Happy New Year to all our families from the Reception Team and welcome back for a new term.

Over the Christmas break, there have been a couple of changes in our learning environment.

Firstly, thanks to the efforts of our wonderful PTA and the generosity of local businesses, our mud kitchen area has received a bit of a ‘glow’ up. The area is now so much more inviting with recycled sleepers and wood chip flooring. It has already been used a lot by the children despite the cold weather!

Inside, new bookshelves have also been installed in both classrooms and stocked with a wonderful array of new picture books. There are many classic picture books on the shelves as well as a wide selection of books from a diverse range of modern authors. The children have been excitedly leafing through the books and we have shared the following books during story time this week.

 

In terms of learning, this week we have started our gymnastics unit in PE by looking at 5 shapes used: star, pike, straddle, straight and tuck.

In our Drawing Club sessions, we have been using the beautiful text ‘Blue Penguin’ by Petr Horacek and exploring the emotions felt by the main character throughout the book.

In maths, we have been practising our subitising skills and making amounts on 5 frames. We have also been looking at the number zero and what it means.

Next week, our topic of ‘Frozen Worlds’ will fully begin as we learn about the cold places in the world such as the Arctic and Antarctica.

And with cold weather in mind please remember that, even in winter, the children do spend time playing outside every day, so please make sure they come into school with a warm coat, hat and gloves. And, as always, please make sure all their belongings are named… gloves do tend to end up everywhere!!