Butterfly Class
A very big welcome to the children starting school in September and the Year Ones who are returning to Butterfly Class. We are a mixed Reception and Year One class.
Your class teacher is Mrs Waters and the teaching assistants are Miss Hardiman, Mrs Barlow and Mrs Smith. We are here to help support you settle into school life and teach you lots of new and exciting things!
Our Learning Environment
We have a fantastic learning environment in Butterfly Class. We love exploring our outdoor area and using it to be creative.
We have lots of resources including bricks, pebbles, sand, wooden planks, guttering and milk crates. We have an area where we can dress up and act out stories. We have a sand pit, a digging area and a huge mud kitchen.
Inside we love to build in the construction area and make things in our creative area, paint or draw. We also have a great book corner.
We are currently following Map A (2025-2026).
Home Learning
Pupils in EYFS and Year 1 are expected to complete reading 5 times a week. Year 1 are given Purple Home Learning books to practise age-appropriate spellings and Maths facts.
Please see the documents below for your termly home learning work. Remember to also use Numbots to practise your Maths facts!
Class Author – Term 3 and 4
Our class author this term is Julia Donaldson. Julia Donaldson is a world renowned author famous for beloved children’s books like The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, and Stick Man. She was appointed a CBE for her services to literature.
Term 3
Our EYFS theme this term is ‘Superheroes and People Who Help Us’. We listen to superhero stories like Supertato! We will think about what are our own superpowers and how we help others. Then we will think about how others help us – firefighters, police officers, ambulance workers, refuge collectors and many more! We will learn about the jobs people have in our local community.
999 Emergency!
This week we met some real life superheroes. We had a great visit from the police, the fire brigade and Dr Marshall (Amelia’s Dad).
Thank- you so much to these wonderful people for giving up their time to come into school and talk to us. We really appreciate it and the children have learned so much from them.
The police brought in a police car and the children got to sit in the police car and hear the siren. The children learned the police are not just to catch bad guys, they are people we can trust will help us. The children have been asked to learn their mum and dad’s name, plus their address incase they are ever lost!
Dr Marshall talked to the children about xrays and he gave every child an x-ray of a hand. He showed the children how the doctor would check their breathing, pulse and heart rate.
The fire brigade brought in a fire engine and the children we allowed to have a go at using the hose. This was great fun! They also met with the class and talked about their job, allowing the children to listen and ask questions.
Art
In Art this term the children in EYFS will be practising a range of skills – painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, textiles and printing. In the photograph, the children are exploring collage by tearing paper into strips and simple shapes to create covers for junk models.
We read the story of Supertato and had to try and catch Evil Pea with tweezers! This also helped us improve our fine motor strength and co-ordination.
POW! ZAP! PING!
Check out our superheroes! We have had great superhero roleplay this week.
Science – Everyday Materials
This term in Science, we are learning about Everyday Materials – glass, fabric, paper, wood, plastic and metal.
We have learnt that different objects are made from different materials. Materials also have properties.
We enjoyed testing materials to see if they float or sink!
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Class Author – Term 1 and 2
Our class author this term is Smriti Halls. She is an award-winning, children’s author whose books have been published in more than 40 languages. Her books include I’m Sticking With You, Rain Before Rainbows and Best of All.
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Term 2
Our theme within EYFS this term is ‘Festivals and Celebrations’. We will learn about Bonfire Night, Diwali, Remembrance Day and Christmas. This will give us the opportunities to appreciate how festivals and celebrations are similar and different. At the end of term we will have our school nativity, it is one of the highlights of the year!
The Gunpowder Plot
We learned about Bonfire Night and how we celebrate this event. We created fireworks picture, made our own building of ‘The Houses of Parliament’ and read and acted out the story of ‘The Gunpowder Plot’. The children really enjoyed sharing their stories and experiences of Bonfire Night!
History – Remembrance Day
We learned about Remembrance day and how the poppy is a sign of peace. We took part in a whole school 2 minute silence on 11th November at 11am and discussed why it is important to remember service men and women who died in the war. We compared life during WWI to our lives now. They were very different!
Diwali – Festival of Light
We found out about Diwali – The Festival of Light. We listened to the story of Rama and Sita and acted it out using props. We made diva lamps, rangoli patterns and mehndi patterns.
Nativity Performance
Butterfly Class and Owl Class performed a fantastic nativity performance ‘It’s a Party’ to the school and their parents. We are VERY proud of them!
Term 1
Our theme within EYFS this term is 'Marvellous Me!' We will be getting to know each other, learning the class and school rules and settling into school life. Establishing trusting relationships with the adults and children in our class and building friendships is our priority this term. Here are some pictures of our Reception children in their first week of school. We have been very busy!
Art and Design
We are exploring print, collage, sculpture, paint mixing, drawing and textiles in our art sessions this term.
The artist we will learn about this term is Eric Carle.
Computing
In Computing we are learning to take digital photographs using an Ipad. We will learn about portrait and landscape pictures.
Geography
This term we are learning about ‘Our School’. We will find Stratford-sub-Castle on a map and locate our school. We will go on a welly walk in Stratford village and follow a map to find lots of local features e.g. the church and river. We will look at an Atlas to find the UK and create our own maps.
History – Changes within living memory
Our School
We have been learning about the history of Stratford School. We found out that Fox Class was built in 1840 during Victorian Times. We have been learning about what the school was like then and how it has changed. We found out about how disciplined schools were then and how children would learn through rote! We enjoyed looking at old photographs and discussing how our uniform has changed. We also tried to spot teachers we know now.
EYFS Stay and Play Session
Our wonderful parents came to school for a ‘Stay and Play’ session. The children loved having them there!
Science – Animals (humans)
In Science this term we have been learning about our bodies and how they change from being a baby to an adult. We read ‘Funnybones’ and looked at X-rays of bones on a lightboard. We learnt the names of some organs inside our bodies and explored our senses – smell, touch, taste, hearing and sights.
