Autumn 2

Week 6

This week we loved exploring all things Christmas and really enjoyed welcoming our grown-ups into our classroom for our Christmas Crafts session. We had lots of fun making wrapping paper, Christmas cards and decorations. We can't wait to use them!

In Maths, we have begun to take away – we used a tens frame and cubes to count and then found the number on a number line.

We also enjoyed baking shortbread biscuits for us to share as our snack for Woodland Explorers. We made and decorated them with icing, yummy! In Woodland Explorers we found out about ways we could celebrate Christmas using nature and the outdoors. We made jingle bells and Christmas ornaments which we hung from our tree outside.

Week 5

We have started to celebrate Christmas in Reception. We loved reading 'How to Grow a Reindeer' this week! In Literacy, we drew one of the reindeer from the story and wrote some words to describe the reindeer. 

In Maths, we have been adding two amounts together. We used a number track and a tens frame to count on to find the total of the two amounts. "First I had 2 birds, then I had 2 more birds. Now I have 5 birds", Arabella. 

We loved decorating baubles with loose parts, and we also enjoyed making a Christmas wreath out of paper plates and pegging on foliage. We transformed the shop into a Christmas post office. We had lots of fun weighing the parcels to find out which is heavier or lighter. We also wrote letters, added stamps and posted them in the post box. 

In Woodland Explorers we loved finding out about birds migrating to warmer countries as it gets colder during the winter months. We made nature birds, orange bird feeders and explored making a huddle to keep ourselves warm!

Week 4

This week we have been learning about the seasons - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We discussed what we might see in different seasons. We loved exploring the four seasons tuff tray!

In Literacy, we finished our class story map for 'Room on the Broom'. We then drew our own story map and wrote some words on it. We have also been practising writing simple three-letter words on the writing table.

This is our finished 'Room on the Broom' storymap...

Week 3

We have continued to read and act out 'Room on the Broom' - in Literacy, we designed our own magnificent brooms and wrote some words to describe them. These included brooms with beanbags, a TV, music, ice cream and drinks holders!

In Maths, we have been finding one more and one less on the tens frame. We counted the number, added one more counter and then counted to find the total. "One more than 6 is 7."

We have loved playing a Room on the Broom phonics game - we roll the dice, move our character and then read the phonics sounds that we landed on. The first child to reach the witch's broom is the winner. This game was great for our turn-taking skills, as well as counting with dice. 

We loved baking healthy banana cakes this week, ready to enjoy in our Woodland Explorers time. We also enjoyed exploring our forest area for spiders webs, and used modelling clay and natural objects to make our own clay spiders!

 

Week 2

We loved reading Room on the Broom - we acted out the story using costumes and props. We also made witches potions...Iggity, ziggity, zaggety, ZOOM!
In Literacy, we drew the dragon from Room on the Broom and wrote some words to describe the dragon. 

In Maths, we have been exploring numbers using a tens frame. We picked a number and made the number on the tens frame  - then we counted to check. We have also loved making Numberblocks this week using coloured cubes. We put our number blocks in order from smallest to biggest. 

Week 1

Our focus book for this week is 'Room on the Broom' - we loved reading and acting out the story. In Literacy, we drew all the characters on the broom and wrote labels such as 'dog', 'cat', 'frog' and 'witch'. 
 

We celebrated Bonfire Night - we learnt about The Gun Powder plot and why we celebrate Bonfire Night. We made fireworks pictures using black paper, chalk and glitter. We loved exploring different patterns and shapes of fireworks. We also made firework sticks, using sticks leaves and glittery sparklers. 

In PE, we practised balancing on the obstacle course!

In Woodland Explorers, we tasted the yummy bread stick sparklers we had made, we also used nature objects to create our own firework mud printings. In small groups, we also created our own ribbon fireworks and used these to create fireworks in the air!

Week 8

We loved celebrating Diwali this week - we loved reading Rana and Sita! We made Rangoli patterns using coloured rice and flowers. We also made firework prints. We made Diya lamps - we made salt dough, shaped them into the lamps and then decorated them. At the end of the day, we lit the Diya lamps with pretend candles, listened to Diwali music and tasted Indian food. 

We also loved our visit from Tiddler Town this week. We explored lots of different roleplay. 

Week 7

We have had a fantastic week! To support our learning of 'Owl Babies' we had a visit from some owls from The Falconary Centre, Hagley. We learnt so many interesting facts about the owls. The owls flew across the school all and even flew right over our heads! We also stroked one of the owls soft feathers!

In Maths this week, we have been using a part-part-whole model to solve basic addition problems. We used blocks on the part-part-whole model, counting how many blocks we have altogether. 

In Literacy, we have been writing simple words to label the pictures from 'Owl Babies', such as 'log', 'mum', 'hop' and 'sit'. We used our Fred Fingers to help us to spell the words. 

We have also continued to have a lot of fun with pumpkins! We tested our fine motor skills by hammering golf tees into the pumpkins. We also made nests for the owl babies and acted out the story. 

In Woodland Explorers we had lots of fun searching for signs of autumn, then using what we had found to make our own pumpkin potions and witchy wands!

Week 6

We have been exploring the Autumn tuff tray - pouring and scooping the lentils and chickpeas into the buckets. We have also had lots of fun painting pumpkins with different patterns and colours. 

In Literacy, we have continued to retell the 'Owl Babies' story. We drew the owl mother and used our phonics knowledge to write the word 'mum' - using Fred Fingers to hear the sounds. 

In Maths, we have been order numbers to 5 - counting the objects and putting the numbers in order. We have also been measuring the lines using cubes and counting the how many cubes there are altogether. 

In Woodland Explorers, we learnt all about squirrels and made our own dreys. We also made squirrel feeders using oranges!

Week 5

We have had another great week! In maths, we have been focusing on numbers 0-6. We built towers to show the numbers and we have been practising counting each block. We have also been starting to write numbers 1,2,3,4 and 5. 

We went on an Autumn leaf walk and we loved comparing the different leaves that we found. We looked at their colour, shape and size. We then used these Autumn leaves to make leaf rubbing and leaf prints. We have also loved exploring pumpkin potions. We mixed vinegar and bicarb into the pumpkins to make the potions fizz!

In phonics, we have been learning the sounds o-orange, c-caterpillar, k-kangaroo, u-umberella and b-boot. We have also been finding the intimal sound of words. We matched the pictures to the sound card. "t is for tiger" -  Ellie. 

We have also continued to focus on writing our names. We made our names out of conkers. We then copied the names onto paper. 

Week 4

We loved cutting up different coloured Autumn leaves this week! We also enjoyed creating self-portraits using nature finds and looking at our own faces in the mirror. 

In maths, we have been focusing on numbers 1-3. We have also been ordering numbers on the number line. 
 

We have also been focusing on our letter formation, writing letters in glitter, tracing letters with paintbrushes and water and tracing letters with pom poms using tweezers to strengthen our hands. We have continued to read the 'Owl Babies' in Literacy - we drew the 3 owl babies and labelled them. We also made Owl Baby paintings using white paint and cotton wool to print the owls fluffy feathers. 

In Forest School, we loved making Autumn leaf crowns and looking at the different size, colour and shape of the Autumn leaves. 

Week 3

We have been practising writing our names this week. We put the letters of our name in the correct order and then practised writing our name or the first letter of our name.

In maths, we have been learning all about repeating patterns. We made repeating patterns using blocks - we also made repeating patterns using potato prints! We have also been practising counting to 10 - we jumped between each number log, counting to 10!

We have continued to learn about Autumn – this week we loved blackberry painting! Squashing the blackberries to make paint and smashing the blackberries with a hammer to make blackberry splats. We also loved our Autumn playdough flavoured with cinnamon. 

In phonics, we have been learning to recognise and write 'm'. We cut out the letter 'm' and made it into a m-m-mouse by sticking on whiskers, ears and googly eyes. 

We also had lots of fun cooking healthy cookies to enjoy at Forest School tomorrow!

Week 2

Our topic for Autumn 1 is 'All About Me' so in art this week we painted self-portraits, looking in the mirror to see out hair colour, skin colour and eye colour. We also drew pictures of and talked about the family that we live with. 

In Literacy, we have started to learn how to write our names or the first letter of our names. We have also started phonics this week and have learnt the sounds m, a, s, d and t! We drew the sounds with paintbrushes in the salt tray. 

 

 

Week 1

We have had a lovely first week of school in Reception! We loved exploring the Reception classroom and garden!