!
Sydney, we can see that you are really thinking about our learning and have been explaining your thoughts and ideas with more confidence during our activities. Sharing your ideas is so important, it doesn’t just help you, but it helps everyone in our class to grow their brains too!
Well done Sydney!
Lunch Time Awards:
We also have lunch time certificates which are awarded by the lunch time team to those children who they see being wonderful role models and using marvelous manors:
This weeks role model: Emmett!
This weeks marvelous manors: Bertie!
Thank you both for being such wonderful role models and for remembering those acts of kindness everyday!
Challenge Books!
The children were very excited to show me the challenges they have completed in their challenge books and we were very impressed! It’s wonderful that they have taken this on with such enthusiasm and determination; it is really showing in their writing.
Today you will find new challenges in your books and we are focusing on the letters ‘b’ and ‘h’. Remember to think about where the letter starts. If you say the rhyme in your head e.g. for ‘b’ we say “down the laces to the heel up and over the toe” that will help you remember to start at the top.
Please could these challenge books be kept in bags. Challenges are to be completed by Thursday, so we can prepare the next set of challenges!
Good luck Reception!
Optional Challenges!
It is wonderful that the children are so excited about their learning and to see how keen they are to continue this outside of school. We welcome any opportunity to share these learning experiences with you at home, which is why we have created ‘optional challenges’ across each year group which can be explored over this Summer 1 half term.
These challenges link to the wider area of our curriculum which in EYFS are:
Understanding the World (Science, Geography and History), Expressive Arts and Design (Art. DT and Music) and our Gross and Fine motor skills (PE).
Below you will find the optional challenges linking to the topics and areas of learning that we will be exploring this half term. These fun challenges are designed to cover a range of skills without being stressful or time consuming for you at home. You are welcome to complete them in any order you wish and it would be lovely to see pictures or examples of things that the children have enjoyed at home.
As always, thank you for your continued support.
Important notices and reminders:
Keyrings on bags - we kindly ask that children have just 1 keyring on their school bag. There has been a large number of keyrings on some bags which has caused bags and coats etc. to get tangled up in our cloakroom. We have also seen keyrings with small parts and torches. These are not safe in school.
If children would like to have a keyring to identify their bag, it needs to be a small keyring with no loose or flashing parts.
Thank you for your understanding.Water bottles - Polite reminder that all children need to bring water bottles to school every day. It is really important that they are drinking plenty of water throughout the day and we always have bottles out of bags to encourage this. Please ensure these are labels as some have the same bottle and have been getting them mixed up!
Thank you.If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Mrs Hartley
s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk
Have a lovely weekend
God Bless,
The Reception team