How wonderful it was for the school to visit Colchester Zoo with families and staff.
The sun shone and it felt like the African savannas: so beautiful.
It was magical for children to see the majestic animals up so close and there has been lots of talk about them back at school.

Of course you don't have to go to Colchester Zoo (or the African savannas!) to inspire communication in young children: catch the bus, watch the tube trains, go to the park, look at houses and people in the street and chat about what you can see.
Every day is an adventure when you are 2, 3 or 4 years old!

Enjoy your summer holidays: get out and about, have fun and remember time is precious. 

The Children's House community came together, as they always do, to celebrate and enjoy our annual summer fete, 
Families donated cooked food, cakes, toys and their time to support our school. 
Face painting, food and toys always are the most popular and it was wonderful to see some returning families and staff members too. 
As this term draws to a close, we thank you all for your support over this year: if you are leaving us this summer to move onto primary school, remember you are always a part of the Children's House Nursery School community and we will always have a warm welcome for you. 
Term ends for children on Friday 18 July. 

Last week we really enjoyed opening our doors to families to come to play and learn alongside the children. 
We welcomed dads, mums, uncles, grandmas alongside siblings and staff. Together they enjoyed:
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• Following a recipe to make playdough;
• Icing biscuits;
• Decorating and mark making a Father's Day card;
• Egg and spoon races;
• Sack races;
• Sharing books;
• Observing the chicks;
• Building and talking.

Thank you for joining us - we know everyone has busy lives.

Remember, you don't have to wait until special celebration days to find out what goes on in nursery.
Speak to your child's key worker, borrow your child's Special Book and come in and see us! #
Our doors are always open!

So following the excitement of the arrival of our 10 mystery eggs in Red Building and the Main Building: we now have 10 chicks + 10 chicks = 20 chicks!
We learned some new vocabulary: the eggs rolled, pipped and hatched and all contained a chick.
Children observed the chicks were sticky and small. We watched them peck their way out of the egg shell.
Children were supported to understand how to care for the chicks by making sure that the chicks had fresh water and food and that their home was cleaned everyday.

Children respectfully observed them as they dried out, getting stronger and as their feathers became fluffy.
Children noticed how they have grown quickly. As they have got bigger, we know they need a chance to get out and move about. 

In the sunshine in the afternoons, we let the chicks out in a large pen the children created using blocks.
The chicks explored but stayed close to one another, children were excited but we empathetic and understood they needed to be calm so as not to frighten the chicks. 
Some chicks came close to the children and were able to be handled sensitively. Children did so respectfully and all washed their hands afterwards.
Some children noticed the some of the chicks were yellow and others light brown. With support we were able to use the information books.
Children were able to identify that the yellow ones are male and the brownish ones are female.  

Children talked about and drew similarities between themselves and the living chicks saying that they too ate food, drank water, slept and most children noticed that the chicks liked to run around and play just like them.  

The chicks will go back to the farm on Friday so please feel free to come in and say goodbye! ​

At Children's House Nursery School we know how powerful it is to take our children out on trips in London.
Where possible, we take parents/carers too! We understand how navigating public transport alone with young children can be overwhelming. So we help take the strain by coming along in small groups and supporting each other. 

This week Shazna and Salma took a group to The Natural History Museum in South Kensington.
It is 17 stops on the District or Circle Line from Bromley by Bow.
No changing and we travel at times when it is less busy (avoid rush hour!)  Children took packed lunches with them and once there, the museum is FREE to enter.
How lucky are we in London to have access to so many museums and galleries for free?
From Hope, the HUGE Blue Whale skeleton which greets you in the entrance hall, to fossils, nature and the world, The Natural History Museum is a great day out. Children spent time exploring and observing, asking questions, learning facts and information. 
They saw dinosaurs, mammals, skeletons and the sheer size of them is what is utterly breathtaking.
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Also nearby is The Science Museum and The Victoria and Albert Museum - all of them are free to enter. 
Over the summer, you can keep costs down by bringing a packed lunch and drinks, a picnic rug and making a day of it!
From Bow to Kensington - one train - 45 minutes! 

We have been supporting children developing an awareness of number across the nursery this week. 

We want children to count with one to one correspondence.
Begin to recognise numerals 1-10 and beyond.
Some children will begin to solve simple calculations , such as one more, one less.
 
One meaningful way children have been supported is through 10 pin bowling in the garden.
Children and staff organised a bowling alley by placing large wooden bricks in a rectangle shape, making sure the length on the long sides matched. 
They then counted 10 coloured 'pins' and stood them up.
Children took it in turns to roll the ball and count how many pins they could knock down. They had a second turn and combined the number they knocked down to make a total.  "3 and 2 is 5" one child exclaimed when I was observing.
Children then marked the number on the board: some children used lines to tally their score. Others attempted to scribe the numeral. 
Taking turns, problem solving and organisation have all been supported too during the week. Increasingly children are now setting up and leading the game without adult support.

Find ways to get your child to count and problem solve at home: maybe helping with sorting the washing, pairing socks, counting spoons or cups for meal time. Look out for numbers on your way to school: door numbers, number plates on cars and vans, bus numbers and signs all around us. 

We know how important young children developing confidence and skill in mark making is. 
From the earliest days in Red Building through to leavers in the Main Building, we ensure children have access to mark making every day. We support building children's dexterity first through a range of ways:

• Cooking (kneading dough is great for this)
• Preparing snacks using one handed tools (peelers, graters, knives) 
• Exploring messy play with hands
• Developing upper body strength in climbing and rope swing play
• Threading beads and sewing
• Mark making in shaving foam using fingers
• Mark making in fine sand 
• Making mud pies with hands in the garden
• Weeding and harvesting vegetables in the garden
• Sculpting with clay
• Exploring playdough in the home corner
• Finger painting
• Painting using brushes
• Large scale drawing on huge paper on the floor (the back of wallpaper rolls is great for this)
• Chalk mark making in the garden on the floor
• Painting with brushes and rollers using water in the garden
• Chunky felt tips are great for little fingers

Once children have developed the dexterity then we need to give them reasons to mark make!
Encouraging children to mark make and then talk about their marks empowers them to share their ideas. 
Watching adults draw and write and seeing handwriting in the environment is important so make sure your children write lists at home, draw pictures, make birthday cards (don't buy them), shopping lists, notes for family: so many opportunities.

Summer Term has started with sunshine and learning immediately: a small group of new children and their families are joining us this term and it is wonderful to see them coming in, being welcomed and supported and making relationships with the adults and their peers.. 
Walking through the nursery last week, there was so many examples of learning children were engaged in.
Imaginative play in the forest area took off with picnics, cooking, potions and lots of hand on learning.
Children are using more sophisticated language to cooperate and solve problems without needing adult support. 
There were many children independently playing games they have learned: hide and seek, chase, Duck Duck Goose. 
Children were being very helpful: digging and weeding the beds to prepare them for planting.
With the warmer weather, children have started noticing minibeasts and wildlife in the garden: the two year olds were so excited to find ants in the garden! They were kind and respectful to the minibeasts and were sharing talk with their teachers about them. 

Remember you can borrow your child's Special Book to see all the wonderful learning experiences they are involved in during their day in school. Children regularly share them with their key person and reflect on their learning together.