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 [email protected]

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. 

At Children's House we love to get outdoors and engage with the natural elements, whatever the weather. 
Whilst we had been warned about Storm Ciaran today, the weather was wet and not too windy. Staff supported children in finding ways to engage in the wet weather outdoors. 
In between showers, we made sure children were out and almost everyone was wrapped up. Children selected buckets and pots and, collected rain water. They then used their paint brushes to paint the fence. Children cooperated and shared buckets and brushes, they used their painting skills to make marks all over the wall with the rain water and talked about what they could see, hear and feel.
A large group of children were engaged for a sustained period in team work, collaboratively sweeping some washing up liquid (just a little) in a large puddle. Children showed great excitement and joy in this experience, children also took their time, persevered, talked to each other and carefully observed what happened to the water and bubbles. 
Remember being outdoors in almost all weathers is great for children's development. Just be careful in high winds and with lightning.