Welcome to Life at KPS for Reception

Mrs Bhogal and Mrs Morgan warmly welcome you to Reception.

The aim of this page is to highlight some of the fantastic learning that has been happening in Reception, this page will be updated monthly, with photographs and information about the learning we have completed during the month.

We hope you enjoy looking through these updates and do discuss your child’s learning with them to celebrate their success. We look forward to any suggestions you may have to make your child’s learning a pleasant experience.

May 2022

Communication and Language

In Reception, the children have been looking at the topic of ‘Growing’. We have been reading the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Jack and the beanstalk. Through these books, the children have been exposed to and learnt a range of new vocabulary. The children were also able to link their learning to real life experiences when some caterpillars arrived in class. Reception class have witnessed one of natures greatest miracles right before their eyes – the life cycle of butterflies. Children have watched the transformation day by day in their classrooms. Over the next few weeks, the children enjoyed looking after the caterpillars and watching them change. Every day the children would observe and discuss the different stages. Reception class have certainly learnt a great deal about these beautiful insects.

Personal, Social, Emotional Development

The children have been enjoying Mindful activities which we now do after lunch. It helps them relax after running around outside and gets them ready for learning. It also helps them to be aware of how they are feeling physically and mentally. We noticed that the children are now able to express themselves more confidently and are able to make their own choices in terms of activities and who they play or work with.

As we have been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly, it has taught the children how to look after them and treat them carefully. Inspired by our caterpillars, we discussed our code of conduct – STAR. The children listed all the different things that make us a good friend to each other. We then discussed how to be a good friend by sharing our ideas in circle time. We thought of some fantastic ideas of how to make others feel welcomed and appreciated. ‘You could ask someone if they want to join in your game.’

Physical Development

This month the children have been using a lot of garden tools as they have been working in their allotment digging and watering their plants. They have also been learning to use their water pump where they get to play with water as they mix with other materials. The children have been challenging and competing between themselves on the hula hoops. It has been a great joy to watch them teach and help each other! Another skill the children have been working on is handling and using pairs of scissors. A real big challenge for some. Making castles for the Queen’s platinum jubilee helped children push themselves master this skill.

Literacy

The children are progressing well in their smaller phonics groups. During phonics, the children are getting more and more confident at discussing what they have read. They are applying their sounds in their reading and writing both during adult led and independent activities.

We started the term by listening to the story ‘The very hungry caterpillar’ by Eric Carle. It was the perfect book to help the children understand that all living things grow. The story is about a little caterpillar who is very hungry. We follow him through the week as he eats lots of different fruit and lots of other food too, until he is very big and very full. He then spins himself a cocoon and after two weeks inside, he emerges as a beautiful butterfly. After lots of discussion, the children were able to describe the four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly. We have been encouraging our children to hear the sounds in words, use finger spaces to separate words, correctly form letters and reading back their work when doing any form of writing.

We have also been listening to the story of Jack and the beanstalk. The children were very keen to learn more about the story, particularly the Giant! The children loved learning how to retell the story using actions and key phrases.

Maths

The children have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes. This was through identifying, naming and discussing and singing their properties. It was fun to also use shapes to create patterns and pictures using shapes. This topic helped the children to notice 2D and 3D shapes in their environment. We introduced money. We had a role play area where they further explored the British coins. We covered the values of 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 20p coins.

Finally, we did Addition and Subtraction to 20. A range of counters and resources such as Part -whole models, Number tracks and Ten frames were used to help understand the concepts.

Understanding the World

The month of May has really been MAGICAL! The children have been exploring with things that grow. The caterpillars in our classrooms have been the stars of the show. There was a sense of excitement each morning as children walked in, keen to find out the progress on the caterpillars anticipating the completion of the life cycle of a butterfly! Watching plants grow has been truly fascinating. Having their own allotment has been a bonus. They had more opportunities to spot other wild life such as worms, slugs and a snail which they named ‘Sophie Snowball’. They gently observed it and noticed all its beautiful features.

Expressive Arts and Design

There was a real buzz during the preparations of the Queen’s Platinum jubilee. The children went all out making castles using boxes and decorating them with paint and flags, designing crowns with jewels, buntings and British flags for the big day! They had opportunities to look through different castle designs and discussions on preferences. Mrs Stoker our Music teacher taught the children the National anthem ready to sing on the Queen’s Platinum jubilee as a school. The children have been using the performance stage to practice songs to entertain each other on the day.