Dear Parents
As incredible as it may seem with October having only just started, our thoughts in the Nursery have begun to turn to Christmas. I am delighted to let you know that this year we will have two Nursery Nativity plays. These will be held in the Performing Arts Centre at 3.00pm on Monday 2nd December and Tuesday 3rd December. On Monday 2nd December, children from Foals 1, Ponies 1 and Ponies 2 will take part and children from Foals 2, Yearlings and Ponies 2 will perform on Tuesday 3rd December. Each family will be allocated two tickets for their child’s performance. More details will follow!
Foals 1
This month in Foals 1, we have been encouraging independence during our meal times. The babies have been enjoying practising using a spoon and a fork. They have also been using their hands and mouth to explore the different senses.
Foals 2
In celebration of the European Day of Languages this week, and in particular of the many languages spoken by our families, Foals 2 made pictures in the colours of their national flags. We discovered that red, white, and blue were used in a lot of our flags! We explored a new style of painting with rubber bands which was great for developing our ‘pincer grip’ skills.
Yearlings
The Yearlings have been working on their maths skills and language skills whilst playing in the pasta tray. We have counted scoops, spoonfuls and individual pieces of pasta, compared bowls by size and used the language of more than and less than. So many learning opportunities; in addition to the usual scooping and pouring of course!
Ponies 1
Ponies 1 have been exploring ‘Pirates’ as our new role play theme this month, inspired by ‘Talk like a Pirate Day’. We have been dressing up in pirate themed outfits, sharing the pirate ship and pirate small world resources and working together to create our wonderful new ‘Pirate’ board. The children created maps with ‘X marks the spot’ and took part in other mark making activities such as decorating fish for the sea and making a giant Pirate!
Ponies 2
After settling into the new school year very well, Ponies 2 have been busy exploring the new layout of the classroom. We are in the process of developing a permanent home corner in the classroom, and the children are already enjoying cooking delicious meals in the new kitchen. As part of our topic, ‘All Around the World’ as well as talking about holidays, the children are beginning to learn about different habitats. In our sensory tray, the children are enjoying playing with the ocean animals in the blue rice. There is a lot of muscle strengthening happening at the playdough table, manipulating the dough into different shapes and using the cutters. Another firm favourite with the children is washing the windows, again we are strengthening our finger muscles when we use the spray bottle.
Footwear for Children in Foals 1 and 2
If you have a little one in either Foals 1 or 2 who is toddling, please could you ensure that your child has shoes to wear so that they may enjoy toddling outside!
Coats
As the rainy weather is now upon us, please could you ensure that your child brings a waterproof coat to Nursery each day? For children in Ponies 1 and 2, this must be a Fairstead House Nursery uniform green coat.
October Half-Term
If your child attends the Nursery on a term-time only basis, please note that our October half-term is for two weeks, from Monday 21st October to Friday 1st November. If you would like to book your child in for extra sessions during half-term then please contact either Mrs Lucie Melen or Mrs Chloe Franklin for our availability. Thank you.
Christmas Opening Hours
This year, please note that the Nursery will close at 6.00pm on Monday 23rd December and re-open on Thursday 2nd January. In future, however, I am delighted to announce that the Nursery will be open until 3.30pm on Christmas Eve.
With my best wishes,
Lynda Brereton