Weekly roundup - 8 and 15 December 2023

Welcome to the last Weekly Round Up of 2023, covering the last fortnight. The children have been busy creating Christmas crafts including Christmas cards, wreaths and measuring themselves with support for their baubles.

There has been music and dance throughout the week with the children singing some of their favourite Christmas Songs - Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells and When Santa Got Stuck up the Chimney were very popular! Our book of the week ‘The Nativity Story’ has been shared, with children acting out the scenes spontaneously during their play. It's nice to know that they are learning about the true meaning of Christmas and not just thinking about gifts and presents!

The children have enjoyed visiting our Christmas Shop after being given some special money to spend on some treats for loved ones. They helped wrap these and chose who to give their gifts to. 

On Friday in Bumbles we made Gingerbread men using dough - this involved rolling, patting and using the gingerbread cutter. The smell coming from the kitchen during cooking was delicious with lots of children noticing. One said "Yummy! It smells so good", another sad it reminded them of the the shops. Another spoke about the aroma and compared it to the smell of "when I bake at Nanny’s house". 

We have enjoyed gymnastics this week with Super Star Sports, practicing some pencil rolls and egg rolls. Ask your children about these and see if they can remember what to do! During Moo music we enjoyed using different instruments and popping bubbles using different parts of our bodies like our noses and elbows. These sessions are contributing to our efforts to stay fit and healthy. Well done to the winners and runners up of the activity tracker competition last week - Layla C in Bumbles and Frank in Honeys both took home the top prizes of a golf set. Thea in Bumbles and Bella in Honeys were both worthy runners up and won a handball set each. Thank you all so much for encouraging your children to participate in the competition. The children were very enthusiastic and spoke about the many different ways to keep active.

Going outside has been wet and slippery but lots of fun over the past couple of weeks. We've encouraged children to put on wet suits and their wellies to minimise the effects of outdoor play on their clothing. Please check that your child has wellies in Pre-School and that they have not grown out of them. Just check with your child's Key Person if you are not sure.

Our AGM was held last week and members of the committee stood down before being re-elected to their posts. Our policies and procedures were reviewed and signed off and can now be viewed on the website. The dedication and support of the committee ensures the setting can offer high quality childcare that is affordable and at the heart of the community. We are all very grateful for their efforts to govern Springfield Bees as volunteer officers and members. 

If you haven't already used our library system please encourage your children to have a go. All of the children can choose and borrow a book to take home and return after reading. They can get a stamp in their reading record and take another book home! We also have some 'borrow bags' at Pre-School which parents can take home for a week or two before returning. These are filled with ideas and resources for supporting children's development at home. Do ask a member of staff about these.

End of term reports for the children will be published next week. These are brief with updates about what the children have been doing and how to support their next steps in development. If your child has had a recent two year development check you may not receive an update until the Spring term, 2024.

Next week we'll be having our Christmas party for the children. This is on Tuesday from 12pm and children can be collected between 2.30-3.00pm. All children are invited including those who don’t usually attend this session. Pre-school will be providing a party lunch and entertainment so no need for a packed lunch on Tuesday. 

This will also be our last day of term before finishing for the Christmas period. Do remember to upload photographs to Tapestry so we can talk about these when we return on Thursday 4th of January 2024!

We'd like to thank you all for your support and wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!🎉 🎉