Our Achievements in Reception 2023/24

Visit to Paragon Vets

On Friday 7 June we walked to Paragon Vets in Dalston.

As part of our Science in the Spring term, we planted sunflower seeds and today we planted them in the vets' wellbeing garden. We enjoyed exploring the garden and especially the juice and biscuits!

This the fourth year Reception class have been involved in the garden; so far we have planted fruit trees, planted up the pond, made bird feeders and plant seed bombs.

Wetlands and Susan's Farm Trip

On Thursday 6 June we went on a trip to the Aglionby Wetlands and Susan's Farm.

In the morning we went to the Wetlands; on the way from the bus to the hut we talked about and found clues of which animals might live there. Then we did a treasure hunt; we had to find flowers, different grasses, a feather and a bone! When it rained, we went into the hut to explore some larger bones; skulls and spines. Before lunch we went pond dipping, we found lots of creatures, using the fishing nets and then we tried to identify what we had found.

At the farm we met the 5 day old goslings, they were very cute and fluffy. We watched them eat goose grass and then we got to stroke them. We also saw some lambs and the pregnant long horn cows. We talked about what babies need to grow and stay healthy and then before we came home, we fed the chickens. We made sure our hands were nice and clean before we got onto the bus.

Maths - Numbers

In Maths we have started to look at numbers beyond 10.We enjoyed playing a game with a partner; one of us filled a 10 frame with counters then closed our eyes, then the other person added more counters to their 10 frame. When we opened our eyes we had to say how many counters there were altogether. Because there was one 10 frame already full, we were able to count on. To finish we used this Stem sentence "______ has ten and ______" (eg. 13 has 10 and 3).

Pedal and Scoot

On Tuesday 14 May, all of the Reception class brought their bikes into school and took part in a 'Pedal and Scoot' session.

First, we did safety checks on our bikes; we checked the brakes, made sure that the wheels went round, made sure that the handle bars were secure and that our bells worked. Then we made sure that our helmets fitted our heads properly.

We were put into groups and worked throughout the day on different skills; balancing on a bike, pedaling, riding independently and looking behind our shoulder and lifting one hand off the handlebars, and playing some fun games.

We all showed great resilience, perseverance and great team spirit.

Forest School

From Monday 6th May to Friday 10th May, Reception class spent their afternoons at Forest School.

Lead by their teacher Mrs McArdle, they ventured into the woodland behind school. They spent their time exploring the woodland, making dens, making bracelets, using their senses, and identifying different plants, flowers, trees and even clouds. They enjoyed singing songs and playing lots of different games. Toasting marshmallows around the fire pit at school was also very popular!

The sun shone, and everyone enjoyed their week in the woods.

Plants

On a sunny day and when it wasn't raining, we went into our school garden to plant sunflower seeds. We talked about what our seeds will need to grow.

Once our seeds have grown, we are going to plant them in the special garden at the vets.

3D Sculpture

For the Summer term we are exploring 3D sculpture. First of all we have been exploring clay; through manipulation and experimentation. We pinched, rolled, squashed, stretched and twisted the clay and talked about how the clay felt.

People Who Help Us - Vets

As part of our 'People Who Help Us' topic we were visited by a vet and veterinary nurse. They talked a little bit about their job before we got to explore a range of activities; dressing up, bandaging up Nigel the dog, looking at bones and models of an animal's ear and teeth and matching pictures of X-rays to animals. We had lots of fun and are looking forward to visiting the vets in the Summer term.

Forces

We take every opportunity we can to be outside in Reception, and we are very lucky to have lots of different spaces around our school to explore.

While learning about different Forces, we used the bikes and scooters and talked about how we can push and pull with our bodies to make them move faster and change direction.

People Who Help Us - Fire Service

As part of our topic 'People Who Help Us' our local fire engine visited the school. The firemen and women talked to us about their jobs and then we all had a go at squirting water with the hose; we enjoyed watching the water make different patterns on the school yard and the rainbows too. We looked at all of the different types of equipment onboard the engine and then watched them fill up the tanks with water, outside our school. The sirens were very noisy when they drove away.

People Who Help Us - Police Service

For the second half of the Spring term we are learning about 'people who help us'. PC Kirkpatrick came to visit us at school, in his patrol car. He showed us his uniform and we got to try on the different helmets. He showed us his speed camera and handcuffs, and then showed us around his car. PC Kirkpatrick told us all about his job and answered our questions. We loved it when he sounded the siren; it was VERY loud!

Forces

During the second half of the Spring term we are going to be exploring different types of forces. First, it was pushes and pulls.

We looked at an image of a tractor and talked about what tractors are used for; they pull trailers, ploughs and other farm machinery. We then enjoyed playing and exploring with the wheeled toys, pushing them down ramps. Then 'Farmer Sam' brought a real tractor to show us, we couldn't believe how BIG it was! We looked closely at the big wheels and tyres.

Trip to Stocks Wood Forest School

To end the first part of the Spring term, Reception class enjoyed a day at Forest School.

We explored the forest looking for signs of spring, we went on a bear hunt and drew maps, we toasted marshmallows, drank hot chocolate, climbed, hammocked, pond dipped and had lots and lots of fun!

Trip to Susan's Farm

On Thursday 1 February we got to visit Susan's Farm at Houghton. We fed the sheep, called 'Oliver and James', we met the cows and the bull, and we saw a goose and the chickens. Because of all the rain we have had it was very muddy and our wellies kept getting stuck in the mud! We walked and ran across the fields and came back to school with rosy cheeks.

We have been learning about what happens on a farm and about the lifecycle of animals. We are looking forward to going back to the farm in May.

Capacity

We have had fun exploring capacity - how much fits into a container. We compared the different containers and talked about what we were seeing and doing. We loved playing with the sand and water.

Mass and Balance

In Reception we have had lots of fun exploring 'mass' and 'balance'. We have used the balance scales to compare the mass of objects and despite the very wet weather, have enjoyed working outdoors!

Drawing Faces

We have been drawing our faces with pencils. First we looked carefully in the mirror and looked at our features. Next we were given half of our face and we had to draw the other half. It was quite tricky!

Algorithms

We have been following instructions to make a bird feeder. This is part of our 'Computing' work, using algorithms. We also threaded Cheerios onto pipe cleaners (we also ate lots of Cheerios too!)

Once the strong winds have disappeared, we are going to hang the feeders on our school field.

Special Places

In our Religion and Worldviews lessons we have been learning about Special Places. We walked to St Michael's Church to meet Ben, our vicar, to talk to him about why church is special to some people. We learned that church is special to people who believe in God. Ben reads the Bible to teach people about God. We talked about why people go to church and what they do there.

On our way back to school we walked beside the River Caldew and spotted signs of spring.

Outside Play and Exploration

We have been enjoying exploring our school field in the frosty weather. We loved making frost angels and climbing on the climbing frame. We were all wrapped up warm so we didn't get cold.