Return to Children

Reception

Staff: Mrs Claridge / Mrs Deacon / Mrs McDouall / Mr Jordan

Contact info: karen.claridge@panshanger.herts.sch.uk

Remember to log on to Tapestry to see what your child has been doing recently.

Music is taught by Mr Mitchell on a Tuesday

Welcome to Panshanger School and to our Reception class. On this page, we post photos every half term sharing updates on the activities and learning the children are completing. 

Starting Reception

We understand that all children develop at their own pace, and that we’re all learning from birth. When it’s time to start school, some children will need more help than others.

There are key skills* that schools expect children to be learning before their first day. Practising these will make your child’s journey to Reception as positive as possible.

If your child is already at nursery, in pre-school, or with a childminder, those professionals will work with you and your child to help get them ready.

There’s lots you can do at home to build your child’s confidence and independence, helping them feel emotionally and practically prepared to start school.

*We are calling this document the ‘Starting Reception’ definition. Some people/organisations refer to this as ‘school readiness’.

Starting Reception (2.46MB)

 

Please visit the Starting Reception website for further information.

 

Spring 1

This half term Reception have been very busy exploring journeys.

We read the book ‘Hunter’s Icy Adventure’ and found out about the true story of the journey of Hunter the polar bear. We linked this to learning more about climate change and the impact it is having on our world. We explored ways that we could make a real difference, despite being only very young, We carried out an experiment to find out the conditions when ice melts the fastest.  We created our own wintery pictures, discovering what happens when white is added to coloured paint. In maths we compared our handprints to the paws of a polar bear. We found out theirs are so much bigger than ours!

Our role play area became our very own red bus. We used our bus to explore London, comparing it to Welwyn Garden City and identifying key landmarks.  We took a virtual train ride through some snowy mountains and even had a virtual ride on a rollercoaster

In Drawing Club we have continued with our amazing adventures using a variety of books, one of our favourite being the “Naughty Bus.”  We have continue working hard in phonics, working on Phase 4 using our scheme Animaphonics.

We have also found time to celebrate Chinese New Year, finding out about different traditions.

Autumn 2

We have had such a busy and fun half term exploring our theme Celebrations. We have learnt about some different festivals such as Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas.

Our learning then moved to ‘Space’, where we created our very own space station in our classroom. We shared stories and watched videos to learn about what it might be like to visit space. The children’s love for Drawing Club has continued to grow. We have explored different stories, tales and animations. The children’s magic codes have really developed, combining their imagination and use of phonic skills to write for a real purpose. Phonics has continued to be one of the children’s favourite parts of the day, with great excitement caused by what sound we maybe learning next. The children have become really confident at using Animaphonics to help them to read and write. 

This half term we have introduced Disco Dough to help the children to strengthen their fine motor muscles.  The children have loved using their dough to perform different moves and we are already seeing an impact on their pencil grips.

As December approached, Reception took on the speaking roles in the EYFS production “Barmy Bethlehem” which proved to be a huge success. The children had lots of songs and actions to learn, as well as speaking in front of a large audience, many for the first time.  They were absolutely amazing and we were so proud of them all. Despite being incredibly busy we have also managed to fit in taking part in the whole school music concert, a visit to the Pantomime, making cards, calendars and so much more! Reception finished the term by visiting Anson Court in Panshanger to sing Christmas songs to some of their residents.

We can’t wait to recharge our batteries over the Christmas holiday, ready for our adventures to continue next half term.

Autumn 1

Reception have made a great start to their school life at Panshanger and for many settling into a new environment. The children have been busy learning and adapting to their new routines and making new friends. They have gained impendence in accessing resources both inside the classroom and in our outside areas. We have explored our school values of “Respect, Ambition and Resilience” and thought about what this looks like to us. We then worked together to set our own classroom expectations to help us to work, play and learn together in the best way we can.

Our topic this half term has been “Amazing Me.” This has provided the children with an opportunity to explore what makes them special and what their super powers are. The children have talked about their own families, homes and special times that they have shared. As part of our work on “People who help us” we were very lucky to have a visit from the Police with their vehicle. The children had the chance to try on different hats and sit in the driver’s seat. Everyone agreed that the sirens were very loud!
The children have started our phonics scheme Animaphonics and shown great excitement at learning new sounds and their actions. Every morning during Drawing Club we have gone on a journey of imagination, exploring many different books.

We finished the half term noticing signs of seasonal change around us. We went on a walk around the local area and through the woods looking and listening to everything around us.