Our focus, this week, has been learning about Diwali – the Hindu and Sikh festival of light – where goodness triumphs over evil. Mrs Ajith and Ruby very kindly talked to us about how their families celebrate at home. Thank you for sharing your Diwali treasures, Ruby.

The children listened to, watched and then acted out the story of Warrior Prince Rama and Princess Sita.

Princess Sita and Warrior Prince Rama loved each other very much.

However, Demon King Ravana wanted Princess Sita for himself and took her away. (Samson is trying very hard to look mean!)

Prince Rama asked his good friend, Hanuman – the Monkey King – for help. So Hanuman rounded up all of the monkeys to help find Princess Sita.

Prince Rama shot an arrow at Demon King Ravana….

…..and he died.

Princess Sita and Prince Rama were reunited. Diya lamps helped them to find their way home.

Super drama, RS! It was brilliant that you all wanted to join in with the performance.

I wonder if the children can use the pictures to retell the story at home?

The children rose to the challenge of manipulating clay and then creating patterns with tools to make beautiful diya lamps. We hope they burn brightly at home and bring you good fortune.

Happy Diwali if you are celebrating over the next few days.

Well done to the children, who have earned Reading Eggs/Mathseeds certificates and stickers over the last couple of weeks.

As we come to end of our first half term, we reflect on our Reception journeys so far. Rio has loved spending time with his buddy. Sophia is proud that she can now “climb on the climbing frame upside down with no hands”. Eva enjoyed “making puppets”. Peter is proud “of all the words I read now”. Rory likes “playing with Aulani all day”. Paige’s highlight was “having a worm in [her] hair”! We are all different but, collectively, RS, you make a wonderful group of children to be around and it is a privilege to watch you grow. Thank you.

Talk for writing innovation

This week, RS took Little Rabbit Foo Foo on a new adventure. He hopped into the farmyard and scooped up the oinking pigs, fluffy sheep, mooing cows and flapping chickens. Despite warnings from the angry farmer, Little Rabbit Foo Foo continued to bop heads until the farmer had no choice other than to turn him into a spider. Super ideas, RS!

Certificates and stickers for learning on Reading Eggs and Mathseeds

Wishing you all a wonderful half-term break.

Thank you for joining us this morning for our box exhibition. The children loved having you in school and were proud to share their boxes with the Year 6 buddies. We are so lucky that they have developed such warm relationships.

Reading Eggs

Well done to the children earning stickers and certificates this week. Thank you for encouraging them at home.

What would you think if you opened a bag of clues containing a mallet, some bunny ears, a pot of fairy dust, a magic wand, a bunny tail and some torn denim? Well, Christina wondered if “the fairy might whack the rabbit to bits”!

The clues hooked us into Michael Rosen’s story, ‘Little Rabbit Foo Foo’.

We discussed the role of the author, illustrator and the blurb on the back cover, moving at a gentle pace through the story, considering new vocabulary and discussing the characters. A story map was drawn so we could sequence events, which helped us when we started our imitation of the text.

We have been making Foo Foo puppets and wriggly worms in our workshop and drawing pictures of goonies.

Once we are confident with imitating the story, we will start to innovate and create our own versions of the tale.

Over this year, the Talk for Writing process will help the children to build up a bank of story ideas from which they can draw as they become creative and independent writers.

Please ask the children if they can tell you some of the story. We hope you will be impressed by what they can recall!

Pumpkin patch

Thank you so much to Mrs Whittaker for creating a beautiful autumnal scene in our small world area, provoking awe and wonder in the children (and adults!).

We examined her beautiful gourds and discussed what we noticed before using oil pastels to draw them.

Please watch the children recite Joseph Coelho’s, ‘Take a Deep Breath’: the poem we have shared this week in celebration of National Poetry Day.

We really enjoy taking deep breaths and the sense of calm that this brings after a morning fizzing around Reception. The children considered which places make them feel safe, relaxed and happy.

Sophia is happiest at home: “I love all my family”. Maya enjoys her bed, which she describes as “nice and cosy”. Ruby relaxes with at her “Grandma’s”. Eliza’s happy place is “at the top of the climbing frame”. Rory feels most relaxed having “lunch with the buddies”. Poppy’s “playroom” is her sanctuary; she likes to “lie down and then jump up”.

Well done, RS, we are very proud of you!

Our Reception maths journey started with matching and sorting games. We talked about why objects are the same or different and then went on a hunt to ‘Find a match’.

We challenged ourselves to build matching towers.

We played SNAP! Lids were matched. Sets were created and incorrect sets were fixed.

Some of the children were so keen to demonstrate their sorting skills that, one afternoon, they tipped out all the resources on every shelf in the maths area! They discovered that, despite being skilled sorters and matchers, they had set themselves a time consuming challenge!

We have also been comparing quantities. Are there more boys or more girls in our class? Which colour lunch band is most popular today? Who has fewer banana slices? How many more bears does Cheeky Monkey have? We discovered that it’s easier to compare quantities when we line them up carefully or use a ten-frame.

Next week, we will be comparing size and mass. Please chat over the weekend about who is taller and shorter at home. How do the children know? Can they have a go at being human scales? Take a walk indoors or out and pick up an object in each hand. Does one object feel heavier than the other? The children might discover that size is not always an indicator of mass.

Armed with our gloves and trowels we headed out into the gardens this morning to tackle some of the old growth and nettles. On our journey of discovery we encountered many wiggly worms and some potato jewels in the ground – what an exciting morning! Lots of filling plant pots and comparing the capacities. We persevered in getting the potatoes out of the ground and took turns to dig around them.

Phonics lessons have started this week and the children have shown lots of enthusiasm for saying, reading and writing a new sound each day. Can you go on a hunt at home to find objects beginning with the following sounds: m, a, s and d?

We walked through the wardrobe to make our first visit to the school library and to chose our library books for the week. Please return them next Thursday so we can swap them over. Our librarian – Miss Whiteley – explained how important it is that we take care of books.

Why not join our family library sessions, which take place on Tuesdays 3.00-4.00pm? Siblings are welcome to come along too.

On Wednesday, we welcomed the last of our new starters into RS: a very warm welcome to everyone.

Snack time under our class tree – the mighty willow at the front of school – gave us the opportunity to make observations about the leaves, bark, size and shape. Jemimah thought that the tree “looks a bit bendy” and Rory described the bark as “lumpy”. The children also considered what type of creatures might inhabit the tree. Not sure about the tiger suggestion but we might see an owl, squirrel, ladybird or pigeon at some point! We will revisit our willow regularly to notice and discuss seasonal changes. Rio-Bailey wonders if “the leaves might go down” as we move into Autumn.

Is there a tree at or near your home that the children could choose to follow? We would love to hear about any comparisons with our willow tree.