Our Learning Gallery and Special Events

Settling in to Reception
Reception have had a wonderful first few weeks and we are very proud of how well they have all settled into our routine. We have already had lots of fun exploring the areas inside and out, enjoyed PE and forest school sessions, sharing our fantastic 'Everywhere Bear' books and sharing lots of stories, songs and rhymes. We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead. Well done, Reception!  
In Reception we love our weekly Forest School sessions. Exploring, examining and observing are key skills that we have been developing as we investigate seasonal changes and wildlife that can be found on our site. Over the weeks we have learned all about hazards and what we need to do/ look out for to ensure that we are safe when joining in with forest school. It is great to hear the children reminding each other about the safety rules, or identifying hazards that they have spotted, e.g., a trip hazard. 
We have been creating art out of natural resources such as magic wands, journey sticks, butterflies and bats. These activities have helped us to learn our very first knot- the reef knot!
We also had a special treat celebrating our very first on site birthday, where yummy treats were shared around the fire circle. 
We can't wait to see what each new session brings!
We had such a fantastic trip to Brockbushes as part of our Harvest topic. We were amazed when we walked on to the pumpkin picking field- it took a very long time for us each to find a pumpkin that was perfect for each of us!
We have been learning about the journey from field to fork for lots of our every day food items, so this experience made us very excited that they were grown so close to school. We have decided to try and grow our own in school to reduce our produce miles even more!
Scooping out and carving our pumpkins was a lot of gloopy, messy fun- we used as many different words as we could to describe the feeling, "like slithery pumpkin slime" and "sticky, cold glue" were some of the descriptions. 
Have a look through our photos and see how much fun we had!
Wheely Wednesday for Walk to School 
 
We had so much fun blinging up our wheels before heading outside to go for a spin! We always make sure to wear our helmets and try to remember to keep a safe distance from the person in front. We have so much fun being fit and active.
PE with Mr Thompson is always a highlight of our week, we always do so many fun games which help to keep us fit and healthy. We have been learning spatial and ball skills this term, finding safe spaces to move and travel in and also how to control and pass a ball. We have been using a range of different balls to help develop our coordination and skills, from rugby to tennis to hockey balls. We certainly do like a challenge!
Mr Thomspon has been very impressed so far with our perseverance, control and precision. We love to see what we will be learning each week- thank you Mr Thompson. 
Christmas 
Each week in forest school brings us new challenges and excitement. We are really starting to show huge improvements with our whittling technique. We have been whittling marshmallow toasting sticks, arrows for bows, knitting needles and posts to make miniature tents. We are so careful ensuring that the tool is facing away from us and we wear protective tool gloves. 
Adding up
 
We have been combining numbers to find totals this week in maths. We love our practical investigations. 
Easter Stay and Play
 
We always get so excited when we have the chance to invite our families in to our class to learn and explore with us. 
Our crafty Easter inspired session saw us make a range of Easter crafts and find out why we celebrate Easter.
Yummy hot cross buns
 
During our Easter learning, we found out about why we have hot cross buns. We loved tasting them. 
Number bonds
 
We have been practicing our number bonds and are becoming very confident to tell and show you them. Take a look at some of the ways we have been exploring them...
This summer term our topic is 'mini beasts' with the focus artist of Eric Carle inspired work. 
We began our topic reading 'The Mixed Up Chameleon' by Eric Carle, discussing all of the different animals the chameleon wanted to be like. In the end, he was very happy just to be himself. 
We started to find different ways we could use tissue paper for various effects, starting with a chameleon. We then drew our own group mixed up animals and developed our new skills. 
Using various animals, we refined our cutting skills to create our very own 'mixed up animals.' 
We had some very inventive and funny names for them.
Suddenly, all of our phonics learning is starting to come together and we are turning in to writing superstars. Take a look at our brilliance.