How lucky are we to have a real life construction site almost of top of our school? Well most of the time we don't feel quite so lucky! It can be busy, noisy, dusty and doesn't look very beautiful...yet!
We know Stroudley Walk has needed regeneration for many. many years. It was not a place we felt proud of: often we did not feel safe there so we are optimistic that the works will have such a benefit to our community. We want to feel proud to live, study and work in Bow. . We have a good relationship with the contractors at McAleer & Rushe and are working together with them to ensure we can work side by side and care for each other during this building project. Working in harmony with others is so essential. They invited staff to visit the building site one evening after work: we signed in and were taken upstairs into one of the offices and Leanne and Ben talked us through the plans. We asked questions about the project and were all excited to see green spaces and small parks and seated areas for residents. We heard about the development and saw images of what it will look like. We got to go out onto a viewing platform and see the site working away. We have been thinking about how we can work with our children in developing an understanding of our local environment. Over coming months we will be doing local walks, traffic surveys, litter picking and encouraging all of you to walk, cycle and scoot to school. There is too much traffic on our school road and sometimes pedestrians and drivers do not look our for each other. We need to be considerate and think of each other in our daily lives, finding little moments of joy as we get through each day. We are looking forward to continue working alongside McAleer & Rushe as the project continues until November 2025. Staff said: "I really enjoyed our visit to Stroudley Walk Construction Site. I was born and brought up in the area so it was wonderful to see the redevelopment plan and share the news with friends and family. R=The drone shots and time lapse videos were brilliant. Cannot wait to see the final changes!" "It was interesting to see the site because we got inside information about the facilities that will be here for local people." "It was so interesting and enabled us to see the plans for the buildings going up next to our nursery. It was helpful to know what shops and facilities will be added for the locals." "The visit was so informative about how our area is being developed. It was useful to see the facilities for residents and visually get a feel for how the area will look." "Thank you for making us so welcome. We cannot believe how quickly the buildings are going up around us!" Click here to see details of the development. During the recent new year cold snap, children have been developing an understanding of freezing and melting.
At first staff froze trays of water which the children used their senses to explore: they touched, smelt and some children tasted! Vocabulary to describe the ice was introduced: cold, freezing, chilly, icy, frosty, hard, smooth. Children also used tools to break it down. We observed changes to the ice during the session and noticed that was becoming slippery and turning to water. Children were introduced to the concept of melting. Over coming days, children developed an understanding of freezing by selecting their own small container and placing an object inside (maybe a small world animal or some glitter). They added water and placed in the freezer overnight. They were amazed the next day to discover their water had turned to ice. Do you have a freezer? Can you explore freezing some water with your child? Maybe when you have an ice lolly in the warmer weather you can talk about the changes that happen to the lolly as it gets warm. Look out for icy puddles in coming weeks before the days get warmer. As we prepare for the Christmas break, we have been keeping spirits high in school with singing festive songs - we are sure you have been hearing them at home!
Children have been making Christmas decorations using recyclable materials. We think carefully about the environment and try to reuse things and use scraps of tinsel as treasure. Children have been sharing Christmas books and some children have listened to the story of the Nativity. There are lots of props for children to use in their story telling. There has been lots of festive mark making, with children drawing and writing as well as lots of one-handed tool use with scissors and glue. The children helped to decorate the classrooms and the festive cheer is truly keeping everyone going! The Red Building Christmas Parties are on Tuesday 19 December and Red Building children finish that day. Main Building have their parties on Wednesday 20th and all children come to school in the morning 9am-12pm. We are hoping Father Christmas may visit both days! We wish you, your families and the whole world peace and love for the festivities and into 2024. We welcomed some students from Mulberry University Technical College to Children's House as part of their studies.
They spent time working alongside staff, observing children and interacting with them. This was followed up with a second visit where they planned experiences to support children's learning. They supported children to develop skills such as following instructions, sustaining concentration and developing confidence, communication and vocabulary through paint mixing, following a recipe to make playdough and creating collages with recyclable materials. It is so important young people get the encouragement and experience in the world to see themselves as leaders and are able to make an impact on their community, How lucky we are at Children's House to have a community who are so involved in the life of our school.
A group of incredible mums came to share some Somali dancing and music with the children and staff. All the children were encouraged to tune into the music, use their bodies as percussion instruments and dance freely. High levels of engagement and wellbeing were evident throughout. We welcome families to come in to share stories, music, cooking, gardening or any other skills you have with the children and staff. Do you listen to music at home? Do you dance with your children - movement is wonderful for all the family and fun to do it together. Being 2 years old is something many of us cannot remember clearly but this stage of development is such an important part of how we grow holistically.
Whilst all children are unique and develop at different rates, many two year olds begin to show independence (and often defiance!) They may show curiosity, joy and attachment to people and objects. They start communicating, learning new vocabulary and begin to become interested in the world around them. Two year olds will be developing ways to travel, with many walking, running and jumping. They are learning who they are and their place in the world. They need security, love, space, routines and guidance to grow. At Children's House, our two year olds make rapid and sustained progress: some of it is tiny steps of progress but it is vital we notice it and celebrate it together! Samples of the children's learning is recorded in a variety of ways in their Special Books: it might be photographs, samples of mark making, a collage, paintings or their Key Person writing down language they have shared and how they have approached some new learning. Share your child's Special Book with them at home so you can see some of the exciting learning opportunities they have been involved in at school. Last week we held a cake and table top sale for the Gaza Appeal. We were inundated with donations of toys, books, gifts and delicious cakes. The children had spent the week following recipes and baking biscuits to sell.
The whole community came out in support: from families, staff, business owners, to families who came to our nursery in the past, neighbours and friends of friends. Thank you for this act of kindness and compassion. You helped to raise £2527.58! Thank you for this breath-taking act of kindness. The funds will be distributed by One Nation as part of their Gaza Appeal. Today we were so lucky to have Nicole Gurvidi as guest speaker for our Brilliant Books and Phonics Fun Workshop. Nicole is the English Primary Curriculum Lead in Tower Hamlets. Nicole is passionate about reading! The turnout from our fantastic families was incredible and the room was packed. Nicole reminded us about the importance of: Having fun with words. Reading books, books, more books and when you think that's enough, read another. Read on the train, read on the bus, read in the cafe, read in the bath, read before bed - simply enjoy sharing books. Follow your child's interest and let them choose the books. The more books you share with your child the more vocabulary they will understand. Use pictures in newspapers to create stories using your imagination and tell the stories together, adding exciting words to describe what is happening or where the characters are. Play with sounds: make sound effects to accompany stories you share. Loud sounds, soft sounds, rattles, scratching, tapping. If your child can begin to distinguish between sounds, they will find it easier when they come to using blend and segmenting sounds when they read and write. Sing songs together and make musical instruments (see Nicole's pots of pasta and rice and her 50p wooden spoons). Go on a sound walk - listen out for trains, birds, aircrafts, sirens, drills and talk about the sounds. Be a sound collector! When your child is ready, make a Sound Scrapbook: start with a sound and together you can cut out pictures from newspapers and magazines of objects that start with that sound and stick them on the page. Have fun together. Remember to borrow books from school to share at home. Join the Idea Store - click here. Pick up free newspapers and magazines from the underground station, Tesco or Asda. Speak to your key person if you need any advice about sharing books at home. See the handout below Nicole shared - if you would like a paper copy, please see Becky or Guthsna. We follow the seasons, rhythms and festivals of the year at Children's House.
Since the beginning of November, children have been excitedly talking about firework displays they've seen at local parks or from their windows. Children shared talk: using words to describe the sounds, sights and smells as well as how they felt. Children have been creating paintings using a range of paints and mark making tools to make their own firework pictures. On Friday, we shared some sparklers in the garden with the children in small groups. Staff talked about staying safe and they took turns to come forward and hold their sparkler safely. Children were mesmerised at the light and sounds that came from their sparkler. We then put them in a bucket of water to douse them and sand to keep them dry. Children have since shared their photographs and talked about the experience. If you have any photographs of things you and your child have done together that they enjoyed, please send Becky a photograph to print for their Special Book head@childrenshouse.towerhamlets.sch.uk If your child was in on Friday, they will have photographs in their Special Books - please borrow them and talk to your child about all the wonderful learning they have been involved in. Children enjoy exploring the djembe drums and developing skills handling them, tapping, scratching, beating and creating rhythms and noise! Here some children were captured drumming and singing in the nursery with an adult. Che Che Kule (Kye Kye Kule) is a Swahili song from Ghana. In a few weeks we will be drumming and enjoying The Iroko Theatre Group who will be sharing music, dance and singing from Nigeria! Watch this space. Do you share music and songs with your child? It can be a beautiful way to spend time together and share joy. |
Our BlogThe blog is updated regularly with a range of learning from across our wonderful school. All the rich learning experiences the children have been involved in will be in their Special Books so please do borrow those regularly. Archives
May 2024
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