Can we make a den?

 How can we make a den?

Lots of discussions took place to decide what we could use to make a den and what we could do in the den. (staff used challenging questions to encourage the children to think of their own ideas)

We finally agreed to use the dressing up stand, a unit, material, pegs, cushions and books.


After lots of giggling the children chose a story for Keira to read. The children told the story of the 3 little pigs (without any help)

Preparing for Mothers Day....

WE NEED A PHOTOGRAPH OF EACH CHILD'S MUMMY/ CARER

Don't forget .....Mothers Day is on Sunday 22nd March

Please could you send a photograph of 'Mummy/Carer' by 13th March.
You can either send in a printed photo or send one to l.parkinson@stmarysblackburn.ac.uk for us to print.

During the Wc 16th March we will have a 'Creation Station' set up in each room.
The children will be able to create their own masterpiece using their photo of mummy/carer (so please do not send in your expensive photos)

They will have access to:
card, paper, magazines, frames, paint, crayons, scissors, flowers, tape, glue, glitter, ribbon, feathers, buttons, leaves, pasta, collage, pompoms and much more 

Pancake Day!

Pancake Day

.

mix mix mix

Watching Emma flip the pancakes in the kitchen, wow.

Yummy pancakes with banana slices,
 mmmmmmm

World Book Day 2020

Thursday 5th March 2020 is world book day we will be celebrating at Nursery by reading stories and wearing our favorite book character costumes. 

Parents- you are welcome to come into Nursery to share books with the children.

The benefits of reading together:
-Reigniting a love of sharing stories to promote wellbeing for everyone
-Reading to your child on a daily basis throughout childhood is one of the most important factors
in raising a reader for life, and creating a family reading habit enriches child-parent bonds.

Hungry Little Minds...

Take a look at this website, some good ideas and activities for home learning.......

https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/

Creating awe and wonder....

Today we introduced some pipe insulation tubes to our small world / construction area.

To the children these weren't pipe insulation tubes they were: 

-walking sticks

- horses

-paddles for the boat 

-swords for the pirates 

-magic wands 

-trumpets 

-telescope to find the elf

The imagination and involvement was lovely for the staff to watch

Loose Parts quote

How do I keep up to date with Nursery events?

Download this App to your phone:

 ‘OurSchoolsApp’

Put in BB2 6NL and follow Nursery Life through your App

Questionnaire Feedback

St Mary’s Nurseries value opinions and suggestions for our provision, we are constantly trying to improve the service we provide for our families.
I would like to thank the parents/carers who completed the questionnaire. 

Here are a few of the wonderful comments about the Environment :

'I think the environment inside is great and I can see the staff have put a lot of time into making it special for the children'

'It is super good for the children'

'The room layout is very good and spacious and i feel there are many resources available for my child to learn from'

'Lovely environment, lots to play and do, also great outdoor space'

'I personally think that everything is really well organised and wonderful and it has all that the children would want to play with' 

'We think that the selection for different kinds of play works really well. Very logical and very organised, as children know where things are and where they go' 

'I like the environment and everything' 

'I love the environment at Nursery and wouldn't change anything. Both my children settled in well when they started. Information is always clearly displayed'

Here are a few of the wonderful comments about the Staff :

'My child loves her and was happy when she moved into pre school and found out her new keyworker. She is caring and attentive. She listens to the children and works hard to provide everything they need. I like seeing her play with the children as she seems to enjoy her job and it is clear the children love her' 

 'She is like a second mother, thank you so much for everything' 

'Very helpful throughout my child's time at Nursery. She always provides her time and attention when discussing any issues and has made us feel comfortable  with nursery'

'Such an amazing nursery nurse, she is so nice and defiantly looks out for his needs, he has settled in so well, thank you'

'She is really helpful and lovely towards my child. She shows care and respect to us both. She helps build my child's skills day to day. My daughter always has a smile on her face when I pick her up and wants to come everyday'

'My child has improved in confidence because of the level of care and interaction form his key worker. We've noticed a vast improvement in our child's speech, writing and in general behaviour and relationships with others' 

''She is very good at looking after my child, she is very good' 

'My child's key worker is always chatty and friendly and seems to have a great relationship with my child. Very helpful if i do have any questions or concerns with child development etc' 

'She has been friendly and is always happy to talk or give advice' 

Here are a few of the wonderful comments about the Teaching and Learning:

'I like the new approach. I know this concept helps to develop creativity and imagination. My child will often show me things she has played with and I know she loves exploring new environments within the pre school room'

'My child has picked up a great deal from this learning approach and doesn't even know it' 

'All new to me but seems great'

'We have noticed some improvements in our child's development so it obviously works'

'I like the new approach and feel it will benefit my child ad he has a great imagination but also likes to be independent' 

Suggestions and responses: 

Suggestion
'The outside area could do with some attention - there is a hole in the ground with a bit of wood over it last time i went out and I noticed lots of weeds' 


Response
We understand that the garden may not always look landscaped or pleasing to the adult eye, like how you would expect a garden at home to look. An Early Years outdoor environment should provide opportunities for children to be challenged, take risks, think critically and spark imagination. As in the photograph opposite and Blog posts you can see our outdoor area is very beneficial to the children as they show high levels of engagement and progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. 


Unfortunately we are unable to use weed killer for obvious reasons but there are certain times of year that the gardener comes to maintain the garden / weeds. 


Suggestion 
'Please update the blog with class activities as it allows me to know what my child has been up to and help her development at home' 

Response
It is reassuring that parents are using the blog to carry out home learning. Updating the blog is a time consuming task, this is why we try to update it on a weekly basis and would be detrimental to child:adult interactions if a member of staff was required to update it more regularly. 
Suggestion 
'What a wonderful idea having a library but I do think it could be bigger and have a wider selection of books' 

Response 
The library is the responsibility of Wensley Fold Children's Centre therefore I will pass the suggestion about the selection of books available over to them. 


Thank you for your support 

Looking for something to do during half term?

file:///C:/Users/Administrator/Downloads/February%20Half%20Term%20Cycle%20Centre%202020.pdf

In the Jungle

Children's Interest: Animals.....

Feeding the animals in the playdough tray

An animal hunt......
We went outside to look for animals in the garden

Treasure Hunt ......

A couple of children were making Treasure Maps in the mark making continuous provision. 

Keira wanted to extend this by inviting the children on a real 'Treasure Hunt'

Keira's intent was to observe how her key child could play in a group, building up role play activities with other children. 

(Keira was aware that some of the children in the group were confident in role play activities therefore provided opportunities to use challenging questions and descriptive language)

 Some of the language used during this activity:
'I'll be the director, you can be the parrot'
'The pirates are coming fast'
'Pirates have jet packs, shhhh'
'We will need to be quiet the pirates are coming'

The children described the treasures as:
'shiny'
'round'
'heart'
'big'
'little'

Keira observed some mathematical language
-Uses some language of quantities, such as ‘more’ and ‘a lot’
-Uses some number names accurately in play.

Internet Safety......

Helen read 'Smartie the Penguin'

Smartie the Penguin got a new I pad for his birthday, things kept going wrong!! 

A pop up picture came up on his i pad and we had to help him decide what to do .......

we decided that you would always tell an adult. 

https://www.childnet.com/resources/smartie-the-penguin

Please can we weigh our babies?

Tracy answered the phone to a lady who wanted to make an appointment to have her baby weighed in the Children's Centre. 

A child overheard this conversation and asked  'who was that on the phone' 

Tracy explained that it was lady who wanted to weigh her baby at the clinic. This led to a discussion about where babies are weighed and how. 

We went out into the Children's Centre to ask if we could weigh our babies (dolls) 

'My baby is poorly because she has not been eating or drinking'