Monday
Reception begins the week with an introduction to our topic on Dark and Light. We all come together to find out where the light comes from. A very interesting conversation takes place between the children about ‘what happens to the sun at night time?’.
Independent Learning
The children are now very confident at accessing resources and challenging themselves within the classrooms. The areas are enhanced to support a specific topic or to help develop particular skills we would like the children to build.
Letters and Sounds
In our daily letters and sounds session, we were learning a new sound. The sound today is ‘ar’. We have been practising hearing the sound in words, writing it, and reading it in sentences.
Swimming
After lunch, Reception took the minibus up to the swimming pool at the Senior School. They have been working on ‘heads back and tummies up’ when doing backstroke.
Tuesday
Maths
This week, we are focusing on number writing and sequencing numbers to 20. Today, we worked in small groups to write our numbers to 10 on the lightboards.
Independent Learning
During Independent Learning, we saw some lovely work on the light boards. The children were showing their creative skills by producing ‘fireworks’ and ‘planets’ with the glass beads and chains provided.
Cooking
The children have been very excited about their parents’ tea party. They made cakes, sandwiches and fruit kebabs. The parents were invited to the classroom at the end of the day to enjoy the food and drinks and to look at what the children have been learning around the classroom.
Letters and Sounds
Our new sound today was ‘or’. We practised writing it in our busy books and reading it in words on cards.
PE
PE was in the hall today because it was raining. The children have been practising catching and throwing accurately between partners and into hoops.
Music
The children had their music lesson in the hall, as they are all learning to play the steel pans. They are developing a wide range of skills in this lesson, including listening, following instructions and repeating rhythms, to name just a few.
Wednesday
Maths
We started our day with a Mathematics session. We were continuing our work on numbers to 20, and today we were focusing on sequencing the numbers. We were using the language of before, after, one more than, and one less than.
Independent Learning
We enjoy playing outdoors. The children have access to the outdoor courtyard during Independent Learning time. Today, two children built a wonderful boat and went sailing all over the world.
Letters and Sounds
We continued learning our new sound ‘or’. We wrote words with the sound in and practised putting ‘doorbells’ under the letters to show how many sounds are in the word.
OWLS (Outdoor Wild Learning School)
This afternoon we attended OWLS and enjoyed a campfire. We discussed what was needed to light the fire and the children learned about the fire triangle and fire safety. Our pupils had the opportunity to toast marshmallows and melt them in between chocolate digestives. What a treat! During these sessions, the children have time for Independent Learning and to investigate the woods.
Thursday
On a Thursday, Reception write in their OWLS diaries to keep a weekly record of what they have been doing. The children are encouraged to write independently and include photos in about their activities.
Maths
In Maths, as part of our topic on Light and Dark, we were learning about stars and how you can use two triangles to create a six-pointed star. There was lots of fine motor skill practise as we cut out the shapes and stuck them together.
Thursday afternoon is our Specialist afternoon. The children have Music, French and Dance lessons. It was a busy afternoon full of lots of exciting activities.
Friday
We started the day with a Maths session revisiting our week of numbers to 20 and shapes.
Independent Learning
We were being creative in the Art Studio during Independent Learning, making firework pictures. In the Art Studio, the children are encouraged to use a variety of media and to take inspiration from a range of sources. They came up with some wonderful ways to create firework pictures.
Lunch
The children enjoy lunchtimes. It is a social occasion for the children practising their table manners and trying many different foods.
During the afternoon the children visit our library. They are able to choose a book to take home on a weekly basis and it is an opportunity for tea.