Reception Weekly Blog (14.6.24)

Date: 14th Jun 2024 @ 10:45am

A week filled with minibeasts, nature, shapes and fun!

Our Reception classrooms were full of excitement this week as we welcomed ten very special visitors to our school - Painted Lady caterpillars! 🐛 The children were full of curiosity as we discussed the fascinating life cycle of a butterfly. We looked closely at the caterpillar’s habitat; which contains all the nutritious food they need to eat, spin their silk and grow up to ten times their original size! Here’s what we’ve learned so far: in the very beginning, a butterfly lays its eggs on leaves. Our caterpillars are in the larva stage right now, they need to eat a lot to grow big and strong. Next, the caterpillars form a chrysalis, before finally emerging as a beautiful butterfly.

We read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle. The story sparked lots of wonderful conversation and questions from the children. We are all watching closely day by day as the tiny creatures explore their surroundings, and can’t wait to witness the miracle of metamorphosis!

Following on from one of our focus children’s interests in minibeasts, the children brought their own tiny creatures to life as they painted ladybird stones, which you might spot nestled within the leaves and flower beds of our ROLA. The children worked with great care to develop their fine motor skills and are so proud to see their colourful creations decorating our outdoor space. 

This week in RE, we have deepened our understanding of the natural world around us, by combining technology and nature with storytelling. The children explored our school’s planting garden, using iPads to capture unique photographs showcasing the snippets of nature which they found interesting, whilst learning all about the Christian story of creation. 

In Maths, this week, our learning journey has celebrated all things shapes! We’ve been exploring the different properties of circles, semicircles, squares, rectangles and triangles, and our star bakers had a delightfully tasty time making shortbread ‘shape’ biscuits for everyone to enjoy. The children love to be ‘shape detectives’ as we search our environment for hidden shapes! A fun game to try at home; what shapes can you find hiding? A clock? The television?

We have been so impressed with how hard the children are working, and giving everything a go at the moment. The children are becoming truly resilient learners and their confidence and independence are blossoming. As we prepare for their transition to Year One, we really encourage you to talk to your child about their feelings and excitement. Together, we can help them feel confident and ready for the new adventure ahead. 

Have a brilliant weekend, everyone. We look forward to hearing all of the children’s wonderful weekend news on Monday. 

The Reception Team