Dear Parents,
All the children in Nursery looked quite spectacular on Friday when we all celebrated World Book Day. Many thanks for all of your hard work in making the children look as delightful as they did. You really helped to bring World Book Day to life! I am sure you agree that all the staff looked fantastic as well!
Foals 1
We have had lots of new babies join us this month in Foals 1. They have been settling in well and have enjoyed activities such as painting, playing with instruments, the ball pool and lots of stories.
Foals 2
We have been very busy exploring with our sensory play and mark making. The children really enjoyed the different experience of cling film painting; using an upside down table and some kitchen cling film wrapped around the legs. They were able to move more freely around the table and paint liberally.
We saw some truly fabulous outfits for World Book Day! At our circle time, we enjoyed reading some of the books the children had brought in from home.
Something that the children have really focused a lot of attention on is the heuristic play. We provide a wide range of natural and everyday objects for the children to explore and investigate freely. Sometimes, the children stack objects, or squeeze them or put smaller items inside larger ones. This is a very valuable activity to observe as you really see how the child explores and plays when the ‘toys’ are open-ended rather than having a set purpose.
Yearlings
The Yearlings children have been busy exploring different types of sensory play, including playing with shaving foam, ‘puffy’ painting and messy play with animal toys. We also went to to the “Baby Tot Rock” group at the Newmarket Library and the children thoroughly enjoyed singing and listening to the stories.
Ponies 1
Ponies 1 have been very busy this past month! We have been having lots of planning meetings to help the children share their thoughts and ideas on what direction they want their role play area to follow. We have previously had a ‘Doctors’ Surgery’ but have now decided on a ‘pirate ship and crocodile explorers’ area. We have been working hard creating our new area and taking part in various pirate and crocodile themed activities!
Ponies 2
Ponies 2 have been so very busy recently with lots of new discoveries and learning happening every day. After reading a story about different periods in history, some of the children were very interested in the Vikings and decided to create their own long boats. Using the whiteboard to look at pictures of these boats, the children used junk modelling and cardboard to create their boats, including sails and dragon heads.
With our very brief but none the less exciting morning of snow, we enjoyed being able to play outside and tried to catch the flakes on our tongues.
There has been a lot of collaborative small world and construction taking place at the moment, with the children building zoos. The children have made use of the the animals, building blocks, cars, fences and floor mats to create different enclosures, structures and even car parks.
In the Focus Area, many of the children have been taking the opportunity to carry out individual activities or work one-on-one with a teacher. Some of the activities accessed have included: going on a colour hunt, investigating and ordering by size a Russian doll, identifying numerals and counting out the corresponding quantity of objects, and identifying objects by their initial sounds.
There has been an amazing explosion in wanting to write at the moment. Using the word cards on the word wall the children have been copying the names of their favourite vehicles. The determination and focus demonstrated by the children has been absolutely amazing. This interest and drive has all come from the children themselves.
Parents’ Association Events
We are delighted to invite you to two forthcoming, very popular, events held by our Parents’ Association:
Bingo Night
We are very much looking forward to the annual bingo night on Friday 13th March in the Performing Arts Centre. A family ticket is £10 and includes four cards (please see below for details). Last year’s bingo night was a resounding success and thoroughly enjoyed by all.
The Summer Party
This year’s Party will be held at the Bedford Lodge Hotel on Saturday 16th May. The Parents’ Association have booked a highly recommended live band to perform and it promises to be a most enjoyable evening. I look forward to seeing you there!
Coronavirus
We continue to carefully monitor the current situation and will follow all Government advice closely. In the meantime, both staff and children are continuing to be extra-vigilant with regards to hand-washing and personal hygiene.
Term Dates
If your child attends the Nursery on a term-time only basis, please note that our term ends on Friday 27th March and we will return for the Summer Term on Monday 20th April. If you would like your child to attend additional sessions during the school holidays, please contact Lucie Melen or Chloe Franklin to check our availability. Thank you.
With my best wishes,
Lynda Brereton