Acorn

 
Welcome to Acorn!
 
 
2021 - 2022
 
Mrs Smith - Class Teacher
Mrs Spong - Teaching Assistant
 

Home Learning Activities – Summer

To view the home learning choice activities for the Summer term, please click the link below.

Remember to send your learning to your teacher via the eSchools messages, or bring your learning in to school to share with your class on the stop-off dates, which are:

9th May

23rd May

20th June

11th July

Summer 2 - Remote Home Learning – Reception

Daily Lessons for Absent Pupils

-If you are absent from school, please follow the link below to complete your daily lessons.

https://classroom.thenational.academy/schedule-by-year/reception 

- Always begin the daily lessons from ‘Monday’, no matter which day your first day of absence falls on. This will ensure the lessons are taught in sequence and you understand what is being taught.

Phonics

Practice your Phonics on https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk 

Our school login details are:

Username: admin2619

Password: angel

Remember you can consolidate your learning about Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3.

Additional Lessons to Support Reception Learning:

Music

Growth:

Planting in the Garden - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/planting-in-the-garden-c8tk0d

Growing in the Garden - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/growing-in-the-garden-74wk0d

The Veggie Patch (Part 1) - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/the-veggie-patch-part-1-c8wk6c

The Veggie Patch (Part 2) - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/the-veggie-patch-part-2-cgvkgd

Jack and the Beanstalk (Part 1) - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/jack-and-the-beanstalk-part-1-cdhpce

Jack and the Beanstalk (Part 2) - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/jack-and-the-beanstalk-part-2-cgr64d

PSHE

Circle of Life:

My Growing Journey - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/my-growing-journey-71h34c

Let’s Roll with the Changes - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/lets-roll-with-the-changes-6nk3jc

The Circle of Life - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/the-circle-of-life-64r34t

I’ll Always be with You - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/ill-always-be-with-you-61k62r

Understanding the World

Growing (Plants):

To understand what plants need to grow - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-understand-what-plants-need-to-grow-6gw3ad

To sequence the stages of a plant growing - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-sequence-the-stages-of-a-plant-growing-cnjk4r

Construct a Beanstalk - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/construct-a-beanstalk-6th38r

Summer:

To identify changes to the world around me - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-identify-changes-in-the-world-around-me-6cvp6t

Seasons Collage - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/seasons-collage-75j38d

Build a Flower - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/build-a-flower-70r6ar

Transitions:

To reflect on the year that is finishing - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-reflect-on-the-year-that-is-finishing-6rrp4r

To identify important periods of transition - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-identify-important-periods-of-transition-64tp6c

To identify key features of a classroom - https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-identify-key-features-of-a-classroom-cdjpcd

 
Summer 2
 
Mad About Minibeasts
The first Sports Day we have been able to have for reception children in 2 years! Every child in reception took part in every event and we were cheered on by so many parents, grandparents and carers. Every single child managed to get at least one 1st, 2nd or 3rd place sticker over the course of the afternoon, which is an amazing success for not just their house teams but for them personally. Well done Reception!!
This half term we came off of our LTP and engaged with a week full of Platinum Jubilee celebrations with the children. It was such an important part of their history we wanted to make a big event of it. The week consisted of following a book called The Queens Hat, where we got to use a lot of prediction and inference skills to try and guess where the hat might be. It was an amazing text which allowed the children to discover areas of London and use their imagination. Over the course of the week we designed new hats for Her Majesty the Queen, made drawings of the crown jewels and painted portraits of her, as well as many more other royal activities. On Thursday all the children in the school dressed in red, white, and blue and we had a tea party on the upper school playground. Here are some of the wonderful photos of that week.
 
Summer 1
 
The Sights and Sounds of Africa
 
This half term we have been learning traditional African dances. One from Ethiopia, Kenya and finally Nigeria. We have been creating sequences of movements and moving to music. 
 
On Fridays we have been learning all about being an athlete. Looking at different ways to move, negotiate space, throw and work as a team. We play a lot of games and have practiced our new skills outside. 
Science is so fantastic! We have been learning all about gravity and bubbles today. Professor Bubbleworks was so engaging and so FUN! Everyone in Acorn class got involved and either blew bubbles, tested gravity or became stuck in the middle of a bubble! We love science! Our understanding of the world grows with all of our experiences.
We were so lucky to have a drumming expert to come and visit us this half term. We got to sing traditional African songs and play African instruments. It was so magnificent, so much learned.
Acorn class participated in some Census fun. We took a traffic survey from the top of the school drive. First we made predictions on what would be the most popular mode of transport moving past our school gates. Then the children were on the look out for cars, vans, lorries and motorcycles. They worked in pairs and completed a tally. The result was confirmed, the road outside Birchwood Primary School has far more cars passing it than vans, lorries or motorcycles. 
Outdoor learning is essential for EYFS, where we build our understanding of the world and physical coordination and strength. Look at all the fun we have had!

Summer 1 has enraptured the children in the diversity of Africa! The children will look at the continent and visit particular countries within it such as Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia. They will be immersed in the vivid colours of artists, traditional food and even regional African dances. Learning to play real African drums in a special drumming session will help with their rhythm and composing skills.

With beautifully rich literacy texts such as Anna Hibiscus' story and Handa's Suprise. The children will get to compare their own daily life to that of children across the world.

Animals and all their wonder will also be explored, allowing the children to become familiar with animals we may only see on TV and in books.

The sights and sounds of Africa really will be the most amazing adventure for all our reception children!

 
Spring 2
 
 Dinosaur Stomp
 
Reception have had a very exciting couple of weeks as we received a special parcel. In line with our learning about Spring and new life, we have had the exciting experience of watching chick's hatch. We have since enjoyed learning about caring for chicks, watching and observing their behaviour and most importantly, having a little cuddle.
Children were greeted this morning with some mysterious footprints leading out to our outdoor area and an egg in a nest. We are going to be keeping a close eye out to see if anything happens to the egg over the next few days.
 
Spring 1
 
Winter Wonderland
When we arrived back to school after our Christmas break, we were excited to see lots of changes both outside and within the classroom. We began our learning by discussing what we already know about Winter and ice. This involved making our very own ice lollies, "they were so yummy!" The children then enjoyed exploring our first key text 'Snowflakes by Cerrie Burnell' where we were able to show our learning around ice, snowflakes and seasonal changes in a variety of ways. To finish our work on this text we made our very own tree decorations just like those in the book and went to hang them on the trees around the school grounds. 
 
Autumn 2
 
Why do squirrels hide their nuts?
 
 
Autumn 1
 
 We all belong here!
 
To celebrate European day of languages we played French games, ate French food and learnt about the French culture. We discussed how we could get the France from Birchwood school and even got a French lesson from our bilingual classmate. It was a wonderful day.
 
We all belong here! 
 
Our first theme is all about celebrating each other, our similarities and differences. We have spent the first few weeks looking at the routines of school and how to do our Birchwood best.  Last week we investigated how to be a good friend, what ingredients make the best friends and which ingredients we try to avoid.  The children have engaged in some amazing learning and formed wonderful relationships with their teachers and each other.