Food and Farming Fortnight - Reception visit on Monday

The next two weeks, leading to our Harvest celebration on Friday 11th October, are based around Food and Farming. As part of this learning we are very lucky to be able to visit Maiden Castle Farm. We will be going on Monday morning. Please could all children where wellies (pop them on at school) and bring a pair of shoes to change into on our return. Children will need to wear school tops, a waterproof coat and old play bottoms that can get muddy, alternatively if you have an all in one waterproof that would be great too.

We have capacity for 2 more volunteers to join us. We will be walking, leaving school after drop off and walking back in time for lunch. Either drop me an email or reply via the blog!

Many thanks,

Mrs. Smith and Mrs. J

Reception Home Learning Friday 27th Sept 2019

Reception Home Learning Friday 27th September 2019

Choose your learning and feel free to take photos and stick them in the book: 

• Reading: Here are all the sounds we have learnt so far: m a s d t i n p g o c k u b 

(Some children in Mrs. Smith’s group have also learned special friends sh ch th and qu) Play sound I spy, have a letter hunt by hiding sounds round the house, practise blending “pass me the c-u-p”

• Writing: We need to build fine and gross motor skills……….fine = cutting and sticking - go on an autumn walk and collect leaves to snip and stick, play catch, play with playdough or putty using rolling pins get your child to squeeze it, pinch it and poke each finger into it. Gross motor = chunky chalks and large paper or a dry surface outside - hold a chalk in each hand with a fist grip and, lying, sitting or standing, draw large and strong up and down vertical lines and then huge circles with both hands at the same time. Alternatively use large paint brushes and water outside to do the same thing on the ground or the wall.

• Maths: play a game with a dice, make a play tea party with toys counting out bowls and cups, go on a welly walk and count how many splashes you can make.

If you go down in the woods today...................

                                    Grrrrrrrrrrr! Good evening! It's all about bears this week!

Mrs. Smith and I send our best wishes to all the children who have gone down with the sickness bug and we hope you are feeling much better or better soon!


Despite illness, Reception have continued to meet expectations, settle in and make friends rising to all the challenges we have set them - and all done with laughter and a big smile. This would definitely explain why they are so tired at the moment!

With tiredness in mind, we decided that on a Thursday we would send the children home wearing their PE kits (uniform all in PE bags), in order to minimise frustration and maintain a calm atmosphere, also reducing the loss of items of clothing!

The children had a great day on Friday, learning the Haka, celebrating Paddington's birthday and our surprise visit to the park as a reward for working so hard as a team to fill our marble jar! Mr. Spracklen even joined us and flew down the zip wire!!!!!!


Home learning this week was to use the sounds we have learned so far to see if we could make simple 2 or 3 letter words; to make it easier, you could write the word for them and help them to "fred talk" it out. Or say "I want to make the word sit........what sounds do I need to make sit?" Help your child to identify them and then model writing them and reading the word.

Finally, new blank wow moments are in the tray outside the classroom - do feel free to add photos to them if you have time!

We are still on the look out for more fancy dress - they absolutely LOVE it! Thank you sooo much - it has been a real joy observing them dressing up and acting out weddings, going to work etc etc

Mrs. Smith and I cannot wait to see you all tomorrow!

Reception w/c 16/09/19 - lots to celebrate!

Good evening!

I hope you have all been enjoying the lovely weather this weekend?

Mrs. Smith and I keep having to pinch ourselves, reminding ourselves that Reception have only just completed their first full week! They are probably exhausted as they have learned so much already, mind you they have certainly been refuelled with plenty of fruit, milk and water during the day!!!!!!! It is lovely to see children love fruit so much!!!!!! On that note, do feel free to pack a slightly larger snack if your child is particularly hungry because we have been having a snack stop mid afternoon to refuel and rehydrate!

Thank you for the truly wonderful "Time to Talk" home learning - they were very imaginative and amusing, but also demonstrating how you can develop vocabulary! Super!

On Friday I sent home the first sounds we have been working on, so do feel free to practise reading those sounds. If your child is able to start practising the correct letter formation that would be fantastic. If your child has not yet developed a pencil grip, perhaps they could use their finger to make the sounds in sand or squirty shaving foam...............

Thank you to those of you who were able to come along to the parent information session - I will share the presentation slides on a separate blog!

Another huge thank you to those of you who have kindly, already, donated some fabulous dressing up items, junk modelling etc do please keep them coming in. We would also like some objects to explore, examine and take apart for out tinker table.

We introduced a marble jar this week to encourage the class to work as a team, ALL helping to tidy, listening well, behaviour for learning etc. If the whole class manages to do these things they earn marbles for the class. When we reach the top............there will be a colossal celebration!!!!!!!! (and maybe a treat!!!!!!😃)

In power maths last week and this week we have been recognising numerals to 5, securing 1:1 correspondance, subitising to 5 (recognising up to 5 in an abstract way without counting e.g spots on a dice), cardinality (knowing that the final number you land on when you count is the quantity there are. As well as how many different ways can you represent 4 or 5 using a 5 frame and different objects. Do continue this at home via playing board games with dice or using dominos, counting, reading numbers, guessing the quantities of things...............maths and number are all around us!!!!!

Here's to another fabulous week.............there maybe a special celebration this week!!!!!

Many thanks for all your support,

Mrs. J and Mrs. Smith

Brilliant first day of school..........ever!!!!!!!! Reception

It was so lovely to meet all of you this morning, children and families! It was such a positive first drop off and the children all settled quickly and calmly - thank you!

You should all be super proud of your children............they settled straight in to Reception!!!!!They approached everything with confidence...........whole school assembly, meeting their Year 4 buddy, whole school lunch time in the hall followed by playtime outside, whole school daily mile, PE as well as exploring our classroom. They will definitely be tired by Friday!!!!!!!

On a Friday, we will send home some home learning with an explanation sheet, so please look out for that in book bags.

Wow moments are such an important slip for you to fill out. Not only does it help us to build more of a picture as to the new skills that your child achieves, but it also gives the child a chance to stand up in front of the class and feel proud to share their achievement - another chance for us to celebrate your child! You can find wows just outside the door into the classroom, please help yourselves and hand them in in the morning!!!!!

A request: we are looking for some items to enhance our provision and they might be just the sort of thing you have at home.............items for junk modelling - tubes, boxes, plastic bottles etc do bring them in whenever you have a couple of items and pop them in the junk modelling box, old cameras or telephones or any bits of old technology that the children can take apart and examine as well as use screw drivers and spanners to develop fine motor skills, finally............we would like to build an open ended dressing up resource - so, not your traditional children's specific dressing up outfit but things that the children can use their imaginations with (charity shop finds would be great) beads, hats, bags, scarves, shawls, glasses, shoes etc

If you are able to help with any of these items we would be most grateful!

Thank you from a very happy and tired Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Johnson

Welcome to Reception 2019!

A VERY warm welcome to Reception and to The Prince of Wales School. Mrs. Smith and I hope you had a wonderful summer with plenty of fun and family time!

YOUR FIRST YEAR IN SCHOOL................ and we are soooooooooo privileged that we can be a part of it. It is such a special year in your life and we want to make sure that you learn lots, be happy and have great fun and most importantly, love coming to school!

We are also extremely excited to be back and to embark on your journey with you this year!

I am very conscious that there is a lot of information to take in, so I will blog things gradually. We just want you to enjoy the first few days of school and settling in (as children and families!)

Tomorrow, please come into the Reception outside area and we will open the doors at 8:45 am. If you bring wellies tomorrow please leave them on the welly rack outside. Just inside the door you can leave a water bottle and healthy snack. Book bags in trays, coats on pegs and then find your group and morning power up activity! At 3:30 pm wait in our outside area and we will match up each child with their family! If we could also kindly ask that children do not play on or with the equipment before and after school as we will have tidied it away or have it set up for learning.

Some children will come in and feel nervous, some confident, some maybe tearful...........this is all FINE and perfectly ok! Be guided by your child, we want them to be happy! If they are happy and settled and confident for you to go, then that is not a problem. If they are very unsettled, either Mrs. Smith or myself will come and help with a gentle hand over! You may find they are fine one day and then not the next, this too is normal as they will probably be very tired at the start.
(Click on the link to watch the episode at home!)

Elmo says good bye!

You can always make an appointment for a quick chat if needed and you can't catch us in the morning - drop off can be quite busy!

I will blog tomorrow to fill you all in on their first day and with a few more bits of info!

See you all tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!

#veryexcitedreceptionteam!