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Nursery News 20th October 2025

NURSERY NEWS

20^th October 2025 – Edition 387

Find out About:

A. Important dates, a reminder.

B. Parent Consultations

C. Clothing for Winter Months.

D. Box modelling

E. Queuing Outside School

F. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Important dates, a reminder.

Mon 27^th October 2024 to Fri 31^st October 2025: Autumn Half term – School Closed

Wednesday 5^th November and Thursday 6^th November-School Photographer to visit.

B. Parent Consultations

Little Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations this week! Parents have made appointments with Keyworkers, here are the times staff will be speaking to parents on the phone, as a reminder:

Monday 20th October Miss Cashmore’s Red Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:30pm

Tuesday 21^st October Mrs Chiriac’s Red Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:30am and 9:45 am

Tuesday 21^st  October Miss Allen’s Little Yellow Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:50am and 10:50am

Tuesday 21st October Miss Gaffney’s Green Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:10pm

Each appointment lasts only five minutes. Please help staff to remain on time.

C. Clothing for Winter Months.

The staff have asked that I write about appropriate clothing for the children during Winter months…

Winter is coming and conditions are becoming generally wetter and colder in the Nursery gardens.  We go outside every day, in all weather conditions, so please make sure all children are appropriately dressed. A warm winter coat is important, preferably with a hood. We need children to learn to become as independent as possible with regard to their coats. At home, please encourage your child to put on their coat themselves. We know nearly all the Big Nursery children have the ability to do this, but they often ask for help. Please try to teach them to fasten their coat themselves.

Please can we ask that you do not provide ‘All In One Snowsuits’, as they are particularly difficult to get on and off. Staff do not have the time to assist children with these. Even in winter we have free flow play where children can choose to move from inside to outside as frequently as they wish, so throughout the day a child may have many occasions where coats are put on and taken off again.

Mittens are easier for children to put on themselves, rather than gloves. We do not mind helping the children to wrap up warm, because they love to play outside. Children enjoy the outside space even when it is freezing!   Just remember to label mittens, hats and gloves with your child’s name so we can send them home with the correct child at the end of the day!.

Now for inside school….       

Our school is generally warm, we set our classroom thermostats to 21 degrees C. So for the majority of the year the school is comfortably warm.

However, unlike your homes, we have a lot of outside walls in each classroom and lots of windows. Our doors to the outside areas, situated in Room 1 for Big Nursery, and in Room 4 for Little Nursery are open for the majority of the day to allow for continuous free flow play. So, when weather temperatures outside begin to drop, it may feel a little cooler inside school. We would suggest sending your child to school in warmer clothing than they would need at home. We would always suggest adding layers, so children can adjust what they wear.

Parents may not be aware that staff act similarly to a child’s parent when checking a child’s wellbeing. We do act if we think a child is too hot, or too cold, and adjust clothing accordingly.

When we have extreme winter temperatures, we do limit how long we spend outside. We close outside, to maintain warmth inside, and allow shorter play periods outside, making sure no child gets too cold.

D. Box Modelling

We are running very short of recycled materials for our box modelling area. We would be very grateful for recycled materials that the children can use to create models.  Children love boxes, but not too big please. The biggest boxes we can store are cereal boxes. Tiny boxes are useful, or unusual shapes.  Plastic bottle tops make good buttons and wheels. Yogurt pots, butter tubs and other plastic containers are interesting to glue together, but please ensure they are clean. Toilet roll tubes become superhero cuffs, covered in foil. Egg boxes are great places to glue coloured tissue.

E. Queuing Outside School

A parent has asked that we add a note to our newsletter, to ask parents if they could try and queue near to our fence and leave space on the path for others to pass.

We know it is very busy outside in the mornings and evenings. We know some families visit more than one school, and the majority of our parents have to get swiftly off to work, so we ask that parents are considerate of each other.

I do sometimes suggest to parents that it may be easier to walk along the path over the road, before crossing to join their colour group queue.

We encourage our pupils to be polite and show kindness within our school community. We know our Willow parents are just as supportive of each other, and can work together for positive outcomes. You are a nice lot!

F. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is keeping healthy. This week the children will be learning about how to make healthy choices and explore the importance of hygiene and exercise. Staff will be encouraging the children to go outside and be physically active.

Staff will explain how important it is to stay hydrated throughout the day, especially when exercising and getting hot. Staff will model lots of language for the children, so that they understand the meaning of words such as ‘hot’, ‘thirsty’, ‘tired’ etc. After lots of movement, the staff will encourage the children to think about how they feel by asking questions like ‘are you puffed out?’ or ‘is your heart beating faster than normal?’, and they will explain that these are the effects that exercise has on our body.

We will also be learning about oral hygiene and how important it is that we look after our teeth. There will be lots of activities to show the children how to brush their teeth properly and staff will talk about visiting the dentist and making healthy food choices.

We will also be focusing on scissor skills. The children will learn how to use scissors safely and effectively. We will be providing lots of cutting opportunities to upskill our children and encourage them to cut appropriate materials such as paper, card and boxes in the creative areas. Scissor skills are tricky to master so we aim to provide as much practice as possible.

Nursery News 13th October 2025

NURSERY NEWS

13^th October 2025 – Edition 386

Find out About:

A. Parent Consultations

B. Willow Pumpkin Patch

C. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Parent Consultations

We aim to offer all parents the opportunity to have a Parent Consultation with their child’s keyworker once per term.

Now it is time for Big Nursery parents to book appointments to speak with your child’s Keyworker.

These consultations are offered to talk about how your child is settling in and the progress your child is making. They are not compulsory, but if you would like an appointment please arrange this with your child’s keyworker when they are outside before morning sessions, or after afternoon sessions.

These consultations will be on the telephone, will last 5 minutes and will be available at the following times:

Monday 3^rd November, Miss Skai’s Orange Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:20pm.

Tuesday 4^th November Miss Howe’s Yellow Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:45pm

Tuesday 4^th November Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

Thursday 6^th November Mrs Patterson’s Blue Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:20pm

B. Willow Pumpkin Patch

Mrs Patterson and Miss Howe are planning to set up a Pumpkin Patch in our outside area and are requesting donations of a pumpkin. They are looking for pumpkins of all sizes to add to the patch, so, if you are able to add one to your shopping list, please do! There are so many activities that can stem from having a collection of pumpkins, including; transportation of pumpkins in wheelbarrows and on bikes, pumpkin painting, hammering golf tees into the pumpkins, using the pumpkins in the mud kitchen and even opening up the pumpkins to investigate what’s inside. It will be a very exciting week, full of art, science and cognitive and physical development. Thank you for your support!

(We did this last year and it was an amazing success. The children had so much fun!)

C. What are the children learning about this week?

The learning intention this week is for the children to know some of the things that make them unique, and talk about similarities and differences in relation to friends and family.

The theme this week is ‘Happy in Our Skin’, so the children will be using mirrors to look at their reflections and adults will take these opportunities to talk to the children about what they can see. This can then evolve into an opportunity to discuss things that make us different and any similarities that we may have with each other.

Children will be learning the names of their friends and will be able to take photographs of each other using our i-pads. After the photographs have been taken, the children can analyse them to identify familiar features such as eye and hair colour. Staff will highlight the similarities that they may have with children and each other, they will explain that we are all unique even though we may have some similar features or habits.

Our seven C’s learning intention is for the children to be able to feed themselves. Staff encourage the children to be as independent as possible during lunch and snack times. They are asked to get their own lunch boxes and drinks bottles and to feed themselves with as little support as possible. Our aim is for the children to understand the importance of being able to do things for themselves and how things become easier with practise.

Nursery News 6th October 2025

NURSERY NEWS

6^th October 2025 – Edition 385

Find out About:

A. Parent Consultations- A reminder

B. How to keep your child healthy over the coming Autumn/ Winter season.

C. A case of Headlice in Big Nursery.

D. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Parent Consultations-A reminder

We aim to offer all parents the opportunity to have a Parent Consultation with their child’s keyworker once per term

Little Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations during week beginning Monday 21^th October, 2025

These consultations are offered to talk about how your child is settling in. They are not compulsory, but if you would like an appointment please arrange this with your child’s keyworker when they are outside before morning sessions, or after afternoon sessions.

B. How to keep your child healthy over the coming Autumn/ Winter season.

With the new school term starting, children spend more time together, which can lead to more colds, flu, and other illnesses.

Here are some ways to keep your children healthy and in school:

1.Keep your child’s vaccinations up to date.

Measles and whooping cough are still around. The best way to protect your child from getting sick is to make sure they have had all their vaccines. If you are unsure. you can ask your GP or use the NHS app to check.

2. Make sure your child gets the flu vaccine.

Flu can make children very sick. The Flu vaccine reduces the risk of needing hospital care. Most children from age 2 to 16 can get the vaccine. The vaccine is usually a quick, painless spray in the nose. There is also a version without pork ingredients. Children aged 2-3 can get the flu vaccine at their GP. Vaccinating your child also helps protect others, like family members, from getting the flu.

3.Teach your child good handwashing habits.

Washing hands helps stop the spread of germs. Remind your child to wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating. Teach them to use tissues for coughs and sneezes and to throw them in the bin afterwards.

4. Know when to keep your child at home.

Sometimes it is hard to know if your child should stay home. For minor illnesses, like a slight cough or cold, it’s usually OK to send them to school. But if they have a high temperature or a rash, keep them at home and speak to your GP

C. A case of Headlice in Big Nursery.

A parent kindly telephoned me today to inform me her child had head lice. I would ask that all parents check their child’s hair.

I have copied the following information from an NHS information website, which you may find useful.

Head lice and nits

Head lice and nits are very common in young children and their families. They do not have anything to do with dirty hair and are picked up by head-to-head contact.

Check if it’s head lice

–Head lice are small insects, up to 3mm long

-They can be difficult to spot in your hair

-Head lice eggs (nits) are brown or white (empty shells) and attached to the hair

Head lice can make your head feel:

• itchy
• like something is moving in your hair

The only way to be sure someone has head lice is by finding live lice.

You can do this by combing their hair with a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb). You can buy these online or at pharmacies.

How to get rid of head lice

Important

You can treat head lice without seeing a GP.

Treat head lice as soon as you spot them.

You should check everyone in the house and start treating anyone who has head lice on the same day.

There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice.

Wet combing

Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You should try this method first.

You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits.

There may be instructions on the pack, but usually you:

• wash hair with ordinary shampoo
• apply lots of conditioner (any conditioner will do)
• comb the whole head of hair, from the roots to the ends

It usually takes about 10 minutes to comb short hair, and 20 to 30 minutes for long, frizzy or curly hair.

Do wet combing on days 1, 5, 9 and 13 to catch any newly hatched head lice. Check again that everyone’s hair is free of lice on day 17.

Medicated lotions and sprays

Ask a pharmacist for advice if you have tried wet combing for 17 days, but your child still has live head lice.

They may recommend using medicated lotions and sprays. These kill head lice in all types of hair, and you can buy them from pharmacies, supermarkets or online.

Head lice should die within a day. Some lotions and sprays come with a comb to remove dead lice and eggs.

Some treatments need to be repeated after a week to kill any newly hatched lice.

Check the pack to see if they’re OK for you or your child and how to use them.

If lotions or sprays do not work, speak to a pharmacist about other treatments.

Some treatments are not recommended because they’re unlikely to work.

For example:

• products containing permethrin
• head lice “repellents”
• electric combs for head lice
• tree and plant oil treatments, such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and lavender oil herbal remedies

You cannot prevent head lice

There’s nothing you can do to prevent head lice.

You can help stop them spreading by wet or dry combing regularly to catch them early.

Do not use medicated lotions and sprays to prevent head lice. They can irritate the scalp.

There’s no need for children to stay off school or to wash laundry on a hot wash.

D. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is ‘who is who in nursery?’

This week each morning the children will see photographs of each member of staff and they will learn the names of the staff. This is to help the children to feel more at ease with the staff and to encourage children to use names when talking to someone. We will talk about the importance of addressing people by their names and recognizing who each person is and where they work within the nursery. Learning the names of the people around you, helps to build confidence and create a sense of self.

The learning intention this week is for the children to be able to count up to five items, recognizing that the last number said, represents the total counted so far. Children will be taught lots of number songs to help them count in order and they will be encouraged to check their counting by using fingers to represent the numbers.

The skill we will be focusing on this week is riding a bike. We have a large selection of bikes for the children to use, including two wheeled bikes, tricycles and tandems. We will provide a timer to support the children to take turns on the bikes and play fairly. All children are encouraged to ride safely and to park their bikes up in the designated parking area after their turn.

Nursery News 29th September 2025

NURSERY NEWS

29th September 2025 – Edition 384

Find out About:

A. Important dates

B. Parent Consultations

C. Display of Family Photographs- For All Children

D. Forest School Program

E. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Important dates

It is time to give parents an overview of the term, as most families are now enrolled and attending in Big Nursery and Little Nursery.

The school year has three terms, Autumn, Spring and Summer. Each term has a Half Term break in the middle of the term. So dates for this term are:

Mon 27^th October 2025 to Fri 31^st October 2025: Autumn Half term – School Closed

Thursday 18^th December 2025 Last normal school day of the Autumn Term.

Friday 19th December 2025 School open for Christmas Parties only                            (As a guide: Last year Little Nursery Party 9:00am to 10:00am Big Nursery Party 11:15am to 1:00pm, but this may change slightly when we begin planning for this year)

Monday 5^th January 2026 –Teacher Training Day- School Closed

Tuesday 6^th January 2026 First day of Spring Term- School open.

We have some other notable dates to share with you. Further information will be included in these newsletters nearer to the time, regarding each event.

Wednesday 5th November and Thursday 6th November-School Photographer to visit.

Thursday 13^th November 5pm- Open School Event ‘Walk In the Dark’.

Friday 14^th November ‘Children in Need Day’ We make a collection for this charity.

Wednesday 19^th November Open School Event Big Nursery Blue Group –Parents to watch Basic Skills Literacy Session.

Week beginning Monday 1^st December Open School Event: Big Nursery Parents invited in to watch their child’s Music Session.

B. Parent Consultations

We aim to offer all parents the opportunity to have a Parent Consultation with their child’s keyworker once per term

Little Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations during week beginning Monday 20^th October, 2025

These consultations are offered to talk about how your child is settling in. They are not compulsory, but if you would like an appointment please arrange this with your child’s keyworker when they are outside before morning sessions, or after afternoon sessions.

These consultations will be on the telephone, will last 5 minutes and will be available at the following times:

Monday 20th October Miss Cashmore’s Red Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 3:30pm

Tuesday 21^st October Mrs Chiriac’s Red Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:30am and 9:45 am

Tuesday 21^st  October Miss Allen’s Little Yellow Group Consultations. 5 minute telephone consultations between 9:50am and 10:50am

Tuesday 21st October Miss Gaffney’s Green Group Consultations, 5 minute telephone consultations between 3:15pm and 4:10pm

Big Nursery will be having their Parent Consultations (on the telephone) during week beginning Monday 3^rd November, 2025. Dates and times for appointments will be detailed in Nursery News 386 (published on Monday 13^th October).

C. Display of Family Photographs- For All Children

Two weeks ago I told everyone about the display we would like to put up of Family photo’s in Big Nursery, and the booklet of Family photo’s we would like to create in Little Nursery. We have had a few photographs come in, and we have put them on the wall. The children have been very interested in looking at the photographs, but a few were concerned they could not find pictures of their family..

We know people have lots of photos on their phone, but people do not always print them. I am suggesting that you might like to send a family photo to the school office, and we can print it off, and place it on the wall. The school email address is office@willownursery.co.uk

D. Forest School Program

Mrs Brinkley has started teaching our Forest School program to Big Nursery Yellow Group. I just wanted to tell you a little about Forest School at Willow.

Mrs Brinkley spent a year studying to become a Level 3 Forest School Practitioner. In order to support her work in school, all other school staff studied to become Level 1 Forest School Practitioners.

What is a Forest School? -this is a quote which outlines what a Forest School is and the ethos of them:

‘An inspirational process that offers children, young people and adults regular opportunities to achieve, develop confidence and self-esteem through hands on learning experiences in a local woodland environment’ (Forest School (England) network 2002)

Whilst we have some trees and shrubs, we acknowledge that we do not have a ‘Forest’, but Forest School teaching and learning is all about participating in activities in the outdoors, learning new skills, building strong relationships and thinking creatively. Mrs Brinkley has planned 7 activity sessions that Big Nursery children will take part in during their final year at nursery. Mrs Brinkley will work with a small group once a week for 7 weeks. We aim to have worked with Orange, Blue and Yellow group children by Summer 2026.

So, for your information, these are the seven activities the children will be participating in:

1. Fairy/ Gnome Dens. Children will use natural materials that they find in the garden to build a small den for an imaginary fairy or gnome.

2. Making Fairies or small people. Children will be shown how to make a fairy using twigs and clay. Children will be encouraged to make their own character, using their imagination to add hair, wings or other accessories.

3.Larger Dens. Working as part of a small group children will build a den from tarpaulins and ropes. Children will then join Mrs Brinkley inside the den for a story together.

4. Clay Faces. Children will mould a flat circular clay shape onto a tree trunk. Children will then add natural objects to the clay to create a face. Children will be shown how to make marks in the clay using sticks found in the garden. Children will compare their own features with those of their friends. Children will discuss similarities and differences.

5. Bug Hunt. Children will look around the garden areas, trying to find bugs to put into their bug collecting pot. They will tip their collections out onto a white paper surface, then use a magnifying glass to look carefully at the bugs. We will be teaching them about being careful with the wildlife and to look after nature.

6. Mud Kitchens, Mud Potions and Mixtures. Children will be provided with pots and spoons. They will have the opportunity to mix soil with sand and water to make liquid mud. Children will then be able to add leaves and grass, and anything else that they find in the garden, into their mixture.

7. Making Woodland Medals. Children will be shown how to use a hand drill to drill a hole in a small disc of wood in order to make a medal. Children will decorate their medals using felt tip pens

Mrs Brinkley’s Thoughts….

I am really excited to be now teaching our children ‘The Forest School Way’. The children are enjoying the new experience and their ideas are extending learning further. Forest School learning has so many benefits to the child’s learning and covers all areas to support the overall well being of the children.     

Welcome to Forest School learning Willow!

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is all about me

The learning intention this week is for the children to become more aware of the similarities and differences between themselves and others in more detailed ways and to identify themselves in relation to social groups and their peers.

The children have been bringing in family photos which have been put on a display board for everyone to see. Everyone is enjoying looking at all of the pictures, it is fun for the children to look for their own picture and also to see who they recognise in the other photo’s. The photographs are a big talking point for the children and prompt them to share memories and experiences.

This week the children will be encouraged to use mirrors to look at their facial features and then they can try to recreate their own image, using a variety of resources. Staff will support children by naming all of the different facial features, including those that may be trickier to remember such as chin, eyebrows, forehead, freckles etc. While the children are looking at their faces, staff will discuss with them the similarities and differences between them and their friends.

Nursery News 22nd September 2025

NURSERY NEWS

22nd September 2025 – Edition 383

Find out About:

A. What to put in your child’s change of clothes bag.

B Support for toilet training.

C. Applying for Primary School.

D. Willow Lending Library.

E. What are the children learning about this week?

A. What to put in your child’s change of clothes bag.

We ask that all children bring a small bag or backpack to school with items of spare clothing inside. Sometimes children may become very wet or messy when playing in the nursery and we cannot leave them in wet clothes. Sometimes children will have a toilet accident and require changing.

Please provide clothes that are easy to change. Please provide more than one pair of underpants/knickers/trousers/socks if your child is not yet reliable with their toileting. Put plenty of clothes in! Some children are changed three or more times a day!

We would ask that all parents provide a pack of wet wipes in their child’s bag to enable us to clean your child after a toilet incident.

We would also ask that parents provide some carrier bags in their child’s bag to put wet or soiled clothes into. A packet of Nappy sacks will do the job!

B. Support for toilet training.

We are very happy to support parents with toilet training your child. When you think your child is ready, talk to your child’s keyworker about your plans. We can then work together to help your child.

It is important that we transition from nappies to knickers or pants.

Please, no Pull Ups.

We are looking for children to begin to recognise the sensation that they feel when they need to urinate. It’s within those few minutes when children have to learn ‘be quick, let’s get to the bathroom!’ Children need to be able to feel when their underwear is wet too. If a child wears a pull up, it feels to the child the same as a nappy. During toilet training a child should learn that if they are wet they should be changed. We want to change children as soon as they wet, so they are in clean dry clothes. As staff, we cannot see if a child is wet wearing a pull up. If a child is wearing underwear we can usually see when a child is wet, and change them immediately.

C. Applying for Primary School. (Taken directly from Central Beds website.)

www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/5/school_admissions/496/apply_for_a_new_lower_or_primary_school_place

This applies to all children in Big Nursery, Dates of Birth: 1/9/21 to31/8/22

Apply for a lower or primary school place in Central Bedfordshire

15 January 2026 is the deadline for on-time applications.

How to apply

• if we’re your council, you need to apply through us
• if we’re not your council, you’ll need to apply through them (find out who your council is on GOV.UK)

Apply online for your school place

Applying online is quick, simple and safe. In fact, nearly 95% of parents and carers apply online for a lower/primary school place.

What you’ll need to apply

Proof of your child’s date of birth, such as a passport or short birth certificate. You’ll be prompted to upload a copy of this during your application.

Apply by post

If you can’t apply online, don’t worry; you can also apply by post. Here’s how:

1. get an application form
   You can download an application form
2. complete the form and ensure you have proof of your child’s date of birth, like a passport or short birth certificate (please don’t send us original documents; copies are fine)
3. send the completed form and copies of documents to:
   School Admissions
   Central Bedfordshire Council
   Priory House
   Monks Walk
   Chicksands
   Shefford
   Bedfordshire
   SG17 5TQ

We need to receive your application by the 15 January 2026 deadline.

Please don’t make both an online and postal application. We’ll only process the latest one (if it’s sent before the deadline).

Apply by email

Please note: Email is not a secure medium. Please ensure you take appropriate steps to protect your child’s personal information.

1. get an application form
   You can download an application form
2. complete the form and ensure you have proof of your child’s date of birth, like a passport or short birth certificate
3. ensure you’ve protected all documents containing personal information
4. send the completed form and copies of documents to admissions@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

We need to receive your application by the 15 January 2026 deadline.

If Central Bedfordshire is not your council, you’ll need to apply through your home Local Authority.

You will need to look on your Local Authority Council’s website for further information on how to apply.

D. Willow Lending Library.

Miss Howe worked hard last year to create ‘Willow Lending Library’ which has proved to be quite a success. We want to invite all new parents to explore our Lending Library:

Willow Lending Library

Welcome to Willow outdoor lending library. We are open every day from 8.15-8.45am and from 3.00pm-3.30pm.

Please choose 1-2 books with your child and write the names of the books under your child’s name in their colour group folder before taking them home to read together.

You can change the books as frequently as you wish.

Please look after our books.

*Please ensure that you have left the library area at 8.45am prompt before children start to enter the school gates in the morning. THANKYOU J

Top Tips for Reading with your child

• Let your child choose what they would like to read.
• Make sure there are no distractions.
• Sit close together. Encourage your child to hold the book and turn the pages too.
• Look at the pictures. Talk about what can be seen on the page.
• Ask questions and talk about the book. Give your child time to talk.
• Have fun – there is no right or wrong way to share a story.

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is Maisy Goes Swimming

This week the children will listen to the story ‘Maisy Goes Swimming’, they will be able to share their own experiences of going swimming with staff and their friends. This is an interactive book which teaches about the routine that Maisy needs to follow to be able to swim. Staff will discuss how independent Maisy is and how she gets dressed and undressed by herself.

Our learning intention this week is to listen to familiar stories with increasing attention and recall and to listen to stories and nursery rhymes. We have a lovely library at Willow and children are always encouraged to choose books to share and enjoy. After each book, staff like to talk about what has happened in the story and use the pictures in the books as conversation prompts for the children.

As we explore different nursery rhymes and songs with the children, staff will leave gaps for the children to join in with singing familiar rhymes and even encourage them to sing the entire song by themselves if they feel confident to do so. This will support the children with their communication and language development as they learn new words and sounds, singing is also great for building relationships. Singing songs in groups or alongside a grown up can show children that it is fun to be a little bit silly and loud sometimes.