November 2024 - The Very Busy Spider
In this multi-sensory book, children can feel the pictures as well as see them, while they hear or read the easy rhythmic text. Early one morning a little spider begins to spin her web on a fencepost and she doesn't stop until it is finished . . .
Alongside the visual excitement of Eric Carle's vibrant collages of familiar animals is the tactile experience of feeling the spider's web as it grows from a simple line into a complex and beautiful creation - a perfect story for reading aloud and sharing.
The children have also explored a range of resources and materials, such as play dough, beads and pipe cleaners to create their own spiders and and pictured blocks to help them match the characters and retell the story independently.
November 2024 - Autumn Treasures
Thank you for supporting our Autumn Treasure Collection.
The children were very happy to share their contributions and have enjoyed exploring the natural treasures collectively.
We have explored the collection and talked about where they grow and where we found them. Many children found treasures in the garden and some ventured out to the park.
We also investigated some mathematical concepts. The children have lifted up pumpkins and various leaves and pine cones to feel and compare weight and size.
October 2024 - Bijou
Meet Bijou. Bijou is our preschool pet. He is a Lesser Tenrec and originates from Madagascar. Despite looking like one, he is not related to the hedgehog family. He can climb trees and eats meal worms and exotic fruits! Even though he looks spiky he is very easy to handle.
Interacting with animals supports children’s learning and development, and gives children the opportunity to learn how to be gentle and responsible for others.
Sensory Development
Young children discover their world through seeing, hearing and touching. Stroking and interacting with animals at close proximity teaches children how various textures feel. The various animal noises will help children identify the animals’ unique sounds.
Motor Skill Development
Motor skills are constantly being developed throughout a pre-schooler’s life. Motor skills are simply anything that uses their muscles. Gross motor skills involve large movements such as running or climbing, and fine motor skills are small movements such as holding a brush to groom an animal, or using tweezers to feed them.
Language Development
Spending time with animals is great for learning lots of new words – like whiskers, snout and paws. Children will usually return home at the end of the day and chatter away to their family about the animals.
Empathy
Young children begin to develop the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, and this includes animals too! When a child is asked questions such as, “Do you think Bijou likes being stroked?” and “Do you think the snail is hungry?” these can help children to consider the animals’ feelings.
September 2024 - Dear Zoo
The children have enjoyed listening to the story Dear Zoo. They have been very excited to guess which animal is behind the flaps and open the flaps to see if they were correct. The children can match the animals from the book with toy animals and some are beginning to retell the story themselves, exploring the story props to recreate the book and make up their own stories and games.
The importance of reading for children cannot be underestimated. Reading for pleasure can benefit a child’s education, social and cognitive development, their wellbeing, and their mental health.
September 2024 - Settling in to Preschool
A very warm welcome to all the children and their families for the new term.
The children are settling well in to the new routines. They have the confidence to free-flow inside and outdoors within the setting, and are building relationships with their key person and other staff supporting them.
