Robin Class

Summer term 2

Walking the plank in PE and hunting for pirate treasure has been lots of fun this term, we even got to dress up as pirates and write our own pirate stories.  This sea interest led us to thinking about the different ways we can look after our environment and oceans.  We enjoyed helping to plant and take care of the Horsforth Community Garden in Hall Park and made some special windmills to be displayed there for the Walk of Art.

The Wriggly Roadshow came into visit Robin class and we got to meet and hold lots of different animals from tree frogs to giant snails, although our favourite was the Tenrec he was lovely, we learnt that although he looked like a hedgehog he is in fact not part of the hedgehog family.   

Summer term 1

One of our biggest highlights so far this term has been our Early Year outdoor learning event, both Nursery and Reception classes enjoyed inviting families into school to complete a series of outdoor learning activities around our site.  Lots of fun was had by all and Robin class loved helping to prepare a healthy snack to share with our visitors!  

Spring term 

Spring term saw us counting down and blasting off into space to learn about astronauts, aliens, stars and space travel.  The children loved learning all about space from our expert space visitor who came into class armed with lots of physical representations of the solar system  - it was very hands on and exciting, hopefully the children will maintain this new found enthusiasm for astronomy!

We then enjoyed learning Luna New year and recreating our our celebrations and dragon dancing ! Children's Mental Health week provided us with lots of opportunities to  think about ways we can look after our minds and bodies.  The children very much enjoyed sharing their zones of regulation knowledge with some of their Year 6 buddies.

Autumn 2: October half term - December 

The half term has begun with an enthusiastic pumpkin hunt on the school grounds.  Once we found them we worked as teams to lift them to the top of the hill, then delighted as we rolled them down the hill ready to collect them again!  

We had fun doing all things pumpkin! From hammering golf tees into our pumpkins, creating our own pumpkin potions  to tasting homemade pumpkin soup! 

In Robin Class we have really enjoyed taking part in 'World Nursery Rhyme Week'. The children  enjoyed saying, singing, performing and joining in with a wide range of rhymes and songs. We have had great fun learning some new rhymes and sharing our favourites with the rest of the children in class. 

We have discovered that many of our favourite rhymes have a numerical basis; we have enjoyed spotting numbers in our rhymes and deciding if they are addition rhymes, making a greater total or subtraction rhymes, making a lesser total. Some of the rhymes had both addition and subtraction resulting in the same total at the end!  

This term has seen us all become readers and writers.  We have learnt all of the Phase 2 Phonic sounds as well as some Common Exception Words.  We are busy applying these skills to read and spell words, phrases and sentences.   Some children like to write letters or books, others are happier with chalk 'decorating' the wooden fences.  In order to become more careful writers we complete daily challenges to strengthen our fingers and ready ourselves for a good pencil grip.  Pegging washing, scooping beans, threading beads and the ever popular dough gym are some of the ways we have done this.   

Our topic work has followed calendar events and the children's interests: Bonfire night, Diwali and Christmas have all been popular themes.  Additionally, the children  

have loved finding out about jobs and have planned what they want to be when they grow up.     

Autumn 1: September - October half term

Wow, what an fabulous and eager bunch of children we have.  As the children have been getting to know each other we have learnt lots about what they have in common with their new classmates as well as what makes them unique!  We have drawn portraits, made models and pictures of ourselves and asked and answered questions of each other; as well as lots of teamwork games to help us all bond.

 The children continue to thrive and amaze us with their enthusiastic engagement and amazing learning.  This term has been full of 'firsts': assemblies, lunches, theme days, fire drills.....  No matter what the experience has been the children have approached the experience with a resilient and eager attitude.  We are so proud of everything that you have achieved!  Take a look at some pictures of our  first term's experiences and adventures. 

The class are so busy learning, through class sessions, group activities and play-led learning; no wonder they are all tired and grubby at the end of every day!  Whatever the topic or subject we endeavour to evaluate where your child's understanding is and plan to move them into their next steps in learning - through whichever approach best suits them.  Some children love to learn outside, whilst others like to collaborate on a project with friends.  Some children learn best by repeating a skill in lots of different activities, whilst others rise to the challenge of creating a new experience. Throughout the day we incorporate whole class sessions where we introduce new concepts and practice established skills.  It is lovely to see the children then apply this knowledge in different activities.

We have enjoyed sharing our favourite five books re-telling, making predictions, making links between stories and discussing similarities and differences.  Take a look at the link below to see the Favourite Five for this half term.  

If your child needs to learn from home please visit the Home Learning Pages.  

Additional online lessons for Reception Class.

Useful Resources 

Useful websites: