Autumn 2

Christmas Time in Reception:

The children shared in a christmas lunch together where they had party food, listened to christmas music and pulled open a christmas cracker with their friends.  They had a special visit from Father Christmas and each recieved a book as a gift. Children enjoyed participating in activities based around christmas crafts. As part of us working closely with our parents, we invited them into school to come along to our 'Christmas Crafts' event, to our Nativity Performance and also to our school Christmas fair. Both children and parents enjoyed being able to spend time with each other in school and be able to share in those activities together. 

We have had a number of special visits this term relating to the topics we have been learning about. Children had a visit from the Dental nurse, Doctor, a Policeman and two Author visits. 

Dentist Visit:

Our Reception children enjoyed a visit from the dental nurse to highlight how important it is to clean their teeth and how to keep their mouths healthy.

Doctor Visit:

Our Reception children enjoyed a visit from a Doctor. Doctor Islam showed the children what was inside his doctor briefcase and talked about the different equipment that he uses at the surgery. Some of the chidren in the class remembered the word stethescope and what a stethescope is used for. Doctor Islam was very impressed at how much knowledge the children were able to recall from recent learning. We discussed what we go to the doctors for, what happens at the surgery and the roles of different people who work at the surgery. Doctor Islam talked to the children about eating healthy and doing lots of exercise to help us grow. He also brought in for the children healthy snacks. They all enjoyed the apples, oranges and bananas. Thank you to Doctor Islam for bringing in healthy snacks for us. The children were also given a special treat. They got given washable tattoos that they got to take home.

Police Officer Visit: 

We had a visit from PC Sange. He came to talk to the children about the jobs that police officers do, and how they help keep us safe. We even got to try on PC Sange’s police hat and listened to his police radio. PC Sange talked to the children about his role as an officer, where he worked and about the jobs he had to do each day. Children listened carefully when PC Sange talked about the different vehicles that the Police drive and what equipment is used. Thank you for coming to school to share you're role as a Police Officer. 

Author visit:

To continue to develop our love for reading, children have met two fantastic authors Shabana Hussain and Brian Abram. Shabana Hussain read us her book 'Speak Up Sami'. We have been reading the collection of 'Grandad Wheels' story. The real Grandad Wheels came into school. Children listened to him discuss being different and how he manages to have experiences like us even from being in a wheelchair. Grandad Wheels shared one of his new stories with the children. Afterwards, children drew pictures of Grandad Wheels in a wheelchair and what adventure he was going to go on. They talked to him about their learning. 

Children  have been studying the story 'Naughty Bus'. We read the first page of the book. It said 'I hope you're a good driver'. Children then predicted what could be inside the present. They then made their own story maps by drawing scenes from the story. After this, children worked in groups to innovate the story by changing the type of transport. We discussed in groups what mess the new transport was going to make in the classroom environment. Children had lots of fun making a mess like the London Bus did in the story. Finally, children wrote some captions and sentences relating to the type of transport they had chosen and the mess that it had made. 

Go Velo attended school to support children in learning to ride a bike. The children participated in a number of sessions over the course of 3 days. The children worked extremely hard to ride balance bikes and pedal bikes. A huge thank you to Go Velo for their fantastic training and support!

In Maths children children been learning about the numbers four and five. We made the numbers using resources such as ten frames, objects, double sided counters and numicon. We also used the number block four and number block five to combine numbers.

Children have been learning about the topic 'Transport'. Children have looked at old and new transport. They looked at how people travelled in the past and how it's changed. We have also been making our own transport using junk modelling materials. 

Children have been learning about Bonfire Night. During our discussion we thought about firefighters and watched a video about special rules we must follow on Bonfire Night. We also looked at how others celebrate Bonfire Night and what types of things happen. Children created their own bonfire and firework pictures using a range of media and materials. They also created some firework crowns. 

In Maths children have been learning all about circles and triangles. We found lots of shapes in our learning environment. 

When learning about the story Whatever Next, children used the book 'You choose'  to predict what kind of transport Baby Bear may turn his box into.
Children have been sequencing the story Whatever Next and retelling what is happening in each picture. They have innovated the story Whatever next. The children chose where baby bear will travel to, which transport would be best to travel in and what baby bear will do there. The children then used their phonics knowledge to write their innovations.

During Art Week children looked at the fantastic patterns and sculptures that Andy Goldsworthy created with natural materials.Children participated in different activities to create their own art work. Children used natural resources such as pine cones, conkers, pebbles, jewels to create art. They also were involved in making art using leaves, twigs and floral plants. Other activities involved leaf rubbings and making their own paint brushes using natural materials. 

Children have been learning about the celebration of Diwali. Children learnt how people celebrate and what types of events happen throughout Diwali. Children watched a video about the celebration Diwali and then participated in a variety of different activities throughout the day. Some of these activities were Rangoli patterns, Mehndi patterns, baking and creating their own diva lamps.