Today we have been celebrating Children in Need.  Children raised lots of money in lots of different ways; we wore spots to school and created spotty Pudsey Biscuits.  As a class we discussed how lucky we are to have a warm school to come to, with a warm meal to eat every day and lots of toys to play with.  Some children are not so lucky.  In the afternoon our fund raising continued; we had our nails painted or a batman tattoo out of henna, all in the name of charity!  Some children also created a Pudsey badge and a spotty Pudsey hat. 

Reception really enjoyed going to the forest on an Autumn Walk.  We went on a hunt to find signs of autumn.  As a whole class, we sang Autumn songs and collected Autumn objects, which we then investigated back in the classroom. 

Next week we shall be focusing on Autumn.  Autumn is a time when the weather begins to get colder, the leaves change colour and fall from the trees.  Look out for signs of Autumn with your child.  Also, next week we shall be going on an Autumn Walk to Calthorpe Haven – RA will be going on Wednesday and RH will be going on Thursday.  Please ensure your child comes to school with their coat, hat, scarf and gloves on this day.

This week we are learning all about Bonfire Night.  We began by learning about Guy Fawkes; he was a man who did not like King James at all!  Children have been really enjoying creating chalk firework pictures, creating splatter paintings that look like fireworks, writing words to represent how fireworks sound (whizz, pop, fizz, crackle etc), using construction to build fireworks, using ribbons and pompoms to do firework dancing…what a lot of firework fun!

If your child does anything interesting over the half term, we would LOVE to hear from you. Send us an email to:

receptionclasses@bearwood.sandwell.sch.uk

We can’t wait to hear all about what you have been up to!

After the half term break we will be learning all about celebrations. To start our new topic we will be looking at Bonfire Night and fireworks. Please talk to your children about fireworks, what noises do they make? what colours can we see in the sky? and why do we celebrate Bonfire Night?

We have had a wonderful start to our Diwali week. We began by watching a short video about a girl who celebrates Diwali. We watched how she prepares for this special occassion. We then attempted to create our own Rangli patterns. Some children chose to dress up in traditional Asian clothes, and to do some Bhangra dancing! Mrs. Matharu was preparing for Diwali by having beautiful Mendhi on her hands. We designed our own Mendhi patterns too. What a fun afternoon in Reception!

Next week we shall be learning all about Diwali. We shall be hearing the story of Rama and Sita, and encouraging children to retell the story orally. Research this story with your child, in preperation for next week.

This week we have been learning all about Eid. We learnt that this is a special time for Muslims. We watched a video all about a little girl celebrating Eid. We also learnt about a story that is in the Quran – Zam Zam Water. Children then spent their afternoons building mosques, making Eid cards, dancing to Asian music, tasting chappatis, creating mendhi patterns and retelling the story of Hajar and Ishmail. What a winderful week. If you celebrated Eid this week, we hope that you had as much fun as us! Eid Mubarack!!!!

Don’t forget that next Monday and Tuesday (14th and 15th October 2013) are Teacher Training Days. Therefore school will not be open on these days. However, we will see you at 8.50am on Wednesday – ready to begin our Eid Week!