Hi All

I hope you are well and you are enjoying the beginning of the Easter Break. We have had a busy few weeks leading up the half term so apologies for only sending an update now.

Our songs from the last few weeks of term were:

– Mary Mary Quite Contrary
– I’m a Little Bean
– Spring is Here

Our poems from the last few weeks were:

– Hungry Birdies

I have built a little nest,
look inside, look inside.
Hungry birdies with their beaks,
open wide, open wide.
And the little birdies grow,
day by day by day.
‘Till they spread their wings and fly,
far away, far away.

– Mrs Blackbird

Here’s a nest for Mrs Bluebird.
Here’s a hive for Mr Bee.
Here’s a hole for Bunny Rabbit,
And here’s a little house for me.

– Furry Furry Squirrel

Furry, furry squirrel,
Hurry, hurry, hop.
Scurry up the tree trunk,
To the very top.
When you reach the branches,
Hurry, turn around.
Furry, furry squirrel,
Scurry to the ground.

These songs and poems are linked with our planning around growth and Spring, we encourage all the children to join in with words and actions. By introducing children to new vocabulary and supporting them to explore the meaning of new words is key to their development.

Learning

Maths – We have been exploring numerals and encouraging the children to represent different quantities along with supporting the children to subitise (recognising the pattern of number) without having to count. Repetition is key, the more they see and do this the more it will be stored in their long term memory.

Phonics – We have been supporting the children’s awareness of rhythm and rhyme. We have done this by sharing songs, stories, playing musical instruments and having bespoke activities at group time and revisiting within provision.

Enhancements – By providing enhancements inside and outside in a rich environment supports the children’s learning in all areas of their development, these are often linked to the children’s interests, celebrations and our planning intentions. This term the children have particularly enjoyed large scale mark making, cafe role play, growing cress, planting flowers, representing and matching numbers, being creative with clay and nature, celebrating Holi, experimenting with and creating different textures, developing their fine and gross motor skills, making car washes, experimenting, going on bug hunts, making collages using a range of media, playing games, building stages, performing, acting out songs / stories, creating and completing obstacles.

NSPCC Pants (The Underwear Rule) – Now and again throughout the term we do talk ‘PANTS’ to help children understand that their body belongs to them, and they should tell a safe adult they trust if anything makes them feel upset or worried. By discussing such topics helps children to understand that they have a right to say no and if they need to speak out about something someone will listen. Here is the link to the NSPCC online page which gives you tips and advice to help keep your children safe. The children do enjoy joining in with the ‘Pantosaurus’ video / song which leads to discussions around ‘PANTS’ rules – https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule/ 

Reminders / Information

* We are aware we still have a few outstanding parental consultations from the end of last term, we will contact you to arrange these at the beginning of next term.

* In the children’s cloakroom we have a whiteboard and we would like to ask you to add any recent interests your child has, this will help us to tap into these and use in our planning and provision.

*Staffing update – We are delighted Lauren Hester who has been working in Childcare / Pre-School will be joining us for the Summer term. Lauren is on a placement year from university, where she is studying psychology.

*Yellow Group – Due to new children starting and therefore numbers increasing, we will be opening the outdoor classroom for yellow group to start their day. So, when you come in please find your child’s new peg which will be as you come through the gate and head up to the outdoor classroom where Marlena and another member of staff will welcome you. Once they have had group time and snack all doors will be open and they can choose where they would like to play. At the end of the day yellow group will be collected from the main classroom as they are now.

* If your child is due to start Primary School in September, we will be asking you to let us know which school they have been allocated as we work with all schools to support a successful transition to school. I believe you will get an email this week to confirm places, so please look out for this.

* Inset day – Tuesday 22nd of April
* Home visit day on the 23rd of April
* First day of term – Thursday the 24th of April.

I hope you all have a great Easter break and we look forward to seeing you all for term 5 😊

Kind regards

Zoe