Reception Miss Banks

In maths we have been exploring doubles! The children have been introduced to rekenreks and have been learning how to use them effectively to support their understanding.

Using the rekenreks, the children have been practising subitising – recognising quantities quickly without counting – and using this to help them find doubles. It has been fantastic to see them beginning to spot patterns and make connections in their learning.

We have also been learning about odd and even numbers, exploring what makes a number odd or even and using practical resources to help us sort and identify them. Alongside this, the children have been developing their understanding of sharing through ‘fair shares’, ensuring amounts are equal and noticing when groups are not the same.

The children have shown great enthusiasm and confidence as they develop their mathematical thinking through hands-on exploration and discussion.

During planning time, the children were excited to organise their own bug hunt in the outdoor area! We began by talking together about where the best places are to look for bugs, with the children suggesting ideas such as under logs, in the grass, and near plants.

The children carefully searched for minibeasts, demonstrating great care as they collected them to take a closer look. This created lots of rich language opportunities, as the children described what they could see, compared different bugs, and shared their ideas with each other.

To support their hunt, the children used a bug checklist to tick off what they found, and some even chose to create their own lists – showing fantastic independence and creativity.

After observing the bugs closely, the children showed kindness and respect by gently returning them to their natural habitats.

This week, the children discovered a very exciting surprise in our outdoor area… an egg!

This sparked lots of curiosity, questions, and wonderful discussions. The children shared their ideas about where it might have come from and what could hatch from it. We heard some fantastic imaginative thinking, from chicks to dinosaurs!

The children talked about what an egg would need to hatch and decided it must be kept warm. They worked together to create a cosy nest, carefully thinking about what materials would make it comfortable and safe. Some children even made signs to protect the egg and share important messages with others.

This experience led to lots of rich language, cooperation, and problem-solving as the children followed their interests and developed their ideas through play.