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Spring News Letter Welcome to our Spring Newsletter. It has been a very busy term for us so far which is really good. All of the rooms have been busy with all sorts of activities including Chinese New Year crafts, flower paintings and model making. Reverend Gary visited the older children in February to play his guitar and sing songs with the children which they love to join in with. We look forward to his visit next month. We have also been dressing up as our favourite book characters, for World Book Day! It was Shrove Tuesday this week and the children enjoyed homemade pancakes and fruit puree for dessert after their lunch. They were so delicious that there were none left for the staff. There is lots going on at Nursery in the next couple of weeks with Easter and spring activities happening. The children are going to be planting bulbs and seeds in the garden and looking for signs of new life.
Robins Robins have been scientists this term. A few weeks ago they made lava lamps using oil, alka seltzer and food colouring and last week the children were cake making, learning about the ingredients they need to make cakes rise which also involved eating cakes. The children are now learning about transport and are going to be making their own model cars as well as lots of other transport crafts and games. Robins will no longer be sending home daily sheets, they will now be sending home Day Diaries which parents will take home at the end of the day and bring back the following morning. In the next couple of weeks, we are going to be changing the menu’s slightly. The lunches that aren’t as popular will be dropped and replaced with some new, tastier alternatives. Here is what is happening in each room: Kingfishers In Kingfishers room the children have been learning about shapes and colours this term. They made an amazing Wheels on the Bus display as well as learning the song. In the next couple of weeks, the staff and children are going to be making a sensory garden with plants and mirrors which we can look forward to enjoying in the summer. The children are also going to be learning about Easter and making a spring display board. Nuthatches This term Nuthatches have been celebrating Chinese New Year by making Chinese lanterns and exploring noodles in messy play. They have also been making a blossom tree display as well as beautiful daffodil and snow drop paintings. They have enjoyed lots of messy fun but our particular favourite was the sensory play with lard and seeds when they made bird feeders. There are going to be lots of spring and Easter activities happening in Nuthatches in the next month. They are also going to be exploring bluebells and creating their own paintings.
Forest School Our Forest School started last week on Tuesday and Thursday. The children had a fantastic time, they fed the animals on the farm, whittled wands and went out exploring in the forest and playing on a rope swing they found. Forest School has so many benefits, it gives children the chance to build confidence and skills for independence as well as the health benefits of being physically active for longer. There has been so much interest in the Forest School sessions that we are going to be opening up Wednesday as an additional day in the next couple of weeks. These sessions are open between the hours of 8.00am-6.00pm (though these hours are slightly flexible) and will run all year round so would suit children that are using stretched funding. Term-time only children that are not using all their funded hours could put these hours towards attending Forest School as well as using the hours from the 5 bank holidays that are coming up shortly. Woodpeckers The Woodpeckers got inventive when their theme was ‘recycling’ and made lots of models. The staff would like to thank everyone that brought in ‘recycling’ for the children to use for model making, they don’t need any more for a while. During Chinese New Year the children also made a huge Chinese dragon which the children were able to get inside and play with. It is now hanging from the ceiling in Woodpeckers room. More recently the children have had a pancake theme which they have used for maths and literacy activities. In the next couple of weeks, they are going to be reading and learning about The Gruffalo story as well as planting of spring bulbs and vegetable seeds. They will also be looking at the story of Easter.
Please can we remind parents to send children with waterproof trousers, coats, wellies and warm clothing (if appropriate) as well as a set of spare clothes. Don’t forget any inhalers or other medicines that your child may need as they will not be able to access anything from Fordingbridge. If you have any questions or are interested in attending, please email us for more information. For the children who are unable to attend these sessions Woodpeckers will still be going out regularly for woodland walks so they won’t be missing out. Baby Group The move to Monday morning for our FREE baby group has been a huge success with lots of new babies attending each week. For any of you with babies it’s a chance to chat to other parents over a hot drink and homemade biscuits. The group runs every Monday between 9.30 and 11am and is hosted by Emma, our baby Room Leader who is also the Deputy Manager. Spring Reshuffle Thank you to everyone that filled in the feedback forms that we sent out recently. Following the suggestions, we have decided that a ‘spring clean’ of our age bands is required, therefore we are going to have a slight restructure of our rooms. This will ensure we are more in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage age groups which, we feel, will developmentally benefit the children at nursery. The ages of Nuthatches will be slightly extended from 3-20 months, Kingfishers will be aged between 18-32 months, Robins from 30-44 months and Woodpeckers will now be from 40-60 months. These ages are a rough guide and will be dependent on each individual child. All of the rooms will be working together more closely which will aid transitions between rooms and there will also be more free-flow between the rooms, both inside and outside. The children will be undertaking age appropriate activities within their rooms. To aid this move we are also re-shuffling the staff so the children will see familiar friendly faces. If you have any questions please speak to a member of staff. Tapestry We use the online learning journal Tapestry for recording children’s observations and tracking progress. It’s also a really good tool for parents to see what their children have been doing at nursery each day. In addition to this, it is used for forging home links too! Please add any home news that you have, this helps your child’s key worker see how they are progressing at home and enables them to talk to your child about what is happening at home.
StaffingWe are really happy to have welcomed two new staff members recently when Debbie and Lynsey joined the Woodpeckers team. Lynsey is a level 3 practitioner who has previously worked in primary schools and Debbie is a level 3 practitioner who has considerable experience working in pre-schools and is currently studying for a degree in childcare. Woodpeckers are also having a new room leader, Molly will be joining us shortly and we would like to welcome her to our team. We would like to say thank you to Charlie who took on the role temporarily. The staff have been busy improving their practice with various training courses this term. This training has consisted of Exemplary Practice with babies, First Aid refresher courses, Responding Sensitively to biting and Supporting 0-2’s in the EYFS. • Messages • Please send your child to nursery with wellies, coat and waterproofs as they do go outside every day. • Please label any clothing that your child might remove during the day. • Please can you return any nursery clothes that you have at home, our spares supply is very low. • We offer a £100 bonus to anyone who introduces a new child to nursery. • Please can you pick up promptly at the end of your child’s session time and can we ask that you do not drop your child off earlier than the session start time as we staff the nursery around booking times. We will be speaking to repeat offenders. • Changing sessions to those booked will incur a £5.00 charge to cover our admin costs. Dates for your diary 15th March Red Nose Day – Please come wearing your craziest red clothing and bring a small donation. Wackiest outfit wins a prize. W/C 1st April Easter Celebration week: including Easter egg hunt, Easter bonnet competition and possibly a visit from the Easter bunny. 27th April Open morning for any prospective children and their families to visit us and see what we do. 29th April Woodpeckers and Robins parents evening. 13th May Nuthatches and Kingfishers parents evening. Nearer the time you will be asked to book a 10 minute time slot for parents evening. 6th July Summer Party. W/C 15th July Leavers Party (day to be confirmed).
