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Reception- Phonics - Tricky Words
Through playing Bingo and writing words using magnetic letters, play dough and sand, the children have had great fun learning their tricky words in Phonics.
Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Creating a strong sense of belonging is essential for children's emotional wellbeing and academic success. This guide explores ten simple and effective strategies, such as encouraging participation, celebrating diversity, and addressing bullying, that help schools build inclusive environments where every child feels valued and connected. We’ve created this free guide offering parents and educators effective solutions to build inclusive, nurturing environments that help children and young people feel a strong sense of belonging.
Reception - Maths - Numbers to 20
Look at the fantastic ways our Reception class is representing numbers up to 20! From the visual patterns of Numicon to building their own number staircases, ordering with precision, and understanding place value with ten frames – they're really bringing numbers to life!
Reception - English - Writing a Sentence
What a fun way to learn! Reception children turned into word explorers today, using magnifying glasses to find digraphs. Then, they put their phonics knowledge into action by crafting sentences, focusing on those important capital letters, finger spaces, and full stops.
Reception - Geography - Identifying Familiar Places in Darwen
Reception pupils embarked on an exciting geographical adventure today, discovering the town of Darwen through maps and Google Earth. Their exploration took in key landmarks like Darwen Tower and the library, as well as child-initiated points of interest including the church, Iceland, Asda, the leisure centre, and our own school. The highlight for many was locating their houses and sharing their journeys to school, some of which we followed virtually using Google Maps to discuss familiar stops. The children then used copies of the map and familiar landmarks to create their own representations of Darwen.This hands-on experience directly supports their understanding of the world and acts as a fantastic stepping stone towards Year 1 geography.
Reception - Handa's Surprise - Fruit Tasting
Our little explorers have been on a taste adventure inspired by "Handa's Surprise"! After reading the story, we explored the real fruits Handa carried in her basket: a creamy avocado, a sweet banana, a juicy mango, a tangy pineapple, and a bright orange. The children used fantastic describing words as they tasted each one. We heard about textures that were "smooth like silk," "bumpy like a road," and "soft like a cloud." Their taste buds had lots to say too – "sweet and yummy," "a little bit sour," and even a few "not so sure about that one!" faces when it came to the avocado! This hands-on activity not only brought the story to life and encouraged rich language development, but it also sparked our inner geographers! We had some great discussions about where these amazing fruits come from around the world, learning about the warm and sunny climates where mangoes and pineapples thrive.
Reception - The Great Outdoors.
Our Reception superstars have been making the most of the beautiful outdoors today! They were captivated by water play, enthusiastically adding bubbles, and skillfully filling and emptying pots and pans. We even had some very helpful bike cleaners in action! The creativity didn't stop there! Our budding engineers were busy building magnificent sandcastles in the sandpit, while others showed their bravery and developed their gross motor skills by climbing. What truly shone through was their wonderful social development. We saw fantastic examples of sharing toys and taking turns, building those crucial friendships and collaborative skills. Throughout all their play, their language blossomed as they communicated their ideas and needs. Even a few tumbles didn't dampen their spirits – resilience in action! Outdoor play provides such rich and varied learning opportunities for our young children, supporting their physical development, communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, and their understanding of the world. What a wonderful way to learn!
Safety on the Road
Staying safe on our roads isn’t just a skill — it’s a lifelong habit. It is crucial to learn key strategies for helping children navigate streets safely and confidently, from practising journeys together to teaching them how to choose the safest crossing points. We’ve collaborated with THINK! to offer real-world advice on issues like the dangers of parked vehicles, reversing cars and mobile phone distractions — it’s an invaluable tool for parents and educators who want to help young people travel independently without compromising their safety.
Reception - PE - Ball Skills
In today’s PE session, our EYFS children focused on developing their ball control skills through a fun and active series of activities. We explored rolling, catching, throwing, and aiming for a target — key movements that help build coordination, balance, and focus. The children practiced rolling balls to partners with careful control, ensuring they could send and receive accurately. We then moved on to catching and throwing activities, encouraging the use of two hands for control and promoting good hand-eye coordination. To make things even more exciting, we introduced aiming for a target — giving the children the chance to practice throwing with purpose. Whether it was knocking over cones or hitting a coloured spot, everyone showed great enthusiasm and concentration! It was wonderful to see the children’s confidence grow throughout the lesson. Well done, everyone — brilliant teamwork, focus, and effort!
Reception - Maths - Building Numbers to 14
Today, our Reception children were busy becoming number experts! We practiced counting all the way to 20 — and back again — with lots of claps, jumps, and smiles along the way. Next, we used our clever ‘10 and _ more’ model to build numbers to 14. The children impressed us with how they grouped 10 and then added the extra ones — real maths superstars! To finish, we explored odd and even numbers, discovering which numbers like to pair up and which ones are left out. Such amazing thinking and teamwork today — Reception, you are maths champions!
Reception - Art and Design - Carboard Creations
Here's a draft social media post you could use: Look at the amazing creativity blossoming in our Reception class!
Reception - Handa's Surprise
Our Reception class has been on a delightful journey with Handa's Surprise this week! We've been busy exploring all the wonderful fruits from the story, engaging our senses by discussing how they smell and feel. From the soft skin of the mango to the bumpy texture of the pineapple, the children have been fantastic observers! Next week, the real treat begins – tasting these delicious fruits! We can't wait to see which ones are their favourites. This activity beautifully links to several areas of the EYFS curriculum: English: We've been focusing on story sequencing and developing our vocabulary as we retell Handa's exciting adventure. Geography: We've been learning about different fruits and where they might come from in the world, sparking curiosity about other cultures. Stay tuned for photos of our fruity tasting next week!
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