Kingfishers
Welcome to Kingfishers!
Welcome Back & Happy New Year! 🎉
Welcome back everyone, and Happy New Year! We hope you all had a lovely, restful break and enjoyed spending time with family and friends.
We are really looking forward to a fun and exciting term ahead, full of learning, play, and new experiences. The children have lots to look forward to, and we can’t wait to see them settle back into routines and continue making progress.
Thank you for your continued support — let’s make this a great year together! 😊
In Reception, through interactive learning, we explore the key skills in the seven areas of learning: Communication and Language; Personal, Social and Emotional; Physical; Literacy; Mathematics; Expressive Arts and Design and Understanding the World.
These skills, experiences and learning opportunities are presented to the children through meaningful play contexts and adult-led activities which ensure that each child has the opportunity to play and explore in an active and engaging environment, both inside and out, that allows them to be creative, think critically and take risks.
Our topics are based on the children’s interests, however have included: Autumn, Christmas, Spring, Superheroes, Space, Cold Lands, Growing, Food, Families, Pirates, Minibeasts and transition into Year 1.
We also enjoy pursuing our Early Years Curriculum beyond the school environment, and we are looking forward to visiting St Paul's church and Bekonscot model village and railway.
Mrs Wingrove - Monday - Wednesday
Mr Umney - Monday - Friday
Mrs Lenton - Monday - Friday
Mrs Croall - Wednesday & Friday afternoon
Meet the teacher
Thank you to all the parents who were able to attend our Meet the Teacher evening. If you were unable to join us, you can find the presentation and other useful documents linked below.
Learning at Home Support
- Year R - Supporting Maths at Home - Autumn term (1).pdf
- Year R - What to expect when - supporting document for home (1).pdf
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Alphablocks Play along with the Alphablocks and have fun with the letters of the alphabet.
School closure
🌞 EYFS Home Learning Activities – Keeping Cool in the Hot Weather 🌞
Due to the extreme hot weather, we have put together a selection of activities that children can enjoy at home while staying cool and safe. Please choose one or more activities and share any photos, drawings or comments on ClassDojo.
Remember to drink plenty of water and stay in the shade if you are outside!
Activity 1: Ice Rescue Challenge
What you need:
• A small toy animal or object
• A container of water
• A freezer
• Warm water, spoons or droppers
Instructions:
- Place a small toy in a container of water and freeze it.
- Once frozen, encourage your child to rescue the toy from the ice.
- Use warm water, spoons or droppers to help melt the ice.
- Talk about what happens to the ice as it melts.
Challenge:
Can your child describe how the ice feels? Is it hard, cold, slippery or wet?
📸 Share a photo of your ice rescue or tell us what happened.
Activity 2: Animals from Hot Countries
What you need:
• Paper
• Pencils, crayons or felt tips
Instructions:
- Talk about animals that live in hot places around the world.
- Choose an animal such as a lion, elephant, giraffe, zebra, camel or monkey.
- Draw a picture of the animal.
- Ask your child to tell you one fact about their animal.
Challenge:
Can they explain how their animal stays cool in hot weather?
📸 Upload a photo of the finished picture.
Activity 3: Water Painting
What you need:
• A paintbrush
• A cup of water
• A wall, patio, fence or paving slab
Instructions:
- Fill a cup with water.
- Use a paintbrush to "paint" pictures, letters, numbers or patterns outside.
- Watch as the water dries and disappears.
Challenge:
Can your child write their name or draw their favourite animal?
📸 Take a photo before the water disappears!
Activity 4: Story Time
What you need:
• A favourite book
• A comfortable cool spot
Instructions:
- Read a story together.
- Talk about the characters and what happened.
- Ask your child questions about the story.
Challenge:
Can your child draw their favourite character afterwards?
📸 Share a photo of your reading spot or drawing.
Activity 5: Frozen Colour Hunt
What you need:
• Ice cubes
• Food colouring (optional)
• A tray or bowl
Instructions:
- Freeze coloured water into ice cubes.
- Explore the ice using hands, spoons or cups.
- Talk about the colours and what happens as the ice melts.
Challenge:
Can your child sort the ice cubes by colour or count how many they have?
📸 Share your discoveries with us.
Activity 6: Around the World
What you need:
• Paper
• Drawing materials
Instructions:
- Look at a picture of a hot country such as Kenya, India, Australia or Egypt.
- Talk about what the weather might be like there.
- Draw a picture showing what you might see.
Challenge:
Can your child include an animal, plant or landmark from that country?
📸 We'd love to see your artwork!
Thank you for sharing your learning with us.
We hope you enjoy these activities and stay safe in the heat!