This week in Reception has been full of exciting learning experiences!

Phonics

We have been learning four new sounds: x, y, z, and zz, as well as the tricky word she. The children have been practising writing these sounds on their whiteboards, focusing on letter formation and growing in confidence. We have also continued working on our oral blending skills and reading words that contain our new sounds.

Maths

In maths, we explored the numbers 5, 6, and 7, representing them using die frames and double die frames. We used the song 5 Little Aliens to understand how 5 and 1 make 6 and 5 and 2 make 7.
Bringing last week’s 5 Little Speckled Frogs song to life, the children took part in a life-sized version outdoors—jumping off the "log" into the "pool" as they counted how many were left!

We also linked our maths learning to our Dinosaur topic by exploring life-sized dinosaur footprints! The children compared their own feet to the footprints of a Velociraptor, Triceratops, Diplodocus, and even the T-Rex! They carefully counted how many of their feet fit inside each dinosaur’s footprint, making some fantastic comparisons.

RE

In RE, we continued our topic of Incarnation, briefly looking at baptisms and focusing on services of thanksgiving. We explored the meaning of thanksgiving and service, listened to stories and songs that might be heard in these ceremonies, and even put actions to a song!

Chinese New Year

On Wednesday, we celebrated Chinese New Year! The children learned about the festival and how people celebrate around the world. The highlight of the day was a tasting session, where we tried rice, egg noodles, prawn crackers, duck spring rolls, and sauce. The children had fun exploring new flavours and discussing their favourites!

PE

This week in PE, we continued developing ball control using our feet. The children practised dribbling a ball and stopping it with their feet, working on accuracy and coordination. We also played a fun game where the children became spiders and flies, using their kicking skills to develop control and movement.

Drawing Club

In Drawing Club, we explored our local area! Using Google Maps, we looked at Tunbridge Wells and talked about places we had visited. The children then created fantastic drawings representing these places, including the school, swimming pool, fire station, and more. It was lovely to hear them share their experiences and see their creativity come to life!

Welcome Wednesday Reminder!

Don’t forget that next Wednesday is Welcome Wednesday! From 8:30-9:00am, you are invited to come into the classroom to listen to your child read or see what they have been learning. We’d love to see you there!

It has been another exciting week in Reception—well done, everyone! We look forward to another fun-filled week ahead.

Star of the week: Congratulations to Blake, who is our star of the week, for showing amazing improvement in joining in with phonics and learning his sounds. Blake will be taking home his certificate and Wilfred the Elephant to write in the book all about his time spent with Wilfred over the next week and will bring him back next Thursday.

Please remember to read with your child, even for just 5 minutes! Please do also remember to record it in the reading record. We will only change your child's book if you have read with them 2 or more times in that week! Please remember to have the library book in your children's book bag on Thursday to be changed. 

Important dates coming up: 

Phonics workshop-4th and 6th of February 2.40-3.10pm

Dinosaur day- 5th February 

Amelia trip (dinosaurs and fossils)- 12th February, we are still in need of 1 more parent helper! 

Any issues or concerns we need to know about, please speak to the Acorn team before and after school or email at: acorn@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk