Daisy and Buttercup (Reception Classes)

Welcome to

Week beginning 18.7.16

It is difficult to believe that we have reached the last week of what has been a fantastic year. This week we had our last share days. The focus was on our Understanding the World learning. All our activities were based in the Outside Learning environment and in the woods. This gave some of our parents a chance to see the woods for the first time. Luckily the weather was kind to us and we had two glorious days. On the last day of the year we had a party. We played lots of games and all took a new book home to read over the holidays.

Week beginning 11.7.16

This week we have read the classic fairy-tale 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. We really enjoyed listening to the story and repeating the refrain 'Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum'. The story inspired lots of learning and activities. In cooking we created a bean salad based on a Honduran recipe called 'Chismol'. It was very healthy with four different types of beans included. As part of our Expressive Art and Design and Understanding the World learning we created 'Castles in the Air' beanstalks. We had to think about what a seed needs in order to grow and made sure we gave it enough water. Some of the beanstalks grew really well. Some of us helped to create a Jack and the Beanstalk display.

Weeks Beginning 27.06.16 and 4.07.16

Over the last two weeks we have read the traditional story 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' and the children have taken part in lots of learning based on this book. We created a story map to support the 'Talk for Writing' process and this helped the children to imitate and internalise the story. This then allowed them to come up with wonderful new imaginary ideas to innovate and invent their own version of the story. Other activities have included exploring positional and directional language, creating repeating patterns, finding out about and growing cress and taking part in Sports Day.

The children helped to create a journey, which included the Three Billy Goats bridge. As they travelled around the course they used positional and directional language to describe how they were moving and travelling.

During our visit to the woods the children were very excited to find the trolls bridge!  They explored the area and thought about where the troll might live.

The children were very excited when batman visited the school on our non-uniform day!

Week Beginning 20.06.16

This week we have been learning a new traditional tale and the children were very excited that is was 'The Gingerbread Man'. Lots of them knew the story already and wanted to explore it further and engaged in the learning with wonderful enthusiasm. We read the story and watched an animated version and then the children re-told the story through drama and by using masks they became the characters. The children explored colour mixing with paint to make shades of brown and then created their own gingerbread men.  For cooking we baked gingerbread men and women.

The children also helped to created another fantastic display for our activity area. They are always so proud when they see the finished creation!

Whilst re-telling the Gingerbread Man in the woods, the children were extremely excited to find what they believed to be the house from the story. 

Week Beginning 13.06.16

We continued with the story of 'The Three Little Pigs' this week and the children helped to create a wonderful display in the activity areas to represent the story they have learnt so well. After internalising the story using a story map and learning a wonderful song with all of the key language the children then had a go at writing the story. During our woods session we worked collaboratively to make traps to try and catch the Big Bad Wolf!

The children also took part in their first swimming session, showing lots of confidence and listening well to Mrs Layzell. 

We found a little pig in the woods. How did it get there?

Week beginning 6.6.16

We began our Traditional Tales Topic by reading the classic Fairy Tale of the Three Little pigs. We used a 'Talk for Writing approach' and created story maps to help us verbally learn the story. We also learnt a song based on this story and discussed the use of rhyme in the lyrics.

Creating a balance scale

We wanted to know the comparative weights of the building materials from the story so we challenged ourselves to create a balance scale out of materials from our outside environment. We had to use our problem solving skills to work out the best way of weighing the straw, sticks and bricks. We were able to use the fork of a tree, a long branch and some buckets to create an effective balance scale. We had to review and refine our strategy as we went along to get the best results. 

Creativity with the Three Little Pigs

The story inspired our creative side as we used our artistic talents to make Wolf and Pig masks and play-dough pigs.

House Captain Elections

It was a very exciting day on Friday as we got to take part in the elections for next year's House Captains. We listened to all the candidate's speeches and thought about who would be the best person to lead our house. We then registered for voting with our poll card, filled in the voting slip and placed it in the ballot box. 

Week beginning 16.5.16

As part of our 'Around the World' topic, we read the book 'Immi' by Karin Littlewood. This tells the story of a little Inuit girl and is set in the bleak white landscape of an Arctic winter. While fishing, she begins to catch objects that are a welcome blast of colour compared to her monochrome surroundings. In response to the story, we decided to make own colourful objects our of salt dough.

Inuit Songs

After we had read about Immi, we wondered what it would be like in an Inuit school. We found out about schools in the Arctic Region of Canada where lots of the children are Inuit. We discovered that they sang lots of the same songs as us but in their own language. We had a go at singing 'If you're happy and you know it' and '40 years on an Iceberg' in the Inuit language. These songs are called 'Quviasummarikkuvit' and '40-nit Arraagunit' in Inuit. We also learned that the the Inuit language has a different alphabet. 

Mama Panya's Pancakes

A key part of the 'Understanding the World' area of learning is to compare aspects of life in this country to aspects of life in different countries. At the back of the book, 'Mama Panya's Pancakes' by Mary Chamberlin, we discovered a recipe for Kenyan pancakes. We decided to make some and compare them with our own pancakes. They had some different ingredients such as coriander and even chilli powder! We left out the chilli!  They weren't as sweet as our pancakes so we added some bananas.

Week Beginning 2.05.16

This week we have continued to find out more about India. The children have tasted more Indian food, explored Indian dance and music and finished their wonderful Indian elephants.

Week Beginning 25.04.16

This week we have been finding out about India and learning all about the culture. We read the story 'Elephant Dance' and the children took part in lots of different activities based on the book. 

Map Reading

As part of our topic 'Around the World' we have begun to look at maps so we can see where our stories are from. When we went in the woods, we had to use our map reading skills to find a hidden treasure!

Airport

We decided to turn our role-play area in to an Airport so we could travel to the places we have learnt about through our stories.

Ringsfield Hall Trip

We were very lucky as we had a glorious day of sunshine for our trip to Ringsfield Hall. On arriving we had a refreshment, played a few games and wrote our names on our ID Badges.

Maths - 3D shapes

We continued our work with 3D shapes. We had to feel in the bag and guess the 3D shapes by working out the properties. We talked about the number and shapes of the faces, whether they were curved, flat or round and whether they had a point or not. Some of us even learnt the word 'apex'. We looked at the shapes in front to help us. 

Australia - (Around the World)

This week we read the book, 'Where the Forest Meets the Sea' by Jeannie Baker. This book is set in the Daintree Rainforest in Australia. We talked about the different animals there and how some of them are threatened. We made a new display which included our pictures of Australian animals created in an Aboriginal style.. In the woods we went to see if we could finds any of the Australian animals. 

Share Day

This week, we had our share day. it was fantastic to have so many parents visit and see what we have been learning about.  The focus of the share day was 2D and 3D shapes. We even learnt a song to help us remember the properties. 

Physical Development

In P.E., we developed our hand-eye coordination by practising our tennis skills. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This week we read the book, 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle. We made story bands to use as prompts to help us retell the story. We really used our fine motor skills to make the bands. 

Week Beginning 7.03.16

This week we read the story 'Tadpoles Promise' and begun to find out about the life cycles of frogs and butterflies. The children were quite shocked by the ending of the story but had different views and feelings to share about how they felt. These ranged from it being funny and making them laugh to making them feel sad and sorry for the butterfly and the frog!

We have been very busy with different learning and activities based on this book and the children helped to create a wonderful wall display.

World Book Day

Daisy and Buttercup Class had a great time dressing up for World Book Day. It was fantastic to see such a wide range of literary characters represented. There were traditional characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, characters from Julia Donaldson stories, characters from stories by our focus author, Eric Carle, and characters from the world of film including Star Wars and Disney. There were some fabulous costumes that showed a huge amount of creativity. Have a look at the photos and see which is your favourite!

Measuring Flowers

As we have been learning about the life cycle of plants, for our Maths work, we decided to measure some 'flowers' that we found in our Outside Learning Environment. We noticed that they were all different sizes so we decided to use Lego blocks to see how tall the flowers were and made a note of  the measurements.

Week Beginning 22.02.16

We are beginning our Growth topic looking at the life cycle of plants and the children have chosen to investigate and learn about sunflowers and daffodils. We have been very busy taking part in lots of activities this week.

For our trip to the woods on Friday we planted some bulbs. We labelled them to make sure that other children in the school knew they had been planted and so they would not get damaged. We will check the progress of our bulbs each time we visit the woods and look forward to seeing what is happening. However we have discussed that these bulbs may not bloom until next Spring.

For the children's half term project we asked them to investigate and create a life cycle of a plant or animal of their choice. We encouraged them to be as creative as possible and the finished pieces we received are wonderful. We can see that the children have worked very hard with their families and they are very proud of their achievement!

Week Beginning 8.02.16

The children have been problem solving using flowers. They were adding the correct amount of petals to match the numbers on the pots. The children tried different combinations of flowers and even used their doubles. 

Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Day

The children had a fantastic time making and eating pancakes. First of all we talked about the tradition of making pancakes on this day and why it began. A lot of careful measuring and vigorous mixing took place to ensure the dreaded lumps did not materialise. Then the children had a go at flipping their pancakes. Some were flipped so quickly that the photos came out blurred! Some nearly ended up on the ceiling and some ended up on the floor! After all that hard work, it was great to sit down and finally eat them! 

Week beginning 1.2.16

This week we have been learning through the Eric Carle book, 'The Bad-Tempered Ladybird'. The children reflected on the consequences of the bad-tempered ladybird's mood. They thought about how the ladybird could have improved his behaviour. In order to internalise the story, the children acted out the story with puppets.

The Accident and Emergency Hospital

This week the children have developed a learning interest in hospitals. it started with paper being used to create bandages. As a result, the children decided to turn the role play area into an A and E department. Soon we had a variety of illnesses and injuries ready to be attended to by the dedicated and diligent staff. The hospital was so busy that we began to run out of supplies. Luckily Mrs Lewis was on hand to bring in some much needed new stock. We are extremely grateful.   

Gymnastics

Over the last few weeks, the children have been learning Gymnastics during PE. They have had a fantastic time using the apparatus. Mr. Websdale has shown them how to be responsible and use it safely. It has been an excellent opportunity for the children to develop physical skills such as balance, climbing ability, landing and using a range of movements in a challenging space. 

Week beginning 25.1.16

This week we continued our work on the Artist who Painted a Blue Horse. Using the 'Talk for Writing' approach, we created our own versions of the story. Daisy Class wrote a story about the 'Superhero who saved a Ballerina' and Buttercup Class wrote about the 'Teacher who taught a Class'. You can see the story map for the Daisy Class below. The pictures really help the children to internalize the story structure and language. 

Working in small groups, the children then created further versions of the story. Here are some examples of the children's ideas:

The Puppy who rocketed to the Stars

The Footballer who scored a Goal

The Spider who climbed a Web

Week Beginning 18.01.16

This week we have been learning through the book 'The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse' by Eric Carle. The children enjoyed creating a 3D 'Polka Dot' donkey for our Art Gallery display in the activity area and they used the technique of collage to create the other animals from the story. The children also listened to the story and then re-told it using a story map and actions. We then filmed them so they could watch themselves back which they really enjoyed! 

The children extended the re-telling of 'The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse' by using puppets in the outdoor area. They found animal puppets to represent the characters from the story supported each other when using the language in the correct order.

In the woods this week we continued to explore the idea of camouflage and the children found natural materials to camouflage some chameleons.

Week Beginning 11.01.16

This week we have been learning through the book 'The Mixed Up Chameleon'. The children really enjoyed the story and were inspired to create their own mixed up animals. 

Spring Term 2016

Welcome back for the start of a new term in school. Our topic this half term is 'Eric Carle - The Author and Illustrator'. We have chosen this topic because we want to inspire the children with his wonderful illustrations and to use his stories when introducing our new initiative 'Talk for Writing'.

We will be starting the topic with the books 'Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?' and 'The Mixed Up Chameleon' due to the children's interest in animals.

Week beginning 14.12.15

We have had a wonderful Christmas week in school. 

• On Monday we watched the Beauty and the Beast Pantomime.
• On Tuesday we performed our Wriggly Nativity to our families and had Christmas dinner.
• On Wednesday we made Christmas cards and biscuits for our families.
• On Thursday we had lots of Christmas activities.
• On Friday we walked to St. Peter's Church for a Christmas service and then had a party in the afternoon. Father Christmas even came to see us and we all got a present because we have been working so hard this term!

Have a look at some of our photographs!

Share Sessions - 10th and 11th December 

We had a share afternoon and morning where the children's families could come and join them and see all of the learning that has been taking place this half term. The theme was Christmas and Phonics and activities were both indoors and outdoors across the whole of the EYFS. The children were very happy to see their mum, dad, nanny or grandad come into school for this special time! 

Hour of Code 2015 (Week beginning 7.12.15)

This week schools from all over the world have been participating in the Hour of Code. All the classes at Grove took part in this excellent initiative by spending an hour this week programming. In Reception, we programmed festively-dressed Beebots to take part in a race. The children had to estimate and then program the sequence of movements needed to get the Beebot from one end of the track to the other. As an extension, they could also program their Beebot to go to the end of the track and back again.

Our Week with the Fairies - Week Beginning 23.11.15

On Monday morning we came into school and found a fairy door in the activity area! Next to the door was a letter and we were desperate to find out what it said inside. We wrote letters to the fairies to ask if we could open it. Each day different things kept happening outside the door and we took part in lots of different fairy based activities. Then on Friday we received a new letter saying we could open the letter by the fairy door. It was an invitation to a fairy party in the woods. What a wonderful week we had!

Filling the castle moat

In Maths, we have been learning about capacity through filling the castle moat. The children had to work out how to get the water from the tray into the moat. They had to decide which buckets would be the most useful and how many buckets they would need. During the activity, the children used language such as 'full', 'empty' and 'half-full' and were able to answer questions such as, 'How do you know when the moat is full?' 

Week beginning 9.11.15

Week beginning 2.11.15

Dinosaur Footprints

This week in Maths we have been creating repeating patterns. We used potatoes to print dinosaur footprint patterns and different colours to make the patterns more varied. While we printed, some of us sang the 'Dinosaur Stomp' song to get us in a proper dinosaur mood and encourage our creativity. We also sang the song while we went in the woods hunting for dinosaur footprints. 

Now that we have returned back to school for the second half of the Autumn term our new topic is 'Imaginary Worlds'. The project set over the half-term holiday was to create an imaginary world of your your choice in a box. We were all absolutely amazed by the brilliant work created. 

Week beginning 19.10.15

On Friday, we were extremely lucky to receive a surprise visit from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service. First of all two firefighters came into the classrooms and told us about their daily routine and the special clothes they have to wear when they are on active duty. Afterwards we all went outside for a tour of the fire engine. We saw the different size hoses, the different size ladders and the breathing equipment. We also saw a machine that picks up body heat and helps the firefighters find people in a smoky building. We even got to sit inside the engine. At the end the driver turned on the engine, lights. sirens and horns. It was very loud! I think you can tell this from the picture in which we are all covering our ears. A big thank you to Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service for giving up their time to come and visit us..

This week we have finished our topic of 'Something Special' by thinking about our pets, or those pets in our family, and why they are so special to us! The children have shared lots of their experiences and feelings about these pets with each other and it is clear to see that they are very fond of them. 

Mr Baker brought his pet Chicken 'Peggy' into school who is 12 years old! The children were fascinated to meet her and had lots of questions to ask. Reuben and Nathan in Buttercup Class and Kodi in Daisy Class were very keen to tell Mr Baker that they have pet chickens at home too and were able to share their knowledge with the class.

Week beginning 12.10.15

This week in Maths we have been learning how time is measured and developing our everyday language about time. We set up a number of time trials including an assault course. The children really enjoyed challenging themselves to complete the course in the fastest time. Some children decided to have another go to see if they could better their time. Other children were very interested in learning how to use the stop watches to time their fellow competitors while others were keen to note down the times on their clipboards.  As you can see from the photographs, there was plenty of discussion between the timekeepers!

Week beginning 5.10.15

As part of our learning about transport, we read the storybook "The Train Ride". We then learnt the song that goes with the story and decided to go on a train ride around out woods. We needed to make sure that we had our tickets and that they were all stamped and punched. 

Cooking

The children made a healthy pasta salad this week.

Week Beginning 21st September 2015

Continuing with our topic of 'Something Special', the children have been very interested in finding out more about firefighters and the work they do. They decided that they would like to create a role play area based on firefighters so we worked collaboratively to create a fire engine.

Week beginning 14.9.15

We played 'Shape Twister' so that we could discuss and develop our knowledge of 2D shapes. 

Looking for Iggy

It was getting close to the end of Friday and our class mascot, Iggy was due to be going home with one of the class. However, Iggy was nowhere to be found. Where had he got to? As iguanas like to climb trees, we decided to go and look for him in the woods. We noticed that there were some numbers on the trees. We decided to follow them. When we got to number 10, we finally spotted Iggy high up in one of the trees. He came down and said 'Hello' to the class.

We have had a fantastic first week in school! 

The children have enjoyed sharing their experiences with each other during our 'Something Special' topic and we have been learning lots about their families and interests.