It's A Family AffairAt Children's House Nursery School we love a celebration: especially one that involves families. We welcomed lots of family members and friends into school: mummies, aunties, sisters, grandmas, uncles, dads and friends to the nursery in recognition of Mother's Day. Everyone got involved: taking part in sack races, planting sunflower seeds, bouquet making, sticking, gluing and drawing on cards, biscuit decorating (and eating in the Red Building!!!) Families came and enjoyed time together in the nursery and garden, playing and learning. The sun shone and there was much joy, laughter (and a few tears). Children showed great confidence in performing a song: singing and signing for their families. Please see Shazna or Mirka if you would like the lyrics and signs for any of the songs! "It takes a village to raise a child": that means an entire community of people must provide for and interact positively with children for children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment. That was definitely in force today at Children's House. Don't worry of you were not able to join us today: there will be more events during the summer term.                                                       Fire Fighter VisitAt Children's House Nursery School we pride ourselves as being at the heart of our local community. We recognise that families see our school as an extension of their family. We always consider ways we can further develop community relations and provide children with aspirational role models. Thank you to our local fire fighters who took time out of their busy schedule to visit the children and staff at Children's House this week. One of the fire fighters is an uncle of a child here. The parked their fire appliance outside the gate and two fire fighters, Zayn and Louis came into the garden with their long hose. The children were so excited: they listened so carefully to the fire fighters who told us about their job and uniforms. Children shared lots of ideas about fire fighters and what they knew about them. The fire fighters then showed us some of their equipment and how they spray water through the powerful hose. Children got very involved and had the chance to come and hold the hose and release some water. We were careful not to waste too much water but the water was very refreshing on a hot day. Some children shared that they want to become fire fighters when they grow up. A lovely visit from some inspirational people: thank you to the London Fire Brigade!             Scientists at Work...At Children's House we have marked Science Week by turning the nursery into a laboratory. Our children are curious and enjoy exploring so we ran a number of experiments across the school this week, giving children opportunities to observe, predict, explore and talk about some fantastic learning. In the garden we:
                          Trip to the Science MuseumA group of families, children and staff enjoyed a trip to the Science Museum in Kensington today. They explored the museum, exhibitions, gardens and had a wonderful day. It is so easy to get there - just take the District Line from Bromley-by-Bow or Bow Road. Entrance is free so take a packed lunch and enjoy a family day out. The Natural History Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum are next door! If your child is leaving us this summer to go to Primary School in September we will make sure they go on a trip before they leave Children's House.      Red Nose Day 2022Thank you to all our families and staff today who wore something red to school in recognition of Red Nose Day. Red Nose Day/Comic Relief partners with amazing projects and organisations to make a difference to the lives of millions of people across the UK and around the world. They work to support people to break free from poverty, violence and discrimination. Thank you for your donations and for buying some of the biscuits children made and decorated in school. You helped to raise £204!                     Personal, Social and Emotional DevelopmentThe Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is non-hierarchical. We value all areas of the curriculum equally at Children's House. Personal, Social and Emotional Development we know is key though and has to be one of the first areas we focus on to enable children to flourish and access a broad and balanced curriculum. We have had a big focus last week and will continue to next week on our sense of self: who we are, what we look like, what we like to do. Children have drawn portraits, body maps, looked at their own faces carefully and talked about them and looked at body parts. Children have been supported in Circle Time, Talking Time and with their key person reflecting on their own learning in their Special Books. We have shared books about emotions: talked about how we feel and why. Sometimes young children need support to explore emotions and be able to identify them and recognise them . Often using stories and puppets is a non-threatening way to discuss them in a safe space. This work will continue next week.             Pancake Day At Children's House we value time together celebrating. This often involves food! On Tuesday it was Pancake Day and children got the chance to make pancakes together and enjoy sharing them. We used an egg-free recipe. Children followed the photographs on the recipe, "reading" the information and were able to identify and measure out the ingredients. They used tools to mix and pour the batter. Children sustained interest and some were very intrigued by the change of the mixture when it was cooked, sharing talk and asking questions. Children chose their topping: from strawberries to lemon and a little bit of sugar. Afterwards we had some fun in the garden when we held our Annual Pancake Race with much laughter and some pancakes ending up on the floor: tossing and travelling is quite difficult! Maybe you can make egg-free pancakes at home? 1 cup of flour 1/2 cup of milk 2 tablespoons of oil Mix the ingredients together and ladle into a frying pan. Can you flip the pancake over? Enjoy with a topping of your choice.               World Book Day 2022At Children's House Nursery School we know the importance of sharing books: not only is it a wonderful time to develop language and concentration but also a time for calm, tenderness and love. We make sure children have access to a range of books across the school. We celebrated World Book Day on 3 March by inviting the children to come to school dressed as a book character. We had so much fun and children came in a range of homemade and bought costumes. There was great competition between the staff as we dressed up as well. Do you recognise any of our characters? It is really important children regularly read with an adult: please make sure you make time each day to share a story. Before bed is a great time. Children often love to have the same story read to them too (which can be exhausting for adults!) Remember children can borrow a book every weekend from school. Also share their Special Book too - it will show you all the learning the children are engaged in at school. Also adults, try to see whether you can set aside a little time each day to escape in a book. The local Idea Store is a great place to borrow books: you can join up here https://www.ideastore.co.uk/join-today                  |
