What a busy and exciting week we’ve had in Reception!

In phonics, the children have been learning the new sounds ‘igh’, ‘oa’ and ‘oo’ (long, like in “moon”). They have been practising writing these sounds, reading words that include them, and building their confidence in blending sounds together to read. It’s been wonderful to see how much progress they are making when tackling new words.

In maths, we have been exploring the idea of wholes and parts, particularly focusing on what a whole looks like when it is split into two equal parts. The children also enjoyed sorting objects in different ways, such as by colour, shape, and other features. We challenged ourselves further by sorting items into two equal groups and talking about similarities and differences. Later in the week, we introduced even and odd numbers. The children had a go at building their own numbers using blocks and then explained whether they had made an even or odd number, as well as identifying the number they had created.

In Drawing Club, we read Busy People: Firefighters. We started by discussing key vocabulary from the story, then the children drew detailed pictures of firefighters and a fire station. They used their imagination to think about what might happen if there was a fire, drawing scenes of firefighters rushing out to help. The children then wrote sentences to describe their drawings, showing fantastic creativity and developing their writing skills.

In PE, we focused on developing our jumping and landing skills. The children practised jumping over cones and experimented with jumping in different shapes, learning how to land safely and with control.

One of the highlights of the week was our exciting trip to the local fire station in Tunbridge Wells. The children had an amazing time meeting real firefighters, exploring the fire engine, and learning about all the equipment they use. They even got to sit inside the fire truck! A particular favourite moment was using the fire hose to knock over a cone. We also listened to the siren and alarm and watched a firefighter come down the fire pole, which caused lots of excitement. To build on this experience, we also had a fire safety talk in school, helping the children understand how to stay safe.

We ended the week on a fun note by dressing in red for Red Nose Day. It was lovely to see everyone getting involved and supporting such a special cause.

Well done to all the children for another fantastic week of learning!