The past two weeks in Reception have been full of exciting activities, learning, and exploration as we continued our dinosaur-themed topics. We’ve been diving deep into the world of dinosaurs, learning about Mary Anning, the famous fossil hunter. The children loved hearing about how Mary Anning made important discoveries and became a pioneer in the study of fossils. We even made our own fossils from salt dough! The children pressed mini dinosaur figures into the dough, creating their very own fossils to take home. Our adventure didn’t stop with fossils—we took things to the next level by creating a volcano using papier-mâché! After we let it dry and painted it, we had a blast making it erupt with a Coke and Mentos experiment. The children were thrilled to watch the eruption! 

In maths, we’ve been exploring 3D shapes. The children have learned about cubes, spheres, cones, pyramids, cuboids and cylinders. They also learned about sharing through fun activities that taught them how to divide things equally and unequally.

In English, we’ve been reading the story ‘If the Dinosaurs Came Back’, which sparked a lot of creativity and imagination in our little ones. The children wrote their own sentences inspired by the book, sharing what they would do if dinosaurs returned. Some said they would take them to school, others wanted to ride on their backs! 

We also had FUDGE Week, where special male family members were invited to come into school and spend time with us. The children loved having their dads, uncles and grandpas play games, make crafts, and join in with all of our activities. 

To top it all off, we had our Vineyard’s Got Talent show, and the children performed a beautiful rendition of Over the Rainbow. It was an emotional moment, as we saw how much the children had grown in confidence over the past few months. It was a perfect end to our two-week adventure of fun, learning, and discovery.

  

   

              

                                    

 

Key messages:

• A reminder that children are not allowed to play on the climbing frame or use the school equipment before and after school, including siblings.
   

• Please continue to give us donations of clean recycling to add to our junk modeling, as we use it throughout the year—small boxes, toilet rolls, etc. However, we cannot accept anything that once contained nuts, eggs, or fish.
   

• As the weather most days is hot and sunny please ensure your child comes to school with suncream already on and a hat to wear on the playground. They must have a water bottle.
   

• Here is a reminder of the Vineyard Adventurers sessions:
  

Please make sure your child comes to school with full length trousers and something with sleeves. Waterproof trousers are desirable, but not necessary; as long as their legs and arms are covered, to protect them from stinging nettles.