Indoor PE | Tuesday morning |
Outdoor Games | Monday afternoon – Wednesday afternoon (Summer) |
PPA/COSMIC | Thursday morning |
Library | Thursday afternoon |
Learning and Topic map – Spring 1
Spring Term
Understanding the World: People, Culture and Communities
- Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate – maps.
The children have been exploring maps. We have talked about where we might see maps and what we can use them for. We looked at lots and lots of different types of maps… treasure maps, Atlases, maps of the world, maps of the UK, trail maps and fiction maps.
We had lots of opportunities to draw our own maps for different purposes, including creating our very own treasure maps with a route to the treasure, and a map of our route to school.
We made a map of the school and used it to follow a trail along specific landmarks within school, and end up at a specific location!
Expressive Arts and Design: Being Imaginative and Expressive
- Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate – try to move in time with music.
This week we have been exploring music, and focussing on percussion instruments. In our keyworker groups, we have had a go at playing lots of different percussion instruments: cymbals, maracas, snare drums, castanets, the triangle, xylophones, glockenspiels, claves, an agogo, African drums, tambourines, bells and
The children loved experimenting with making different sounds with their instruments. We had a go at playing music quietly, loudly, fast and slowly. We also talked about what each percussion instrument sounded like, and which one we preferred to play and why.
Understanding the World: The Natural World
- Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.
Expressive Arts and Design: Creating with Materials
- Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
- Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.
This week we have been exploring Spring, and looking at how the seasons change. We have talked about the cycle of the seasons, what happens as winter turns into spring, and what we can expect to see. In our keyworker groups, we have matched photographs of baby animals with photographs of adult animals. We have used our knowledge of spring and seasons to create our own spring collages. The children looked at some examples and then were free to create their own, using any materials and colours they thought would be best. Some children created a farmyard scene, with new baby animals. Some children created flowers, trees and plants. We shared our artwork between our keyworker groups and talked about what we liked best about our work.
Understanding the World: The Natural World
- Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants.
All of the children have planted their own broad bean, in a transparent pot, so that we can watch it grow. We have talked about what plants need to grow well; sunlight, water and soil. We explored the stages of growth for plants and are very excited to observe our beans sprouting, growing shoots and finally growing their leaves, stalks and flowers.
The children have loved engaging with our sensory tuff tray this week. We have used some of our key texts, ‘Oliver’s Vegetables, ‘Errol’s Garden’ and ‘The Prettiest Flower’, to inspire us in our role play. The children have been able to dig, plant and explore with various vegetables, such as radishes, green beans, broad beans, mangetouts, sugar snap peas, carrots, turnips and baby sweetcorn.
Knowledge and Understanding of the world
- There are no early learning goals that directly related to computing objectives; it is still expected that children will be introduced to appropriate technology and use it within their provision.
We have been investigating technology this week, and have been using BeeBots to find out more about computers and basic programming. The children learnt how to turn their BeeBot on and off, and how to make it move. They were shown the direction and GO buttons, then they programmed their BeeBot to move. We explored what happens when we input directions but do not press go. We explored what happens when we input further instructions without clearing the BeeBots memory first. Then we set challenges for the children… Can you make your BeeBot travel to a certain point? Can you send your BeeBot to a friend? Can you instruct your BeeBot to turn around a corner?
Now we know how to use BeeBots sensibly and properly, we will be able to add these to our enhanced provision for the children to access when they choose in their Discovery Time.
Understanding the World: People, Culture and Communities
- Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
- Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate – maps.
We have been celebrating the Lunar New Year! The Reception classroom environments have been enhanced with a Chinese New Year theme, lots of red and yellow colours to symbolise good fortune and lucky wishes. The children have engaged with Chinese New Year through fictional picture books, imagery and photographs, non-fiction library books and music. We have learnt about the origin story of the Lunar New Year, and the meaning of each animal. We have talked about Chinese traditions around new year and have compared these to New Year’s Eve here. The children have loved Dragon Dancing in the hall, playing instruments to create their own Chinese-style celebration music, creating Chinese fans, decorating lanterns, painting Chinese dragons and lions, and looking at special Chinese outfits and money purses.
Expressive Arts and Design: Creating with Materials
- Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools, techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
- Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.
The children have been working on their modelling skills, and have been using modelling dough to practise making balls, sausages and other shapes. The Reception environment has been full of PlayDoh and modelling dough activities; the tuff tray has been very popular this week with children creating different shapes, using rolling pins and using shaping tools to add textures to their models.
We have made animals out of clay in our Keyworker Groups. The children have made an animal that would live in the habitat they created previously. We have discussed what sorts of animals might live in our habitats, and why. We then thought about the feature these animals have and how they are suited to living in their habitat.
Understanding the World: The Natural World
- Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.
This week we have been learning about life cycles – we have focused on the life cycle of a frog. We have talked about what life cycles are and how each stage is different. We have used real life photographs to show the children what frogspawn, tadpoles, froglets and frogs look like. The children then put these in the correct order. The children have complete various activities related to frogs and their life cycle.
Drawing Club
This term we have introduced ‘Drawing Club’.
Drawing Club involved a short period of time together as a whole class, followed by time with the children exploring their ideas and creativity.
First, we share a story – we have previously read ‘Not Now, Bernard!’, this week we are reading ‘The Three Little Pigs’. Then, we talk about the characters, the setting and other curious moments from the book.
The children use their imagination to bring the story to life in their own way. What does the monster’s house look like? Where did he come from? What will he eat next?! They draw their own pictures and use sound and number codes to enhance their ideas. A number 5 could open a door, the sound “ch” could turn day into night, the word “the” could make a wolf angry! We also learn new vocabulary, with actions, related to the book we read.
So far Drawing Club has been a hit!
Expressive Arts and Design: Creating with Materials
- Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools, techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
- Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.
The children have been creating their own printing artwork, using a range of fruits and vegetables. We cut each fruit or vegetable in half, in different ways, and experimented with paint to create different prints. We looked at how we could create different prints using the same fruit, by changing the way we press it onto the paper or by changing the colour of the paint. We have loved seeing how different each piece of art looks. The children are super proud of their work – and so they should be!
Some of the printing artworks are on display in the Reception Creative Area for the children to have a look at over the term.
Understanding the World: The Natural World
- Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
This week, we have used our keyworker time to talk about contrasting environments. We have looked at a map of the world, and identified which parts are water and which parts are land. Then we talked about countries; some countries are very different to one another. We have been learning about hot and cold climates. We have looked at photographs of different landscapes, such as an arctic climate, deserts and tropical climates. We also identified some animals that would live in each type of climate.
We can explain how we know a climate is hot or cold by describing what we can see.
The children have also had the opportunity to explore and become Travel Agents as we have created a new role play area following this learning and the children’s interest in holidays.
Understanding the World: The Natural World
- Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants.
- Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
Expressive Arts and Design: Creating with Materials
- Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
- Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.
This week the children have used their previous knowledge of contrasting environments and climates to learn about different habitats. We talked about what a habitat is and looked at different types of habitat; the arctic tundra, rainforests and jungles, big cities, farmyards, ponds and lakes, deserts, the savannah and grasslands, woodlands and the ocean.
We have looked at photographs of these habitats and thought about what they would be like to live in… cold… hot… dry… wet… sunny… green… sandy… freezing… icy… dark…
The children then chose a type of habitat to create. We used junk modelling and recyclable materials to create a habitat. The children have tried to choose appropriate materials, colours and textures, to resemble the landscape of their habitat.
Welcome back to school. We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Years with your family and friends. We are excited about the new term ahead and will keep you updated with some key information.
Daily routines
We ask you to ensure:
- All clothing is named before your child comes back to school.
- Your children will need to bring a water bottle that is clearly labelled, every day.
P.E Days
Reception have Outdoor P.E. on Monday and Indoor P.E on Tuesday. Please make sure your child is sent into school in their P.E. kit on P.E. days. We kindly ask that you ensure your child wears their normal Warren Park polo shirt and jumper or cardigan with either shorts or tracksuit bottoms (blue, grey or black preferred if possible). We ask that children do not wear football kits. P.E. lessons will be held outside wherever possible so your child should wear suitable footwear, such as trainers, rather than school shoes or boots.
Reading
We would like to thank you for your continuing support with reading this year. Reading in Reception is our priority. Ideally, we would like your child to read at home every day for 20 minutes. We also ask that you use the words and sound flashcards at home to support your child to learn these. The reading books that are going home are at your child’s phonic and word level; the expectation is that they should be able to read them fairly independently.
Last half term we have noticed quite a few children are struggling to learn the words we are sending home. This is key to developing fluent readers as they will recognise by sight and will not have to use their phonic knowledge to decode these words. It is important to practice these words every day. Please speak to a teacher if you need support with this.
Children will continue to bring home bedtime reading books for you to read together. These books go out every Friday and need to be returned every Wednesday. We have invested in many books for you to enjoy at home with your child so please ensure these are returned.
Drawing Club
We are excited to announce next half term we will be starting ‘Drawing Club’. Drawing Club is an opportunity for children to immerse themselves in the books we read, to explore characters and settings. Most importantly children have the opportunity to use their imagination and create new outcomes and scenarios from the stories we read.
Spring 1: Curious creatures
Hear are a few areas of learning we will be looking at next half term.
Expressive Arts and Design
We will create clay creatures and design a habitat.
We will learn how to make a print.
We will practice our observational drawing techniques.
We will use collage to create a Chinese dragon.
The natural world
We will explore contrasting places including deserts, jungles and the polar regions.
We will also explore life cycles.
We will explore different types of habitats.
People and communities
Children will have the opportunity to look at and explore Chinese New Year.
We will learn about their customs and beliefs.
This is just a snapshot of what your child will be doing this half term. Please refer to the school website for more information and detail.
As always, we are always here to help!
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to come and see us and we will be more than happy to help.
Thank you for your continued support.
Year R Team
Knowledge and Understanding of the World: Past and Present
- To know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on experiences and what has been read in the classroom.
During keyworker time this week we have been looking at the sequence of our school day, using visual timetable cards. The children were introduced to time-related vocabulary, to describe the order of our school day; ‘first’, ‘next’, ‘after’, ‘last’, ‘before’. We talked about how some of our school days are different to others, for example COSMIC Outdoor Classroom on a Thursday morning, outdoor P.E. on a Monday afternoon and indoor P.E. on a Tuesday morning. We also recapped the days of the week, discussing how many days there are, what order they go in and how many days we spend at school. We sang our Days of the Week song together and ordered flashcards. The children were fantastic at finding the correct day, using their initial sound knowledge to identify which day comes next.