Autumn 1

Week 7

In art this week, we learnt all about the artist Yayoi Kasuma, who used loads and loads of dots in her artwork. She even covered pumpkins in dots. We made our own dotty pumpkins by sticking round stickers on them. We also painted dotty pumpkins using cotton buds. We also explored dots on the playdough table. We loved watching a video about Yayoi Kasuma's mirrored infinity rooms, full of dots. We made our own 'infinity table', using mirrors, CDs and round objects to create the dots. 

We loved making pumpkin scones this week. We first cut up the pumpkin - we learnt how to chop safely, keeping our fingers out of the way. We then cooked and mashed the pumpkin. Then we mixed all the ingredients together. We then rolled out the mixture and cut it into rounds. Finally, we baked them and ate them. Delicious! 

In Maths, we have been learning about one more and one fewer. We enjoyed singing 5 little speckled frogs. We then added one more or one fewer speckled frog onto the log and counted how many we have now. We also found one more and one fewer using the bead strings. 
 

Week 6

We have been exploring all things pumpkin this week! We scooped out the inside of a pumpkin to find the seeds! We also enjoyed painting the outside of pumpkins, and we loved painting our own picture of a pumpkin. 

In Maths, we have been practising counting to 6, using objects to help us count. We have also been writing numbers 4,5,6 and putting the numbers 1-6 in the correct order. 

In Literacy, we have started to write simple words. We used our phonics mats to help us hear the sounds in words. 's-a-t .... sat' 

We also loved Commando Joe with Mr Ferman. We had to move the cones into the correct buckets, without touching the cone with our hand and without touching the lava (the floor). This tested our balance, problem-solving skills and team work!

Week 5

We have been learning all about Autumn this week. We loved reading 'The Leaf Thief' and learning about why leaves change colour and fall off the trees in Autumn. We went on an Autumn leaf hunt and collected lots of Autumn leaves. We then used the leaves to make leaf prints and leaf rubbings. We also enjoyed using the tweezers to move the pom poms onto the Autumn pictures.
 

In Maths, we have been focussing on numbers one, two and three. We practised writing the numbers. We also build towers to show a representation of the numbers. Then we practised counting with 1-1 correspondence. 

We have also had lots of practice writing our names, some children have started to write their own names on their pictures which is great to see!

We loved the visit from Tiddler Town! We had so much fun dressing up, exploring the cafe, garage, vets, doctors, grocery shop, post office, hairdressers, police station and so much more. 

Week 4

We have continued to read 'Owl Babies' and act out the story. This week in Literacy, we drew the three owl babies, Sarah, Percy and Bill. We then wrote the initial sound for each owl baby, 's' for Sarah, 'p' for Percy and 'b' for Bill! We also made the owl babies using loose parts. 

We have also been learning about other nocturnal animals. We made nocturnal animal pictures but cutting out the images of badgers, foxes, bats and owls and sticking them on black paper. We then added a background, such as the moon, stars or a tree for the owl. 

In PSHE, we learnt about all different types of families. We discussed in circle time who is in our family and who looks after us. We then drew a picture of our family and talked about why they are special. 

In Maths, we have been learning about repeating patterns. We made repeating colour patterns and repeating size patterns... big brick, small brick, big brick, small brick. We have also been focussing on the numbers one and two, how to count to 2 and how to write the numbers. We loved stamping and writing the numbers in playdough. 

Week 3

Our focus story for this week is 'Owl Babies' - we listened to the sound of some owls hooting and then discussed with our partners what could the sound be? Mrs Kitchener then showed us a nest with three baby owls and we read the story of the Owl Babies together.

We loved creating baby owl prints using cotton wool and white paint to make their fluffy feathers. We then added talons, a beak and eyes.

We have also been practising letter formation by tracing the sound with water and a paintbrush - "round the apple, down the leaf."

In music, we have been learning about different rhythms and copying the rhythms with our instruments!

 

Week 2

Our topic for Autumn 1 is 'All About Me' so we have been discussing what makes us special. We looked at our faces in the mirror and talked about what features we could see on our face. What is the same/different between us and our friends? We then painted a self-portrait! We also made a self-portrait using loose parts. 

We have continued to focus on recognising our names. We enjoyed putting the letters of our name in the right order, we then had a go at writing our name!

In Maths this week, we have focussed on matching and sorting. We matched the pairs of socks and hung them on the washing line. We also matched wellies and picture dominoes. We have also been exploring numbers 1-5 by counting and matching the objects to the number. 

Week 1

All the children have settled into Reception so well! We have been having lots of fun exploring the classroom and the Reception garden area. We loved the sandpit, the mud kitchen, pouring and measuring in the water tray, and creating in construction corner. 

We have been making our fingers strong and ready for writing by peeling stickers onto the patterns and using tweezers to match the colours. 

We started phonics this week with Fred the frog! We loved playing Fred games - 'c-a-t ... cat'. The sounds we have learnt this week are m, a, s, d, t. 

We have also started to recognise our names. We found the first letter in our name and coloured it in. Then we enjoyed writing the first letter with rainbow pencils.