Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to our weekly blog, we aim to send out an update of events, developments, news and activities throughout each month; this will replace our existing weekly email.

We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We will be closed from Tuesday 25^th December and re-open on Wednesday 02^nd January 2013. We would also like to thank those attending Christmas Eve in advance for early pickups.

Snails & Caterpillars

The children will continue to look at Winter, they will be feet painting to make winter pictures, exploring ice in the garden and feeling and exploring baby rice.

Days off    Jamie – Friday    Sarah – Wednesday   Jenni – Thursday

Ladybirds

The children will centre their activities around music and movement, they will be reading the animal bop book, making music with instruments and singing songs, painting and colouring in templates of different musical instruments, moving and dancing to different types of music and running ball games i the garden.

Days off  Abi – Thursday  Julie – Thursday

Bumblebees & Butterflies

The children will be looking at seasons, creating handprint flowers, duplo painting to represent snow, cutting snowflakes, creating a season display, reading books about seasons, role play being at the beach pretend to apply suncream ad splashing in water.

Days off – Krissi – thursday   Claire – Friday

Jo is on Annual leave all week

 The Butterflies will be joining with the Bumblebees whilst their room is redecorated, we have decided to carry out the redecoration this week as term does not start until Monday 7^th January so both rooms will be very quiet. We thank you in advance for your understanding and hope you all like the new look of our Preschool room!

Please may we remind parents to replenish their children’s nappies and wipes on a regular basis, we are finding a lot of children without either nappies or wipes for weeks at a time. Please see your child’s communication book or room door for a reminder when they need replenishing.

We unfortunately say goodbye to Sarah from Snails who leaves us on the 05^th January.

Jenni will take over from Sarah in the Snails from 02^nd January. Please see Krissi if Jenni is your childs keyworker.

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to our weekly blog, we aim to send out an update of events, developments, news and activities throughout each month; this will replace our existing weekly email.

It has come to that time of year where the weather is changing and it is starting to get a bit chilly, please can you make sure your children are well equipped with warm clothes, a coat, hat, gloves and some wellies.   

Snails & Caterpillars

The children will continue to look at Winter and Christmas, they will be Making Christmas Angels, Winter pictures for our display, exploring leaves in the garden and exploring baby rice.

Days off    Abi – Wednesday and Thursday    Jamie – Wednesday and Friday    Sarah – Friday

Ladybirds

The children will continue to centre their activities on winter they will be  Role-playing with bears in the role play area using baby clothes to dress up, reading The Snow Bear book, Coloured Ice cube pay in the garden, Christmas stamp pictures, making snow and ice pictures using blue tissue paper, role play with hats and scarves inside and outside.

Days off   Julie – Thursday and Friday    Ellen – Tuesday

Bumblebees

The children will be looking at Christmas, they will be singing Christmas songs, making paper snowflakes, putting on their own coats for the garden, looking at stories of Christmas around the world, colouring in Christmas trees, making presents for our tree using card and wrapping paper, reading the Nativity story, decorating biscuits and welly boot painting.

 Days off – Krissi – Mon and Wedneday    Jenni – Thursday

Tash is on annual leave Monday and Tuesday

Butterflies

The children will be looking at Christmas and room re-decoration, they will be constructing Father Christmas’s sleigh using blocks and blankets, making Christmas decorations to take home, making a Christmas scene with junk modelling, cooking Christmas shaped biscuits and cakes, singing Christmas carols/songs, using big paper draw a room plan for the butterflies what new toys we would like in the new year and set out our new room using small world toys.

  Days off – Jo – Tuesday     Claire – Monday and Thursday

The first week back after Christmas the Butterflies will be joining with the Bumblebees whilst their room is redecorated, we have decided to carry out the redecoration this week as term does not start until Monday 7^th January so both rooms will be very quiet. We thank you in advance for your understanding and hope you all like the new look of our Preschool room!

Please may we remind parents to replenish their children’s nappies and wipes on a regular basis, we are finding a lot of children without either nappies or wipes for weeks at a time. Please see your child’s communication book or room door for a reminder when they need replenishing.

December Dates for your Diary

Nursery Christmas lunch – Wednesday 19^th December (for those children which attend on Wednesdays)

We would like to remind all parents we will close on Christmas eve and not reopen until Wednesday 02^nd January 2013

We would also like to congratulate Abi who will be moving to the Ladybirds as room leader as of 02^nd January 2013. Interviews are taking place for Abi’s replacement so we will advise you of the new Caterpillar’s room leader in the next few weeks.

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to our weekly blog, we aim to send out an update of events, developments, news and activities throughout each month; this will replace our existing weekly email.

It has come to that time of year where the weather is changing and it is starting to get a bit chilly, please can you make sure your children are well equipped with warm clothes, a coat and some wellies.   

Snails & Caterpillars

The children will continue to look at Winter, they will be decorating boxes for Christmas presents, Making and decorating snowballs, exploring ice with our hands, singing Christmas and winter songs, feeling and exploring cold textures and making Christmas tree decorations.

Days off    Abi – Monday     Jamie – Friday   Sarah – Friday

Tarnia is on annual leave Monday

Ladybirds

The children will be centring their activities around Winter, colouring snowflakes, reading winter books, exploring snow and ice, making snowflakes out of stickle bricks and interstars, making winter pictures using paint and sparkles, and exploring the garden in their hats, coats, gloves and scarf’s and talking about the weather outside.

Julie is on annual leave all week

Bumblebees

The children will be looking at Christmas, they will be singing Christmas songs, making paper snowflakes, putting on their own coats for the garden, looking at stories of Christmas around the world, colouring in Christmas trees, making presents for our tree using card and wrapping paper, reading the Nativity story, decorating biscuits and welly boot painting.

 Days off – Krissi – Mon    Jenni – Thursday

Tash is on annual leave on Friday

Butterflies

The children will be looking at water and ice, they will be freezing natural objects into ice, reading our oceans book, setting up a seascape in the water tray, exploring the sea habitat, looking at ice and what happens when it melts, exploring the texture and what they can see, placing buckets of water outside to see what happens and continue to make our Christmas crafts,

 Days off – Jo – Tuesday, Claire – Thursday

Please may we remind parents to replenish their children’s nappies and wipes on a regular basis, we are finding a lot of children without either nappies or wipes for weeks at a time. Please see your child’s communication book or room door for a reminder when they need replenishing.

December Dates for your Diary

Friday 07^th December Pre School Nativity 10am

Monday 10^th December 2-3’s Xmas Party 3-5

Wednesday 12^th December 0-18 months Xmas Party 3-5

Thursday 13^th December 18-24’s Xmas Party 3-5

Friday 14^th December 3-5’s Xmas Party 3-5

We would like to remind all parents we will close on Christmas eve and not reopen until Wednesday 02^nd January 2013

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to our weekly blog, we aim to send out an update of events, developments, news and activities throughout each month; this will replace our existing weekly email.

It has come to that time of year where the weather is changing and it is starting to get a bit chilly, please can you make sure your children are well equipped with warm clothes, a coat and some wellies.   

Snails

The children will be looking at Winter and Textures, they will be decorating pine cones, painting snowmen pictures with white paint and white sand, having baby rice food play, and reading Christmas and Winter story books.

Days off – Sarah – Friday

Caterpillars

The children will continue to look at physical development, they will be painting outside with rollers, exploring cornflour with sponges, drawing chalk pictures on the pavement in the garden and encouraging kicking and throwing balls.

Days off    Abi – Monday     Jamie – Friday

Tarnia is on annual leave all week

Holly is on annual leave on Friday

Ladybirds

The children will be centring their activities on winter; they will be playing with ice cubes, wearing our hats and scarves in the garden, colouring snowflakes, making winter/snow pictures using shredded paper, decorating snowmen and reading wintertime books

 Days off – Julie – Wednesday

Julie is on annual leave Thursday and Friday

Bumblebees

The children will be watching how things grow, they will be watering and taking photos of watercress everyday as it grows, exploring the vegetable patch in the garden, reading stories about plants, colouring in pictures of how we planted our watercress playing the ‘Bean’ game in the garden, making a picture with art materials of watercress and counting how many pots we have planted.

 Days off – Krissi – Mon    Jenni – Thursday

Tash is on annual leave on Monday

Butterflies

The children will be beginning to look at Christmas, they will be practicing the nativity play, reading stories about Christmas, looking at snow pictures, cutting and sticking using pictures out of catalogues for our Father Christmas lists, making hama bead decorations which will encourage using fine motor skills. The children will also be making boxes to put our home made chocolates in for Christmas.

We would like to remind all parents that children starring in the preschool nativity next Friday will need to be here by 9:30am for start at 10am. We would also like to remind parents that we can only accommodate a maximum of 2 seats per child for the performance.

 Days off – Jo – Tuesday  Claire – Friday

Jo is on training Wednesday and Thursday

Please may we remind parents to replenish their children’s nappies and wipes on a regular basis, we are finding a lot of children without either nappies or wipes for weeks at a time. Please see your child’s communication book or room door for a reminder when they need replenishing.

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to our weekly blog, we aim to send out an update of events, developments, news and activities throughout each month; this will replace our existing weekly email.

It has come to that time of year where the weather is changing and it is starting to get a bit chilly, please can you make sure your children are well equipped with warm clothes, a coat and some wellies.   

Snails

The children will be looking at St Andrews day and Winter, they will be looking at winter clothing such as hats, scarfs, and gloves, decorating winter scenes and trees for a winter display, food play with baby rice, exploring snow like textures with animal figures, looking at winter stories and songs, exploring rain with water play and making snowflakes to decorate.

Days off – Sarah – Friday

Caterpillars

The children will be centring their activities around physical development, they will be stomping and jumping in puddles, using play dough, exploring movements to sounds and music, exploring paint with hands and tools, exploring wet and dry sand, soft play climbing and rolling. There will be Custards Music Group exploring music and movement to sounds with instruments, exploring tunnels inside and outside and painting with paint and cornflour.

 Days off  Jamie – Friday

Abi is on annual leave all week

Jamie is training on Monday

Ladybirds

The children will be centring their activities around cars and vehicles, they will be mark making using toy cars rolling the wheels in paint, reading Thomas the Tank Engine books, making a bus out of cardboard boxes, playing with different vehicles on the happyland mat and brio train track, colouring in cars, trains boats and aeroplane pictures, playing with vehicles in the garden and boats and water play.

 Days off – Julie – Friday

Julie is on training Tuesday morning

Bumblebees

The children will be looking at the story Handa’s Surprise, they will be making fruits with clay, moving like the animals in the Handa’s Surprise book (elephant antelope and birds), food tasting mangoes and pineapples, role play a safari ride using chairs in a line, counting small world animals, reading Handa’s Surprise using props and making animal masks.

 Days off – Krissi – Mon    Jenni – Thursday

Jenni is on training Wednesday

Butterflies

The children will be looking at people who help us, they will be junk modelling in the garden making an emergency vehicle, making the block area into a police station, discussing the different ways in which people help us, making the role play/carpet area into a hospital and taking turns in being the doctor, drawing emergency vehicles on the computer, small world hospital and fire station, drawing pictures of people who help us using different textures.  Could we please kindly ask for donations of pillow cases and tea towels for this year’s nativity.

Days off – Jo – Tuesday  Claire – Friday

Kay is on training Tuesday Morning

Lee is on training Monday and Thursday

Jo is on training Wednesday and Thursday

We would like to thank all parents for their patience and understanding with the 18-24’s room being out of action over the last 2 weeks. The decorating and flooring will all be finished over the weekend and we will be back to normal as of Monday

Please may we remind parents to replenish their children’s nappies and wipes on a regular basis, we are finding a lot of children without either nappies or wipes for weeks at a time. Please see your child’s communication book or room door for a reminder when they need replenishing.

We sadly have to say goodbye to two members of staff, Benita has moved on to pastures new and, with annual leave and time owing to her to take, will not be returning to Castle Nursery. Holly will be leaving us on Wednesday 12^th December for a new life in Blackpool.

We are currently interviewing for both positions and replacements will be announced shortly, for the interim period Jamie from Caterpillars will be supporting Julie, Elly and Amy in the Ladybirds.

If Benita is your child’s keyworker please see Michelle and for Holly’s key children please see Abi who will advise you of who will take over their key role.

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to our weekly blog, we aim to send out an update of events, developments, news and activities throughout each month; this will replace our existing weekly email.

It has come to that time of year where the weather is changing and it is starting to get a bit chilly, please can you make sure your children are well equipped with warm clothes, a coat and some wellies.   

We will be holding our annual cake sale for Children in Need on Friday 16^th November in our Preschool from 3pm, any parents wishing to donate cakes for the day please see Leanne or Claire.

We will also hold a dressing up day on Friday 16^th November, we ask everybody to wear spots just like Pudsey bear and donate £1.

Snails

The children will be looking at animals they will be exploring happy land animals in sand and water play, painting animal pictures using animal figures for foot prints, animal puppets exploring sounds that the animals make, naming animals from looking at pictures and animal puzzles.

Days off – Sarah – Friday

Alisha is on Annual leave on Monday

Caterpillars

The children will be centring their activities around language and communication they will be saying Ta and Thank You at meal times and when sharing toys. They will be reading stories exploring books and words, pressing buttons on ICT toys, moving their bodies to sounds they enjoy, role play with phones and handbags, making animal sounds with puppets and singing songs with actions.

 Days off  Abi – Monday

Jamie is on annual leave all week

Ladybirds

The children will be centring their activities around creative play, they will be playing with musical instruments at circle time, gluing with leaves, coloured ice play, soft play in the garden, coloured cornflour play, finger painting using different coloured paint and dancing and singing to action rhymes.

 Days off – Benita-Friday   Julie – Thursday

Julie is on training Tuesday

Benita is on training Thursday

Bumblebees

The children will be looking Diwali, they will be making lanterns, colouring in an indian picture using bright paint and sequins, dressing up with scarfs to create sari’s, trying different types of indian food such as naan bread and curry, using torches in the dark and reading stories about Diwali.

 Days off – Krissi – Mon    Jenni – Thursday

Nikki and Tash are on training Wednesday.

Butterflies

The children will be looking at cultural diversity/children in need. The children will be making a poster to invite parents in for tea on Friday, using our multi-cultural puppets to talk about different communities and cultures, making giant spots to decorate the nursery, icing biscuits to make them look spotty and using spots outside to make a treasure hunt counting how many spots we can find.  

Could we please kindly ask for donations of pillow cases and tea towels for this year’s nativity.

Days off – Claire – Thursday   

Jo is on annual leave all week

Kay is on training Tuesday

The 18-24’s will be re-decorated this Thursday and Friday the children will be split between the 12-18’s and the 2-3’s, please see the staff for where your children will be playing on the days.

We have introduced a new dietary form this week which adheres to the new menu, we have made them a lot simpler to try to minimise the number of dietary requirements catered for.

Please can we remind parents to replenish their children’s nappies and wipes on a regular basis, we are finding a lot of children without either nappies or wipes for weeks at a time. Please see your child’s communication book or room door for a reminder when they need replenishing.

.

Please find below a copy of the parental feedback from our recent survey

Parental survey feedback

Areas we excel in	Areas we need to improve upon	Comments/Actions identified
You feel that you are able to contact the nursery at any time to find out how your child is	Handovers at the end of the day are not very informative and at times inconsistent.	This is an issue across the board especially during busy periods.  The introduction of communication via email continually through the day should be parents are better informed.  Due to be introduced :- Mid 2013
Many of you are interested in training for parents on subjects such as 1st Aid.	You are unsure who your child’s keyworker is.	Letters introducing your child’s primary and secondary key persons shall be distributed in the early part of November 2012
You are confident i the open door policy of the setting.	You would like to see more events that are room based as opposed for the entire nursery to help parents get to know one another.	This is on the agenda to be discussed at the next staff meeting with implementation of events during 2013.
	You are unaware of the company policies and procedures and do not have the opportunity to contribute to them.	Each month a copy of a policy shall be attached for parental input.  Starting Jan 2013
	There is a lack of access of things going on in the community.	An area shall be designated with posters of events happening in the local community.  Parents shall be advised of where this shall be by Dec 2012
	There is a lack of information surrounding your child’s development.	This should improve with the introduction of the electronic developmental files, however further research shall take place, with immediate effect, regarding strategies to tackle this issue.  Should parents have any ideas, please see Michelle.

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to our weekly blog, we aim to send out an update of events, developments, news and activities throughout each month; this will replace our existing weekly email.

It has come to that time of year where the weather is changing and it is starting to get a bit chilly, please can you make sure your children are well equipped with warm clothes, a coat and some wellies.   

This week all the rooms will be centring their activities around Halloween, and will all be dressing up on Wednesday so please come along in your Halloween fancy dress.

Snails

 The children will be decorating Halloween biscuits, painting with root vegetables, messy food play with pumpkin and gluing and sticking on pumpkins

 Days off – Sarah - Monday

Caterpillars

The children will be decorating Halloween pumpkin pictures, icing biscuits, messy play exploring the texture of pumpkins, heuristic play with winter vegetables, making cat and pumpkin masks, roots vegetable painting, gluing and sticking on witches hats and orange and black table painting.

Days off  Abi – Friday

Holly and Jamie are on annual leave all week

Ladybirds

The children will be decorating cat, bat and spider shaped biscuits, making wands with rolled up paper, string painting on black paper with white paint to make a spider’s web, using orange playdough, sponge painting with moons and stars, and making wizard hats using paper and stars to decorate them.

Days off – Benita-Friday   Julie – Thursday

Bumblebees

The children will be decorating biscuits with orange and black icing, creating pumpkins with orange playdough, pumpkin printing, reading stories ‘Meg and Mog’ and ‘Room on the Broom’ and making witch/wizard hats with black card.

Days off – Krissi – Mon    Jeni – Thursday

Butterflies

The children will be making Halloween cards, carving pumpkins using knives and spoons, making pumpkin soup, jelly and cornflour play and making spider’s webs, spiders and pumpkins

Could we please kindly ask for donations of pillow cases and tea towels for this year’s nativity.

Days off – Claire – Thursday    Jo – Tuesday

Kay is on annual leave all week

Please can we remind all parents to complete, sign and return the new all about me forms.

Please can we remind parents to replenish their children’s nappies and wipes on a regular basis, we are finding a lot of children without either nappies or wipes for weeks at a time. Please see your child’s communication book or room door for a reminder when they need replenishing.

Unfortunately we must request that parents no longer bring in their own food, this is a legal requirement in accordance with the food standards agency. If you have any queries or questions please see Michelle or Leanne.

From Monday 29th October we will be introducing new parent communication and toilet training books for the children these will replace the blue books we are currently using. We also have a new shed for buggies which will be locked every evening so please make sure all buggies are taken home when you collect your child.

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to our weekly blog, we aim to send out an update of events, developments, news and activities throughout each month; this will replace our existing weekly email.

It has come to that time of year when the weather is changing and it is starting to get a bit chilly, please can you make sure your children are well equipped with warm clothes, a coat and some wellies.   

Snails

This week the snails will be looking at the garden and outdoor play; the children will be playing with water splashing with boats and fish in the garden, making marks using chalk as well as sound play, exploring the texture and feeling of wet and dry sand, heuristic play exploring natural materials outside and ball play exploring different textures and shapes and sizes of balls.

 Days off – Sarah Friday

Alisha is on annual leave all week

Caterpillars

This week the Caterpillars will be looking at science through art; the children will be finger painting exploring what their fingers can do, messy food play exploring textures and making marks, brush painting exploring different brushes and the marks they make as well as making and exploring playdough, exploring the texture of cornflour and having ice cube play and feet painting.

Days off Jamie – Friday Abi – Tuesday

Tarnia is training Monday

Ladybirds

This week the Ladybirds interests will be arts and crafts; the children will be table painting making prints from the paint on the table, doing sand pictures using coloured sand to make patterns, ice cube painting with magic books, potato printing with different shapes, playdough play with rolling pins and shape cutters, sticking with coloured glue and sequins and floor painting with bright colours .

Days off – Benita-Friday   Julie – Thursday

Benita is training Monday

Bumblebees

This week the Bumblebees will continue to look at healthy eating; the children will feel different textures of food including flour, beans and peas; they will make a craft fruit box, role play picnic,  play the fruit and vegetable matching game, do vegetable printing and have running games in the garden.

Days off – Krissi – Mon

Jenni is on annual leave all week,
Tash is on annual leave Thursday and Friday

Tash and Nikki are training Wednesday

Butterflies

This week the Butterflies will be looking at water play. The children will be using blue scoops to weigh out water in the scales whilst talking about balance and weight. They will be using origami to make paper boats and play with them in the water tray; they will also play with cornflour encouraging them to make the right consistency using water; they will also take part in sinking and floating activities and use ingredients such as oil and food colouring to watch how they mix or separate with water; the children will also create a waterfall using guttering and building trays.

  This year’s Preschool Nativity will be The Bossy King.  The children have started to learn the songs and their speaking parts and would love some donations of pillow cases and tea towels. Every preschooler will receive a pack in the next week with a CD and song book to learn at home. The nativity will take place on Friday 7^th December at 10am. Please note that we only have space for 2 adults per child for the showing of the nativity. If any children are not able to attend on that day, please let Leanne or Jo know asap.

Days off – Claire – Thursday    Jo – Tuesday

Claire is on annual leave Monday and Tuesday

Jo is training Thursday

We are launching our new birthday cakes where your child will be able to enjoy a unique homemade cake which they will be able to eat at lunch time with their friends as part of a birthday celebration lunch. This is due to the children not being able to eat shop bought cakes on the premises due to special diets and allergies. All cakes will be decorated with their own figurine which the child can take home with them afterwards; the cake will cost £10. If you are interested please e-mail the nursery.

Please can we remind parents to replenish their children’s nappies and wipes on a regular basis, we are finding a lot of children without either nappies or wipes for weeks at a time. Please see your child’s communication book or room door for a reminder when they need replenishing.