Reception - Spring 1 Week 3

Date: 21st Jan 2026 @ 1:03pm

We’ve had another fantastic week of learning, exploring and creating in Reception! 

As part of our ongoing theme, the children explored a range of Arctic animals. They have enjoyed learning new facts about how these animals survive in such freezing environments. We were very impressed by the children’s curiosity and the interesting questions they asked! 

The children have continued to explore mass, building on their understanding of “heavier” and “lighter.” This week, we introduced the idea of balancing scales. The children experimented with placing different objects on each side and discovered that the scales are balanced when the objects have the same mass. 
They loved investigating which items would balance and explaining why they thought this happened! 

We also extended our work on capacity, revisiting the ideas of “full” and “empty” and exploring the space in between. The children used nonstandard units (like cups, spoons and small containers) to measure and compare how much different containers could hold. Lots of brilliant predicting and problemsolving took place! 

On Thursday, we welcomed Caroline for another session of Godly Play. This week, she shared the story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the stories Jesus would have heard as a child. After listening, the children discussed what this story teaches us—such as being brave, listening carefully, and that everyone deserves a second chance. 

In Art, the children explored how music can inspire movement, colour and marks. They listened to different pieces of music and used paint to express their ideas and feelings. We encouraged the children to notice how the music made them feel: “Now it’s slow and gentle… I feel very relaxed. This activity was all about the creative process, not the final picture. The children were beautifully absorbed in the experience, experimenting with colour, brushstrokes and rhythm. They produced some wonderfully expressive artwork! 

Well done, Reception! It has been a week full of imagination, curiosity and fantastic learning. We can’t wait to see what next week brings! 

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