Reception - Bugs and Mud!

Happy Saturday Everyone!!!!!!

We have had an inspiring week learning all about bees as well as exploring in Forest Schools, PE with Mr. Treble, time to play on the school field and lots of fun in the rain! Our mud kitchen areas have been very aromatic this week and have not only provided an excellent platform for curiosity, discovery, imagination, sensory play, role play and vocabulary building but also developing fine motor skills with chopping, snipping, squeezing, stirring, mashing...............

We loved learning about doubles in Power Maths, as well as learning the days of the week. Evie sent in some superb home learning related to Power Maths and spelling the days of the week, the months of the year and the seasons! Well done Evie!


Alek has shared a lot of home learning with Mr. Spracklen and also shared a show and tell video with us proudly explaining about his lockdown challenge! Well done Alek, I know you have another distance challenge planned - good luck!

We have been challenging ourselves in class to shared write the longest sentence in the world, EVER!!!!!!!!!

It was a real joy to welcome back some other members of our class this week, it was so lovely to see them and we are certainly missing our friends that are still at home.

See you all on Monday for some slimy learning..........look out for the Reception Learning Buffet Slide on the Virtual School.


Finally, a huuuuuugggggggeeeeee thank you to Mrs. Cura, who has been working with us. She is now going to spread her magic back in Year 1. We will miss you Mrs. Cura!!!!

Big Happy Hugs from Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Cura, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. J

We are so proud of you Reception!

What a strange week of weather we have had!!!!!!!!!! The cooler temperatures, drizzle and grey skies have certainly not stopped a great deal of water play, from the mud kitchen, painting, watering plants, water fights, bathing babies, washing windows to problem solving.

We hope that our settling in in the outside areas approach, along with Mr. Spracklen's inspiring greeting on our first day back, made you all feel welcome and at ease. Our aim was also to ensure all the children had smiles on their faces and felt happy.

I have to say, children of 4 and 5 years old are definitely not given enough credit for how absolutely fantastic they have been, and continue to be, throughout this pandemic. They clearly understand guidance about social distancing and hygiene and were fully aware of this before they returned to school. We have begun each day with sharing our feelings following excellent guidance from Clare Shave and a brilliant book that Mrs. Brooker gave us. The children have been open, honest and articulate about their feelings and worries and have approached the whole situation of returning to school with great, admirable maturity. I strongly believe that many adults could learn an awful lot from our youngest learners! Qualities that I have seen in abundance since the return to our two kingdoms are: positive attitudes, kindness, consideration and the care and concern of others. We are so proud of EVERY member of our class, whether they are at home or at school.


I would like to reassure families that are still learning from home, we are following the same Learning Buffet to ensure a fair and consistent learning experience.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to continue to send RWInc books home in order to limit the transference and possible cross contamination between households when sharing resources. The children in school will be having daily RWInc lessons as usual and children learning from home should continue to follow the virtual school RWInc slide. Continue to read stories together and talk about them in order to build repetition, build repertoire and build vocabulary.

Thank you to those of you who have continued sending in their learning from the virtual school. We love seeing all your adventures.

We will all be together again very soon!

Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Cura, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. J

Reception Sunday 31st May 2020

Happy Sunday to you All!

This week, we will not be following a Power Maths Unit because we wanted to have a review focus on number. Along side practising number (as referenced on the Reception Learning Buffet Slide) you can follow the White Rose Maths Learning for this week based around The Snail and the Whale - the links are all on the slide..........we hope you enjoy it, please dip in and out of the links.

We are very much excited to welcome back those of you who have made the decision to return to school tomorrow. We will be in our outside area ready to greet you all at your staggered drop off times. Each morning, as I have said when I have spoken to you, we will begin our settling in period based outside before coming in to register.

We have been donated a paddling pool which we would like to use if this hot weather continues. If you are happy for your child to play in it, please send a change of clothes in a small bag and a small towel. Rather than them all changing into swim suits, we will let them go in in their clothes (shorts and t-shirts).

Donations: as we are aloud to use plastic items that we can regularly disinfect, we are on the look out for unwanted playmobil for our small world - if you have any that you could donate please pop it in a plastic bag and leave it with us when you drop off. Like wise, for our mud kitchen and outdoor curiosity play house we are looking for china tea sets, pestle and mortars, tea pots and crockery that are unwanted. We can disinfect these easily too.

Can't wait to see you tomorrow and we will be in touch with those of you who are not coming in.

Best Wishes and Big Hugs!!!!!!!

Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Cura, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. J

Reception - Tuesday 26th May 2020 - a few words!

Good Evening Everyone,

Can you believe this glorious weather we are having? We hope you are enjoying it together.

It has been fantastic speaking to you all over the last couple of days, reassuring you all in your own personal circumstances and supporting you every step of the way in the difficult decisions you have had to make. We really appreciate your understanding when agreeing to the staggered time slots for drop off and pick up. You have all been wonderful, supportive and so amenable - thank you, your kind words really mean a lot!


I composed a letter, detailing items your child/children will need to bring with them, which you should have received this evening via parent mail and on the school facebook page.

We have had kind donations of gazebos and tarpaulin to create shaded areas in our Reception outside areas and even a couple of paddling pools to cool off in!!!!!!!!

Remember, our policy during this time is very much Your Child, Your Choice, so should you change your mind with regards to returning to school, please don't worry, just e-mail me and we will welcome you with open arms (virtually) when we see you! Your child's safety and happiness is the most important thing to us - We Are All In This Together!!!!!!


I will write to you all next week with regards to RWInc and Power Maths.

Stay safe, please don't worry, enjoy the sunshine and we will see you all soon!

Mrs. Smith and Mrs. J

Reception Wednesday 13th May 2020

Happy, sunny Wednesday to you all,
We hope you are all keeping well?

I have seen some fantastic spider themed learning and Alek even discovered, a couple of weeks ago when looking for ants, some eggs and larvae which are now hatching into ladybirds that he is looking after and studying. We definitely have some wildlife experts among us! If you haven't got one already, why not invest in a magnifying glass! You could have hours of fun learning on a mini beast hunt in your garden or on a walk.

Here are a couple of websites with some gems of activities you may like to try for something a little different - I absolutely love the Wilderness Kids one!

Phonics I-Spy bottles

Ideas for learning activities outside using nature.

I am in the process of beginning to write the end of year school reports and would very much like you to email me a couple of lines from your child/children with a comment about what they have enjoyed about school. It could be about topics, friends, school routines, PE, the outside area, buddies, favourite things to do at school, Nativity Play, class assembly, trip to the woods, Power Maths, RWInc and learning to read??????????????

Thank you for your help in this matter.

I look forward to communicating with you soon about our return to school.

Best wishes and stay safe!

Big squishy hugs and love from Mrs. Smith and Mrs. J

Reception Thursday 7th May 2020

Hello Everyone,

I hope you managed to enjoy PoW VE Day celebrations in some way today! What a glorious day for it!

Mrs. Smith and I were so thrilled to see all your faces again yesterday - we miss you all so much! It was also lovely to see you all cheerful and happy - this is the most important thing for us!!!

If your little ones are having trouble sleeping or you would like to encourage the benefits of relaxation and mindfulness, try this app: Moshi Sleep and Mindfulness

Next week's learning buffet will be based around spiders!!!!! Power Maths is taking away by counting back - On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday's slides I have added links to a couple of other websites that serve to deepen maths learning further (spider themed too!) If your child grasps the concept easily, then find ways to build on this using toys and items around the house - washing lines, plant pots, items in the fruit bowl. Ensure they touch the numbers or move the counters with accuracy (1:1 correspondance). We hope you will enjoy this week's learning!

Enjoy the next couple of warm days!

Lots of cheerful, warm hugs and positive
vibes..........


Mrs. Smith and Mrs. J

Reception Thursday 30th April 2020

It's nearly disco time........I can't wait........I hope you have been practising your moves ready for tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!

Next week..................

We have the final week of our ant focus learning!
Mrs. Smith and I hope to make a delivery/exchange of RWInc books and Learning Journeys so that you can add any learning or memories from these last few weeks.
I will be setting a challenge, via the blog, to learn a poem of your choice and be recorded reciting it!

Adults: here are a rainbow of riddles to keep you thinking.........

I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I? 

You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy.

I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?

What is seen in the middle of March and April that can't be seen at the beginning or end of either month?

You see a boat filled with people. It has not sunk, but when you look again you don't see a single person on the boat. Why?

A woman shoots her husband, then holds him underwater for five minutes. Next, she hangs him. Right after, they enjoy a lovely dinner. Explain.

What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?

A song from Mrs. Smih and I for all you fantastical, amazing PoW families...........Don't Give Up!  xx