Summer 2 Who is at the ugly bug ball?
Summer 2- Week 1
WC 5.6.2023
Our new big question for our last half term in Reception is, Who is at the ugly bug ball? Of course we had to start it all off with a bug hunt! We searched high and low all around the school and found some wonderful mini beasts. Ask your child about what they found.
We discussed what makes something living or non-living, the children learnt that to be living you need to breathe, eat, move, respond, grow and reproduce. Once they had that information they were able to classify living and non-living things and record their findings on a table.
We read the story of 'The bad tempered ladybird', the children were challenged to put the pictures of the story in the correct sequence and to write independently about ladybirds. On the art table the challenge was to create an observational picture of a mini beast. They used photos. books, toy and real bugs to observe and then they chose the media they would like to create with. The pictures were of amazing quality.
In maths we have been looking at 2 dimensional shapes and developing their knowledge of rotating shapes to fit into pictures. They have been practising using describing vocabulary to say which shape was the odd one out and why.
We have been enjoying watching the miniscule video about the ladybird and the bad neighbour. Watch it at home together using the link.
Summer 2- Week 2
WC 12.6.23
This week we focused on ants! We read the story 'Little ant's big plan'. The children observed the ants in our ant's nest and watched videos about queen ant, leaf cutting ants and how ants build their nests. Everyone chose their favourite mini beast and wrote a non-fiction fact page about them. We have put them all together to create a non-fiction book about our favourite mini beasts.
A Peter Pan workshop came to visit this week, we got to join in with some drama with the actor and learnt about the story of Peter Pan.
In maths, we have been learning number stories using toys and objects. We learnt what we have now, what happened next and then what was left.
We went on our adventure to the meadow, we went on a bug hunt and found some amazing dragonflies as well as lots of other bugs.
For Father's day we made our dads or special male in our lives, a 'You Are Brilli-ant' card! Well, this week was all about ants!
The week ended with Pyjamarama, we all wore our PJs to school and learnt about Booktrust and how they help children who do not have books of their own. After celebration assembly the whole school came together and shared stories. It was lovely to see how excited the children were and how confidently they read to each other.
Summer 2- Week 3
WC 19.6.23
What a busy week we have had! On Monday we received a delivery of tiny caterpillars. The children observed them and started a caterpillar diary by writing and drawing about what they could see. We read the story of 'The very hungry caterpillar' and used props to retell the story. We learnt about the life cycle of a butterfly and labelled all the stages. Everyday we observed the caterpillars getting bigger and bigger!
In maths, we have been continuing with the first, next and now stories. The children are getting very good at them.
The children were given a challenge with the playdough this week, they had to create mini beasts using only their hands as tools. We practised rolling, squashing, prodding and pinching to create marvellous mini beasts.
On Wednesday, we went to Nower Wood. It was the most amazing day. We went on bug hunts, completed sensory trails, ran through a maze and learnt how to pond dip! The children were so well behaved, they shared their knowledge of bugs and how to care for our environment. It is a day we won't forget in a hurry!
On Friday, we performed in our class assembly. Thank you all for coming to watch and join in! It was lovely for the children to see you all there and for them to showcase what they wanted you to see.
Summer 2-Week 4
WC 26.6.23
This week was the week of the snails! We spent all week observing and learning about these wonderful mini beast. We read the story of 'The snail and the Whale' and 'Norman, the snail with the silly shell', we also looked at non-fiction books and used technology to research facts about snails. We explored the difference between statements and questions. The children had to write 2 facts they knew about snails and ask 1 question about something they would like to know. Emoji, the African snail kept a close eye on everything that was going on throughout the whole week.
The children were introduced to the work of Henri Mattise and his famous creation 'The Snail'. The children used the same technique of tearing paper to create their own mini beast collages. The children also learnt the skill of quilling to roll up lengths of paper to make snail families. Their finished works looked wonderful.
We continued working on first, then and now number stories and focused on subtraction. We sang 10 green bottles and worked out how many we had first, then when they fell down what we had now. We used 10 frames to prove what we were saying.
The children were very excited to see our butterflies emerging from the chrysalis. We watched as they started to shake and then wriggled out, it was an amazing sight! We kept track on a 5 frame how many had emerged, by Friday afternoon we had 4.
You can share the stories we had this week by clicking on the links below.
Summer 2- Week 4
WC 3.7.23
Everyone has been buzzing around this week learning about bees! We have found out some very interesting facts about how bees make honey, how queen bees are made and how bees do a waggle dance to talk to each other. We have all enjoyed learning the waggle dance and creating a hive where all our bees can live.
We read the story 'Every Bee's Birthday' and also lots of non-fiction books and watched videos to learn facts.
We have been exploring doubles in maths. We learnt that doubles are twice as many or 2 of the same. The children found doubles in the environment, doubled counters, worked out double facts on ladybirds and printed doubles. Watch the Numberblock episode below to help your child's understanding of doubles.
On Thursday we said goodbye to our butterflies. We watched them grow from tiny caterpillars into fat caterpillars. We saw them spin their chrysalis and then a few days later emerge and finally we waved them off as they flew away on a new adventure.
