Reception Blog
Week Beginning 1st December 2025
What an exciting week we have had!
On Monday, we took part in the whole school ‘Santa Dash’. It was great fun to run or walk alongside our friends, our buddies and our families. It was a fantastic morning and we thoroughly enjoyed getting in to the Christmas spirit as well as raising money for The Florence Nightingale Hospice.
On Tuesday, we had a very exciting day! Father Christmas and our class Elves paid us a visit! They had decorated the classrooms, left us letters and even put an advent calendar up on the wall for us! The children loved seeing some Christmas characters on the doors, decorating the Christmas trees, and thoroughly enjoyed exploring a range of Christmas activities throughout the day! The Butterfly Class Elf is called Jingles and the Ladybird Class Elves are Olly and Ivy.
This week we have been enjoying lots of Christmassy activities! The children have been making Christmas decorations for the role play corner and making Numicon Christmas crackers by showing number bonds to 10! We have also been very busy making lots of Christmas arts and crafts for our Christmas Market on 16th December, as well as practising our songs and poems for our performance!
Well done Reception for another fantastic week!
Week Beginning 24th November 2025
This week we have been learning about the artist Guiseppe Archimboldo. He was an artist who was alive nearly 500 years ago and he used seasonal fruits and vegetables to create portraits. The children have had a go at creating their own self-portraits in the style of Archimboldo.
In the outside area, the children have been building obstacle courses. They have been using the large whiteboard outside to plan their course before using the construction and ‘huff and puff’ equipment to create them. They have thoroughly enjoyed timing each other and creating a leader board for the fastest children to complete their obstacle course.
The children have also been busy learning some new Poetry Basket poems. So far we have learnt 12 poems and the children have a fantastic recall of them. We have started learning our Christmas Poetry Basket poems and songs ready for their first big performance in the hall!
Well done Ladybirds and Butterflies for a fantastic week of learning!
Week Beginning 17th November 2025
This week we have been learning about woodland animals. We learnt that some woodland animals are nocturnal, which means they sleep at night. We also learnt that some animals hibernate in the winter. The children have created their own collage owls and have learnt about different species of owl. We couldn't believe the size of some of them – The Blackiston-Fish Owl has a wingspan of up to 2 meters! We also learnt that some owls can see over 2 metres away in the dark! We read 'The Leaf Thief' which is a story about a squirrel who lives in a tree and the leaves keep disappearing!
This week we read the story 'The Leaf Thief'. The children became detectives and used the clues to work out who the leaf thief was. We found out that the thief was actually the wind! The children have created their own leaf themed suncatchers with paper plates and autumnal coloured tissue paper. We discussed how some trees change in the winter and lose their leaves. These are called deciduous trees. Some trees keep their green leaves all year round and these are called evergreen trees.
On Thursday, we took part in the whole school ‘Cross Country Competition’. Each child or ran, or walked, with their Year 6 Buddy to earn team points for their team colour! We were so proud of the children’s resilience, determination and sportsmanship!
Well done for another fantastic week of learning!
Week Beginning 10th November 2025
We have had a very important week learning about Remembrance and our school value for this month: Respect.
We know that many years ago there were two World Wars in which lots of people sadly lost their lives. Every year on 11th November, we remember those who fought and lost their lives, and those who continue to help protect our country. We wear poppies as a symbol of Remembrance and the children have enjoyed engaging in some poppy themed activities. They have decorated poppies with red paper and tissue paper and have printed Duplo poppies with paint. We also made our very own Remembrance Poppy Field in the sand pit. On Tuesday, we had a whole school Remembrance Day assembly and held a two-minute silence as a mark of respect.
In Drawing Club this week, we have continued using the story ‘What’s in the Witch’s Kitchen’ as a stimulus. This week we have been learning about the setting of a story and the children have drawn and described their favourite part of the Witch’s kitchen.
On Friday, we celebrated ‘Children in Need’ and ‘Diabetes Awareness Week’. We learnt about how the charity ‘Children in Need’ helps children all across the UK to feel happy and safe. We also learnt all about diabetes. We even had an assembly on Thursday about diabetes, and Freya told the children all about her Diabetes Superpower! On Friday, the children enjoyed engaging in some spotty Pudsey Bear themed activities and loved dressing in spots and blue clothes. They also created their own ‘Superpower Badges’ to show what their super powers were!
Well done for another fantastic week of learning!
Week Beginning 20th October 2025
We have had a fabulous first half term at school!
We have been learning about Halloween this week and how different people celebrate it all over the world. The children have been making their own Halloween potions in the mud kitchen using bicarbonate of soda and vinegar, using hammers to improve their fine motor skills by hammering nails and golf tees in to the pumpkin and they have thoroughly enjoyed exploring and describing the pumpkins! We have also been learning about the artist Yayoi Kusama. She is famous for using polka dots to decorate real pumpkins as well as paintings of them, with polka dots! The children have had a go at creating their own Yayoi Kusama inspired pumpkins. They have also created charcoal and pencil sketches of pumpkins too!
This week we have also been learning about the festival of Diwali. We learnt that it is celebrated all over the world and that it is known as 'The Festival of Light'. The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning about Diwali and have made their own Rangoli patterns with the loose parts, Mendhi patterns with powder paint and have used paper plates to make their own Diya lamps.
We have also continued our daily phonics sessions. This week we have learnt the ‘j’, ‘v’, ‘y’ and ‘w’ sounds. The children have completed some rainbow writing to practise forming each sound and the phonics booklet for these sounds will be sent home today.
Well done for a wonderful first half term of learning!
Week Beginning 15th October 2025
We have had a fantastic first full week in Reception! The children have started to settle in and become more familiar with their surroundings. We have enjoyed singing, decorating our names with dabby paints, circle times and exploring all of the activities in each area. We have also been reading the story 'The Dot' by Peter Reynolds. The children have each decorated their own dot and we will be displaying them in the classroom.
We have started our Maths carpet sessions this week and the children thoroughly enjoyed using Cbeebies Numberblocks as a hook for each session. We have learnt how to write numbers 1, 2 and 3 using these rhymes:
"Straight down in a line, number 1 is looking fine!"
"Around and back on the railway track! TWO-TWO!"
"Around a tree, around a tree, that is how we make a three!"
We will be learning about numbers 1 to 10 over the next couple of weeks, including learning the rhymes for how to form each number correctly.
We have also started our daily phonics sessions. This week we have learnt the ‘m’, ‘a’, ‘s’ and ‘d’ sounds. The children have completed some rainbow writing to practise forming each sound and the phonics booklet for these sounds will be sent home today.
We have been so impressed with how well the children are settling in to Reception and we are looking forward to an exciting year ahead! Well done Butterflies and Ladybirds for a fantastic first full week at school! You are amazing!
Week Beginning 6th October 2025
We have had a fantastic week in Reception with a real Autumnal focus!
The children thoroughly enjoyed their first performance at The Stoke Poges School. They sang 'Under the Harvest Moon' beautifully and performed three Poetry Basket poems too! They then enjoyed exploring their learning environment with their grown-ups. We were so proud of how well they sang and how confidently they performed!
We had a very exciting afternoon on Wednesday when the Reception children met their Year 6 Buddies! The Year 6 children came down to Reception to join their buddies in their learning time. The Ladybirds and Butterflies thoroughly enjoyed showing their Buddies around Reception and playing in the different areas with them.
In Maths this week, we have continued using Cbeebies Numberblocks as a hook for each session. We have learnt about numbers 6 to 10 and have learnt the rhymes for how to form each numeral correctly.
We have also continued our daily phonics sessions. This week we have learnt the ‘u’, ‘b’, ‘f’ and ‘e’ sounds. The children have completed some rainbow writing to practise forming each sound and the phonics booklet for these sounds will be sent home today.
Well done for another wonderful week of learning!
Week Beginning 29th September 2025
What a wonderful week we’ve had in Reception!
We have been exploring Autumn this week! Over the weekend, we tasked our Reception children with collecting some Autumn treasures. It has been so lovely to see the children exploring them and using them for different purposes, such as conkers for counting, picking up acorns with tweezers in the fine motor area and making Autumn recipes in the mud kitchen!
We have also continued our daily phonics sessions. This week we have learnt the ‘g’, ‘o’, ‘c’ and ‘k’ sounds. The children have completed some rainbow writing to practise forming each sound and the phonics booklet for these sounds will be sent home today.
This week, the children have also enjoyed exploring the mud kitchen. We read ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ and discussed the story. The children then worked as a team to create a recipe in the mud kitchen for the Tiger to enjoy. We were so impressed with their creativity!
Well done for another fantastic week of learning!
Week Beginning 22nd September 2025
We have had another fantastic week in Reception!
We have continued our Maths carpet sessions this week and the children thoroughly enjoyed using Cbeebies Numberblocks as a hook for each session. We have learnt how to write numbers 4 and 5 using these rhymes:
"Down and over, down once more, that’s the way we make a four!”
"Across, down and round to the end. Number five is round the bend!”
We will be learning about numbers 1 to 10 over the next couple of weeks, including learning the rhymes for how to form each number correctly.
We have also continued our daily phonics sessions. We have learnt the ‘t’, ‘i’, ‘n’ and ‘p’ sounds. The children have completed some rainbow writing to practise, forming each sound and the phonics booklet for these sounds will be sent home today.
This week, the children have also enjoyed exploring the mud kitchen and the sand and water areas outside. They have been making sandcastles and comparing size, using the stilts and boats in the water trays as well as the squeezers and juicers to make lemon and lime water and have been making some tasty recipes in the mud kitchen using the herbs in our herb garden!
Well done for another fantastic week of learning!
Week Beginning 15th September 2025
We have had a fantastic first full week in Reception! The children have started to settle in and become more familiar with their surroundings. We have enjoyed singing, decorating our names with dabby paints, circle times and exploring all of the activities in each area. We have also been reading the story 'The Dot' by Peter Reynolds. The children have each decorated their own dot and we will be displaying them in the classroom.
We have started our Maths carpet sessions this week and the children thoroughly enjoyed using Cbeebies Numberblocks as a hook for each session. We have learnt how to write numbers 1, 2 and 3 using these rhymes:
- "Straight down in a line, number 1 is looking fine!"
- "Around and back on the railway track! TWO-TWO!"
- "Around a tree, around a tree, that is how we make a three!"
We will be learning about numbers 1 to 10 over the next couple of weeks, including learning the rhymes for how to form each number correctly.
We have also started our daily phonics sessions. This week we have learnt the ‘m’, ‘a’, ‘s’ and ‘d’ sounds. The children have completed some rainbow writing to practise forming each sound and the phonics booklet for these sounds will be sent home today.
We have been so impressed with how well the children are settling in to Reception and we are looking forward to an exciting year ahead! Well done Butterflies and Ladybirds for a fantastic first full week at school! You are amazing!