What's in the box .....

2021 Cohort 
Profile data for Autumn Term 2019 shows that 'Communication and Language - Speaking' is our lowest performing area for this cohort.

This is an activity that will help to develop the children's communication skills as well as their ability to talk about different objects in their environment. It is surprising just how much interest can be generated by opening a small box to reveal the treasure inside....

You can do this activity at home to develop your child's vocabulary. 

You need an empty box, shredded paper and a variety of objects ie animals, bus ticket, building block, car.  (anything of interest)
Take turns finding objects in the box 
Sing : What's in the box, what's in the box (child's name) have a look what's in the box
(ask staff for the tune)
Name the object for your child, wait and see if he/she repeats. Talk about the object introducing new words. 

Raising money for Children in Need...

St Mary's Nursery @ St Mary's College - donate money to wear your pyjamas to Nursery
St Mary's Nursery @ The Park - sponsored walk around Corporation Park
St Mary's Nursery @ WFCC - Cake sale

Thank you to all our families who brought in cakes for our ‘Children in Need’ cake sale. What a successful event, we raised £229.26
I will let you know the grand total raised between all 3 St Mary's Nurseries as soon as all donations are in :) 

I would like to say a special thank you to the parents who gave up their time to help on the cake stall

It's ready .....

The cake stall is ready, we just need more cakes bringing in tomorrow. 

Please call in with your friends and family to have cake and a cup of tea/coffee tomorrow. 

All day event 15th November 2019

Wednesday 13th November 5pm - 7.30pm

Staff will be available throughout the evening (appointments not necessary)
This is a chance to have a look at our learning environment, your child's development profile and there will be advice/ information on: 
School Readiness
Two year old development checks 
Toilet training
Parents contribution to Nursery life
Our App and Blog 
How you can help your child settle into Nursery 
How you can support your child's learning and development 
Our pedagogy (Teaching and learning)
Staff will be available to answer any questions, signpost to relevant agencies and you will have a chance to look at ‘our  journey through play’ floor books.

Please email l.parkinson@stmarysblackburn.ac.uk if there is anything in particular you would like more information about.

Help raise money for Children in Need 2019

We are holding a Cake/ Coffee sale on Friday 15^th November 2019 to raise money for Children in Need.

We need your help …… please could you bake some cakes with your child (or buy) and bring them into Nursery from Thursday 14^th November ready for our event on Friday 15^th November.

EVERYONE  is invited to our cake/coffee event, the more the merrier, even if Friday isn’t your child’s normal nursery day, just pop in (bring your friends)

The stall will be set up from 9.30am and will be open throughout the day so come along to enjoy a cake and cuppa with your child J

The children who attend on a Friday are invited to come to Nursery in a fancy dress costume of their choice. 

Bob the Builder.......

This week the children have been taking on the role of Builders  using large bricks, small bricks, wooden tools wearing hard hats and hi vis jackets. 

The discussions between child and EYP were all about building houses...... 

 Intent
From a next step
PSED - set up an activity to encourage:
- turn taking
- self confidence
- forming friendships

Implementation
EYP to provide different sizes of card board boxes, real construction tools, sticky tape, nuts and bolts. EYP to supervise this activity at all times.

 

Impact
- PSED 
• Interested in others’ play and starting to join in.
•Seeks out others to share experiences.
• Responds to a few appropriate boundaries, with encouragement and support.
C&L 
•Developing understanding of simple concepts (e.g. big/little).
Playing and Exploring 
Being willing to ‘have a go’
• Initiating activities
•Seeking challenge
•Showing a ‘can do’ attitude
•Taking a risk, engaging in new experiences, and learning by trial and error
Expressive Arts and Design
•Beginning to make-believe by pretending.
•Experiments with blocks, colours and marks.

Top Talking Tips for Parents..... Early Years

Allow your child to take the lead when you play together – this will keep them motivated and they’ll develop crucial thinking and language skills through their play.

Give your child time – they might need more time than you think to answer questions or follow instructions, so give them an extra few seconds to do this.

Think about matching the language you use to the language level of your child – try not to use vocabulary or sentence structures that are far more complex than the ones that they are using.

Share books together – interactive books with flaps or different textures are really great.

Think about your non-verbal communication – your facial expressions, body language and tone of voice are great ways of showing your child that you’re interested in what they say as well as helping them to keep their interest.

Demonstrate rather than correct. If your child says something incorrectly, repeat what they’ve said, but in the correct way and try to keep it in the conversation. You can do this with individual words, e.g. if they say “tat” you can repeat “ah, you saw a ...cat”,

Encourage turn taking during games, you can make it clear what you’re doing by explaining “my turn now” and telling your child when they’ve done well at waiting for their turn.

Think out loud– talk to your child about what you’re doing and when you’re doing it, that way they will begin to match what they hear to the object or the action that you’re talking about.

Silence is ok! If you allow your child some space and time, you might be surprised with what they say.

Repeat and expand on what your child says – e.g. if your child says “mummy car” you could say “mummy’s driving the car” – this helps children learn how to put words together to make sentences they can understand and then use them.

Use repetition; children need to hear words several times in different situations before they can understand and then use them.

Use rhymes and singing – sing your child’s favourite nursery rhyme with them. Try to sing it slowly to help your child listen to the words of the rhyme. If you can use actions too, this will help your child to understand the words better. 

Try setting aside some specific talking time, with the TV off, just for talking and playing together.