Reception

Welcome to Reception

The adults in this class are Mrs Clements, Miss Joles and Miss Wilson.

WB 17.7.23

What a fantastic last week so far!

On Monday, we watched the theatre production of ‘The Secret Garden’.

On Tuesday we enjoyed the bouncy castle fun day and Year 6 fete!

We even held Sanchez the snail! 🐌

I wonder what the rest of the week will bring? 😃

WB 10.7.23

We have been preparing for Year 1 by writing a letter to our new teacher, Mr Smith! ✉️ We wanted to tell him all the things we are good at and what we enjoy doing at school! Look at our fantastic letter formation!

We have been learning to sew. This took patience as we threaded with a plastic needle in and out of the Binka. We persevered to complete our straight line. 🪡

We are excelling at writing digits. With modelling and some support, we filled out the 100 number square.

We have individually completed our self-portraits and used the mirrors to look at our features.

4.7.23

We were so lucky to welcome our second sporting star, Jamie Knight, to Oldmixon! He is a Guinness World Record Holder for freestyle football and showed us some phenomenal tricks!

Here we are showcasing some skills! ⚽️

WB 3.7.23

We have created a grass collage. We followed the step-by-step instructions and focused on the background (what we can see furthest away in an image).

First, we used a variety of blue wax crayons to create our sky. Next, we cut out strips of crepe paper to make out grass. Finally, we drew Augustus the tiger from the book and used PVA glue to add all the components together.

Look at our ocean watercolour scenes! 🐠 🌊

We focused on the image from the story and then proceeded using the watercolours to create the background. Whilst that was drying, we drew our fish and used a fine tip brush to paint them. We then added them to our background.

We are recapping subitising! We made the dots on the cube net and proceeded to cut and glue to make our own dot dice.

3.7.23

We were so lucky to have the worlds tallest basketball player, Paul Sturgess, visit us! He is 7’7! Paul taught us some new tricks and answered our questions. We found he has travelled to 71 countries, has to have his house custom made so he can fit under the door frames and has size 18 feet!

✈️ What a fascinating life he has led. 🏀

28.6.23 We made maps of all the places Augustus the tiger visited looking for his smile. We then used our phonetic skills to label them!

We are exploring ice! First we discussed its texture and what we knew about ice.🧊

We then discovered what happened when the ice was put in different locations, such as out in the garden and in the class to see where it melted quicker. ☀️ 💦

23.6.23

We found a poorly butterfly that wasn’t flying. We gave it a tasty orange segment and then watched as it got its strength back up ready to fly off into the trees! 🦋

Our new story is ‘Augustus and his Smile’, by Catherine Rayner.

Augustus searched high and low in the rainforest for a friend. We did some fantastic rainforest research and then created our own picture scene, recalling facts.

We are becoming confident at drawing animals. We took great care in observation and detail of the tiger and did the other half of his face. 🐯

Wow! Look at us independently making number sequences to 10 in continuous provision! We are becoming experts!

Our number formation is really coming on so well. We are forming our digits with accuracy ready for Year One.

WB 19.6.23

Look at how we play and learn in our outdoor environment! 🪴

We are learning about the world, gaining strong gross and fine motor skills pouring, digging and moving our bodies as well as and improving our accuracy in a sports capacity!

WB12.6.23

Look how independent we are using the numicon and whiteboards to make our own numbers sequences!

That greedy tiger ate and drank everything in sight! Here we are using our phonetic skills to write out our sentence.

We made tiger masks. We had to measure them to make sure they fitted our faces.

We made paper cup tigers!
After initially mixing red and yellow to make a tiger colour, we painted the cup orange and proceeded to cut out his features of stripes, eyes, ears and nose.

7.6.23

Welcome back! We hope you had a restful break.
Our new story is ‘The Tiger who came for tea’, by Judith Kerr. 🐅

We had a class discussion on what we know about tigers! The children were eager to share their facts and thoughts! ✏️ 🐯 💭

The children discussed what foods they thought the tiger would like if he came for tea! Look at Noah’s super list of foods! He thought the tiger would like pickle, yogurt and fish and chips! 🐟 🍟

We have been using Charcoal and Chalk this week to create our own tiger masterpieces!

Here we are looking at subtraction number sequences. We used the unifix cubes and then added our ➖ & 🟰 signs to complete our sequence in our mathematical graphics books.

We are consolidating our learning of odd and even numbers with number games such as sorting the numicon pieces into the correct hoops.

WB 22.5.23

After our even number track last week, it was time to focus on odd numbers. Can you recognise odd and even numbers? You can make number tracks at home to play with your family!

Our reading is progressing so well with all the digraphs we are learning in phonics!

The children are persevering so well and remain focused and enthusiastic to read! Remember to read 3x a week at home as this counts as some of the school Friday Banquet criteria. ✔️ 📚

17.5.23

We had some special visitors from the RSPCA. We learnt about how they look care for animals and how to look after our pets properly.

We then had a hedgehog workshop, and used clay and sticks to create our own models. 🦔

WB 15.5.23

In Mathematics, we are covering even numbers. We recited the numbers and then made our own track, using the number line guide for support.

Here we are looking at our features in the mirror and discovering how our drawing skills are coming along by doing a self portrait. ✏️ 🪞

WB 10.5.23

Our new book we are focusing on is, ‘Sylvia and Bird’, by Catherine Rayner. 🐉

We are painting with watercolours. 🎨

Initially, we used a fine black pen to draw the outline of the dragon. We were prompted to use the water before dipping our colours. We observed Sylvia the dragon in the story and painted with blues, greens and turquoise colours. 💙💚

We discussed what ‘scales’ are and saw the images in the book.

With the materials we proceeded to make a collage by cutting them into small pieces and filled in the space provided. They look wonderful on our display!

We continue to do our hold a sentence activity. We repeat, clap, stomp and say the sentence through repetition. We then focus on phoneme fingers and sounds to write the words. ✏️

WB 2.5.23

We are reading our new book in homage to the Coronation celebration. It is ‘The King’s Pants’, by Nicholas Allen. 🩲 👑

Here we are partaking in a variety of royal activities. 🇬🇧 We iced a biscuit in red, white and blue, created our own Union Jack flags and made pants fit for a king! In addition to this, we made hats for the celebration and decorated them with royal themed images.

27.4.22

Look at our impressive number fans we made from petals.

WB 24.4.23

Our knowledge of flowers is increasing and we looked back on what each part does.
This time we drew our stem and leaves, then used a pom pom, glue and cake case to create a flower.

Continuing with the flower theme, we practiced using a split pin. First, we made the stem and petals and cut them out. We then attached the split pin so that the flower could move.

20.3.23

The children came together to have a revamp in the garden! Tasks they volunteered to do:

- pulling up weeds

- adding new soil

- sweeping up

- planting new seeds

- general tidy up

- make a new bug hotel with Miss Joles 🙂 🐜 🐛 🐞

💚 They were so helpful! 🪴

We had the amazing Mrs Ansell teach us a special makaton song in reference to the King’s Coronation!

WB 17.4.23

Welcome back! We hope you all had a relaxing Easter spending time with loved ones.
Here is our new book, ‘Bloom’, by Anne Booth and Robyn Wilson-Owen.

In the book, ‘Bloom’, the flowers close over when the old man shouts at them. They grow and bloom when the little girl speaks kind words to them.

We drew our own flowers and thought about what each part does and what it looks like. We then labelled these parts. 🌸 🍃

🍃 We aware excited to plant our own seed and watch the process over time of it growing. We read the instructions on how to plant the seed, popped it in the soil and watered it. Let’s see what happens in a few weeks! We are extremely grateful for the donations of seeds by our lovely parents, thank you! 🌸

In maths, we are looking at ordering. This was represented by discussing what morning, midday and bedtime mean. We thought about what our day looked like and drew how this looked for us.

We are recognising our numerals and ordering them to 20.

31.3.23

We took part in the Easter parade today. The children were thrilled to join in and showcased their dazzling bonnets!

Look out our decorative spring bonnets! 🌸 🎩

We used a variety of materials, such as feathers, foam stickers and chicks and also drew our own Easter pictures, too. 🐥

We are ready for the parade! 🎊

28.3.23

We were thrilled to have Weston establishment ‘Pappadoms’ kindly donate some tasty Indian snacks for us to try as part of their Ramadan celebration and giving back to the community. 🍛
We tucked into chicken tikka and samosas!

WB 27.3.23

We are getting into Easter mode! 🐣 🪺 🌸

We had a great time following the instructions on how to make a chocolate bird nest. We listened to the sounds we can hear in the words and then discussed what happens to the texture of the hard chocolate once it has been snapped and put in the microwave. 🍫

Here we are making a hanging egg as a keepsake to take home. We discussed the oval 2D shape and added zig zags and dots to create repeating patterns.

23.3.23

Our new book is, ‘The Odd Egg’, by Emily Gravett. We made some predictions about which animal could be inside the egg! 🥚

We continue to progress with our writing by remembering a capital letter at the start of our sentence and a full stop when our sentence has finished. We try hard to keep our writing on the lines and form our letters correctly.

We are learning to write addition number sentences. We had a recap about using + and = signs and proceeded to use these to help write our number sequences. We counted the dots on the dominoes and wrote the corresponding number.

WB 20.3.23

We observed changes through time by following instructions to make honey biscuits. We discussed the texture of the dough and how once cooked, expands and becomes harder. 🍯

To make our biscuits, we read how Ben and his gran made them in the story. We then combined the ingredients together and made circular motions with our hands to create dough balls.

We then asked our lovely head chef, Claire, to pop them in the oven for us for 15 minutes. 👩‍🍳

Following on from making our biscuits, we then had to create an envelope packet to take our biscuits home in! We discussed the relevant information we needed, (how we made them, ingredients etc) and drew relevant pictures to display this. We then used our phonetic skills to write some of the ingredients out.

WB 13.3.23

We have been busy preparing for Mother’s Day. 💐

We thought of all the lovely reasons we love our mums or someone special who raises us.

We then learned how to make a heart collage to stick on the front. First, we drew around the template. Next, we cut the shape out and used tissue paper to tear and scrunch into little pieces. To finish, we glued these down. We hope our parents have a fantastic day being spoilt on Mothering Sunday! ❤️

In addition to our cards, we drew beautiful portraits of our mums!

8.3.23
We enjoyed the snow that covered Weston this morning! The children were hugely excited to go and explore the snow, feeling its texture and discussing what it felt like when it began to melt. ❄️

WB 6.3.23

We were fascinated to use the balances and learn about weight.
First, we discussed what heavy and light means and made a MindMap. It was then our turn to explore the scales. We made predictions, trying to work out which items would be heavier and which would be lighter.
We were then set a challenge to search the classroom and come back with two items we thought would be heavier and lighter than a cork! We tried paper, a plastic wrapper, a rubber, a pebble, a block and pear. ⚖️ 🪨 🍐 📄

We discussed that bees need a hive to live in. To create with purpose, we used the model making materials and practised a flange join again to build our own beehives! 🍯 🐝

We continue to use our phoneme fingers when trying to hear the sounds and write a word. This week we had a challenge with slightly trickier words which aren’t always decodable. We persevered and attempted to write the ingredients for the honey biscuits.

Ruby requested she would like to make a bee mask so this was a great opportunity to learn to thread and tie!

We used lots of fine motor skills for this activity, such as punching holes into the side of our mask, using the scissors to cut around it and using the string to attach with a tie motion.

3.3.23 World Book Day.

What a fantastic time we had dressed for World Book Day! 🌍

The children loved dressing up as their favourite characters and made their own bookmarks to take home with them! 📕

It was so hard to choose one costume as they were all so good! Here we have our worthy winner from ‘Inside Out’! 🏆 The prize to take home was a magnificent book from author, David Walliams. 📚

WB 27.2.23
We are learning to use oil pastels effectively.
We looked at artist Georgia O’Keefe and drew flowers from observation.

For mathematics, we recapped what a repeating pattern is and then proceeded to use the images of the flowers to make an ABB pattern. We then stuck them down with the glue and used other items in the class to practise. 🌸 🌺 🌺

We are learning to compare lengths. First, we had a discussion on what ‘tall’ or ‘short’ means and made a mind map with our thoughts. We took it in turns to lie down and measure each other with string! We then compared lengths to see which child is taller and shorter!

We are finding out how bees make honey! 🍯 🐝 We followed the instructions, blending words we could segment and looked out for high frequency words!

We proceeded to make honey on toast and enjoyed the tasty treat after! 😋

24.2.23

We had a fantastic experience with author, Andy Seed! We sang some poems and had an interactive experience through the jungle making animal noises. 🦍🐘🐅🦒

23.2.23

The children had their first experience with Fred the therapy dog. They did some amazing blending to read and Fred enjoyed listening to the children. He was treated to some gentle head scratches and a brush after!

WB 21.2.23

Welcome Back!

Our new story is, ‘Bee: Nature’s Tiny Miracle’ by Britta Teekentrup.

Our maths bee themed activity was to make a puppet and focus on the repeating pattern of yellow / black / yellow / black. We then attached the lolly stick with tape.

We are perfecting our writing by focusing on the use of phoneme fingers and hearing the sounds in words.

We made stunning tissue paper flowers!🌹🌷

We used our fine motor skills to pinch the two coloured tissues together and added to a straw or pipe cleaner to finalise the look.

WB 6.2.23

In our final week of term, we have been making telescopes like Mr Grinling uses! First, we discussed what a telescope is, what it is used for and who we think might use might use one.

Rayani said, “I think an astronaut might use it to look at the moon!” 🌙 🔭

We made a variety of sea related images on our card, such as lighthouses, fish, seagulls, cliffs and boats. We then rolled and secured it to make our finished product! 🐟 ⛵️

In PE this week we warmed up our bodies by moving to the beat of the tap sticks.

We explored the climbing equipment. We were much more confident at getting to the top. Some of us had the upper body strength to climb down the rope independently.

This week we have had an introduction to watercolours. The children were shown how to explicitly use the colour and water and then proceeded to paint their own masterpieces! 🎨 🖌️

WB 30.1.23

We iced and decorated some tasty biscuits like in the story of ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’.

We worked our fine motor skills to carefully decorate with the sprinkles. Some of us chose lighthouses and anchors like in Mr Grinling’s lunch! We tucked into our tasty treat. Nom! 😋 🍪

We are continuing to work on our letter formation and form our sentences correctly.

Here we are reenacting the days of the week and drawing what happened on each day with Mr Grinling! Alissiya-May remembered Hamish the cat went in the basket on Tuesday! 🧺 🐈

WB 23.1.23

We are learning our new book, ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’, by David and Ronda Armitage.

We ate mustard sandwiches like Mrs Grinling made to put off the seagulls!

Our reading instructions were to find out how to make a sandwich. We used our oral listening and blending skills and proceeded. First, we spread the soft cheese. Next, we added the ham on top. Finally, we sniffed the mustard and decided if we wanted to try it or not!

Some of us were brave and demolished our sandwiches!

Adam said, “this is spicy!”

We are learning to count backwards. We cut out baskets like Mrs Grinling made and arranged them in order 10-0.🧺

🇨🇳 Chinese New Year Celebrations.
First, the children were treated to a special assembly by one of our Oldmixon parents. They then went away and created various Chinese writing, lanterns and posters. The children were intrigued to learn that each year is represented by an animal from the race. This year is the year of the rabbit! 🐰

WB 16.1.23

Look at our giant finished lighthouse! What a masterpiece!

We are making lanterns like Noi had in the story when searching for his dad!

First, we joined the sticks and masking tape to make two squares. The next part of the sequence was to add a further four sticks to build the lantern. Finally, we used a PVA glue & water substance to create the lantern with tissue paper!

We had lots of fun using the wooden resources in our continuous provision to make a lighthouse scene!

We are lighthouse enthusiasts!
The children are engrossed in the theme and are producing a number of amazing pieces through paint, pencils and materials.

We used blue food colouring to make storm whales for our display! 🐳

WB 9.1.23

Look at our phenomenal lighthouses!
We made snips in the kitchen roll tube and folded these out to make the flange join. We looked at what Modroc is and how the texture changes when we add water to it. Afterwards, we stuck it to the base and also created rock shapes like in the image from the story.
Once it dried out, the next task was to use the thick brushes to paint our kitchen roll lighthouse and add the finished touches to the sea. We were so thrilled with how they came out! 🌊 🛥 🪨

Our boats were a big success! We discussed areas of the boat such as the mast, the hull and the sails and then proceeded to make our paper plates with resources such as lolly sticks, paper plates and paper.
The mathematical area covered was shapes. We cut out two different sized triangles for the sails and semi circle for the boat. 🛶

We are working hard on our number formation and thought carefully about missing numbers and coloured in the boats for our display.

WB 3.1.23

We have been reading our new story, ‘The Storm Whale in Winter’. 🐳

We have been learning about lighthouses and know it is to help the boats at night to see where they are going so they don’t crash! We learned about how Google is a search engine and it helped us locate lighthouses in the local area! Xena knew there were two in Burnham-On-Sea!

We have explored objects in water to identify the difference between floating and sinking. First we made some predictions and then we had fun investigating which floated and which sank!

After looking at images of the sea creatures, we then used our skills to write down the sounds we hear in the words.

In Expressive Art & Design, we have made our own sea images with a variety of wax crayons. We then added a blue wash over the top and watched the effect it had!

13.12.22 - Father Christmas came to visit Oldmixon!

Look how excited we were to see him! We even heard his reindeer land on the roof! 🦌 🎅

WB 12.12.22

We love a baking activity in Reception! 🥣

First, we got our ingredients out and read the instructions one-by-one.

We snapped the chocolate, melted it in the microwave, spooned it into the cake cases and delicately added the silver pearls.

Continuing our Christmas themes, we made beautiful lolly shaped stars ready for our xmas folders. We used the PVA glue to assemble our star, ensured it was stuck together then added a magic sprinkling of glitter. ✨

In our continuous provision, the children have had so much fun designing their own Christmas cards! They have written messages inside to their families and added lots of special touches such as Christmas stencils, glitter and gems.

WB 5.12.22

We have been busy getting in full Christmas spirit with show rehearsals and activities!
The children have been writing their list for Father Christmas and writing which gifts they would like to receive. What will Father Christmas bring you this Christmas?! 🎅

We made some salt dough decorations this week by using the ingredients to make the dough, rolling them out and using the cutter to make a star shape. Once cooked and dried, we painted them festive colours ready to go on our trees at home! 🌲

We made star collages ready to hang on our Christmas Tree!

First, we made a star shape with two triangles, created a hole in the top to thread our string through and then proceeded to tear a variety of materials ready to stick on!

Here we have some special homemade Xmas cards to give to our families. We used our finger to paint around the stencil and added the fake snow to create a lovely tree effect!

We are enhancing our fine motor skills by using scissors effectively and making a triangle Christmas tree! 🎄

We drew around three different sized triangles, cut them out and glued them to make our tree. We carefully added gems and sparkles - look at our magnificent final results!

WB 28.11.22

We have been learning our new story, ‘The Three Little Pigs’. 🐷 🐷 🐷 🐺 🏡

With our phoneme fingers, we listened to the sounds in the words and wrote them down, ensuring we showed careful letter formation.

We are learning to join materials.
With the lolly sticks, we initially formed a square and triangle and stuck them down with PVA glue. We had a discussion on family and added members inside the house.

Here we are learning to mix colours correctly. We painted our pink pigs, drew a snout and eyes and then used the scissors to cut them out.

25.11.22

We discovered a deep hole in the outside area! An expert came to investigate and told us it was made by a fox! We wrote a letter to the fox.

We were so pleased when he wrote back to us! He told us what he likes to eat!
Noah was really intrigued and asked, “What does a fox sound like?” 🦊👂 We watched a video to hear the various calls.

We then became artists and drew our own foxes!

WB 21.11.22

After learning the story, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, we used our phoneme fingers to help us to write labels for some of the items from the story.

We are learning to read the high frequency words. We played ‘tricky word’ bingo to help us recognise the words.

Look at our model making! ✂️ 📦 🍃

We needed to create models of the tall beanstalk, but our beanstalks kept falling down! We learnt how to create a flange join which enabled our beanstalks to stay standing! Please continue to bring in any boxes, tubes etc to stock up our model making area.

We discussed plants, including the enormous beanstalk. 🍃 We ordered images and learnt how to plant seeds.

16.11.22

We love our Wednesday PE sessions with coaches Jordan, Bex & Sam!

This week we started with our warm up song and tapping to a beat. We then focused on accurate throwing and catching.

WB 14.11.22

Our children are becoming tricky word experts! We loved watching them become teachers and practise on the whiteboard! 🖊

We are learning to draw various animals. We looked at the image of the wolf and re-created it with charcoal.

The children discussed family and talked about the people that are in their own families. They then did a family portrait with the pencil crayons. Who are your family members?

We are enjoying learning new songs for our Christmas Show! We have learned the story of Christmas. We are starting to practise on a real stage with Year One & Year Two. 🎵

We are learning to make a tally chart. We had to count how many bites it took to eat a biscuit and make the corresponding number of marks on our tally chart.

We are learning to compare groups and say which has more and which has fewer. Now we are subitising experts, we rolled the dice and put the corresponding number of bears in the sorting circles. We then had to say which had more and which had fewer.

WB 7.11.22

This week we are continuing to work on subitising. The children rolled the dice and used the numicon to match the correct piece to the number. 🎲

Repeating patterns also made an appearance this week! They said the order out loud and then with the glue, stuck the images down.

We are continuing to focus on enhancing our scissor skills. The children had a go at cutting in and around the webs, twisting the paper and cutting in a curved manner. 🕸 ✂️

Look at our magnificent clay spiders! We are getting our hands and muscles nice and strong by manipulating the clay. First, they rolled the body it into a ball, then with the excess clay, made the legs. 🕷

WB 1.11.22

Welcome back after half term! We hope you had lots of halloween fun! 🎃

Our new book is, “Aaaaargh, Spider!”, by Lydia Monks.🕷

We have had lots of spider themed fun activities this week. We are learning to hear, say and write sounds in a word and beginning to use our phoneme fingers.

Look at our incredible spider puppets! We are trying to use our scissors effectively and did this by cutting the body and legs out, making sure we counted the correct amount! We used the PVA glue to stick them on and added goggly eyes for the final effect!

We are exploring poster paint. With the pipettes we squeezed the paint and proceeded to blow through our straws to create the legs for the spider!

The children have been using pegs to make a repeating pattern. They then enhanced their pattern making by colouring in their own with pens.

WB 17.10.22

This week we have looked at animals names and vocabulary and discussed facts about the animals. The children recognised that print conveys meaning. They then had a go at drawing their own image.

The children had a great time using autumn leaves to print. They looked carefully at the multiple colours that features on each leaf and then pressed them into the paper. 🍁 🍃

In addition to that, they were taught how to use powder paints correctly so that the consistency is creamy like yoghurt! 🎨

Going with the children’s initiative, they were keen to make a bug hotel! They gathered up lots of sticks and soil and made their own building for the insects. They used the planters for the structure and pine cones for decorative features! They then discussed which bugs they thought would like to live in the hotel! Woodlice, ladybirds, sliders and fly’s were some of the suggestions! 🐞 🐜 🕷

WB 10.10.22

Look at our incredible letter formation! We are working really hard to strengthen our hands so we are ready to write.

We had a great time creating our own bear feet! We carefully drew around our feet and used the scissors to cut them out. This required a lot of focus! ✂️

6.10.22

After learning the story, ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt’, we had a go at drawing the story. We talked about the story as we drew it.

We went on our own Bear Hunt! We searched for clues all around the school grounds. Have you seen a bear? 🐻

We are developing our cutlery skills. We made baked beans on toast and used the cutlery to practise cutting effectively. 🍴 🍞

We have been investigating 5 frames. How many chocolate buttons fit in to your 5 frame?

What do you know about Autumn? 🍁

We went on an observational walk around the school grounds to observe what is changing.

29.9.22

In Maths this week we have been continuing to look, discuss and sort 2D shapes and also learn to order by size. Here we are using language such as biggest, medium and smallest.

We have looked at our features and body parts in the mirror and then used the pencil crayons to have a go at drawing an accurate picture of ourselves!

The bears were so hungry and wrote us a letter! They wanted to know what we could make them. We chose chocolate crispy cakes! This helped us understand the process of how chocolate melts! 🍫

Look how we snap the chocolate to enhance our fine motor skills. We then watched the process of the chocolate melting, added our rice crispies to the bowl and mixed it together. Finally, we used our Peter Pointer and Tommy Thumb to pickup the sprinkles and decorate the top!

20.9.22 - Settling in

We are so excited for the year ahead! The children are settling in and starting to establish the rules and routines. We are understanding we turn our listening ears on for the carpet and voices off, we have practised lining up ready for playtimes, taking our tray and cutlery for lunch as well as fitting in some fantastic learning opportunities!