Archived Newsletters are below
- Father's Day Cooking Invitation ∨
- Playroom Newsletter – Summer Term 2017 ∨
- Term Dates Academic Year 2017/18 ∨
- Bug Hotel - Items Needed ∨
Father’s Day Cooking Invitation
To celebrate Father’s Day this year (18 June), and as part of our Keeping Healthy Theme, we would like to invite Dads, Granddads, Male Carers to join us in a cooking activity. If you would like to join your child for a cooking session, please complete and return the slip below, indicating which session you would prefer. Please note that places are limited, and will be on a first come basis.
To help the activity run smoothly we would appreciate any mums who would be willing to spare a morning or afternoon to help set up/prepare fruit/clear away afterwards. Please speak with a Practitioner if you can help out.
If you are unable to attend one of these sessions, but would like to be involved with an activity with your child, you would be welcome to come in to read a story at the end of a session; again please speak with a practitioner to organise this.
Kind regards,
Toni
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Father’s Day Cooking
Name of Child: ____________________________________________
Name of Dad/Grandad: ____________________________________________
Please indicate which session you would like to attend:
Wednesday 21 June, morning, 9.15-10.30 a.m.
Wednesday 21 June, afternoon, 12.45-2.00 p.m.
Thursday 22 June, morning, 9.15-10.30 a.m.
I can help out with this activity (Name) _____________________________
Playroom Newsletter – Summer Term 2017
Welcome to our Summer Term newsletter: we are now half way through the Summer Term – where does the time go! The children have enjoyed the new ‘books for the term’, with many activities being based on the stories, during Circle Time.
We have also been looking at our ‘Golden Rules’ (gentle hands, walking feet, listening ears, quiet voices, and using a tissue for wiping noses) and mini beasts. Many of the children have also been looking at the life cycle of a frog and of a butterfly. There has also been several different cooking activities, from making playdough to making soup, where the children cut up the vegetables themselves, using safety knives.
Forest School has also been a good time for the children to explore their natural environment, and making a large ‘bug hotel’. The children have also had opportunities to use to use other tools, under the watchful eye of a practitioner.
Themes for the Term
The children have been looking at the topic of ‘Spring’, which has included growing some runner beans in soil. The children have been able to use the magnifying glasses and tweezers to look at insects more closely.
During the rest of the term we will look at other occupations, healthy eating and keeping fit, road safety, and moving on to a new school.
Home Board
To help the children make connections between the different parts of their lives and to promote a sense of belonging and continuity between home and pre-school we would very much welcome the children to bring in photographs of family/friends/pets, tickets, drawings of activities/holidays/trips out etc to put onto our Home Board, where we can all see. Initially your child will be encouraged to talk to a small group of children about the item they have brought in, as part of their having a sense of personal identity and feeling valued.
‘Mummies in March’
We had a lovely time listening to various stories, read by some Mums and Grandmas. Some of you mentioned you would like to come in again to read a story. Please speak to one of the Practitioners to organise a convenient day if this is the case.
In order to celebrate Father’s Day (18 June) there will be an opportunity for Dads, Grandads or male carers to join in with a cooking activity during the week commencing 19 June. If it is not possible for Dad/Grandad to join in the cooking activity, they would be most welcome to come in at the end of a session to read a story.
Forest Schools
Currently we have two regular groups of children attending Forest Schools, on a Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. These groups are mainly intended for the nursery-age children, who are then joined by other children on a rota basis. However, it is intended that all children will have the opportunity to visit Forest School throughout the Summer Term; which will be done throughout the week on a Key Group rota basis.
End of Session and Mobile Phones
Young Discoverers does have a No Phone Policy within the building. Despite this we seem to regularly ask parents to not use their phone whilst dropping off or collecting their child. It has also come to our attention that some carers will collect their child and then immediately go onto their phone once outside the building. Unfortunately many children have been observed trying to gain their adult’s attention, but failing to do so, due the the fact their adult has immediately gone onto their phone again! Your child would benefit greatly by having a brief chat about their time here: small, dedicated conversations would also help with the child’s listening and speaking skills, which would be of significance with so many children currently seeing Speech Therapists.
Lunches
Practitioners are aware that some children have relatively large lunches, compared to the amount the children actually eat. Some parents say this is to give their child a choice of what to eat. It would in fact be better for your child to have a much smaller lunch that they could finish, so that at the end of the session the parent can praise the child for eating all of their lunch up, rather than a more negative one stating they haven’t eaten much.
Many parents give their children grapes in their lunch boxes. Please can parents be mindful of the advice given by the DfES that grapes are a real choking hazard for children. Can we kindly ask you to cut the grapes in half before placing into the lunch box. Currently our practitioners cut the grapes in half, which, I am sure you can appreciate, is very time consuming when we have the majority of children having grapes.
Important Reminder: Please can you label all your child’s clothing/shoes/hats/coats/lunchboxes etc
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Dates for your diary:
29 May – 2 June Half Term week w/c 19 June Father’s Day cooking (letter to follow shortly) w/c 26 June Sports Week (letter to follow shortly) 21 July End of Summer Term, 12.00 p.m.
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Term Dates Academic Year 2017/18
Summer Term 2017
Tuesday 18th April – Friday 26th May (6wks)
Young Discoverers closed Half Term week 29th May to 2nd June 2017
Monday 5th June – Friday 21st July (12 noon finish)(7 wks)
Autumn Term 2017
Tuesday 5th September - Friday 20th October (7 wks)
Young Discoverers closed Half Term week 23rd October to 27th October 2017
Monday 30th October – Thursday 21st December (12 noon finish)(7 wks)
Spring Term 2018
Tuesday 9th January – Friday 9th February (5 wks)
Young Discoverers closed Half Term week 12th February to 16th February 2017
Monday 19th February – Thursday 29th March (12 noon finish) (5 wks)
Summer Term 2018
Monday 16th April – Friday 25th May (6wks)
Young Discoverers closed Half Term week 28th May to 1st June 2017
Monday 4th June – Thursday 19th July (3pm finish)(7 wks)
Exceptional Dates:
Friday 21st July 2017 – ½ day (noon finish)
Monday 4th September 2017 - Inset Day (Closed)
Thursday 21st December 2017– ½ day (noon finish)
Monday 8th January 2018 – Inset Day (Closed)
Thursday 29th March 2018– ½ day (noon finish)
Bank Holidays:
Monday 1st May 2017 - Closed
Correct at time of printing – may be subject to change
Dear parent/carers
We would like to build a bug hotel in our new and developing sensory garden. To help us achieve this we need help in collecting some items that you might have lying around your gardens or home. If you have any of the following or anything else you think appropriate it would be very appreciated.
-
pallets - old wood
- old bricks, preferably with holes in (semi engineering bricks)
- hollow concrete blocks
- old or broken tiles
- slates
- straw
- corrugated cardboard
- old baskets
- plant pots, plastic or terracotta, (broken ones are fine)
- bamboo
- sticks
- pebbles
- old stumps with drilled holes (for solitary bees)
- pine cones
- dry leaves
- 2lt plastic bottles
- cardboard tubing
-
loose bark
We are also part way into making a wildlife pond, if you have any large rocks, paving slabs (whole or broken) or similar we would really be grateful.
Young Discoverers would also like to thank Craig Anderson and partner for the amazing landscaping and den built for the sensory garden/forest school.
Kind regards
Kelly