Weekly roundup 21 April 2023

Welcome back to all of our families and a big hello to the new children starting at the Pre-School this term. We hope you had a great Easter break and wish those celebrating the end of Ramadan a very happy Eid! Ramadan sees worshippers fasting daily from dawn to sunset, ending with the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which is normally celebrated with family gatherings. The timing of Eid al-Fitr is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar. 

The children have all returned happily and staff have been hearing about how you have all been celebrating Easter at home. From chocolate eggs and attendance at church to tales of holidays in Prague and Paris!  

Our theme for the first couple of weeks is Mini Beasts and children in both rooms will be exploring vocabulary through books and discussions, including picture books, fiction and non-fiction. We will talk about where we might find different insects and where they like to live. Our aim is to help children to care for animals and take part in first-hand explorations of animal life cycles such as caterpillars or creating habitats for different insects (bug hotels). We currently have some Caterpillars in the setting that are in their cocoons before hopefully transforming into butterflies. We'll keep you updated with their progress. 

The children in Bumbles have started to engage in some small group sessions to help them prepare for the transition to school. They are very excited about taking the next step in their learning and some have already told us where they are going. Parents will be emailed about the sessions and how they can help support with school transition at home. 

The books we are reading this week and next to support children's learning are Superworm by Julia Donaldson, Spinderella by Julia Donaldson, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Mr Men and Little Miss Happy Eid by Roger Hargreaves. 

We are (slightly!) famous again after our Welly Walk morning was featured in last month's edition of Nursery World. It's great to have some recognition from the early years sector about how we are supporting children. We are planning another event for the summer and will send out details soon.

Have a great weekend!