First Half Summer Term 2021

Dear Parents and Carers

Dear Parents and Carers,

The team and I would like to wish you all a very happy Easter and we hope the children enjoyed the surprise of the Easter Bunny and the egg hunt on Thursday 1st April.

A big thank you to our Easter Bunny, we appreciate your support!

The last day of term saw Caroline leave us to start a new adventure. We are very sad to see her go but wish her all the best for the future. She passes on her thanks for your kind gifts and well wishes.

Time to look forward to a new half term as we welcome 3 new children who will be joining us after the Easter break.

We also have a new team member, Mrs. Sonya Lane, who brings a wealth of experience. Look out for her Dojo welcome soon.

The new rainbow system to promote positive behaviour is now in place. The children are responding well to it and trying hard to reach the happy sun!

Can I draw your attention to the term dates and remind you that the pre-school will be shut for bank holidays and also polling day on Thursday 6th May.

Although COVID doesn't allow much face to face interaction, please know that I, or any team member, is always on the end of the phone (or email) to help and support you in any way we can.

With best wishes,

Georgina and the staff team

 

This term our theme is Spring.

Week 1- Flowers 

Week 2- Trees

Week 3- The Hungry Caterpillar

Week 4 -Life Cycles

Week 5- Weather

Week 6 -Baby animals

If your child would like to share with us something they have done at home please submit a photo and description on Dojo so we can share with the children at storytime.

19th April - return to pre-school

21st April - Jolly jam jars to be handed in (Parent rep activity)

3rd May - Bank Holiday - pre-school closed

6th May - Mayoral elections - pre-school closed

10th May - Deadline for fees and funding (Please note invoices will go out from the first week of term)

 

 

 

 

 

Please name all coats, bags, hats and personal belongings

We have an amazing garden which we use all year round, Please dress your children accordingly

Lunch boxes should be a healthy balanced meal and easy to open for your children. Please also remember we are a

nut-free/ no peanut butter preschool.

We will continue to use two queues and entrance and exits points A and B. The team now has a list of which side your child should be entering on and will ask you to join the back of the other queue if you are on the wrong side. This is to comply with social distancing and to keep adults and children safe.

Please can I remind you to wear a face covering and keep your distance when waiting at pre-school. This also means ensuring that your children stay with you whilst waiting in the line.

Hand gel and antibacterial spray will be available to use. Please ensure this is done before your child enters the setting.

Temperatures will still be taken at the door and enhanced room cleaning is in place.

COVID secure measures mean we need to keep the room well ventilated with windows open at all times. Please keep this in mind as the room is cooler than usual. Please ensure your child is dressed in layers.

If a member of your household is isolating it is the pre-school policy for the children to remain at home for the required time as well.

I also ask you to keep me informed of any tests within your bubble.

Thank you for helping us to keep children and staff as safe as possible.

Curriculum Theme – Spring

Personal, Social and Emotional

We will be welcoming 3 new children into the setting this term.

We will continue to promote positive behaviour with the support of the rainbow management tool; the children have responded well to its introduction.

We continue to use different resources to look at feeling and emotions to help the children to express themselves effectively.

During this term we  will be sending out a parental questionnaire asking for feedback about our setting. We aim to develop good partnerships with our children and their families making them feel valued and ensuring they are happy and confident about what the pre-school can offer.

As the weather improves we will be using more large equipment in the garden to allow the children to develop control and co-ordination. We will be practising throwing and catching as well as hopping and skipping.

There will be opportunities to use tools such as scissors one handed as well as resources available that encourage a pincer grip.

We continue to promote independence by encouraging the children to put their coats on by themselves and to support the children as they learn to wash and dry their hands thoroughly.

At snack time we will be talking about healthy eating

As we look at books, we will be encouraging the children to predict what might happen next in the story as well as seeing if they can retell a familiar tale using character pieces.

There will be a focus on 'The Hungry Caterpillar' in line with our theme in week 3.

We will continue to promote an awareness of phonics using Barney Bear during story time.

We continue to encourage the children to mark make as a prelude to writing their names.

We continue to offer different role play scenarios e.g. a garden centre role play and to 'mix and match' small world toys to vary play opportunities during the term.

We will be looking at texture and pattern when making butterfly pictures, creating blossom trees with paint and making collages from flower pieces.

The children will have the opportunity to dance to music from different cultures and experiment with instruments. There will be sensory toys available too

We continue to provide a language rich environment where we encourage good listening skills and turn taking in conversation.

We will be encouraging the children to introduce a narrative into their imaginative play and to join in with repeated phrases when listening to stories.

We will be introducing new vocabulary as we look at life cycles, baby animals and how plants grow.

During this term we will be looking at animal families and at the life cycles of plants, butterflies and other insects.

We will be watching caterpillars as they grow into butterflies.

The children will be planting in the garden and looking at what makes a plant grow.

During week 5 we will be looking at the changing seasons and the weather in Springtime.

The children will have the opportunity to use programmable and interactive toys throughout the term.

During the term we will be looking for shapes in the environment using our shape finders. The children will be able to make pictures with tessellating shapes (shapes that fit together in close proximity) and use 3D construction to build models.

We will continue to promote number recognition and opportunities to count with 1:1 correspondence.

Weighing scales, stop watches and clocks will be available to extend learning.

 

  • Encourage your child to mark make in shaving foam or on an outside wall with a wet paintbrush
  • Look for numbers, shapes and letters in the environment when you are out walking
  • Grow some seeds on a window sill so the children can be responsible for watering and caring for them
  • Explore a garden/park looking for insects such as caterpillars