Spring 1- Is it all just rubbish?
Spring 1
Week 1- WC 2.1.23
On the first week back the Reception children re-settled into school life with me (Mrs Chapman) taking over Dragonfly class. The children took part in lots of activities that allowed me time to get to know them and set out our new routines.
Spring 1-Week 2
WC 9.1.23
This week we introduced our new big question, 'Is it all just rubbish?' We explored where all the rubbish we had created over Christmas actually goes once it is put in the bin. They were introduced to the 3 R's, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We explored the impact litter and rubbish can have on our environment and that it is better to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as we can. The children took part in a sorting activity, sorting all the rubbish according to its material. They learnt how plastics can be recycled and made into something new.
In maths we looked at zero and asked the question, 'Is none a number?' Share the story and see if it helps to answer the question!
Spring 1-Week 3
WC 16.1.23
This week we met Morris, the Messy Magpie! We read his story of how he collected treasure to make his forest look beautiful. However, he soon discovered his treasure was actually rubbish that was polluting the forest and harming the animals. The children used their writing skills to write recounts of the story. They also used their creative skills to paint and draw what a happy clean forest looks like verses an unhappy polluted forest. In our role play recycling centre the children have been taking on the role of the different characters in the story and sorting the recycling into the correct boxes.
In maths we have been doing lots of subitising up to 5 as well as focusing on the composition of 5.
It was also Chinese new year, we celebrated by cooking Chinese style noodles, practising using chop stick, making Chinese dragons, lanterns and greeting cards. We enjoyed listening to some beautiful Chinese music and watched videos of how people celebrated Chinese new year at home.
Spring 1- Week 4
WC 23.1.23
It has been another busy week of learning in Reception. We have read about the recycle super hero, Michael Recycle! After learning about how Michael Recycle helped a town to respect their environment all the children worked hard on designing their own recycling super hero. They gave them a name and then thought of a slogan that their character can say to help people understand about pollution, litter and the 3 R's. All of the children wrote their captions in speech bubbles in the genre of a comic book. We have also enjoyed the story of Litterbug Doug and several non-fiction books about recycling.
We have been using our creative skills when designing transitional art. The children reused items to create patterns or pictures. They used the ipads to capture their art before it transitioned into something else.
Our Maths focus this week has been comparing weight and capacity, investigating how balance scales can show us what is heavier, lighter or the same. We have used our outdoor water area to explore the concepts of full, empty and half full. The children were challenged to make their own playdough by using a cup to measure ingredients. Some turned out really well and others, well, lets just say they learnt it is better to follow a recipe!
Spring 1- Week 5
WC 30.1.23
We shifted our focus of our big question, 'Is it all just rubbish?, this week to the seas, rivers and oceans around the world. We have read, 'Duffy's Lucky Escape'. A story about a sea turtle who mistakes litter in the ocean for food and gets very sick. We watched several videos of people rescuing turtles, seals and other sea creatures that are victims of plastic pollution. The children had so much to say about what they saw and many shared their feelings of feeling sad and angry that people litter the beaches and water. They all created their own posters to persuade people to not litter and dispose of their rubbish properly.
We have continued exploring the concepts of weight and capacity, using bricks to measure how heavy or light objects are.
Friday was NSPPC Number day. We all dressed up and enjoyed a day of number activities. We found out information about Numbots, our new online home learning game. We played a few of the games and are all eager to use it at home!
Numbots parents info
Spring 1 -Week 6
WC- 6.2.23
We have had a wonderfully busy last week of half term in Reception.
This week was Safer Internet Week. We read a story about Buddy the dog who helps us keep safe when we are using the internet. We learnt Buddy's song and designed a game to play on a tablet. We also listened to Smartie the Penguin's story about online safety. We discussed what devices we use at school and home and if they are connected to the internet or not. We have been using lots of devices in our everyday provision. The children have been enjoying exploring the BeeBots and learning how to programme them to make them go to certain places on the BeeBot mats, some children then drew their own roads for the BeeBots to travel along.
In maths we consolidated our knowledge of the composition of 5. We played some games to show how we can use our knowledge to problem solve.
This week was also wellbeing week. We read the story of the colour monster and learnt about different emotions. We discovered that when you make different emotional faces your eyebrows move quite a lot! The children decided that in class they would like to change their feelings board to the match the colour monster's different emotions, we will work on this when we get back after half term.
Have a lovely break and see you soon.
