Autumn Newsletters
Angelfish
Hello and welcome to some new faces over the summer… Milo, Rose, Kate, Daisy, Thomas, Isabella and Jessica-may! It has been lovely getting to know you and we can’t wait to see you grow and develop your personalities! We would also like to welcome Susie, our newest member of the team; Susie joined us over the summer and has settled into Starfish life very well.
Please can we remind you to bring in a suitable cup from home for your child so they can start to recognise this as their own; this will hopefully encourage them to drink more water.
The babies have taken really well to sleeping on the sleep-beds in the conservatory after lunch; we are trying to encourage this to prepare the children for the transition to the Pufferfish room. We are still able to use travel cots in the sensory room for the younger babies if required but if you would like your child to start sleeping on a sleep-bed please speak to a member of staff.
The babies have really enjoyed spending time in the sensory room, listening to the soothing music, looking at different lights and feeling various textures.
Weather; it’s that time of year where the weather doesn’t really know what to do – can we please ask that you come to Nursery prepared for all weathers… jumpers, waterproofs, coats, suncream and hats. We aim to get out as much as possible as the babies really benefit from it. Now we have our new digging area, it may be an idea to pack a few more pairs of trousers and t-shirts…the babies love to get messy!
Halloween; this year Hallowwen is on a Monday, so we will all be dressing up in our ‘spookiest/cutest’ oufits and be doing lots of fun packed activities with the babies… playing with the pumpkin inners, painting pumpkins, making spooky spiders and decorating witches hats!
Autumn fun; we will be taking the babies out to find lots of leaves to create some pretty pictures of autumn. If you can find anything ‘autumny’ on your way to Nursery, please feel free to bring it in. We can then use these items to experiment with different ways of mark making… pine cone painting will be lots of fun! 
Pufferfish
Well, what a busy few months we have had at Nursery… we have had some children move up to Jellyfish pre-school this month and have been joined by others… so we say ‘hello’ to Amelia, Oscar, Elena, Hannah, Max, Isla, Miles, Sam, Maisie and Maximillian!
We have been working on defining our areas more over the summer and have been pleased with how the children have adapted to them. We have increased our resources to include calculators, rulers, stationary, new books, maps of the world, and magnifying glasses etc. We have also taken on a new unit that has become our crafts unit, where the children have access to all materials and tools.
Snack Bar has been introduced and has been very successful, where the children come and help themselves to their snack throughout a period of time; this way, their play is not interrupted.
Can we please remind you to bring your child in ready for all weathers; hats, wellies, coats, suncream etc- the weather is so unpredictable at this time of year.
This month we are going to continue with our Autumn theme; we are planning on going for some nature walks to see what we can find, and also kick the leaves and jump in puddles!! We will also be looking at transport, so if anyone has any books or resources they would like to share, please feel free to bring them in.
Halloween is fast approaching; we will be having a party on Monday 31st October, so remember to dress up in your best scary costume. We will be playing some fun games, including ‘apple bobbing’ and carving pumpkins!
Jellyfish
Well, unfortunately summer is now coming to an end, but what a busy summer it has been! I hope you everyone has enjoyed their summer holidays and are feeling somewhat more relaxed! All the staff have been very busy transforming Starfish and creating a bigger and better Preschool; I;m sure you will all agree that it looks fab!
Helping me to run the Jellyfish room are Hattie, Greta, Leanne, Sophie and Sara and together we are promoting and working towards a self-sufficient preschool, where the children can develop their independance. We have begun doing the following to support this;
- Self registration; where the children collect their name in the morning and placing it on a board – this will aid name recognition.
- A rolling snack bar; where the children can choose their own snack and pour their own drinks. This way, the childrens play is not interrupted and they can decide whether they have snack or not.
- Free flow into the garden; the doors are opened to the children for at least 1 hour per morning and afternoon for the children to select their own play, either inside or out.
We also conduct group times in the morning and afternoon, that consist of discussions, stories and songs. Adult initiated activities are also carried out daily to ensure that each child is being focused on. We would like to introduce ‘Show & Tell’ on a Monday so that the children can bring in and share things from home.
French lessons with Carole (from Le Club Francais) began on 9th September and the children are loving it! Carole is accompanied by Ougol, the French snail every Friday morning. The children already address Carole with “Bonjour” as soon as she arrives! Please speak to a member of staff if you are interested in joining the lessons.
Sam has also started ‘Makaton’ signing with the children; she plans an activity that last approx 15 minutes each week. The children have really started to pick this up and we are finding that some have already become fluent in Makaton – well their own version anyway!
This month we are looking at Space, Shape and Patterns… we will be finding various shapes within our environment and the different patterns and shapes the stars can make! We will also be looking at what planets we have and how we can travel to them.. lots of box/rocket play coming up! We will be celebrating Diwali, the festival of light bymaking rangoli patterns, lanterns and some treats for our family!
Halloween is also coming up and as it is on a Monday this year, we will be having a little party… all the staff and children will be encouraged to dress up, join in with games, face painting and having some fun!