Reception - Spring 1 - Week 2

Date: 14th Jan 2026 @ 4:40pm

What a busy and exciting week it has been! The children have continued to shine in all areas of their learning. 

This week, we built on our understanding of ‘1 more’ and ‘1 less’ with numbers up to 5, including zero. The children explored how zero can be a starting point for counting, and that the number after zero is 1. We practised the stable order principle, understanding that the order of numbers does not change. Using a variety of manipulatives and real-life contexts, the children represented the ‘1 more’ and ‘1 less’ patterns as they counted forward and backward. We also deepened our understanding of composition to five and moved from perceptual subitising to conceptual subitising—seeing smaller sets within a larger set (e.g., seeing 2 and 3 within 5) without counting. This helps children recognise and combine quantities to understand the whole. In RE, the children explored a chatter-box and discovered our new theme: Stories Jesus Heard. They enjoyed looking at a Bible and sharing their favourite stories. It was wonderful to see their curiosity and enthusiasm during these discussions. 

As part of our ‘Winter’ theme, the children have enjoyed listening to a range of stories, including 'A Thing Called Snow' and 'The Lights That Danced in the Night' by Yuval Zommer. We discussed the types of clothing we wear in winter and compared them to what we wear in summer. During Forest School, we teamed up with Nursery to create our own ‘snowmen’ using flour and natural materials! 

In PE, the children worked on developing their balancing skills and explored some basic shapes as part of their gymnastics topic. Ask them at home—they’ll be excited to show you the gymnastics shapes they’ve learned! 

A Little Reminder 

Please make sure your child has a warm coat that they can fasten themselves, hat, scarf, and gloves during this cold snap. Thank you for helping keep everyone warm and cosy! 

We hope you have a lovely weekend! 

Mrs Molloy and Mrs Bevin