Etz Chaim Jewish Primary School
Reception
Welcome to our Headline of the week. This will give you a small taster of some of the learning taking place in your child’s class.
We hope you enjoy reading our Headlines each week.
21/07/23
The children found some of Miss Genn’s modelling wire, they cut it into smaller pieces and used pencils and their fingers to mould the wire into different shapes.
14/07/23
After lunch, the children like to have a few minutes of mindfulness to get ready for the afternoon. Some of the children like to get cosy with blankets and teddies and listen to relaxing music.
07/07/23
The children have been exploring pouring water in the playground. They wanted to see if they could pour it over the edge, so Miss Genn suggested putting on their puddle suits. They had the best time getting soaking wet and bubbly on the outside but staying dry on the inside!
30/06/23
In Maths this week we have been looking at measurement. The children have been using items around the class to measure different objects with. They especially liked measuring each other with Unifix cubes. A few of the children decided to measure the length of the class with Unifix!
23/06/23
The children have been getting ready for Pirate Day. Here they are making pirate paper for their treasure maps of the park! They loved the smell of the tea and coffee.
16/06/23
The new sand arrived! The children have loved playing in the sand with different sized tools, buckets, scoops and sieves.
09/06/23
The children have loved exploring the new playground. They work together to create dens, cosy areas and yummy, sandy food in the investigation station (mud kitchen).
25/05/23
The children really enjoy mindfulness after lunch. They favourite is to practise rainbow breathing. This really calms then down before they get on with an afternoon of learning and fun.
19/05/23
The children have started to learn about subtraction in maths, they played Miss Genn’s favourite game, subtraction smash. Where they rolled a dice, made that amount of playdough balls and then smashed a few.
12/05/23
The children loved learning about Lag B’Omer and how we eat food around a bonfire. They decided to have their snack around the wooden fire on the carpet.
05/05/23
In Ivrit this week the children have been matching the Hebrew sound to an item that starts with that sound. This is their favourite game and they are getting quicker each time they play.
28/04/23
The children really enjoyed colour mixing last term. To further develop their knowledge of colours, they were tasked with creating a rainbow, however they were only given primary colours and all other paints were hidden! They did make some fantastic colourful rainbows!
21/04/23
As an additional maths challenge, the children have started playing on Mathletics. They are very excited to get certificates in assembly. Each child has a login which was stuck into their green books.
31/03/23
The children love to get snuggly and cosy at the minute in Reception. A few children took fabrics and cushions into the cloakroom and told each other stories and jokes!
24/03/23
In Maths this week we have been looking at adding numbers together. The children guessed how many cotton reels were in each bag, added them and worked out how many there were altogether.
17/03/23
The children have been talking about feelings and how different colours link to different feelings. Some of the children decided to make a rainbow using our sorting toys. They worked together and gave each other different colours to find.
10/03/23
We are starting to teach the children about the Zones of Regulation. Part of their learning is to identify which colours different emotions belong to. The children coloured in their feeling faces to match the four zones.
03/03/23
Phonics activities are a firm favourite in Reception. This week the children matched the sound to our alphabet teddies!
24/02/23
Teamwork is so important in Reception. The children are learning to take turns, work together and include other children to make their play even better! These children have worked together to make an amazing model.
10/02/23
Tu Bishevat was the best start to the week! The children had great fun at the ‘fruit shop’ and ate lots of yummy fruit. The children learnt about the artist Guiseppe Arcimboldo, who painted pictures of people using fruit as their features. The children created their own fruity faces out of real fruit.
03/02/23
The children have continued exploring weights in Maths. This week we have moved on to capacity. The children have been filling and emptying containers, talking about full, empty, half full, heavy and light.
27/01/23
What an amazing week we have had! The children turned into authors and helped Miss Genn create a story map of our class story ‘Lost and Found’. They then created their own story maps and invited Mrs Martin in to listen to their stories.
20/01/23
In Maths this week, we have been looking at number bonds to 5. The children were introduced to the part-whole method, where they learnt that different parts make a whole. The children liked it when we talked about how different parts of our bodies make a whole person.
13/01/23
The class loved going on a bear hunt with Miss Roberts. They acted out the story by Michael Rosen, pretending to squelch through the mud and swish through the long grass.
06/01/23
The children have been working together to build models out of blocks, lego and the marble run. This has encouraged new friendships and the teachers have heard the children using the language they learnt during our Sophie Says sessions.
16/12/22
What a fun snowy week we have had! The children loved coming back to school on Tuesday and having a snow filled day. They made snow angels, tried to build snowmen, but ended up with a snow mountain! The children talked about what they did on Monday in the snow and we looked through the photos that were uploaded to Seesaw.
09/12/22
In Maths this week, we have been looking at number bonds to 4. Miss Genn introduced the part whole method to the children and they worked out the different parts of 4. Beforehand, we talked about how our bodies are made of different parts, just like numbers.
02/12/22
We have continued on with our Numberblocks learning to 5. The children have been looking at different ways to make numbers to 5, including the different shapes that can be made with the numbers. The children created ‘stampolines’ with sponges.
25/11/22
In Maths this week, the children have been talking about adding one more. We started the week talking about how ‘1 and another 1 is 2’ and then continued throughout the week adding another 1 onto numbers to 5. The children then made Numberblocks using the language ‘and another 1’.
18/11/22
The children loved wearing their bright clothes for Be Bright Be Seen day. They created amazing Road Safety posters and are looking forward to crossing the road next week. The children used neon and glitter paint to create bright pictures.
11/11/22
In Maths this week, the children have been looking at numbers 1-5. They asked to use the playdough to make number pancakes!
04/11/22
The children have loved taking part in their first phonics sessions this week! They are all so proud of themselves, and they should be! The first sound they learnt was ‘m’, so the children did some marble painting. They rolled the marble around in paint to make lovely patterned pictures.
21/10/2022
In Science this week, the children have been looking at light and dark with Rabbi Herman as it links to the 7 days of creation. They have also been looking at magnetic items around the class using different sized magnets.
14/10/2022
The children have loved learning about Succot. They made their own Succah’s with a hidden person behind the door. They also made their very own Lulav and Etrogs and used Numicon to make Succah pictures.
07/10/2022 .
Thank you for collecting so many amazing Autumnal resources! The children have loved exploring them with magnifying glasses. We read the story ‘Leaf Man’ and the children created their own leaf men.
30/09/22
We have been talking about emotions and feelings in Reception over the past few weeks. The children really like looking at the emotion stones that we have. This week the children learnt to use a stencil to draw a circle and created their own emotion ‘stones’
23/09/22
The children have been getting ready for Rosh Hashanah. They have created buzzy bees to use as mats to catch any dripping honey. They also printed with apples to make beautiful Rosh Hashanah cards.
16/09/22
The children worked together to create an amazing structure with the blocks. They talked to each other about what blocks they needed and which child would build which part. In the end they created a castle with a water town and space to put their colourful stones in!
09/09/2022
The children love arts and crafts. They wanted to make sparkly pictures for their grown-ups.
21/07/23
The children have become such a strong team in Reception. They work collaboratively in all their learning, especially in block play. These children created a number town and found logs with numbers on to make a number line. “Look Miss Genn, we did maths!”
14/07/23
The children had the best time at the park! They went on a scavenger hunt, played in the playground and even answered riddles to get real treasure. They were beautifully well behaved and listened to their group leader. When we got back to school the children designed a dream park.
07/07/23
I’m sure you will agree that the children were AMAZING at their Aleph Bet Party! After their show they drew pictures and wrote about their favourite parts.
30/06/23
We have continued our learning about pirates this week. The children used descriptive language to create Wanted posters to find the bad pirates.
23/06/23
We continued our learning of the body this week. The children have taken a great interest in the kidneys and intestines… Mrs Gishen let us use her speaking organ model. The children helped Miss Genn put the organs in the right places and listened to the facts.
16/06/23
The children have loved Sports Week! They have been learning about how their body changes during and after exercise. They took an interest in the different organs of the body and bones. We found skeletons in the science cupboard and the children pretended to be skeleton doctors.
09/06/23
Our topic this half term is Pirate and Treasure. The children have been exploring different treasures, jewels and gems. They love reading words on the gold coins which are hidden in the sand. The children took to the gold coins and read them to each other.
25/05/23
The children have been really helpful this week clearing the playground, ready for our new equipment! They got hot and sweaty so Miss Genn let them cool down in the water.
19/05/23
Alfie’s daddy came in to talk to the children about being an architect. He got the children to design their own houses with fun rooms in them. The designs were so amazing that we made it into a book to go into the building area of the classroom.
12/05/23
Miss Benito taught the children about sharing and halving this week. The children had to share the sweets between the two teddies and work out what half of their number was.
05/05/23
Brooke’s mummy came in to talk to the children about being an Interior Designer. The children then explored all different textiles and wallpaper samples. They designed their ideal classroom – most of the children made sweetie rooms.
28/04/23
In Maths this week the children have been learning about ordering numbers from 0-20 and from 20-0, they also learnt how to find missing numbers. In the activity Miss Benito got the children to create a number line to 20 and she took a few numbers and the children had to see what was missing.
21/04/23
The children really enjoyed our mindfulness yoga sessions last term. This week one of their Rainbow Jobs was to choose three different yoga poses and take photos of each other.
31/03/23
We have started to talk about the Zones of Regulation. The children have learnt about the four different coloured zones. They listened to the story ‘Conker the Chameleon’ which talks about feelings and how to get out of the red, blue and yellow zone. The children created their own zones rainbow and added different emotion faces.
24/03/23
The children have loved learning about the 10 plagues! They put the plagues into order and then found some red stickers so decided to cover themselves in itchy boils!
17/03/23
This week we have been learning about keeping our teeth healthy. The children drew and labelled healthy foods on teeth and created their own healthy meal.
10/03/23
To continue with our theme of Purim and dressing up, the children have been listening to the story ‘Hippo has a hat’. They then designed their own item of clothing for an animal, labelled it and coloured them in. This work is so good that we are making a display!
03/03/23
The children have loved learning the Purim story this week. They made sparkly Purim crowns, Purim masks and even drew the different characters from the story. The children sounded out the character’s names and wrote them next to their pictures.
24/02/23
The children have been asking to make more Numberblocks! We have just been learning about 6, 7 and 8. They cut out squares of purple paper and stuck them together to make number 6.
10/02/23
Zoolab came in to Reception on Tuesday. The children loved seeing, touching and learning about the following animals; A frog, A hissing cockroach, a corn snake, tarantula, millipede and a giant African snail.
03/02/23
The children have loved reading Stuck by Oliver Jeffers this week. Their favourite page was when all the objects were stuck in the tree. They then drew all sorts of items stuck in a tree!
27/01/23
The children have continued learning about number bonds to 5. They have been independently making number bonds with Numicon. Some children put smaller Numicon on top of the 5 to see how many they needed. The teachers heard lots of amazing mathematical vocabulary.
20/01/23
The children have loved learning about Chinese New Year this week. They learnt about the year of the rabbit. They were excited to make dragon puppets, bouncy rabbits and even spring rolls.
13/01/23
The children went on a 0 hunt, finding anything shaped like a zero around the classroom.
06/01/23
The children were so excited to start their Rainbow Challenge this term! Each activity has a different colour and the aim is to get all the coloured lollysticks by the end of the week.
16/12/22
The children have been using the sounds learnt in phonics to label their pictures. The children drew pictures of what they did in the snow and wrote snowman and snowball.
09/12/22
The children have really enjoyed Science Week. Their favourite experiment was making a volcano in the playground. Before we could make our volcano, the children watched a video about volcanoes and wrote/drew their predictions of what would happen with our class volcano.
02/12/22
Our class book this week has been ‘The Perfect Fit’. The story is all about shapes and making new shapes or pictures with shapes. The children have been making pictures with shapes. They especially like using the hammer and nails to make shape pictures.
25/11/22
The children have been busy practising their letter formation in table top. This week, we focused on curly letters, these are letter that all start in the same way by curling around the caterpillar.
18/11/22
We were so lucky to have Matthew Offord to come and visit us in Reception to talk about what it is like to work in the Houses of Parliament. The children made him pictures of dinosaurs as Miss Genn told them that he loves dinosaurs.
11/11/22
The children have been learning about Remembrance Day and why we wear poppies. They watched the BBC video called ‘poppies’ which shows a bunny during the war. They had great conversations about why the bunny was scared, happy and sad. The children then made their own lovely poppies out of craft materials.
04/11/22
The children are learning lots of different skills as part of their Reception journey. As well as learning to get dressed and undressed, they have also been talking about helping around the house. The children made their own yummy sandwiches for a ‘ssssssandwich party’. They chose a piece of bread and if they wanted jam or butter or both and made them completely unaided!
21/10/2022
The children have had the best time in Maths this week! They have learnt all about numbers to 5. The children have practised subitising with dots and were introduced to a 5 frame. They played a dice game, where they had to roll the dice and make 5.
14/10/2022
The children have been very excited to start real maths lessons this week! We have been looking at numbers 1 and 2. The children made 1 and 2 Numberblocks by cutting out squares, arms, legs, eyes etc to make their Numerblocks that are put up on our Maths display.
07/10/2022
The children made their first batch of playdough this week. They wanted to make it smell nice so they added cinnamon and parsley (all we had in the cupboard). They were great at sharing and taking turns and made great playdough.
30/09/22
The children have started to learn about Yom Kippur. Rabbi Herman told them the story of Jonah and the Big Fish. The children created a huge whale with a little Jonah in it’s tummy. They have also been making stained glass fish with cellophane. These are going to be hung from the ceiling in the class. They look wonderful!
23/09/22
The children baked yummy honey cake with Year 3. They loved measuring the ingredients, mixing them and pouring the mixture into the cake cases. It was such a treat to be with the big children!
16/09/2022
The children have taken an interest in Numicon so we decided to create ‘Number Town’ by drawing around the Numicon. The children did this independently and then tried to see how many pieces of Numicon they could fit in each space.
09/09/2022
The children have settled in so well and already worked together as a team to build an amazing obstacle course.
We are Miss Genn and Rabbi Herman, your new teachers in Reception.
The children in Reception will benefit from having assemblies in the hall with the rest of the school, eating in the dining room every day, visiting our school library, using our wonderful playground equipment and enjoying special celebrations with the rest of the school. We are also looking forward to developing our Forest School and Outdoor Learning activities with Reception as the year progresses.
Throughout the year the children will be given the opportunity to learn through play in a safe and supportive environment. All children learn in different ways and it is important to involve their interests in all activities. The children are given choices and have free flow between the indoor classroom and the outdoor area. Observations will be taken of the children in each area of learning to plan and develop meaningful activities. The activities will be fun, interactive and engaging to match the abilities and interests of the children so they can reach their full potential.
We are starting the term with the topic ‘Families and Friends’ during which the children will talk about themselves, what makes them special, their families and we will encourage friendships and what makes a good friend. This is a lovely topic for the start of school, especially to help welcome in our new families.
The children will begin learning phonics through the Read Write Inc scheme and will be able to consolidate their learning within the activities set up in the indoor and outdoor areas of the classroom. The children will be developing their mathematical skills in number, problem solving, shapes, pattern, measuring and more. There will be lots of hands on independent learning for the children in all areas of learning as well as guided groups with the teaching staff.
Rabbi Herman is looking forward to teaching Jewish Studies and Ivrit this year. The children will be learning all about the Chagim and Jewish life. There will be a big focus on Brachot and traditional customs. The children will learn different Hebrew words and phrases and lots of lovely Ivrit songs. They will also be working their way through the Aleph Bet, which will lead to our fabulous Aleph Bet party at the end of the year.
To support your child in school, please may we ask that you provide one box of tissues and three medium glue sticks, (only 43g white Pritt Stick, no other make). These should be brought into school on the first day of term. Please remember to label your child’s uniform including hat, coat, shoes and Kippot. The children will also need a full PE kit in the school’s drawstring bag which must also be labelled. You would be surprised with how many socks, trainers and school shoes we find after the children have got changed for PE. Please also send in a non-school uniform cap and wellies to be kept in school for the year.
Your role as parents is also invaluable, learning is key not only in school but in the home as well. We aim to create strong links between the home and school environment, and to do this the children will need your support with regards to their learning. We believe that good communication between home and school is central to your child’s learning. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us via the home-school liaison books.