Dear Parents
Exciting plans are afoot in the Nursery for the creation of their very own garden! Designs are being drawn up and I look forward to being able to share these with you shortly. In the garden, there will be opportunities for all Nursery children to plant, tend and harvest fruit and vegetables, and to grow lovely flowers. Chef is particularly looking forward to being able to work with the children and their garden produce!
Foals 1
The babies in Foals 1 have enjoyed lots of different activities this month including kitchen role play, water tray and some baby yoga!
The babies enjoyed role play, preparing and cooking food, and drinking from a cup. They also practised washing the cars using water and cloths, splashing as they did so. The babies loved our baby yoga session. They moved and stretched to songs such as ‘Fly Baby’, ‘Clap Your Feet’ and ‘Zoom, Zoom, Zoom’.
Foals 2
We have been very busy in January in Foals 2.
On a quiet Thursday afternoon, we went over to Newmarket library to enjoy a session of “Baby Tot Rock”. The children really enjoyed themselves dancing, singing, playing with toys and listening to a lovely story. We even saw some of our Nursery friends at the class with their mummies.
They have also been very busy using their senses to explore some activities; they had lots of messy play with ‘gloop’, foam, and sponge painting. They had some fun water play in the large sensory tray, and, at snack time, even tried some grapefruit. Some of the children enjoyed it, others were not so keen!
Yearlings
The children have been busy with our ‘transport’ topic, rolling cars down the ramp and playing with playdough using vehicle cutters, as well as lots of different transport mark making opportunities and puzzles.
Ponies 1
Ponies 1 have been very busy throughout January! We were sorry to say goodbye to Mrs Houchen but the Room Leader, Miss Samantha Hancock, and her team are looking forward to lots of new adventures and activities. In one particularly popular activity, Ponies 1 explored different ways of using a variety of tools to free toys trapped in ice.
Ponies 2
Ponies 2 really embraced the Chinese New Year celebrations, from learning about it in Mandarin lessons, using chopsticks at a Chinese banquet, to making their own Chinese New Year parties in the role play area. The children also had the opportunity to mark make and wrote Mandarin characters on Chinese calligraphy paper. They have also been busy acting out the story of the Great Race, determining the order the animals come in the Chinese calendar.
Ponies 2 have been exploring lots of shape activities to learn more about their properties and how we have lots of shapes within our environment. The children have been sorting pictures of different shapes, making shapes using craft sticks, and matching differently shaped penguins into pairs.
A firm favourite with the children is the opportunity to play with sensory materials; recently we have been enjoying exploring the shaving foam. This is a perfect time to get a little messy while mark making to write their names, draw pictures and create shapes.
Meeting with your Child’s Nursery Staff
Nursery staff are always happy to talk about your child and pass on information at the start or end of the day. However, we appreciate that drop off and collection times can be busy and distracted times for both you and us! If you would like a more in depth discussion regarding any aspect of Nursery life, your child’s development or any other matter (such as anything from home that may affect your child that you would like to make us aware of), please feel free to make an appointment to speak with your child’s Key Person or Room Leader in more detail.
World Book Day
This year, we will be celebrating World Book Day on Friday 6th March. All children will be invited to come into Nursery dressed as a character from a favourite book. Ideally, we would prefer a non-Disney or superhero costume!
And Goodbye!
Last week, we said a fond farewell to Mrs Paula Houchen, who has worked in our Nursery for thirteen years. She has given innumerable children a wonderful start to their school life. We all wish her the very best for the new adventures that lie ahead!
With best wishes,
Lynda Brereton