Spring Term 2026

W/C 02.03.2026

This week in Reception we have had another busy and exciting week of learning!

We have been finishing our story Farmer Duck. The children have been writing simple sentences and we introduced some new vocabulary from the story: crept, wriggled, creak, weary, squeezed and fled. You could try using these words at home in conversation or storytelling to help build your child’s vocabulary and understanding.

We have continued building our understanding of 9 and 10, making different arrangements of 10 and exploring number bonds to 10. If you would like to practise at home, the 1 Minute Maths app is great for this. Try the 'addition within 10' and 'bonds to 10' activities to help develop quick recall.

During Our World time, we spent time outside looking for signs of spring. The children spotted ladybirds, minibeasts and daisies, and listened carefully to the birds cheeping. We also learned about spring animals and their babies; did you know that a baby rabbit is called a kitten? The children enjoyed drawing different baby animals.

In provision, the children practised their design and building skills by first designing what they wanted to build and then creating their structures from their designs.

We had a lovely time celebrating World Book Day and it was wonderful to see the children dressed as so many different book characters! We also enjoyed a shared reading session with Preschool, where the children read stories together and shared their love of books.

In PSHE, we are learning about how we can keep our bodies healthy, focusing on the importance of exercise. The children played a fun “bean game”:
Baked bean – sunbathe, Runner bean – run, Jumping bean – jump, Broad bean – walk around wide, String bean – find a friend, Beans on toast – run to an adult and curl up into a small bean. We discussed what happens to our bodies when we exercise, noticing that our heart rate increases, we become warmer and our breathing changes. 

W/C - 23.02.2026

This week in Literacy, we have been enjoying the story Farmer Duck. The children learned about how the farmer is lazy and greedy, making Duck do all the work on the farm, until the other animals work together to help chase the farmer away. The children wrote dictated sentences such as:

“The duck is glum.”

“He is in bed.”

In Maths, we have been learning about the numbers 9 and 10. The children explored different ways to represent these numbers, compared amounts within 1–10, and continued building their understanding of one more up to 10.

We had an amazing time with Rock Kidz! The children loved learning new dance moves and a kindness song, and it was wonderful to see everyone in their rock outfits 🤘

In Our World Time, we have been learning about Shrove Tuesday and the beginning of Lent for Christians. We have also been looking for signs of spring, noticing how the weather changes, how animals begin to come out of hibernation, and how buds start to grow.

In Music, we have begun our new topic linked to spring. We’re looking forward to learning new songs and actions over the coming weeks! 🌼

In provision, we revisited the concepts of heavier and lighter. The children compared different items by weight and talked about how they could tell whether something was heavier or lighter. To challenge themselves, they searched for two items they thought would be equal in weight and tested their predictions using hands-on exploration.

W/C 09.02.2026

We have been very busy over the last two weeks!

We have continued our learning about cold places, focusing on the Arctic, the animals that live there, and how Inuit people live. We learned that an Emperor penguin averaged 31cm tall, so we used a tape measure to see who was the same size as an Emperor penguin!
We have also been learning about Chinese New Year. The children enjoyed trying on special clothes worn to celebrate the festival, making lanterns, and discovering that some of us were born in the Year of the Rat (2020) and the rest in the Year of the Ox (2021). We also tried some delicious food, including noodles, egg fried rice, sugar snap peas and pomegranate.

In maths, we have been learning about odd and even numbers; even numbers mean everyone has a partner; odd numbers mean one is left on its own. We have been learning doubles up to 8, and the children would benefit from quick recall of these (we have been using a helpful video in class). We have also been combining two groups to find out how many there are altogether.

The children have been consolidating their understanding of longer, shorter and taller. They have been measuring with cubes and putting objects in order from shortest to longest/tallest. We have also been exploring time by testing how many star jumps, stretches and toe touches we could do in 10 seconds and then 20 seconds. In addition, we have been learning about sequencing events and putting them in the correct order.

In literacy, we have been reading Gecko’s Echo. It tells the story of a gecko who lives in a cave protecting her precious eggs. A snake, an eagle and a rat want to eat the eggs, but the gecko cleverly tricks them by saying there are a hundred geckos in the cave; when really it is just her echoing voice! The children have produced some lovely writing based on the story.

W/C 26.01.2026

What a busy week we’ve had!

In Understanding the World, we have been learning about how we can help animals during winter. The children made bird feeders to take home and place in their gardens. We have also begun learning about Antarctica, exploring the animals that live there and how they survive in such cold conditions. The children learned that penguins have fat under their skin to keep them warm and that seals have large eyes to help them see in deep, dark water.
We carried out a science experiment to see what happens to liquids when they are put into the freezer. The children used fantastic scientific language, such as “I think the liquid will go hard like ice.” The best part of the experiment was, of course, eating the ice lollies afterwards!

In Maths, we have been focusing on the numbers 6, 7 and 8. The children have been identifying, representing and making these numbers, learning that they are made up of smaller numbers (part–part–whole). We have also been recapping our number bonds to 5. Here is a video we have introduced in class to support this learning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1oa6o0fMKk 

In Literacy, we have finished reading Handa’s Hen. The children have really impressed us with their writing this week, producing short sentences such as “The hen is lost” and “The black hen is lost”, as well as simple phrases like “A hen”. We have continued to focus on using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. The children have also started writing short captions during handwriting sessions, for example “a cat,” “a pig,” “a pin,” and “a rat.”

The children have completed lots of rainbow challenges this week. One challenge involved cutting out winter clothes to dress people, linking to our learning about the clothes we wear in winter while also developing fine motor skills. The children predicted which items would be the heaviest and lightest and then tested their ideas.

Finally, the children have really enjoyed using the spare parts both indoors and outdoors to construct and create, working together as a team and sharing their ideas.

Well done to everyone for another fantastic week! 🌟 - Please continue to log any reading on BoomReader, we enjoy looking at this throughout the week to see who has read the most!

W/C 19.01.2026

This week in maths, we revisited weight and capacity. The children made predictions about which items they thought would be the heaviest and lightest, explaining their reasoning before testing their ideas. They also explored capacity, learning the meaning of full, half full, empty, nearly empty, and nearly full. We filled containers with liquids and discussed their capacity, counting how many scoops of sand were needed to fill each one.

The children demonstrated their understanding during provision by filling containers with cubes and matching them to the correct labels. To continue exploring capacity, we used a small box filled with items. The children guessed what they thought might be inside before we emptied the box together and counted how many items it contained.

As part of our maths learning, the children have come home with instructions to make playdough. This activity supports their understanding of capacity and helps them practise following instructions involving measurement.

In literacy, we have been reading Handa’s Hen. Mondi the hen goes missing and does not come for her breakfast, so Handa and her friend Akeyo set off to find her, meeting many other animals along the way. The children sequenced the story and wrote the caption “The hen is lost.” Next week, we will be holding and writing sentences about Mondi the hen.

Outside, the children have enjoyed building with crates, showing excellent teamwork and communication skills. They have also been developing their catching and kicking skills through outdoor play.

We have been exploring toys from the past, linking back to our visit from Mark at the Sleaford museum. We have bene using wooden toys, playing with yoyo's, cup and ball, spinning tops...

W/C 12.01.2026

This week we had a visit from Mark from Sleaford Museum to talk to us about toys from the past. We learnt that toys were made from wood, rope, stone and some toys were made from bone! Mark was very kind and let us play with the toys.

In maths we have been continuing to find ways to make numbers to 5, and digging deeper. We took part in a challenge, we could only see 1 animal, but the children knew there were 5, they had to work out how many animals were hidden 'I know there are 4 hiding, because 4 add 1 equals 5'. 'I know there are 2 hiding because there are 3 on the grass, 2 add 3 = 5'. In provision, the children have continued to develop their number formation, working out the 'part part whole'.

In literacy we have continued to read 'Dogger' the children have written sentences to describe Dogger. Using their phonics, the children have written sentences 'Dogger is soft' 'Dogger is fluffy'. We have introduced capital letters and full stops. It would be great to see any writing at home, to see the children applying their phonics and their literacy skills.

We have had so much team work this week! The children have really enjoyed working together to build in the construction area.

W/C 05.01.2026

Welcome back, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. We have had a busy week in Reception...

This week in literacy, we have been reading 'Dogger', it is a story about a little boy called Dave, who misplaced his favourite teddy 'Dogger', who was then found on a stall at a summer fair! The children have written sentences / CVC words this week 'it is a cat/dog/rat'.

In maths we have been revisiting our number bonds to 5, refreshing our brains on all the different ways to make 5. We have learned all about 0, recognising numerals and subitising games using number fans, five frame and counters. We have been practising writing numbers 0-10 too.

We have enjoyed playing in the snow, although we have all been freezing! During 'Our World' time we have been looking at changes, and how our garden has changed over the seasons. The children noticed that the leaves had changed, but not just in colour, but that the trees now have no leaves on them! We spoke how in September we were picking apples and pears off the tree, but we can't do that in winter because they are not growing! We have also spoken about how we celebrated Christmas, some children went to families houses, some children had families come to their house. We shared our Christmas toy photos, and shared what presents we got and what our favourite was.

During PSHE we have been discussing challenges, and perseverance. Talking to partners, the children came up with ways that could help them achieve if they are finding something tricky, and that it is ok to find something tricky - just keep trying.

We have been making paper chain arctic animals this week. The children have made penguins, seals and polar bear paper chains.

In P.E we have moved across benches in various ways, and we have been learning how to jump off equipment safely.

It has been a lovely week, reconnecting with friends, talking about the holidays, and making new memories with each other.