Flying High at Dragon School: Recpeiton's Week with Zog

Hello Reception Families and Friends!

Welcome back and I hope you had a restful Easter Holiday! It has been an absolutely action-packed week in Reception as we launched into our new theme inspired by Julia Donaldson’s beloved dragon, Zog. The children have shown incredible enthusiasm, stepping into a world of dragons, castles, and golden stars.

A Huge Thank You!

Before we dive into our weekly highlights, I want to send a huge thank you to everyone who completed the optional Easter task! The habitat boxes you created based on your child's chosen animal were truly fantastic. It was wonderful to see the creativity and effort that went into each one. They have made a wonderful addition to our learning space and are currently being displayed in our school library so please do feel free to come and have a look when you are next in!

ZOG

We introduced the story on Monday, discussing Zog’s determination to win a golden star and on Tuesday, the children practiced their early writing skills by creating speech bubbles for the characters, thinking carefully about what Zog might say.

On Thursday, we had a wonderful discussion about dragons in Philosophy For Children (P4C), asking big questions and sharing our own theories about these mythical creatures. Feel free having a go at home using the image below:

Where do you think this is?

How did the gold get here?

Why is the dragon asleep? How do you know it’s asleep? How long will it stay asleep for?

Who is the person in the black cloak?

Why are they playing a violin? What happens if they stop?

Is there anyone else here?

- Draw the rest of the scene – what else is in this place?

Magic Maths

We have been busy little mathematicians this week, balancing our number work with some tricky geometry.

Number Fluency: Every morning, we’ve been practicing our counting to 20 to build that essential number sense.

Power Maths: We’ve explored 3D shapes throughout the week, identifying spheres, cubes, and cones.

Shape Castles: On Tuesday, we combined Art and Maths to create 2D shape castles for Zog.

Dragon Flight School

In PE, the children took to the "skies" in our Dragon Flight School obstacle course, developing their gross motor skills.

Artistic Adventures: Drawing Zog

To bring our favorite dragon to life, we used an online drawing tutorial to learn how to draw Zog step-by-step. The children followed along with great focus, learning how to use simple shapes to build his characteristic horns, wings, and friendly face. It was a brilliant way to develop their fine motor skills and following-direction abilities. 

Zog Themed Adventure Time

A huge part of our daily routine is Adventure Time, our dedicated Child-Led Learning (Continuous Provision). This is when the children take the lead, choosing how to apply their skills in different areas of the classroom. Whether they were building elaborate castles in the construction area, "reading" to our plush dragons, or role-playing in our pop-up doctors corner, it was wonderful to see them exploring their own interests and developing their independence.

Reminder: Spring Weather & Coats

While it is lovely to see the weather finally getting warmer and better, could we please remind you that children still need to bring a coat to school every day. As you know, the British weather can be unpredictable, and we aim to get outside for Adventure Time and fresh air regardless of a light drizzle!

It has been a joy to see the children engage so deeply with the story of Zog. We are looking forward to another week of Julia Donaldson adventures and learning as we move on to the book The Smartest Giant in Town!

Thank you for your continued support, 

Miss Godden and The Reception Team