Tenterfields Primary Academy, Tenterfields, Halesowen, B63 3LH
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Tenterfields Primary Academy

Reception - 03.07.2026

3rd July 2026

Ahoy, Mateys! Inside Our Week of Pirate Adventures in Reception 🏴‍☠️🦜

Welcome back to our class blog! This week, the Reception classroom was completely transformed into the high seas as our little adventurers set sail on a thrilling Pirate Theme.

From hunting for buried treasure to sending secret messages, our days have been packed with hands-on learning, creativity, and a whole lot of imagination. Here is a look at what our busy crew has been up to:

🏴‍☠️ High Seas & Hidden Treasures

Our sensory areas were buzzing with pirate excitement this week!

  • The Great Treasure Hunt: Equipped with feathers, small world pirates and boundless enthusiasm, the children have been digging deep in the sand tray to uncover glittering hidden treasure.

  • Sparkly Seas & Pattern Making: At the playdough table, we rolled out waves of bright blue playdough. The children used shimmering jewels and real seashells to press into the dough, creating beautiful, intricate repeating patterns.

Water Play Wonders: Outside, our water station became an ocean network! The children used gutters and pipes to direct water flow, testing how fast they could sail their pirate ships down the rapids.

🐋 Eco-Pirates: "Save the Whale!"

Pirates love the ocean, which means they need to look after it too! This week, we talked about ocean conservation and the magnificent creatures that live beneath the waves.

Using black card, the children created their very own chalkboard "Save the Whale" signs. They practiced their fine motor skills and letter formation to write powerful eco-messages to display around the classroom.

📜 Messages in a Bottle (We're Waiting for a Reply!)

Our literacy focus this week had a magical, mysterious twist. The children put their phonics skills to the test to write their own creative sentences for the pirates.

Once their stories and messages were written, they carefully rolled them up, slipped them into bottles, and screwed the top shut. We’ve sent them off into the imaginary ocean, and right now, we are eagerly waiting for the pirates to reply! Keep your fingers crossed for some incoming pirate mail next week!

🔭 Junk Model Telescopes

An eye on the horizon is essential for any good pirate. In our creative area, the children became engineers, recycling cardboard tubes, silver paint, and gems to design their own junk model telescopes. They’ve been using them to spot land (and maybe a few sea monsters) around the school environment!

🔢 Mastering Maths: Doubling & Counting Past 20

Even pirates need to know how to count their loot! In maths, we’ve been working hard on two big concepts:

  • Doubling Facts: Learning how to double numbers (like doubling our pirate gold!).

  • Counting Past 20: We've been practicing counting higher and higher, encouraging the children to look closely at the numbers to notice number patterns (like how the 20s, 30s, and 40s repeat the 1-9 sequence).