Newsletter 8.05.26

Wow what another great week in reception. We have been plant experts, bird investigators
and we even found time to celebrate David Attenborough’s birthday.
In literacy this week we started our new story. On Monday a bird, nest, box and different
types of food were left in the classroom. We thought about who these items belong to.
Where has the bird come from. Each day we have been reading posters on our door about
where our bird has been flying to throughout the night. We are so engaged in this story and it
is so lovely to hear your buzz of excitement as you come through the door waiting to find out
what our bird has been upto.
In maths, we have been working on doubles and symmetry this week. We learnt that a line
of symmetry means that it has got to be equal on both sides. We created symmetrical
pictures using loose parts and paint. We then worked out what double we have made. By the
end of the week, many of you knew all of your doubles to 5. Which is fantastic!
In phonics, you have been learning and reviewing your set 1 and 2 sounds.
In RE, we completed our topic of stories that Jesus heard. We listened to our last clever club
story that was all about Queen Esther. We found out that Queen Esther was a brave Jewish
queen in the Bible who risked her life to save her people from a wicked plan made by
Haman. With courage and wisdom, Esther spoke to the king, and her actions helped protect
the Jewish people from danger. We looked back on all the stories we had read from the old
testament. We thought about what our favourite story was and why. We then drew the front
cover of our favourite story.
In wellbeing, we focused on the feeling of happiness. We thought about how we know when
we are happy and how our bodies might feel when we are happy. We then spoke about the
moments when we have felt the happiest. I loved listening to them all!
In heartsmart, this week we listened to the story about ‘how bunny got long ears’ We found
out that a long time ago, Bunny had short, tiny ears and loved to play tricks instead of
listening carefully. He liked to lie to all of his friends in the forest. One day, after lying one too
many times, Bunny’s ears were magically stretched long so he could hear better and stay
safe. From then on, Bunny’s long ears reminded everyone that listening and telling the truth
is important. We discussed what a lie was and what a truth was. We answered some
comprehension questions about the story to help our literacy skills.
In our understanding of the world this week, we learnt that a plant starts off as a seed or a
bulb. We named some plants that start off as seeds and some plants that start off as a bulb.
We looked at how seeds are different in our discovery area in the classroom and many of
you thought a bulb looked like an onion. We then learnt that there are different parts of a
plant and we named the four main parts to a plant. In our choosing time, some of you even
created your own flowers and labelled the different parts. I thought these looked wonderful.
In your expressive arts and design, you have been continuing to use different materials to
paint. You have thought about mixing more colours and seeing what colour changes can
take place. You have also been continuing to learn the glockenspiels.
In our physical development, you went on the adventure trail this week to help with your
gross motor skills. You thought carefully about how you were going to balance along the trail.
You have also been continuing to access your fine motor activities every morning.
On Friday, we celebrated David Attenborough’s 100 th birthday. We learnt about who David
Attenborough is and the incredible work he has done for our planet. We watched a video
about all of the adventures he has been on in his 100 years. Did you know he has visited

every single continent? We celebrated his birthday by creating cards in the writing area,
singing him happy birthday in the role play area, counting 100 birthday candles for his cake
and we even thought about some of the habitats he has been to and used the small world
area to celebrate this! We thoroughly enjoyed celebrating David’s 100 years!

As well as all of this we have enjoyed lots of time outside and we even got to spend some
special time with our amazing buddies in the garden.
Have a wonderful weekend superstars.
Miss Haynes