Reception Weekly Blog (23.1.26)

Date: 23rd Jan 2026 @ 3:13pm

What a wonderful week!

We have been very busy learning all about Antarctica and the Emperor Penguins who live there.

Monday
We introduced the children to the terms weight and mass. The children began using balance scales and learning how to distinguish between different quantities on either side. We also learnt that Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The children loved learning the Continent Song — why not have a little listen together at home:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzqdDdxr9VI

Tuesday
We explored how balance scales show equal mass on both sides, and the children loved using the scales in provision throughout the day. In RE, we introduced the story of Joseph. Joseph was one of Jacob’s twelve sons, and his father loved him very much, giving him a colourful cloak. Although Joseph’s brothers were jealous, God had a plan for him and turned a sad situation into a miracle that saved many lives.

Wednesday
The children explored capacity, building on their understanding of full and empty. Key questions included:

• How many does the container hold?
• How can you measure the capacity?
• How many are needed to fill the container?
• Will this container hold more or less?

Inspired by our Year 4 buddies’ trip to the zoo, we also learnt about the Chinstrap Penguin and other penguin species. The children especially enjoyed learning about the Macaroni Penguin!

Thursday
We compared the capacities of different containers and investigated how much water small, medium and large containers can hold. The children have loved filling and pouring this week. In the afternoon, we were very impressed with the children’s penguin labelling. They carefully pinched their Fred Fingers to find the sounds they needed to label parts of the Emperor Penguin.

Friday
To round up our learning about penguins, we learnt about the life cycle of a penguin:

• Egg: A penguin lays an egg which is carried on the adult’s feet.
• Chick: A small, fluffy chick hatches from the egg.
• Fledgling: The chick grows into a fledgling penguin.
• Adult: The fledgling grows into an adult penguin.

We can’t wait to introduce our Experts of the Week for the first time next week. Please look out for letters in your child’s reading folder.

Have a great weekend,
The Reception Team