The children have had a brilliant start to this half-term. At the end of last half-term we went on a wet, windy and muddy walk to Sheen common. The children thoroughly enjoyed being outdoors with their new class friends as well as spotting trees and collecting leaves. This week they have been very excited to experiment with colour and paint their Autumn leaves. In Maths we have been learning all about 1, 2, 3 and different ways of recognising these numbers. We have also been practising the correct formation for the numerals. The children have also been introduced to the Zones of Regulation. We have talked about different types of feelings and emotions and how they link to a colour. The children were very enthusiastic to talk about how they feel in different situations. We will continue to learn more about our feelings and strategies to help us regulate them.

We have had a wonderful couple of weeks in reception! For our topic  'All about me' we have been drawing pictures of our families. The children used their beautiful collages (that they made at home) so that they could see what their families look like. We have also been learning about matching shapes, patterns and objects in maths. This was very helpful when they had to sort out all the pairs of socks. Reception have loved working in groups to complete their funky finger activities. These activities help to develop their fine motor skills. The highlight of the week for us was sharing books with the year 6 children who came to read with us one morning.

Wow pond dipping was a lot of fun and incredibly interesting! The Reception children took turns in small groups to visit our school pond and investigate what's living within. They used nets to carefully catch nymphs and other water invertebrates and then looked at the pictures in the classification flow charts. They made good use of the magnifying glasses to make close observations before setting the animals free. What a day! 

To kick-start our new topic, 'Life in the Undergrowth', the children in Reception went on an invertebrate hunt. We looked for woodlice, bees, worms, spiders and snails. The children were very careful and showed respect for the environment and the creatures within it - much like our new song 'Please Don't Squish me!' The children in Squirrels found a bee that was in need of some help; they fed it some sugar water before it went on its way. 

The children in Reception were very surprised to find that the start of the term began with a mini production of The Three Little Pigs, where Mr Holmes played the wolf and the three class teachers the pigs! This was an excellent way to start our new topic: Traditional Tales and Stories from Around the World.