Week Beginning 4^th December 2023

This week we have been enjoying lots of Christmassy activities! The children have been making Christmas decorations for the role play corner, creating their own design for a Christmas jumper and even 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 next week!

On Thursday, we celebrated Christmas Jumper Day and Reception absolutely loved coming to school wearing their favourite Christmas jumpers! On Friday, we enjoyed watching the Pantomime 'Peter Pan'. We were so impressed with how well the children sat during the performance but also with how brilliantly they joined in with the Panto! Oh yes they did!

 

We are looking forward to our Performance and Christmas Market next Tuesday, and another week of Christmas fun!

We are encouraging the children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half term’s challenge is:

To explore somewhere barefoot!

Well done Ladybirds and Butterflies for another fantastic week!

Week Beginning 27^th November 2023

This week we have had some very exciting visitors. On Wednesday, our Reception fairies paid us a visit! The children were so excited to receive a fairy letter and couldn't wait to reply with pictures and letters about their favourite colours. 

In Drawing Club this week we have been using the book 'The Magic Porridge Pot' as a stimulus. The children have drawn and described The Wizard.

The vocabulary words learnt this week in Drawing Club:

• Enchanted
• Conversation
• Endless
• Despair
• Cease
• Covered 
• Steaming
• Gloopy

We have been exploring the consistency of porridge and what happens to it if we add more water or more oats. The children wrote some fantastic words to describe the porridge such as 'gloopy', 'thick' and 'slimy'. 

On Friday, 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!

We are encouraging children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half term’s challenge is:

To explore somewhere barefoot!

Well done Ladybirds and Butterflies for another fantastic week!

Week Beginning 20^th November 2023

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 paper plate hedgehogs by using scissors to cut spikes and painting them brown. 

We also 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 it was in fact... the wind! 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. The children have made their own leaf shaped sun catchers too.

We are encouraging the children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half term’s challenge is:

To explore somewhere barefoot!

Well done Ladybirds and Butterflies for another fantastic week!

Week Beginning 17^th November 2023

We have had a very exciting week learning all about Diwali!

This week we have 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 using coloured rice and used clay to make their own Diya lamps.

In Drawing Club this week we have been using the book 'Little Glow' as a stimulus as it links to our theme of Diwali. The children have drawn and described Little Glow and we discussed a variety of settings in the story where light is used to mark different celebrations throughout the year.

The vocabulary words learnt this week in Drawing Club:

• Glimmer
• Festival
• Reflection
• Pride
• Guide
• Glow
• Surround

On Friday, we celebrated Children In Need. We learnt about how the charity helps children all across the UK to feel happy and safe. The children enjoyed engaging in some spotty Pudsey Bear themed activities and loved dressing in spots and bright colours!

We are encouraging the children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half term’s challenge is:

To explore somewhere barefoot!

Well done Ladybirds and Butterflies for another fantastic week!

Week Beginning 30^th October 2023

What an exciting first week back we have had!

The Ladybirds and Butterflies have thoroughly enjoyed learning about Halloween and how it is celebrated around the world. The children particularly enjoyed learning about how it is celebrated in Mexico. We learnt that as well as Halloween, in Mexico they celebrate 'The Day of the Dead'. This is celebrated on 2^nd November. The children decorated their own candy skulls, just like they do in Mexico!

Reception thoroughly enjoyed their visit from Gerrards Cross Fire Service. They were very excited to explore the fire engine and the tools they had on board. We learnt about the uniform they have to wear and about the different pieces of equipment that they use, such as hoses, ladders and special scissors that can even cut through cars! The fire fighters were operational, which means they could have been called to duty at any time! Luckily for us, this didn't happen until the very end of our visit. It was very interesting to see the fire fighters get ready and climb on board the fire engine. The children waved them off as the fire engine flashed its blue lights and sounded its siren!

In Drawing Club this week we have been using the story 'Room on the Broom' as a stimulus. The children have drawn and described the dragon and the swamp and have even started to write some cvc words about the pictures they have drawn! 

The vocabulary words learnt this week in Drawing Club:

• Whoosh
• Splat
• Scaly
• Horrible
• Passenger
• Addition
• Fiery
• Swoop

We have continued our daily phonics sessions. This week we have learnt the ‘w’, ‘th’, 'x' and 'z' 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 are encouraging the children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half term’s challenge is:

To explore somewhere barefoot!

Well done Ladybirds and Butterflies for a wonderful start to this half-term!

1st November 2023

Reception thoroughly enjoyed a visit today from Gerrards Cross Fire Service. They were very excited to explore the fire engine and the tools they had on board. We learnt about the uniform that fire fighters have to wear and about the different pieces of equipment they use to save lives, such as hoses, ladders and special scissors that can even cut through cars!

The fire fighters were operational, which means they could have been called to duty at any time. Luckily for us, this didn't happen until the end of our visit. However, it was very interesting to see the procedures they follow when they are called to an emergency. The children waved them off as the fire engine flashed its blue lights and sounded its siren!

What an exciting day!

Week Beginning 16th October 2023

We have had another wonderful week in Reception!
The Ladybirds and Butterflies enjoyed a well deserved treat at the start of the week! They came to school wearing their pyjamas and watched a film in the afternoon to celebrate filling up their school values marble jars! We were so proud of them and they thoroughly enjoyed celebrating this achievement! The next marble jar day we are working towards a ‘Party Day!’

In Maths this week, we have continued using Cbeebies Numberblocks as a hook for each session. We have learnt how to write the numbers 4 and 5 using rhymes:

"Down and across, down once more, that is how we write a four!" for number 4.

"Down and around with a hat on top!" for number 5.

In Drawing Club this week we have been using the story 'Christopher Pumpkin' as a stimulus. The children have drawn and described the Witch and her castle and have even extended their learning by building the castle in both the small and large construction areas. 

The vocabulary words learnt this week at Drawing Club:

• Celebration
• Hair-raising
• Cheerful
• Surprise
• Industrious
• Distasteful
• Terrified
• Plotting

We have 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.

We are encouraging children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half-term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half-term’s challenge is:

To eat fruit straight from a tree.

Well done Ladybirds and Butterflies for a wonderful first half-term at The Stoke Poges School. We look forward to another wonderful half-term ahead in Reception!

Week Beginning 9^th October 2023

This week, the children have enjoyed lots of Autumn activities. They have made repeating patterns with conkers, leaves and pine cones, created finger painted Autumn trees, and have been printing with fruit and vegetables.

The children thoroughly enjoyed their first performance at The Stoke Poges School. They sang 'Dingle Dangle Scarecrow' and 'Under the Harvest Moon' beautifully and then enjoyed exploring their learning environment with their grown-ups. We were so proud of how well they sang and how confidently they performed! 

In the mud kitchen, the children have been using pumpkins and other vegetables to create recipes. They have looked through the recipe books, found what they wanted to make and have engaged in some wonderful imaginative role play to 'cook' these recipes.

In Drawing Club this week we have been using the animation 'Wacky Races' as a stimulus. The children have drawn and described their favourite character from the races and have even created their own mascot for the races. 

The vocabulary words learnt this week in Drawing Club:

• Accelerate
• Braking
• Hazard
• Steering
• Chuckle
• Demolish
• Overtake
• Transport

We have continued our daily phonics sessions. This week we have learnt the ‘l’, ‘h’, ‘r’ and ‘sh’ 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 are encouraging the children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half term’s challenge is:

To eat fruit straight from a tree.

We look forward to another wonderful week ahead with our Ladybirds and Butterflies.

Week Beginning 2^nd October 2023

This week, the children have enjoyed lots of activities such as writing messages to each other in the 'Message Centre', building a Numicon city and playing a game of bowling with Mr Follant!

In Maths this week, we have continued using Cbeebies Numberblocks as a hook for each session. We have learnt how to write the numbers 2 and 3 using rhymes:

"Around and back on the railway track" for number 2.

"Around a tree, around a tree, that is how we write a three!" for number 3.

Following on from last week's learning about colour mixing with paint, the children have been colour mixing in the water area. There were 3 trays of water, each a different primary colour. The children then used beakers and pipettes to mix the colours together! The children explored making secondary colours and were amazed at the different shades of green, purple and orange that they could make!

We have started our Drawing Club sessions this week! We have used the story 'The Colour Monster' and the children have used colours from the story to describe their emotions of happiness, sadness, anger, fear, love and calmness. They have learnt some amazing vocabulary through Drawing Club and we have been so impressed with how well they are using these words in context. The children have produced some wonderful drawings and have even used the new vocabulary to describe their pictures of the characters and the setting of the story.

The vocabulary words learnt this week in Drawing Club:

• Discombobulated
• Assist
• Enrage
• Sobbing
• Shimmering
• Evaporate
• Timid
• Tranquility

We have 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.

Week Beginning 25th September 2023

We have had another lovely week in Reception. The children enjoyed painting self-portraits, using the mirrors to look at their different features. We have discussed how we all look different but that we are all special. They have been making the CBeebies Numberblocks with unifix cubes and have enjoyed threading activities this week to develop their fine motor skills. In Art this week, we have been learning about colour mixing. The children have been combining primary colours to create secondary colours by painting their hands and rubbing them together to mix! They have had lots of messy fun!

We have introduced Doodle Books to the Reception children. These books are for them to access throughout the day and they can mark make, draw and write freely in these. They have continued to access the message centre and have enjoyed posting messaged to their friends.

We had a very exciting morning on Wednesday when the Reception children met their Year 6 Buddies! The Year 6 children came down to Reception to share a story with their buddy. The Ladybirds and Butterflies thoroughly enjoyed showing their Buddies around Reception and playing in the different areas with them. 

We have 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.

We are encouraging children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half-term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half-term’s challenge is:

To eat fruit straight from a tree.

We look forward to another wonderful week ahead with our Ladybirds and Butterflies.

Week Beginning 18th September 2023

We have had another lovely week in Reception. On the Curiosity Table, the children have enjoyed exploring Autumn treasures and are beginning to describe the textures and colours of the objects. 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 the number 1 using the rhyme:

'Number 1 is like a stick, straight line down that's very quick!"

 

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 opened up the 'Message Centre' this week. This encourages children to mark make for a purpose and is a fantastic tool to encourage writing. The children have enjoyed writing 'secret messages' to each other on a wide variety of materials such as paper, card, post it notes and even masking tape! They have loved posting messages to their friends and looking inside their pocket to see what their friends have posted to them too!

We have read the story ‘Our Class is a Family’. We created a class house with all of the children and staff’s self portraits inside. The children then drew all of the people that live inside their house in a colourful house. We know that each family is unique but that every family is special. 

We have continued our daily phonics sessions. This week we have learnt the ‘t’, ‘n’, ‘i’ 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.

We are encouraging the children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half term’s challenge is:

To eat fruit straight from a tree.

We look forward to another wonderful week ahead with our Ladybirds and Butterflies.

Week Beginning 11th September 2023

We have had a wonderful first full week in Reception! The children are settling in well and it is lovely to see their confidence growing. This week we have been learning about families. We know that each family is unique but that all families are special. We have shared circle times and have spoken about who is in their family. The children even drew a picture of who is in their family. They have also thoroughly enjoyed playing in the kitchen role plays, circle times, singing and exploring the small world area. 

We have 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.

We are encouraging the children to show curiosity about their environment, both at school and at home. Each half term there will be an ‘Understanding the World’ challenge for the children to complete at home. This half term’s challenge is:

To eat fruit straight from a tree.

We look forward to another wonderful week ahead with our Ladybirds and Butterflies.

Week Beginning 5^th September 2023

We have had a fantastic first 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. They have also loved making their own cups of tea with herbal tea bags, using loose parts to create different faces and sharing stories in our new cosy reading area outside! 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! See you all next week for our first full week of school!