Exploring Under the Sea!

Hello Reception Families and Friends! 

What a fantastic week we’ve had in Reception Class! Our theme this week was Under the Sea, and we’ve been fully immersed in learning all about the incredible creatures that live beneath the waves. From hands-on crafts to exciting adventures, here’s a look at what we’ve been up to.

The highlight of our week was our amazing trip to Weymouth SEA LIFE Center. The children were full of excitement as we explored the different zones and got up close to some incredible sea creatures.

Before our tour of the SEA LIFE Center, Reception spent a little time at Weymouth Beach, where we explored the different types of shells, seaweed and sea glass!

Once in to the Sealife Center we started our journey with a special talk where we watched the seals having their lunch. The children were fascinated as the seals playfully swam and interacted with their keepers. We learned about what seals eat and how they are cared for. It was amazing to see them up close and learn more about these wonderful marine mammals!

A visit to Fairy Penguin Island was another favourite part of the day. The little penguins were a delight to watch as they waddled around.

Next, we walked through the Ocean Tunnel, where we were surrounded by graceful rays and mesmerising sharks swimming overhead. 

As we moved through the park, we saw seahorses, jellyfish, and lots of brightly coloured fish! 

After all the excitement of exploring, we visited the adventure play park at the Sealife Center. The children had a fantastic time climbing, sliding, and playing together. It was a great opportunity for them to burn off some energy and enjoy the fresh sea air before we came back to school!

Back in the classroom, we got our creative juices flowing with some fantastic under-the-sea crafts! The children made beautiful jellyfish using paper plates and tissue paper, giving them long, wavy tentacles. We also created lots of fish inspired by the story The Rainbow Fish – some were sculpted from clay, others were painted, and we even made some using collage techniques. Our classroom is now a beautiful underwater world full of colourful sea creatures!

In our writing lessons, the children have been working hard on their very own sea creature fact files. They have been learning lots of interesting facts about different ocean animals, from how sea creatures communicate and protect themselves from predators. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm and growing confidence in writing!

As part of our learning, we also had an important discussion about keeping our oceans clean. In our Under the Sea Cleaning Spree lesson, we talked about how rubbish in the ocean can harm sea creatures and what we can do to help. The children were very engaged and came up with great ideas on how we can all help protect marine life by reducing plastic waste and always disposing of litter properly.

It has been a truly magical week of discovery, creativity, and fun. We are so proud of how engaged the children have been and how much they have learned about our amazing oceans.

We hope they’ve been telling you all about their adventures at home! And thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to another exciting week of learning next week!

We look forward to another fantastic week in Reception looking at amazing animals!

Miss Godden, Mrs Rogers, Mrs Smith and Mr Long.

A Wonderful Week of Books and Adventures!

Hello families and friends of Reception!

What an exciting and busy week we’ve had! From celebrating our love for books to showcasing our learning in our class assembly, the children have been engaged in so many wonderful activities across this week. 

This week, we have been learning all about African jungle animals. The children have loved discovering fun facts about lions, elephants, giraffes, and more! To kickstart this week we have been exploring the classic story Dear Zoo. The children have enjoyed the story, retelling it with the wooden spoon characters and exploring the 'what if..' questions we have using to inspire our writing in Drawing Club. 

As part of this topic, Reception have started making their own clay jungle animals, which they will continue working on next week. The children have been carefully shaping their animals using different techniques, such as rolling, pinching, and sculpting details like ears and tails. Once the clay dries, they will paint their animals in vibrant jungle colors to bring them to life. We can’t wait to see their finished creations displayed in our classroom!

On Thursday, we celebrated World Book Day in style! It was fantastic to see all the children dressed up as their favourite book characters. From superheroes to princesses, wild animals to magicians – the creativity was amazing! The children also participated in our school book swap, where they had the opportunity to choose a book to take home and share with family and friends. It was wonderful to see the children so immersed in the world of books!

Every afternoon this week, Reception has had a surprise visit from a Mystery Reader! Family and friends of our children have been coming in to read a story to the class, and the children have absolutely loved the surprises. A huge thank you to all the parents and relatives who took the time to share a story – your support means so much to us! The joy and excitement on the children’s faces when a new reader walks through the door is priceless. It has been a fantastic way to foster a love of reading and strengthen the connection between home and school.

Friday was a special day for Reception as we took to the stage for our class assembly. We showcased some snippets of the wonderful things we have been learning so far this year, and it was lovely to see so many parents and the rest of the school there to support us. The children did an incredible job, speaking and singing with confidence – we are so proud of them! Their hard work and dedication truly shone through, and it was heartwarming to see their excitement as they shared their achievements with everyone.

Looking ahead, next week we will continue exploring Amazing Animals as we dive in to the world of sea creatures! Our focus stories will be Snail and the Whale, Rainbow Fish and Under the Sea Cleaning Spree.

On Wednesday, Reception will be going on a coach to the Weymouth Sealife Center. We will be departing from school at 9:30 AM and returning by 3:15 PM, traveling by coach. Each child should bring a small backpack containing a bottle of water and a packed lunch (Food Links will be providing these for those who have preordered). Please ensure the backpack is light enough for your child to carry comfortably throughout the day. In case of bad weather, kindly provide your child with a light waterproof coat.

Thank you for all your ongoing support, and we look forward to another fantastic week in Reception!

Miss Godden, Mrs Rogers, Mrs Smith and Mr Long.