At Children's House Nursery School our community loves to celebrate together: this week there has been a big focus on Easter.
With the warmer weather, children have been encouraged to look for signs of spring in the garden. They have been armed with clipboards, information books to refer to and paper and pens to mark make what they could find.
Some observed buds peeking through the soil, others saw butterflies, flies, sunshine, ants and even a cheeky fox! Some children were confident and able to share what they found.

We have also been preparing for Easter by:

• Developing skills using one handed tools to make Easter Baskets using recyclable materials;
• Following a recipe and simple instructions as well as using tools to create Easter Nest Cakes;
• Joining in singing and dancing with some songs such as Chick Chick Chicken;
• Learning how communicate using signs by signing 'Happy Easter';
• Families got involved by creating Easter Bonnets for our annual Easter Bonnet Parade!
• Children were excited and determined to each find an egg left by the Easter Bunny in the garden: it was wonderful to see children helping each other. 

We are nearly ready for a break now before our very exciting summer term which will be filled with rich learning and where it is often so evident to see how much progress children have made.

Happy Easter if you are celebrating and enjoy the break
Children return to school on Tuesday 22 April 2025.

We know how important children being able to tune into sounds is for their overall development.
It helps them to develop concentration, develop communication skills, learn vocabulary and develops early reading skills. 

When children are able to hear, distinguish and identify sounds, it means they can then begin to hear, distinguish and identify sounds in words. 
We start with using sounds our bodies make, exploring musical instruments and sounds they make, animal sounds, listening to environmental sounds before we move onto letters and sounds (phonics). 
This week, children have been encouraged to close their eyes and tune into environmental sounds. Some of the sounds children could identify included drills, car horns, a cockerel in a neighbour's garden (have you heard the cockerel near to school?) children laughing in the garden and a siren. 

Children across the nursery have been supported to make shakers to use with a purpose for their Eid singing.
They have selected materials including containers and explored the shaker ingredients (lentils, pasta or rice). They listened to the different sounds each one makes and decided which sound they wanted to create. They then sealed their container, using one handed tools such as scissors, tape, ribbon and glue. Children mark made their names so they could find them again. 

​As many of our families and staff are preparing for Eid celebrations, we hope these shakers will be able to be enjoyed at home.
Remember all children are invited to our Eid Party on Tuesday 1 April - this will be a non-school uniform day!

There is so much learning for the children in Science Week that we extend it every year to two weeks! 
Slime exploration has taken over this week at Children's House.
Children have been exploring a range of ingredients to make the perfect slime - not too sticky, not lumpy.

Children have been supported to carefully follow the instructions on each experiment: reading the instructions and carefully observing what happens. Children shared their ideas, showed amazement and talked about what the think had happened (hypothesised!)  Children also were introduced to vocabulary such as stretch, squish, roll, pull, expand, retract. 

Here is the recipe of you want to try it at home (watch your clothes and carpets though!) 
1) Mixing PVA glue, bicarbonate of soda, food colouring and some contact lens cleaning solution. 
2) Mixing in a bowl and talking about what they can see.
3) Kneading the mixture.
4) Explore the slime with your hands - stretch, squish, pull and roll it!

Most children brought their slime home - we hope you enjoyed exploring together. 

These photographs demonstrate some of the learning that has taken place during Science Week better than any words could!

Children have spent the week exploring and revisiting a range of experiments that supported the children in developing the skills of observation, sharing talk, making predictions, using specific vocabulary, following instructions, making hypotheses and instilling awe and wonder in the children! 

1) Chemical reactions and a change of state were demonstrated very effectively with the Ice Cream Making Experiment- children followed recipes to mix rock salt and ice with sugar and flavouring. They shook the ingredients and created ice cream! Children observed how the ingredients reacted together when they were shaken vigorously! They also tasted some of the delicious end product!

2) Paper Rocket Experiment! Children saw how the pressure of air can be strong and thrust objects. Plastic milk bottles were left with the lid off so they filled with air. Children made a lightweight, cone-shaped, paper rocket and placed it over the open bottle neck. They then clapped their hands together with force on the sides of the plastic bottle and WHOOOOOOOSH! The rockets flew into the air. Children were amazed! The air was pushed out with force and the pressure sent the paper rocket into the sky!

3) Volcano Experiment - children mixed ingredients and observed an exciting chemical reaction.  Firstly children looked at photographs of volcanoes: dormant and erupting. Shazna explained that when volcanoes are dormant, they are asleep and when they are erupting, they are awake. Children watched a short video of an active volcano which was noisy! Children mixed bicarbonate of soda with food dye and then poured in vinegar. They observed and used their senses and noticed the mixture fizzed and bubbled. Then it erupted like lava from a volcano! Look at he expressions on their faces! 

Here are a few science experiments you could do with your child at home. Remember never leave children alone when doing this. 

This week we celebrated World Book Day by wearing pyjamas to school and enjoying a bedtime story with our friends and families.

At Children's House Nursery School all our children read and are keen to explore and enjoy books alone, with a friend or at story time with their class and teacher.  We encourage children to read by having books everywhere - fiction, non-fiction, picture books, books made by children, books made by staff and leaflets too!
We share books together and encourage children to enjoy books as part of their play. 

Please try to read every day with your child at home: a bedtime story is a beautiful way to unwind after bath time. The perfect time to snuggle up together.
Reading helps young children to develop language, vocabulary and understanding. This is key for learning in all other areas of the curriculum. 
Reading the same book time after time can be exhausting for adults but it really helps children internalise narratives and I love to watch the same film again and again as I know the ending and it's comforting and safe!

Remember you can borrow books from school and join the local library: click here for information!

We know that healthy bodies helps us to be healthy physically and mentally.
We understand that getting heathy habits in place when children are younger means they are more likely to stick.
We want all our children to lead long, healthy and happy lives. 
At Children's House we support children and families to make choices which will benefit their health and wellbeing every day.

Over recent weeks we have been supporting families with a range of experiences to support this understanding:
Family workshop - families came together with their children to prepare and taste a range of fresh fruit and vegetables. 
They identified, washed and sliced the fruits together and then shared them. Parents talked with each other and their children. 
Meanwhile in class children have been talking about healthy foods and healthy habits: children have followed recipes and used one handed tools to prepare ingredients to make fruit kebabs, pancakes and vegetable fritas!
Many children knew and could explain how to keep their teeth healthy and healthy choices they could make - drink water, not fizzy drinks and brush regularly.
They also were able to engage in physical play in the garden - running, jumping, climbing, dancing, cycling, hoola hooping, skipping, crawling and hopping.  Some children identified their bodies were hot and their hearts were beating fast. 

Things your family can do together - 

• Collect your child  from school with a piece of fruit;
• Leave your phones in your pocket/bag;
• Walk, cycle or scoot to school;
• Go to the park to run, climb and play;
• Smile at strangers;
• Say "Hello" to people that serve you in shops and to your neighbours;
• Recycle rubbish and put waste in the bin;
• Stop and notice flowers, trees and birds in our local area;
• Talk to family and friends - laugh together and listen to each others stories.

Our workshops are always so popular art Children's House. Families are always very willing to get involved in school life and support the learning and development of their children. 
Over the past three weeks we have enjoyed a wonderful practitioner from Tower Hamlets Parental Engagement Team visiting Children's House to lead sensory exploration workshops.

We know that many children at differing stages of development may have sensory processing needs which we need to consider to help their overall development.
Hamida started with an information session for parents and carers: sharing ideas and opening up discussions to help them share their experiences and any issues they may need support with. We wanted carers to feel listened to. 

Next session, children joined their parents/carers and they followed a very simple recipe to make playdough together. The children and their carers then immersed themselves in the ingredients: mixing and pouring.
Once the playdough was ready, they explored together: rolling, stretching, prodding, cutting and folding. They talked and had fun together, sharing vocabulary, laughter, eye contact and joy.
​
The final session is this Friday (14 February at 9.15am at Children's House) please join if you can! 

Children have been supported in developing their storytelling alongside collaborative construction.
After reading and sharing The Three Little Pigs story, children then were supported in creating their own models of houses. They used one handed tools and selected materials from a range on offer to create their own models. They used joining skills as well and shared their achievements, inspiring each other.
Some children then were encouraged to share their own version of the story - which an adult transcribed for them. It is wonderful to read the children's ideas and words. 
In the garden there was some collaborative construction and children were supported to listen to each others ideas, share and take turns and play imaginatively.

Remember to borrow your child's Special Book to share in the wonderful learning experiences they are involved in every day at school!