Nursery News 17.5.2021

NURSERY NEWS

17th May 2021 – Edition 225

Find out About:

A..Is your child ready to learn?

B. Eggs arriving.

C. What the children are learning about this week.

A. Is your child ready to learn?

One tick from ‘the sixteen ticks’ to work upon:

To eat a meal or snack unaided and identify and enjoy healthy foods.

It is important that children learn how to feed themselves to enable them to have some independence with their eating both at home and at school. As with other skills, parents need to be aware that children should be prepared for the next stage in their lives. Coming in to Catkins Class we expect children to drink their milk from a carton through a straw. We expect them to be able to use a regular cup to drink water from. Catkins staff encourage our youngest children to learn how to use a spoon to feed themselves by providing cereal with milk to eat at the beginning of the morning session.

A few children stay for lunch in Catkins, a larger number of 3+ children stay for lunch, but eventually all children will have lunch at school when they join reception classes. Children need to be prepared for this. Children need to practise using their cutlery as it is difficult to learn. At home, try to have meals with your children, so they can see you using cutlery. At school we encourage children to use knives in cookery sessions, for example to prepare fruit for fruit salads.

Lunchtime brings its challenges. A pot of yogurt or jelly with a spoon is quite a tricky task for a three year old. Your child has to be able to hold a spoon and move it so that it goes into the yogurt. They then have to pick up some food, but not too much, so that it will fit into their mouth without going all over their face. Children also have to learn about wanting to be clean after eating, so we encourage the children to check their face in the mirror and wash their face if necessary after eating. All these

things can be taught at home. Some children will try to eat food through the packaging, they need to know the packet must be opened before they can eat the biscuit. Some children squeeze their foods in their hands and sprinkle it onto the floor. Others tip food onto the floor and then tread on it to break the biscuits or crisps into crumbs. Children are all at different stages of independently eating, and it is not always linked to a child’s age. Some of our youngest children already have very good table manners, so well done to parents who have obviously spent time practising with their children.

Before half term the staff in Main Nursery Bubble spent quite considerable time discussing the theme of healthy eating with groups of children. The younger Bubble will be looking at healthy eating this week. We work on the concept that all food is okay for you in moderation, but some foods are healthier than others. We try to help children make informed decisions to help them over time. We explain that fruit and vegetables are really good for you because they provide lots of vitamins. Try talking to your child about the topic of healthy eating, to test their knowledge. I think most children in Main Nursery could talk confidently on the subject. Encourage children to help you prepare food at home. Maybe let them chop the carrots after you have peeled them, or help them to make their own sandwiches.

B. Eggs arriving.

How Egg-citing!

This week we will be receiving a delivery from ‘Living Eggs’.

The eggs arrive almost ready to hatch, so we hope by Tuesday or Wednesday we should see the chicks beginning to hatch out from their eggs. We keep the chicks for about 10 days so that the children can watch them grow, and learn about how to care for them. We plan lots learning opportunities around the eggs/chicks over the next two weeks. Updates to follow……

C. What the children are learning about this week.

The younger bubble will be focusing on Healthy Eating this week. To promote an interest in food Miss Tyler will be setting up a fruit and vegetable shop role play area. We have lots of plastic fruit, and the children love to buy lots of fruit and put it into their shopping bags. Children begin to use the names of different fruits, as well as learning about quantity, sharing, being in role as the shop keeper or customer, and exchanging money for goods.

To compliment this, they will investigate fruit shapes, by using pieces of fruit to print with, using paint. They will play some table top card games with a healthy eating theme, and eventually have the opportunity to prepare their own fruit salad.

Miss Gaffney will be looking at the effect of exercise on their bodies, in a very basic way. Helping them to observe that their breathing rate changes when they are active, and that you can feel your heart beating when you are physically working hard.

In the older bubble:

If the weather is good Mrs Patterson will develop more water play this week. Her plan is to provide the dolls clothes, washing up bowls, a washing line and pegs, so children can explore washing and drying clothes.

Most of the week we will be focusing on chicks. As I am writing this a small group of children keep coming to check at the front door to see if the lady from Living eggs has delivered them yet! I hope to offer some photos next week!