Term 1
Oi Frog! Oi Cat! Oi Dog!
This week, we have been reading the books Oi Frog!, Oi Cat! and Oi Dog! by Kes Gray.
The children have loved listening to and joining in with the stories. We have talked about rhyming words and played some rhyming games. We were able to have a good discussion about some of the different animals in the stories. We introduced the term 'habitats' and discussed what a habitat is.
The children looked at some of the different habitats that exist in the world around us and we played some 'match the animal to the habitat' games. The children then made their own habitats for the animals that they had chosen.
Lots of fun was had! 
Marvellous Maths
We have been working very hard on our maths this term. We have been practising our counting and making sure that we recognise the numbers 1-10. We have also been learning about length and ordering sticks that we collected from our woodland walk in size order.
There are lots and lots of conkers on our playground, so we have been using them to help with our maths. We have been weighing them on scales and been comparing their weight to that of coloured multi-link cubes. How many conkers and cubes would it take to balance the scales?
Using measuring cylinders of different sizes, we counted the number of conkers it took to fill them. With our tweezers, we have been working on our fine motor skills, by trying to lift conkers and put them into a cup. Not only was this fun and helpful with our counting skills, it also develops the strength in our fingers which will benefit our writing.
Not A Box
We read the book 'Not A Box' by Antoinette Portis. This book perfectly captures the amazing capacity of a child’s imagination to create endless possibilities out of a humble box.
We left lots of cardboard outside and the children worked, either individually, in pairs and in some cases groups of 3, to make their own creations.
Harvest
We learnt the song 'Big Red Combine Harvester' for Harvest.
Thank you to our wonderful families who were very generous - our fantastic new Reception children brought in many food donations to give to our local food bank for those who are in need.
Thank you to our wonderful families who were very generous - our fantastic new Reception children brought in many food donations to give to our local food bank for those who are in need.
Beautiful Oops
We have been reading the book 'Beautiful Opps' by Barney Saltzberg.
The book is all about mistakes. In life, we all make mistakes - grown-ups and children alike. Children sometimes have trouble dealing with their mistakes, whether it's a piece of artwork they've torn by accident, or juice they've spilled on their favourite drawing. In this book, every page begins with a 'mistake' that ultimately unravels, lifts out, or pulls up to become a surprising work of beauty. The children saw firsthand as we went through the book that any smudge, smear or stain could lead to something absolutely marvellous - with a little imagination.
This book taught us all a valuable lesson: 'When you think you have made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful!'
The Colour Monster
Our class book this week is 'The Colour Monster' by Anna Llenas. We talked with the children about the different emotions that we all sometimes feel and discussed what we can do if we feel this way. The children were very good at describing how they would help their friends if they were sad or angry; they would show them love and happiness to cheer them up!
Settling in to life in Reception class!
