Forest School 

Every other week Reception alternate with the Year 1 class to go into our Forest School area. We put on our wellies and wet suits and head outside together singing out Forest School song. We love to listen to stories that Miss Lloyd and Mrs Hughes tell us and make homes for the characters. We explore lots of different resources in the outdoor area and build lots of dens! We have been making log pile houses for the snake from The Gruffalo and also making skeletons from sticks from Funnybones!

Trim Trail

We have lots of fun working in our Forest School area. We enjoy using the equipment and using our bodies to balance and travel in different ways along the trim trail. Working in the outside area is great for team building and helping to support our physical development.

Theme

Autumn 1

In our theme lessons this term we are thinking about ourselves, each other and the people we live with at home. We are discussing our favourite things and special occasions such as birthdays. We will also be talking about our home life e.g. where we live and what our homes look like.

Autumn 2

This half term our topic is ‘Celebrations – what do I celebrate? – what do others celebrate?’ In this topic we are studying different cultural celebrations (Diwali and Hanukkah) as well as Christmas as we prepare for the Christmas Nativity performances.

Spring 1

Our theme this Spring term is 'What is a home?'

We are exploring all of our homes and what they are like inside and outside. We will describe and label the materials that are used to construct them and discuss why they are successful. Later in the term we will be looking at homes in other countries to discover what they are made from and why. We will also have a look at historical changes to housing.

RE

Autumn 1

To begin the topic we will be talking about God as Heavenly Father and that he makes each one of us different and special and that he knows and loves us – this links into out theme this term ‘All about me.’ There will be an opportunity for the children to explore all about themselves, their likes, their dislikes, their physical features and their abilities. We will also be looking at hand prints, footprints and fingerprints and talking about how they are different for each of us. Within this term we will also be discussing emotions and the experiences related to each child.

Autumn 2

This half term we are learning all about different religious festivals such as Christmas, this RE topic links very much to our Theme for this half term where we are learning all about other special celebrations. Incorporated into this will be the story of Jesus’ birth which links to the theme topic.

Spring 1

This first half term we are learning about stories Jesus heard. We are talking about what we already know about Jesus as well as learning about the stories of Daniel and the Lions’ Den, Moses, Joseph, and Jonah and the Whale. We will then further our knowledge and we will learn about stories Jesus told. This will help us to learn about the important truths found in Jesus' parables such as ‘The Good Samaritan’ and ‘The Lost Sheep’.

Art & DT

Autumn

In our art lessons we are using a variety of drawing tools. We are also learning how to use our drawings to tell a story whilst investigating different lines. We are exploring different textures and being taught how to draw accurate drawings of people. Towards the end of the Autumn term in our DT lessons we will be creating a moving picture, this will be Christmas related and show how Father Christmas travels over the houses on Christmas Eve in his sleigh!

Spring

This term we are experimenting with and using lots of primary colours. With these colours we will be naming them, mixing them and learning the names of different tools that bring colour. We are also using a range of tools to make coloured marks on paper too. In our DT lessons this term we are going to be creating our own free standing structure. We will be working towards building something for our own playground. These free standing structures might include swings, roundabouts, slides or see-saws.

PE / Dance

In our PE lessons we are learning all about our bodies and how they grow, move and develop. We are always keeping active to improve our physical development and also to keep us fit and strong. We love using all of the great PE equipment in the hall, sometimes we do our PE lessons outside and we get to use lots of outdoor space. We also love linking our lessons to what we are learning about in the classroom too! Our dance lessons are ran by Becky, she comes into school every Thursday and we explore how to move and respond to music - she teaches us some really cool dances. Have a look at some photographs of us in our PE lessons.