What We’ve Been Up To: Reception's Week 3 Update

 Hello Reception Families and Friends!

What a fantastic week we’ve had in Reception! The children are settling so beautifully into their school routines, exploring our continuous provision, and building lovely friendships. "Who Am I?" gave us wonderful opportunities to focus on Personal, Social, and Emotional Development (PSED), Communication and Language, Physical Development, and so much more!  

Here is a look back at everything we’ve been up to this week.

Phonics (Read Write Inc.)

Our little learners have been super phonics detectives this week! During our daily RWI Phonics sessions, we introduced five new sounds:

t

i

n

p

g

We’ve also been practicing writing our names during our afternoon English focus groups, alongside fun afternoon oral blending activities like Fred Games.

Children have taken home some letter formation worksheets to practise at home! These are completely optional and do not need to be returned to school. We have also created some pathways to support your children with their Phonics at home if you have a spare 5-10mins with your child.

Fred Games

Phonics with Fred and Ellie

Early Maths & Problem Solving

In Math, we spent the week exploring number 1-3, focusing on counting, recognising quantities,  subitising (instantly recognising a small number of items without counting) and we have worked with Five Frames to build understanding of amounts up to 3.

To round off our afternoons before home time, we also enjoyed watching educational episodes of Numberblocks and highly recommend watching with your child if you have screen time at home. 

DT: Junk Modelling Masterpieces

On Tuesday afternoon, our classroom transformed into a design studio as the children explored Junk Modelling! Using a wide variety of recycled materials - from cardboard boxes and paper tubes to bottle tops and egg cartons - our little engineers got busy planning, selecting, and assembling their own unique creations.

This hands-on activity is a staple of our Early Years DT curriculum and supports Fine Motor Skills, Expressive Arts & Design, Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking and Communication & Language. From tall towers and speedy vehicles to imaginary creatures, the children showed fantastic imagination and perseverance!

Year 4 Buddies

On Wednesday afternoon, we were delighted to welcome Year 4 pupils into our classroom to read stories with our Reception children. It was heartwarming to see such great companionship across year groups and we are so pleased to see how well the children are connecting with our buddies.

POW Passports & Special Visitor 

We ended our week with an exciting visit from a special visitor for our POW Passports session!

Outdoor Play & Adventure Time

Through child-led continuous provision (Adventure Time), the children spent ample time exploring both our indoor and outdoor learning areas. This allowed them to follow their own interests, role-play, build, and extend their social interactions at their own pace.

Parent Class WhatsApp Group Announcement

I have been informed that a parent WhatsApp group has recently been set up for our Reception class! While this is managed independently by parents and is not an official school channel, it is a wonderful way for families to connect, ask quick questions, organise playdates, coordinate birthday celebrations, and stay up-to-date with upcoming class events.

If you are not yet part of this group and would like to join, please feel free to ask around among other parents at morning drop-off or afternoon pick-up time to get added to the group!

Thank you all for your continued support as your children settle into their school journey. Have a wonderful weekend, and we look forward to another exciting week ahead!

Warm regards,

The Reception Class Team