On Monday, a bear invited us into the forest to see what we could find.

We came across a tennis racket, an alarm clock, a bucket, a spade, a teapot, a trophy and a Spiderman mug. A discussion followed, around what the bear might do with these objects.

Rory wondered if the bear might “decorate his bedroom” with a trophy “he won at tennis” and Paige imagined that the alarm clock would ensure that “the bear isn’t late for school”.

Back in the classroom, the children considered what other objects the bear might find in a forest and what he might do with them. This led to some very impressive writing. The colourful semantics cards help us to remember all the words in our sentences, which are starting to include time/place and description. We are also trying hard to remember our capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. Well done, everyone!

Bye-bye butterflies

Thank you to Maya for hosting the caterpillars over the half term break and for sharing the photos and videos of their progress. Spiky was released into Maya’s garden to wriggle and grow as he was not ready to form a chrysalis. By the time we returned to school, three of the caterpillars had metamorphosised into butterflies. The fourth butterfly emerged from its chrysalis within five minutes of us arriving at school. It was fascinating to watch! Later that day, we bade an emotional ‘farewell’ to the butterflies: off on their journey to find their mummy, Betty.

Well done to our certificate earners this week!

Thank you to everyone, who was able to join us for Reception sports day. The children were brilliant and it was wonderful to hear them cheering for their team mates and doing their best. Well done to Birkdale, who were overall winners today. Thank you to our captains for leading their teams with such enthusiasm. Thank you to Mrs Cosgrove and the PE team for preparing the children for all of the races over this half term and to the year 5s for their support.

Well done to our certificate winners this week….

and thank you if you were able to join us for our assembly.

….has been echoing indoors and out this week.

After our first bean plant (sadly) failed due to over-zealous watering, our second bean plant survived a bean-napping incident and has started to grow this week. On Monday, we observed shoots. On Tuesday, there were roots. By Wednesday, seedlings were stretching through the compost and into the light. By Thursday, the seedling was five cubes tall. The children are invited to record their observations for our display board.

The caterpillars (which the children have named Lucas, Ice-cream, Furry, Wriggly and Spiky) seem to be flourishing under our care. We enjoy checking on their progress each day and reporting back to their mummy, Betty. Betty challenged us to craft some butterflies, which required some very careful cutting and sticking. We have also made butterfly life-cycle pictures in the art area.

Our potato plant has responded enthusiastically to the recent sunshine and showers so we earthed them up today. There is no room for complacency but the RS plants seem to be faring well against their competitors in the other classes.

Well done to our certificate winners this week!

The children, who have Reading Eggs and Mathseeds certificates this week, asked me to save them for assembly next Wednesday.

After reading ‘The Feelings Book’ by Todd Parr, some of the children wanted to talk about when they have encountered certain feelings. We opened up about how we feel: cranky when a “baby brother bites [a] finger”; scared when we think of “monsters” and “a scary dinosaur…a real one…not pretend”; brave when we “swim underwater for the first time” and lonely when a “brother goes to woodcraft”. Rory suggested that, “sometimes we might even feel like having fish and chips and diet coke for breakfast”.

Thank you for sending the children in their green clothes. We blended in well with the classroom’s calm zone.

We discussed what makes us feel calm and happy. Running around, playing games, cooking, listening to stories, having a bath, playing with pets, being kind and crafting were all mentioned. The children were invited to craft collage hearts and write kind messages of appreciation for their friends.

Feeling proud

Well done to our certificate earners this week.

When we arrived at school on Monday, we noticed that Jasper the cat (Jasper’s Beanstalk – Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen) had gifted us a bean. We examined the bean and noticed that it was “hard” (George), “browny black” (Rio) and a “sort of oval shape” (Mia). The bean was planted in compost and then we watered the bean. We learnt about the life cycle of a bean and await a root with keen anticipation. We are hoping for a tall beanstalk with a giant at the top….and maybe some treasure.

Aliens called Odd and Even

We have been revising odd and even numbers and the children were encouraged to create aliens with odd and even features.

The story bus….

….came for the second time this year so the children, who did not visit last time, visited the bus on Wednesday. We listened to a story called ‘Knock Knock. Who’s there?’. Then we had time to explore the books in the library.

Well done to our certificate earners this week!

Just as athletes around the World are preparing for Paris 2024, we are getting ready for Reception sports day: only four weeks to go. Our stamina is growing during the daily mile and we are practising manipulating hoops, balancing quoits, holding tightly onto a baton and jumping over hurdles. But, mostly, we are developing our house spirit and cheering on our friends to be the best athletes that they can be. It’s wonderful to witness.

Feeling proud

Thank you if you were able to join us for our celebration assembly on Wednesday. Congratulations to our certificate and trophy winners.

When the children were asked where potatoes come from, there were suggestions of “the fridge”, “the cupboard” and “the shop”. However, some children suggested that, before the potatoes arrive in the fridge, they grow “in the ground”….”on a farm”…”in fields”.

Mrs Wake very kindly brought us some seed potatoes (of the Charlotte variety) and encouraged us to notice the shoots. She shared her experiences of potato growing and offered us top tips. Can the children recall what they were? Should we eat green potatoes? How do we prevent them from going green? What do we need to do on a weekend before we leave school?

We added nutritious compost to the bags – not too much as we learned that we will need to ‘earth them up’ when shoots appear. The seed potatoes were positioned carefully so they would have room to grow. We checked for stones to try and avoid funny-shaped potatoes! The children suggested that the plants would need water and a sunny spot in our outdoor area.

Let’s see what happens next. How many potatoes will we grow?

Perhaps the children could have a go at growing something at home – cress or carrot tops are fun and produce fast results.

‘How to Catch a Star’

We have started this term’s Talk for Writing text (by Oliver Jeffers) and had fun building spaceships. Don’t worry. We can’t fly away because, like the boy in the story, we don’t have any petrol.

Feeling proud

Well done to our certificate earners this week.

Making Easter nests was one of the highlights of this last week of the Spring term. The children noticed how the chocolate and butter melted from solids into delicious-smelling liquids when we heated them in the microwave. We stirred our mixture with cornflakes before adding chocolate eggs and then popped the nests in the fridge to cool and solidify. The nests definitely passed the taste test so if you would like to make them at home, here are Maya’s instructions.

Thank you to Rev. Lottie for coming in to share the Easter story with us. Can the children show you the song she taught us? You can give the children a clue to start them off. “When all the world was sleeping….”

Congratulations to the certificate earners this week!

Wishing you all a very happy and restful Easter!

Thank you to Rev. Sharon for showing us around the church and for her re-telling of ‘The Last Supper’ story. Thank you also to the parents, who were able to accompany us for the afternoon. Can the children recall which of the photos show the stained glass window, the font, the cross, the altar, the organ pipes, the organ, the stalls, the Mothers’ Union banner, the pulpit? Can they recall Rev, Sharon’s secret about the bells? Can they tell you what they noticed on the walk to and from the church?

We were inspired to make our own stained glass windows.

Building on our senses learning from last week, we enjoyed smelling and tasting hot cross buns and talking about the significance of the cross on the top.

Some lovely writing about our experiences.

Here is our recital of hot cross buns for World Poetry Day.

We also laughed a lot watching and listening to Michael Rosen recite some of his poetry.

Well done to our certificate earners this week!

We have been exploring the world through our senses. Eliza’s mum came in as a mystery reader and shared Eliza’s favourite book, which has some fabulous content about ‘The Senses’.

This week, we discovered that…..

When we sniff and when we smell, we use our nose. Smells go up our nostrils.

When we eat and when we taste, we use our tongue. We pick up salty, sour, sweet and bitter tastes with different parts of our tongue.

When we listen and when we hear, we use our ears.

When we look and when we see, we use our eyes.

When we touch and when we feel, we use our skin.

What do the children notice at home through their senses?

Congratulations to our certificate earners this week!

Well done to Mia, who won the World Book Day spoon competition.

Mrs Stott and Miss Cooke loved her mermaid.