Reception Class 2023-2024
Forrest School
We have been very lucky to have had Forest School sessions throughout our Year in Reception. This week we concluded our sessions with a little celebration...the children were very excited to receive a certificate each to highlight their fantastic attitude and enthusiasm towards their outdoor learning sessions. They have certainly gained such a greater knowledge and understanding of our world!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Another Visit to Caldy Manor Care Home
This week we were invited to meet the residents of Caldy Manor again before the end of the Summer Term. They loved watching us play games outside, making models out of play dough, decorating biscuits and making lovely pictures for them. We of course sang some of the resident's favourite songs with them at the end!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Digital Development
Reception worked as a team to create this stop-motion video telling the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They changed the food he ate and added more blocks to make him ‘grow’ before photographing the scene. Finally, we made a cocoon and a butterfly from blocks for the end of the story.
Ness Gardens
To conclude our 'Let's Grow' topic, today we visited Ness Gardens. Here we enjoyed a welly walk planned specifically for EYFS by one of the education co-ordinators at the grounds who taught us a great deal about the various plants and animals! We were also able to enjoy the grounds at our leisure, admiring the beautiful meadows and ponds before conducting a 'Summer Trail' with our clipboards. We even managed to fit in a play at the play area at the end!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Beach School Session 4 - Beach School with a Twist
We took our Beach School session to the Science room today due to the weather, but we had great fun doing some weather related experiments and activities. We learnt about how rain is formed and then made our own 'Clouds in a Jar' using water, shaving foam and food colouring. We then went on to learn about the high winds and made our own kites before testing them out - which was great fun! Next, we made starfish out of clay and then rafts using lollipop sticks and elastic bands. Lastly, we tested out how well we'd made the rafts back at the water tray in Reception!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Caldy Manor Visit
We had such a lovely time meeting the Residents of Caldy Manor Care home again today. After exploring the beautiful grounds at Clady Manor, we enjoyed playdoh, colouring and even playing balloons with the residents. The reisdents love to request and join in with the children singing songs at the end!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Beach School Session 3
The children spent their Beach School Session making a 3D Butterfly with the sand before collecting seaside objects such as shells, rocks, seaweed etc. which they then used to make patterns and decorate their butterfly beautifully! To finish our session, the children enjoyed some rock pooling with fishing nets!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Beach School Session 2
Our second Beach school session involved the Reception children learning how to tie a 'fish on a dish' knot before paddling in rock pools and collecting sea objects using nets!
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Class Caterpillars
We arrived into class to discover a mystery parcel this week...our very own Caterpillars!Reception are very excited to watch the miracle of metamorphosis begin..
The Caterpillars have been affectionately named;
Nutty
Bobby
Bingo
James and
Miaow-Miaow
as chosen by the children themselves!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Minibeast Madness!
Within their learning environment this week, the children have enjoyed reading a selection of fiction & non-fiction books about Minibeasts and Lifecycles. Our Role-play area transformed into a ‘Minibeast Museum’ and the children have enjoyed a 'Spiders Web' in the Small-world area, here they have been using tweezers to carefully rescue the minibeasts that are caught in the web (masking tape). In the creative area, the children have been making ladybirds and bees using paint and paper plates and they have also been making their own minibeasts using coloured play dough, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, buttons, sticks etc. During outdoor learning, the children have been hunting for minibeasts and recording their findings!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Beach School Session 1
Our first Beach School session today was a great success! The children enjoyed exploring the beach and learning about the tide and how to keep safe before 'singing in' in the sand. After this, we discussed the wind direction and the effects on a flag before learning how to safely create patterns using a small rock and seaweed for Hapa Zome. We finished our session by enjoying a paddle in the rock pools!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
West Kirby Library
Today we walked along the Wirral Way to West Kirby Library. We enjoyed a story time session all about 'Space' before singing some Space songs too! We created 'Space' themed crafts and then we explored lots of books and picked our own to take home.
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Up and Above the Clouds
This week, the children entered a ‘space’ themed classroom! We focussed on the story ‘Whatever Next’ by Jill Murphy and the children have sequencing the story and considering (like Baby Bear) what they would need to take on a journey to space. The children explored real-life objects and then wrote which they would take using full sentences! Within their learning environment, the children have enjoyed reading a selection of fiction & non-fiction books about Space and the Solar System. Our Role-play area transformed into a space station with writing resources for route planning, torches, dressing-up, keyboards, phones, rockets and planets as well as the objects found from the ‘Whatever Next’ story inside! The children also explored a solar system set-up in the small world area with planets, stars, aliens, rockets, telescopes, binoculars etc. In the creative area, the children made their own rockets to help them to fly to the moon!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Caldy Manor
We enjoyed another visit to Caldy Manor this week. The residents were delighted to receive an Easter card from all of the children in Reception and we then took part in lots of fun activities with them too! We decorated Easter ornaments, made bunny masks and Easter cards, explored play dough and then decorated some biscuits before finishing with some singing!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Signs of Spring
To begin our learning about 'Seasons and Time' for British Science Week, we went on a seasonal walk to Ashton Park. We spotted lots of signs of Spring including; daffodils, bluebells, birds nests, flowering trees and even a duckling!
The children enjoyed marking the objects off as they found them before finishing our lovely walk with a little explore of the play area!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Gillmoss Recycling Centre
To finish our topic about caring for our planet, we went to visit the recycling centre in Liverpool. We were able to watch exactly how all of the machinery sorts, organises and distributes our recycled rubbish so that it can be sent to the correct place and then reused. We participated in a workshop which taught us about the importance of recycling, we sorted the different materials according to their properties which led us to learn about whereabouts they go around the country and what new items they could be made in to. We finished our trip by exploring some activities ourselves such as; litter picking and sorting, shopping in the supermarket and making models using recycled objects!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Stay & Play
We had so much fun sharing our learning environment with our parents and carers this week!
After reading our focus story 'Dear Earth', we showcased our 'under the sea' dance before exploring our 'Ocean' themed areas. We made sea creatures with playdough and starfish out of clay, we built boats in the construction area and went deep-sea diving in the role-play! We also explored a seaside adventure in our sand/water area and then shared some fiction and non-fiction books with our grow-ups before they helped us to write our own letters to the Earth about how we can all help to look after it!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
King Charles and the Royal Family
Today we had a visitor from the Lieutenancy of Merseyside who came in to give a presentation to the children about King Charles and the Royal family!
West Kirby Library Visit
We enjoyed a lovely walk along the Wirral Way from school to West Kirby Library.
After a story time session about animals, we sang some songs, made our own monkeys in the craft corner and played some fun animal games too!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Chinese New Year
We have been learning about Chinese New Year in Reception. This has been encouraging the children to learn about and respect the differences and similarities between people and their traditions. The children have enjoyed role-play in the Chinese Restaurant, creating Chinese symbols with the play dough and lots of art and craft activities including making lanterns and lucky red envelopes. We have learnt about 'The Great Race' story which led us to figure out which animals represented the years we were born in. The children have been writing about their animals too!
We rounded off our learning with a Chinese New Year celebration which included some dragon dancing, food tasting and then Tai Chi outdoors!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Imagine That!
We had a fantastic trip to 'Imagine That' this week. The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring the different zones; strolling through the streets of the Imagination Village, getting creative in Art Beatz and having a STEM-sational time in science! The children even had the opportunity to make their own slime, bath bombs, never melting magical snow and a painted fridge magnet to take home too!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Welcome to the Jungle!
The Reception children are loving their new learning environment this week, our role-play area has transformed into a Rainforest where the children have been exploring with binoculars, clip boards, back packs and of course lots of animals! In the construction area, the children have been building a Zoo and investigating a small-world jungle in the sensory area with lots of natural resources and animals too! In the creative area, the children have focused on creating animal patterns such as a ‘stripy zebra’ or ‘spotty cheetah’ etc. as well as creating a lion’s face and mane using paper plates and coloured cotton wool balls. During outdoor learning time, the children will be listening to some African music, exploring various instruments and doing some African dancing with coloured scarves! Our Fine motor activity will involve threading animal masks with string and to develop our gross motor skills, we will be venturing into the jungle and using our bodies to move in different ways such as fast like a cheetah or slow like a sloth!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Winter Welly Walk
We picked a perfect week to go on a Winter Welly Walk! We spotted all of the things on our checklists and the children took pictures of the objects themselves for us to look back at in the classroom. This has really helped to broaden the children's vocabulary and descriptive skills. They said that the 'Snow is crunchy and cold', the berries were 'juicy and red', and 'Holly makes spikes to stop the deer eating it!'
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Happy New Year!
We kicked started our first outdoor learning session off with a winter wander around our school grounds. We certainly noticed the change in temperate since our last outdoor learning session! This has helped us to develop our vocabulary to support our new winter topic. We also enjoyed strengthening the muscles in our hands by manipulating and moulding clay.
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Father Christmas!
After our fabulous Christmas party, we came back to our classroom to find Santa there! We were so excited to meet him, have our photo taken and all get a gift from him too...Merry Christmas Everyone!
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Christmas Lunch!
We enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch with all the trimmings today...yummy!
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Outdoor Learning
During outdoor learning today, the children made environmentally friendly reindeer food using; porridge oats, dried fruit and cut grass before decorating Christmas trees (large pine cones) and singing lovely Christmas songs!
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12 Days of Christmas
Today the children enjoyed learning the traditional song and actions along to "12 Days of Christmas!"
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Letters to Father Christmas
After a surprise letter arrived from Santa to school, we were very keen to reply to him. We each wrote our own letter to Santa before excitedly walking to our local post box to post them. We eagerly await for a response!
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Fun at the Christmas Fair
After meeting Father Christmas himself, the Reception children explored the Christmas Fair. Face paints, games and lots of treats were enjoyed by all!
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Exciting Stay and Play Sessions
This week we were so excited to show our families what we have been getting up to in school. We received a surprise letter from Santa to which we had to write our replies before we walk to the post box to post them on Monday!
We also enjoyed Christmas crafting, wrapping, toy building and much more with our grown-ups!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Sleepover Party!
To conclude our learning of ‘Day and Night’, we had a sleepover party in school! The children wrote their own lists so that we knew what we needed; Pyjamas, teddies, hot chocolate, popcorn, night lights, candles, blankets etc. before writing instructions on how to host a Sleepover Party using sequencing words; first, next, then, after and lastly. We had SO much fun!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Christmas Crafts at Caldy Manor Care Home
What a lovely little visit we had to Caldy Manor today. The children made the residents some lovely Christmas cards before singing them some songs and playing games together. We look forward to our future visits to Caldy Manor!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Chester Zoo Day Out
The Reception children had a wonderful time visiting Chester Zoo this week. We decided together what animals we would most like to see before locating them on the maps and following directions to go and find them! We enjoyed a Workshop too, learning about different groups of animals including; colourful, under water, big, fast and nocturnal!
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Zoo Lab Visit
Today the children met a variety of exotic animals including; a giant African Snail, a tarantula, a snake and even a centipede!
The Children learnt lots of interesting facts about all of the animals and got to handle them carefully too!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Anti-Bullying - Make Some Noise!
Today, an inspirational speaker, Ben Smith came into our school to deliver an assembly to kick-start our Anti-bullying focus across Avalon!
In 2015, Ben took on the incredible challenge of running 401 marathons in 401 days. Over the course of the challenge, he raised £330,000 for two anti-bullying charities. And from here the 401 Challenge was born. His drive and motivation have inspired thousands to embark on such adventures to raise money for mental health charities. As a motivational keynote speaker, Ben now shares his own mental health experiences, from bullying at school to LGBTQ matters, all with the aim of helping everyone to ‘find your happy!’
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Celebrations!
This week we have begun our topic about 'Celebrations' linking to 'Light and Dark'. The children have loved our new Role-play party area as well as making cakes with the playdough, painting firework pictures, having a tea party and building dark dens to explore a range of lights in! We have thoroughly enjoyed learning about Halloween and Bonfire Night this week and we’re looking forward to learning all about Diwali next week too!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Personal Hygiene in PSHCEE
As part of our learning in PSHCEE this week, we have been thinking about 'Personal Hygiene'. We shared some funny stories called 'Dr Dog' and 'The Smelly book' before discussing the different ways to keep ourselves healthy such as; washing hands, brushing teeth, bathing regularly etc. We then looked at a variety of products that help to fight/kill germs before having a go at washing our hands properly whilst singing 'Happy Birthday' twice!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
West Kirby Library Visit
Reception walked to West Kirby Library for a lovely story time session. The theme across all Wirral libraries this half-term is ‘Wings’ and so the children listened carefully to some stories about wings including ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ who turned into a beautiful butterfly!
The children then enjoyed a craft activity, designing and creating their very own caterpillar before walking back to school – an impressive 2 miles in total!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
An Autumnal Classroom
After our Autumn walk to Caldy Woods, we explored lots of our collections back in the classroom. We counted with conkers, investigated in the woods, made Autumnal patterns with playdough and developed our senses in our Autumn themed sensory tray. The children have also enjoyed threading pumpkins and pine cones as part of our funky fingers activity and developing cutting skills in the creative area making hedgehog, scarecrow and squirrel masks!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
World Smile Day!
To help keep our smiles always looking beautiful, Dr Gibson came into school to teach us about the importance of looking after our teeth. The children looked at examples of good and bad teeth and discussed why they were bad such as; eating too much sugar, not brushing correctly etc.
Dr Gibson demonstrated how to brush teeth correctly and talked us through some important pointers including making sure we brush for 2 minutes, brushing before breakfast (not after!) and not eating or drinking for at least an hour before we go to bed! We re-capped this back in the classroom before exploring some dental related pictures.
The children all received a sticker from the dentist too!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Counting Conkers!
The children have had lots of fun today counting conker in lots of different ways.
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Autumn Leaves are Falling!
Today was a perfect day for an Autumn walk to Caldy woods. The children spotted lots of signs of Autumn including; blackberries, sycamore seeds, fungus, conkers, pine cones, acorns, beautifully coloured leaves and even a squirrel! We have collected some of these items to further our learning back in the classroom!
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Macmillan Coffee Morning
Macmillan Coffee Morning – the cakes were a hit!
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European Day of Languages
What a superb day the children have had for European Day of Languages!
Reception have travelled to Czechia, Sweden, Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Denmark and Norway all in one day and had their passports stamped as they arrived at each destination (classroom). The children have taken part in a wide variety of activities to support their learning of each country including; singing, dancing, food tasting, crafting, building and much more as you can see from the pictures. The day finished with a stop off in Denmark for a chill and a hot chocolate!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
The Oneness of One!
This week we have been thinking about ‘All things one!’ We have explored the number 1 in great detail. Looking at the number, matching it to quantity and finding all things 1 in our classroom and outdoor environment! We looked at 1-sided shapes, number fans, number lines, Numicon and even a 1p coin before having a go at forming a number 1 too!
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Selfie Station!
Reception thoroughly enjoyed their computing session this week. They have used pic collage to create and take their very own selfies!
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Starting our School Journey
Our new Reception class have made a tremendous start to their school journey this week. They have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each other and exploring our new learning environment. The children have also enjoyed their first Spanish, Computing and Forest School session too!
Well done Reception! You have showed great independence and maturity this week and we look forward to watching you continue to flourish as the school year progresses!
For more photos click here for the Reception class gallery
Welcome to school Reception Class
