Ely Newsletter April 2014 Dear Parents and Carers, May 2013 Welcome to the April edition of our nursery newsletter. Children’s news: - - - - - I would like to welcome Anna, Oscar, Emily, Charlie and Oscar to the nursery we hope you all settle in well. Baby Room – we will be carrying out lots of painting activities exploring different textures, water play and jelly play. We will also be teaching our babies new action songs to develop their hand eye co-ordination and physical development. Toddler Room – we will be learning new songs with numbers to develop their understanding of the numbers. We will be discussing people who are special to us and looking at family photos. Also playing with lots of different messy play and exploring textures and our senses. Early Preschool Room – we will be carrying out activities to develop letter recognition and counting objects and insects in the garden. We are also looking at different weathers and seasons in our outdoor environment. Preschool Room – we will be catching and counting bean bags to develop physical development and understanding of mathematics. Dressing up in different characterisers developing imagination skills and incorporating mark making and literacy into this imaginative play i.e. policemen with a clipboard. We will also be growing different plants / vegetables to plant into our garden environment. Staff News: - I would like to welcome Natalie Burton to our Preschool room; she has transferred from a th Cambridge nursery and started on 7 April 2014. I would also like to announce that Samantha Goodson who is currently lunch cover will be 5 St Thomas Place Ely Cambs CB7 4EX Tel: 0845 365 2950 - - working full time in our preschool room as well from th the 7 April 2014. Sam has been working closely with Sarah and has been really shining when working with our preschool children. I am sure you will all welcome them and congratulate them on their new roles. I am sad to say that Arianne Martin will sadly be leaving us as Room Supervisor of Toddlers due to a position coming up closer to where she lives. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Arianne for her hard work and commitment she has given us. We are currently recruiting for this position. I am so happy to congratulate Sarah Lindsay on th getting married on the 29 March 2014. Sarah looked absolutely amazing and I am sure you will all congratulate her on becoming Mrs Whitaker. Training courses attended: Sarah Parkinson has attended room supervisor training. th On Friday 11 April Jess and Sarah Parkinson will be attending growing readers, writers and mathematicians training and this will be incorporated into our preschool room. Jess will be attending fire marshal training and employment in action training this month. Dates to note: th 17 April – Stay and Play in our baby room between 9.30am - 11.00am. Our baby parents are welcome to come and have a play in our baby room and see the fun activities we do throughout the day. th 18 April – Good Friday – the nursery is closed. st 21 – Easter Monday – the nursery is closed. Garden Party / Preschool Graduation save this date th Saturday 5 July - the garden party and Preschool graduation will be on this date. Times will be confirmed nearer the time. Page 1 Ely Newsletter April 2014 This month’s birthdays: May 2013 th 4 April – Anna th 7 April – Claudia th 7 April – Millie th 17 April – Isla th 17 April – Benedict th 20 April – Emily th 29 April – Isaac Family reminders We have now confirmed the garden party and preschool th graduation date; it will be Saturday 5 July 2014. Confirmation of times etc will come later. I would like to ask all parents for ideas and feedback of what they would like to make this an extra special event. If you could speak directly to Jess Knowles or Gayle Jeffery that would be great. We will also be introducing our new medicine policy for emergency Calpol or Piriton. A letter will be provided to explain fully how this will be implemented. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact Jess or Gayle. I would also like to remind all parents of ensuring only they know the door code to access the nursery and parents make sure they close the door behind themselves ensuring the next person puts the code in themselves this is to make sure we are keeping everyone safe. shared with all kidsunlimited Nurseries over the coming months. It links learning at nursery and at home by supporting your child’s magical journey from making a mark, to emergent writing, and finally becoming a confident writer. Growing Writers also lays foundation skills at each stage, which enables your child to flourish with the confidence and capability to succeed at school. Stages of Children’s Writing Learning to write is a significant developmental milestone in young children’s lives and is a process that begins when a child is still a baby. Making a mark: Through experimentation, children discover that they are able to ‘make a mark’. For toddlers and twos, the sheer joy of creating a mark is more important than the end product. While older babies or young toddlers may experiment with making a mark, it becomes more deliberate in older toddlers and twos. Marks have a meaning: The very beginnings of deliberate writing happen when children begin to attribute the marks they have made to something else. Some marks may be ‘pictures’ while others are selected as ‘writing’ e.g. “That says James.” Gradually, the marks children make for writing begin to look different from the marks they make for drawing. Marks begin to resemble letters: Children’s marks begin to more closely resemble letters or even cursive writing. Eventually, children move to ‘mock letters’ that resemble letters, around the age of four. Mock letters typically contain many of the strokes in real letters. This stage is often referred to as emergent writing. Writing more closely resembles letters: Children come to understand that there are a finite number of letters. Growing Writers Is Coming to Your Child’s Nursery Growing Writers is a resource which supports our educational programme at Bright Horizons and will be 5 St Thomas Place Ely Cambs CB7 4EX Tel: 0845 365 2950 Writing includes ‘mock words’: Children write standard letters in groupings that resemble words, though these aren’t actual words. Page 2 Ely Newsletter April 2014 May 2013 Phonemic or Invented Spelling: Children attempt to write words the way they think they sound. This is typical for children in reception and year one. children, no matter whether they tan easily or not, should be protected from it. Encouraging an Early Interest in Writing There are many ways that you can help encourage your child’s interest in writing. Support little ones in making their first marks by allowing them to explore a range of textures with their fingers, such as moving a finger through dinner spilt on a table or a streamed up window. Through activities such as threading, weaving and printing, you can also develop your child’s coordination skills which are required to hold and manipulate a pen. This will help your child master the complex skills required with handwriting, Most importantly, as a competent writer, you can encourage an interest in writing with your child. Whether you are making a shopping list, writing cheques or recording a phone message, offer your child writing tools to use as well. If you are writing letters, offer your child paper, envelopes, writing utensils and stickers (for stamps) so they can practice too. Your child may enjoy sending their writing to family and friends, so take a trip to the post office to post the letter… Maybe they will even receive a letter in return! For more information about Growing Writers, please speak to the staff at your child’s nursery and look out for our ‘Play and Learning at Home’ guidance and ideas. If you are interested in learning more about young children’s early writing, please visit http://www.early-education.org.uk/ and read ‘Making their mark –children’s early writing’. Children with fair or red hair, pale eyes or freckles are at most risk. Even on cloudy days, unprotected skin can be damaged by the sun's UV rays in as little as 15 minutes, yet it can take up to 12 hours for skin to show the full effect of sun exposure. So, if your child's skin looks "a little pink" today, it may be burnt by the morning. In our nurseries, there is a Sun Protection Policy that your nursery manager will be happy to discuss with you. We make sure that throughout the day, sunscreen is applied to each child at least twenty minutes prior to playing in the sun. It is also very helpful if you are able to bring a sun hat to nursery that protects the face, head and nape of the neck and has their name in too. Although we keep spare ones if you forget, children are generally much happier wearing their own. Children in our nurseries do not play in direct sun between 11 am and 3pm – this does not mean they do not go outside; just that they play in shaded areas which are often cooler than inside. Sun care We are hopefully approaching better weather and certainly warmer days, when children will be playing outside for longer periods of time. Care of your child’s skin is extremely important and young skin is delicate and very easily damaged by the sun. All 5 St Thomas Place Ely Cambs CB7 4EX Tel: 0845 365 2950 The following simple steps are recommended by Cancer Research UK and will help you to keep your children safe in the sun … 1. Keep them covered: One of the best ways to protect your child's skin from the sun's rays is to keep them covered up with loose-fitting, tightlywoven clothing Page 3 Ely Newsletter April 2014 May 2013 2. Seek out the shade: Set up your children's play areas in the shade so they are less likely to suffer from over-exposure to the sun. The sun is usually at its most intense between 11am and 3pm, so shade is even more important during this time. 3. Stay sunscreen safe: As a general rule, children over six months old should wear a sunscreen with SPF15 or higher with UVA protection. Although the British Skin Foundation recommends that children should use a minimum SPF 30 product with UVA protection. Of course it is important to try and keep sun exposure to a minimum for young children and especially babies under the age of 6 months. Try to keep them in the shade whenever possible and certainly during the hottest time of the day and keep them covered with t-shirts and hats. Sunscreen should be applied 15-30 minutes before going out in the sun and re-applied every couple of hours throughout the day. Remember to re-apply if your child has been playing in the water and never use sunscreen to extend the time they should normally spend in the sun. 4. Protect their "peepers": Children's eyes can be more sensitive to UV light than those of adults, so they need protection. Invest in a good pair of sunglasses for your child with 100 % UV filtration (toy sunglasses may provide no protection at all) and also a wide-brimmed hat. 5. Healthy and hydrated: Make sure your child drinks plenty of water, particularly in hot weather; keeping up their water intake prevents dehydration and maintains healthy kidneys and bladder. 6. Be wary of temporary tattoos: Temporary tattoos are a popular holiday treat for children, especially when visiting foreign countries, but be aware of the dangers they could pose to your child's skin. Some so-called "black henna" versions can contain illegal substances which can cause nasty skin reactions. 7. Vitamin D and the sun: There are very mixed messages about sunscreens and vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for good health, and in particular to maintain healthy bones – but excessive sun exposure can cause damage too and so there needs to be a balance. It is possible to get enough vitamin D from eating certain foods (it is found in eggs, oily fish, fish liver oils and some fortified cereals) - but this might not suit everyone’s diet; and 5 St Thomas Place Ely Cambs CB7 4EX Tel: 0845 365 2950 some sunshine is a necessity. Sunlight acts on the skin to produce vitamin D. When exposed to the sun it is still important to protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV rays, including the use of sunscreens. To find out more about staying safe in the sun visit: British Skin Foundation website Cancer Research UK "SunSmart" Campaign website Best wishes Jess Knowles Nursery Manager Tel: 0845 365 2950 E-mail: [email protected] Page 4
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