--- title: "Reception- Independent Learning" url: "https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2025-12-16-reception-independent-learning" school: "Darwen St James’ C of E Primary Academy" --- # Reception- Independent Learning ![](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/news/Collage_2025-12-16_21_13_40.jpg) 16 December 2025 This week we have had a Christmas-themed activities in the Reception class promoting all the learning that has taken place over the last few months. Showing off our skills in independent learning across the seven areas of learning. During the pom-pom pattern activity, children were intrinsically motivated to continue and extend complex sequences entirely on their own, demonstrating self-regulation and problem-solving skills without direct adult input. At the magnetic letter station, the goal was to locate and build CVC words hidden within Christmas vocabulary, encouraged independent decoding, phonological awareness, and self-correction as they worked through trial and error to form the correct words. We also had the task of telling a Christmas story by intentionally incorporating mathematical language (such as "more than," "less than," "equal to," and using ordinal numbers like "first," "second") required the children to independently connect two different concepts—narrative and numeracy—showcasing their ability to apply abstract concepts creatively. ![](https://darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy.schudio.com/images/news/Collage_2025-12-16_21_13_40.jpg) [Reception](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/tag/reception) [Early Years Foundation Stage](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/tag/early-years-foundation-stage) [![](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/imagecache/100x100c/news/6930a060-ee99-4293-b1bf-ae7354ea6dfb.jpg)](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2025-12-15-nursery-music-christmas-songs) Previous ### [Nursery - Music - Christmas Songs](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2025-12-15-nursery-music-christmas-songs) [![](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/imagecache/100x100c/news/Collage_2025-12-17_11_31_04.jpg)](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2025-12-17-year-6-design-technology-shadow-puppets) Next ### [YEar 6: Design Technology - Shadow Puppets](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2025-12-17-year-6-design-technology-shadow-puppets) ### Academy Life - [News](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news) - [Events](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/events) - [Clubs](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/academy-life/basc) - [School Council](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/academy-life/school-council) - [Attendance](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/academy-life/attendance) - [Charities and Fundrasing](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/academy-life/charities-and-fundraising) - ![School Games Gold](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/partners/Gold_Logo_25-26(1).png) - ![Healthy school](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/partners/healthy_school.png) - ![Picture News](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/partners/6_Years_of_Picture_News.png) - ![AP smilestar](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/partners/Screenshot_2026-07-27_10.26.27.png) ##### Location St James Crescent Darwen Lancashire BB3 0EY ##### Contact Us 01254 703260 ##### Stay Connected - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Darwenstjames) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/darwenstjames/) © Copyright 2021–2026 Darwen St James’ C of E Primary Academy School & Trust Websites by [ ![Schudio logo](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/img/logo/light.png) ](https://www.schudio.com/)