Parent News

Dear Parents and Carers

 

As it is nearing Christmas, the rooms will be having Christmas parties, please see your child’s room, further down in the blog to see the date of your child’s party. You are all welcome to attend the party, even if this is not your child’s usual day at the setting, however you will be asked to stay with them. Please see a member of staff within your child’s room if you would like to attend. The parties are from 3pm until 5pm.

 

I would like to inform you of the closures over the Christmas period. We are open as usual until Wednesday 24^th December when the nursery will close at 4pm. Please inform a member of staff within your child’s room if they will be attending. We are then closed until Monday 5^th January when we reopen as usual. This means the nursery will be closed an extra day over the Christmas period, however, we do hope this is not too much of an inconvenience for you and your childcare requirements but hopefully, by informing you now plans can be made.

 

Week commencing 8^th December is NSPCC charity week; therefore we are holding two events in aid of the charity. On Wednesday 10^th December is ‘bobble hat day’, whereby the children wear their favourite bobble hat during the day at nursery and on Friday 12^th December we will be having a Christmas jumper day. Please help us enjoy this day by dressing your child in a Christmas jumper. If you wish to take part in the NSPCC charity week we would kindly ask for a donation which will be sent to the NSPCC.

 

Please can parents also see their child’s key worker to book in a review around your child’s development. These meetings will be placed during the working day, preferably before you pick your child up in the evening or afternoon.

 

Policies

Please find attached our no smoking policy.

Snails

The focus in the snails this week is Christmas. The children will have the opportunity to play with soft books, exploring the sounds of rattles, singing Christmas songs, exploring with ice and treasure basket play. Outdoor activities this week include sensory balls, mirror play, puppets and supporting individual children’s physical development, walking and crawling. The snails will also additionally be focusing on Christmas activities. This week the children will be able to look through their family books.

Planned activities within the Snails surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

 

Christmas party – Thursday 18^th December.

 

Amy – Day off Monday. 

 

Caterpillars

This week the Caterpillars team will be continuing to focus on positive play in the role play area. To do this the practitioners will be modelling positive behaviour, turn taking and experimenting with equipment. The children will have the opportunity to explore different activities such as, heuristic play, pull along toys, painting, ICT toys, exploring playdough, happyland village and custards music class. The caterpillars will also be focusing on carrying out Christmas activities and creating a Christmas display. The story of the week is ‘choo choo clickety clack’.

Planned activities within the Caterpillars surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Days off       

Jamie – Monday, annual leave Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Alisha – Tuesday

 

Christmas party – Thursday 18^th December.

 

Ladybirds

The current interest in the Ladybirds this week is filling and emptying containers. The children will explore water play whereby they can fill and empty containers, exploring shapes by posting them through shape sorter puzzles, cornflour play with different types of tools, creating Christmas stocking, sand play using different types of containers and creating calendars using sand hand prints. The story of the week is ‘muffin hide and seek’.

 

The ladybirds team will be asking parents if they can take a photograph of their children wearing a winter outfit, hats, gloves and scarfs so this can be displayed within the room.

 

Planned activities within the ladybirds surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Christmas party – Thursday 18^th December

Days off  

Abi – Monday

Naomi – Tuesday, annual leave Thursday and Friday

Kim – annual leave Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

 

Bumblebees

This week the children will be focusing on Christmas, winter, cooking and painting. The children will be encouraged to develop their mathematical skills by counting on the abacus, completing insert puzzles, sewing for Christmas and identifying the primary colours by separating them into different colours. To help the children develop their understanding of the world, the role play will be turned into a hairdressers and later on in the week the children will be making ‘real’ tea using water, cups and a teapot. In the garden the children will be encouraged to take part in running games, pretending to be different animals. Activities to support creative development include making snowflakes, bin bag painting, pasta painting, decorating Christmas trees, gluing and sticking using tissue paper, making salt dough and making reindeer hand and foot prints. Literacy development shall be supported, this week by reading the story of the week ‘here we go round the mulberry bush’ and practicing the alphabet, looking at letters of the alphabet and looking at our family books and talking about our families.

This week the children will be making biscuits.

Planned activities within the Bumblebees surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning which is now displayed on the large notice board outside the Bumblebees room.

Christmas party – Tuesday 16^th December.

 

Days off     

Jani – Friday

Jenni – Thursday

Hannah – annual leave Tuesday

 

Butterflies     

This week the butterflies will be focusing on their Christmas display. The activities will include discussing what happens at Christmas and what traditionally is eaten. The children will be creating Christmas decorations for the display within the room, the children will be encouraged to write a letter to father Christmas and writing labels for the Christmas board. The children will also be cooking, this week they are making bruschetta. The children will be encouraged to mix together different colours and explain what happens. The children will also be making Italian flags. The children will be focusing on the letter of the week, which is, ‘D’ and the number of the week, which is number 13.

Planned activities within the Butterflies surround each child’s current interest in conjunction with supporting and extending their development.  To find out what activities are planned for your child for this week, please see your child’s keyworker who will be happy to take you through the planning.

Christmas party – Wednesday 17^th December.

 

Days off   

Stani – Friday                 

Lee – Thursday Afternoon                 

Tara – Thursday

Juan - Wednesday

 

Michelle is day off Monday and training Friday.

 

 

No Smoking policy

 

Aim of policy

 

To highlight the nursery stance on Smoking.

 

Points to consider

 

Castle Daycare & Preschool accept that smoking and passive inhalation of smoke is harmful to health.  The Company also adopts the position that this is particularly so for children in the early stages of their physical development.  Accordingly we have a strict no smoking policy for all areas of the Nursery and external play areas including staff room and adult space. 

 

Procedures relating to the no smoking policy

 

By Law No one shall smoke in any part of the Nursery or the external play areas

 

·               If a member of staff is found smoking in any part of the Nursery or external play areas they will be subject to disciplinary action

 

·               If a parent or visitor to the Nursery is found smoking in any part of the Nursery or external play areas their attention will be drawn to the no smoking policy and they will be asked to extinguish the cigarette

 

Staff will be permitted to smoke:

 

·               During recognised breaks.

 

·               In a location away from the Nursery and external play areas and car park.

 

·               Provided that debris arising from smoking is disposed of appropriately.

 

·               Provided that they wear cover over their uniform, wash their hands (and freshen their breath if necessary), before returning to work with the children.