Welcome to our August Newsletter

Graduation Celebrations

Goodbye and Good Luck

The whole staff team would like to wish all the children and families leaving us at the end of August our very best wishes for the future. 

This time of year is always an emotional one as we say goodbye to families, who in some cases have been at the Pre-school Centre for many years. We have been honoured to have been part of your child’s journey and to see each child’s personality and individuality develop and grow. Please do remember to call and see us in the future it is always lovely to have visits from our Alumni. 

In March 2024 we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary of moving into this building and are planning a big party – keep an out for further information via our website, Twitter feed and Instagram. 

Welcome Back

We would like to welcome back from maternity leave Tasha, who will be working in Nursery 2 and Helen who will be working in Crèche 1. 

New Team Member

Welcome to Early Years Practitioner Holly who has joined us recently
and is working in Crèche 2.

Congratulations 

We are delighted to share the news that Vickie and her partner Dave welcomed their baby son Joshua Michael.

Baby Room

The focus in the Baby Room over the last few weeks has been introducing the babies to their new rooms and new key people, they’ve settled well into the Crèches. It’s been lovely to see how they have adapted to new routines, quickly picking up the cues of the pattern of the day, such as recognising singing time before lunch each day. They are definitely ready for new adventures in the autumn term!   

We also recently enjoyed a picnic snack time in the forest, which the babies loved, they were able to explore the outdoors from a new perspective and they enjoyed watching the wildlife.

Crèche 1

In Crèche 1 we have been focusing on communication and language. We have visited the library and the children enjoyed the new surroundings and being able to explore printed materials independently. The children sat and listened to a short story and engaged with this by pointing to the pictures and turning the pages. Following on from the library visit, we have implemented a wider range of books, for example books with flaps, sensory books, and musical books.   

 We have also been developing communication by using our nursery rhyme stones before each mealtime. The children choose their favourite stone to indicate which nursery rhyme they would like to have. 

Story stones are cheap and easy to make, even if you aren’t very artistic you can just cut out images and paint over them with PVA glue. Click on the link below to find some useful resources. 

We will be sad to see some of our children transition over to nursery, but they are ready for the new experiences and challenges. We have enjoyed welcoming the babies into our room and are looking forward to meeting the new families who will be joining us.

Crèche 2

Crèche 2 have enjoyed mark making using various equipment and resources. Natural resources such as shells, pinecones, sticks and pebbles can all be used to make marks. Why not collect things from the garden or when out on walks and try this at home?  

The children are fully engaged in these activities expressing their own ideas and using their imaginations to create marks, using both gross and fine motor skills. 

Large mark making activities promote hand eye co-ordination and the motor skill development that is an essential pre-cursor to handwriting.

Nursery 1

To celebrate International Mud Day, we had a variety of activities all of which involved mud! The children made mud potions, using mud, sand and a variety of other things using their imaginations and coming up with their own creative ideas. We also had a mud slide, which we all had a go on.   

To support number recognition, we made a number target to throw mud balls at in the forest. As well as being great fun it also helped to develop our co-ordination and balance. We used the barefoot walk in the forest to explore the mud, water and other tactile textures on our bare feet. 

Over the next weeks we will be exploring the forest and garden, enjoying outdoor picnics and going on nature walks.   

Some of the children will be transitioning to the Pre-school rooms and we are having lots of visits to help them further develop their confidence within their new rooms and becoming familiar with their new key people.

Nursery 2

Over the past few weeks in Nursery 2 we have been enjoying lots of music and movement activities. We have been doing some sticky kid’s activities which have included lots of different movements and balances. We have been developing our listening skills and confidence when following the instructions in the music. 

 We have enjoyed being able to complete these activities outside, being able to move freely and using big bold movements. When we have followed the same songs inside, we have been looking at our spatial awareness and trying not to bump into each other. The children have loved sharing the experiences with their friends and there has been lots of giggling and fun times.  

 As we continue with these activities, we are going to look at how we feel when we are active and how we feel afterwards. Observing the effects of exercise on our bodies. 

Pre-school 1

It is approaching the end of the children’s time in Pre-school 1 and a new adventure awaits them. We are preparing them for this by role playing school environments, routines and talking about their settling sessions at school. 

Several schools in the area have been hosting teddy bears picnics and as part of the transition process, we thought it would be a good idea to host our own picnic in the garden. The children made a shopping list of food for the picnic, found a teddy bear each and we set off to the shops. On our walk we crossed roads, talking about road safety, the recycling bins, builders and eventually reached the Spar. The children found bread, jam and paid for them before heading back the way we came.  

Back at Pre-school the children made their own sandwiches and sat with their bears to enjoy their picnic.

Pre-school 2

Over the past few weeks our focus in Pre-school 2 has been to help improve our listening skills and learning about our emotions and what techniques can help us, this is where the myHappymind programme comes in with happy breathing – which has been a big hit with the children doing finger breathing and rainbow breathing.  

We have been doing small group time, playing animal lotto games and taking turns. Caroline took the children outside too see what sounds they could hear and by holding onto stones they were able to focus their attention to what they could hear in their surroundings. Each child got to talk about what they could hear – as you can imagine being right next to the train line there were plenty of trains heard.  

 Next term our focus will be the myHappymind programme as we dive more into learning about our brains and how they work with the help of some stories and activities along the way. 

To see what the children are learning just go to myHappymind Parent Resources and enter your name, email, and authentication code. Your authentication code is mhm057. We really encourage you to make use of this free content which will enable you to support your child in getting the best out of the curriculum.

If you have any technical questions about accessing the resources, please contact hello@myHappymind.org  

Pre-school 3

Pre-school 3 have been exploring outdoor activities which naturally help them develop essential motor skills like co-ordination, agility, balance, and dexterity. Pre-school 3 were encouraged to explore outdoor environments which put their abilities to the test and constantly develop new skills through trial and error. Running, skipping, jumping, and climbing all help their bodies grow stronger muscles, and build up their endurance. 

When they play outdoors, children have fun and benefit from:

Running and chasing which can develop good
physical fitness, agility and stamina
Jumping and running which can develop bone density,
large muscle groups and stability 
Climbing which can develop co-ordination, balance and strength 
Time away from busy routines and timetables 
Freedom to shout, make noise and let off steam

Playing outside offers children a chance to explore and process feelings in a situation that they can control. The increased space lends itself well to group activities providing opportunities to practice empathy and develop an understanding of others. Outside is the perfect place for children to make friends, helping develop their social and emotional skills, by engaging in group activities and problem-solving.  

Finally, we wish all our school leavers every success as they leave us. It has been a pleasure to be part of your Pre-school journey. 

Upcoming Events

We have recently undertaken a review of our curriculum and after extensive research made the decision to begin using Development Matters from September 2023. More information will be released to parents soon.

Reminders

Bookings for pre-school children leaving to go to primary school will end Friday 25th August 2023.

Staff Training Day

Please note the Pre-school Centre will be closed on Friday 8th September due to a staff training day.

Pre-School Website and Newsfeed

We would like to remind parents that you can access regularly updated information from our website and on our Twitter feed.

Main Door Access

Can we please ask ALL parents to ensure that when accessing the Pre-school Centre they use their access cards/fobs. We are experiencing a high volume of disruption due to the doorbell being used so frequently. 

If any parents have either lost their door access card/fob please ensure that you inform the office so that a replacement can be purchased for £5.00.

Any library cards that have been replaced will need to be activated on our system.

Can we please remind parents that when their child leaves the Centre that your door card/fob is returned to the office on the last day of attendance.

Contact details

Please remember to provide us with any new contact details, you can do this via the ParentZone app or by calling/advising the office.