Dear Parents,
Following last night’s announcement by our Prime Minister regarding a second lockdown, please be assured that Fairstead House Nursery and School will remain open until instructed otherwise. As before, we continue to strictly adhere to Government guidelines to ensure the safety of your children and our staff. Please may I take this opportunity to remind you not to send your child into school if they are displaying any Covid-19 symptoms. Should a child in the Nursery be found to have a temperature or exhibit any of the Covid-19 symptoms, our Nursery staff are obliged to contact you to collect your child immediately. We thank you for your understanding and realisation that our staff are following strict Government guidelines.
On a light note, I am sure that, like me, you have been delighted to see all the activity in the playground this past week. The new Nursery car park will be open for use from tomorrow. Many thanks for your patience and understanding whilst we completed these works. The new surface will make drop-off and pick-up a lot more pleasant and safer for all.
Foals 1
The babies had fun creating some Autumn pictures this week. We found leaves in the garden and decided to use them as part of our pictures. We spoke about the different colours and the sounds the leaves make. We also decided to use dinosaurs and various animals to ‘stomp’ through the paint to create different marks.
Foals 2
Children in Foals 2 have been exploring lots of sensory play. They have enjoyed lots of messy play with foam and played with pumpkins. The children investigated the inside of the pumpkin and then decorated the pumpkin with paint and sequins!
Yearlings
The Yearlings children have been busy with autumnal crafts. They have been doing pumpkin stamping and water play with spooky coloured and sparkly water! In the garden, the children have also found that the pots and pans make great noises when played with different utensils!
The children have been enjoying lots of different Halloween themed sensory play. The children have especially enjoyed scooping and filling with colourful glittery water. We have also been carving some pumpkins together; the children were first unsure of the feel of the flesh and seeds of the pumpkin but soon got stuck into exploring the different textures and loved seeing the end result of the carved pumpkin.
Ponies 1
Ponies 1 have been busy welcoming new friends into the classroom over these past few weeks. We have seen great examples of friendships being formed! We have also enjoyed doing different Halloween crafts and working on building super models!
Ponies 2
Ponies 2 have continued to enjoy our ‘Space’ topic. We have been learning how craters are made, how the sun creates shadows, and, in this picture, we had just finished the Montessori Sun game, where we learn about how important the sun is for life on Earth.
We have freshened up our back garden by planting some winter pansies and some purple sprouting broccoli. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the broccoli grows so we can have some for lunch!
With the school children on their half term break, we have been enjoying the chance to have some time in the bark area on the large climbing frame, exploring the summerhouse and climbing in and around the trees.
In the run up to Halloween, we have been exploring lots of pumpkin based activities. The children have been working on their finger/ hand strength and hand-eye coordination by pushing pins, hammering tees and cutting up pumpkins. We have been voting to choose our favourite pumpkin face design and the children helped to removed the flesh and seeds in preparation for the face to be carved. We even tried posing for a spooky picture with the pumpkin with scary results!
With my best wishes,
Lynda Brereton