Weekly Roundup 11 October 2024

Good afternoon, we would like to begin by thanking all of our families who have so generously donated to Chelmsford Food Bank during our Harvest festival topic, we donated 46 kg of items in need. We welcomed Claire on Tuesday morning who explained to the children where their contributions would go and who it may help.

Our topic this week has been healthy eating, healthy mind. We know that healthy eating is essential for growing healthy bodies and minds. 

Healthy eating tips for home:

1. Have a colourful plate, encourage your child to get a variety of fruits and vegetables. Aim for a rainbow of colours at every meal!
2. Snack smart, provide healthy snacks for example fresh fruit, vegetable sticks and yoghurts. Involving children in snack preparation can make it more exciting.
3. Involve and introduce children to cooking, this fosters interest in food and teaches children about simple ingredients.
4. Stay hydrated, remind your child to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

We have been reading the book Oliver’s vegetables, this has led to discussions of our favourite vegetables - Carrots was the most popular in the Honeys room with Broccoli coming in a close second. 

We have also set up Dental role plays throughout the week, please see the attached pictures. Throughout these activities children have talked about their own experiences of going to the dentist, “i was brave” “i sat on the big chair” it was lovely to hear so many positive experiences.

On Thursday it was World Mental Health Day, Rachel is a Level 3 mental health first aider for Springfield Bees, we are lucky to have her promoting mental well-being in our setting and received a lovely gift yesterday of some chocolates and kind words from her. We talk about mental well-being with the children using stories, for example the colour monster. We use simple language such as “happy” “sad” “angry” or “scared” to express our emotions, we use puppets during stories or role play and encourage expression, for example asking the children how they feel today, we also teach regulation coping strategies such as mindful breathing and being able to seek comfort when and if needed.

On Friday the children in Bumbles participated in an activity deciding what they would like to pack in their lunchboxes, also a craft activity this week the Honey’s children have been talking about healthy foods, the children chose foods they would like to have for their dinner, then cut the foods out and stuck them on to their plate.

We have been enjoying seeing so many healthy choices coming in children's lunch boxes this week, our Bumble's winner is Dee Dee and Honey's winner is Elsie P well done!! Next week they will be receiving their prizes which upload in the next roundup.

We wish you all a wonderful autumnal weekend and look forward to seeing you again next week.