We have had a very busy and exciting final week of term in Reception!

Phonics

In phonics, we have been learning the new sound ‘ar’. The children practised reading and writing words containing this sound, and then challenged themselves to write sentences using both their tricky words and the new sound. We also spent time recapping all the sounds and tricky words we have learnt so far, helping to build confidence and fluency.

Maths

In maths, we have been focusing on understanding that a whole can be made from two equal parts. The children worked hard to identify and explain what the whole is when objects are split evenly. We have also been developing our skills in visualising, making, and describing spatial arrangements of 6. In addition, the children explored subitising doubles using ten frames, becoming quicker at recognising amounts without counting.

RE

In RE, we continued our learning about why Christians put a cross in an Easter garden. The children retold the Easter story using key vocabulary and showed great understanding. We then created our own Easter gardens using digestives, jammy dodgers, mini eggs, icing, and sprinkles! During this activity, we discussed how eggs are a symbol of Jesus’ new life. To finish our learning, we took part in an Easter egg hunt, linking this to the excitement Christians felt when they discovered Jesus was alive.

Understanding the world 

We were also very excited to welcome tadpoles into our classroom this week! The children have been learning how to look after them carefully. In Understanding the World, we explored the life cycle of a frog, discussing what frogs eat and how they grow and change. The children then cut out and ordered the stages of the life cycle, showing great understanding.

Topic

Linking to our topic of People Who Help Us, we had a special visit from a doctor who works in A&E. He told us about the different types of doctors and what it is like to work in a hospital. The children asked some fantastic questions and showed great curiosity.

We also took part in our sponsored walk this week, themed around The Wind in the Willows. The children walked around the park and outdoor areas, searching for characters from the story along the way—it was lots of fun!

Thank you for your continued support this term. We hope you all have a lovely and restful Easter break!

Star of the week: Congratulations to Rhamiel, who was our star of the week this week, for working hard and knowing a lot of his tricky words and sounds! Rhamiel will be taking home his certificate and Wilfred the Elephant to write in the book all about his time spent with Wilfred over the next week and will bring him back the Thursday after the Easter holiday.

Please remember to read with your child, even for just 5 minutes! Please also remember to record it in the reading record. We will only change your child's book if you have read with them 2 or more times in that week! Reading books are changed on Tuesday's and Friday's. Please also remember to have the library book in your children's book bag on Thursday to be changed. 

Any issues or concerns we need to know about, please speak to the Acorn team before and after school or email at: acorn@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk