FAIRFIELD PARENT NEWSLETTER AUTUMN TERM 2023

Welcome

A big warm welcome to all our new children due to start with us in September, we will be planning lots of settling in sessions for our new families to ensure they have time to settle in to their new environment and form relationships with their keyworker before starting with us at Fairfield.

Last Goodbyes

It has been an emotional few weeks as we say goodbye to the last of our children leaving on to their new adventure in reception class, we would like to thank all our families for your continued support for so many years, it has been really appreciated and we will miss you all.

Learning focus at the moment

Babies

As the babies are getting ready for their transition to toddlers, they have been focusing on their communication and language. Babies are becoming confident in using their single words and the understanding of simple sentences. They have shown a particular interest in the animals, exploring textures when playing in the farm with sawdust and hay, they have made marks with different animals in the sand and dough. The babies have been watching the world around them and showing fascination in routines such as making toast and tea in the home corner, we have extended this in the water tray pouring, filling and emptying learning cause and effect, alongside perfecting our hand eye coordination and fine motor skills. We have explored lots of different sensory experiences in paint, cornflour and dough, watching the marks they leave behind.

Toddlers

The toddlers have been very busy creating and making marks as a group, They have enjoyed using a variety of tools and their bodies, They have been able to make their own choices of colour and tools and been able to mark make on a large scale. We have explored using sponges brushes and frozen paint on lollypop sticks. Toddlers have been learning how to share and take turns with their friends with adult support and have increased their independence skills by making choices and hand eye co-ordination to make mark and have lots of fun with their friends.

Pre-school

The pre-schooler's have been exploring the water and pipes outdoors, we extended this by experimenting with water and how we can use the water to make objects move. The pre-school children worked as a team to build a Pipe work track and move a leaf using water from the top to the bottom. They showed determination and continued to try new ways to make it work until they succeeded and met their end goal. We have also been focusing on the sounds around us going on listening walks in and around nursery and taking time to be quiet and tune in to the environment, children heard a variety of sounds including birds, cars and motor bikes we then drew what we heard.

Outdoor Learning Focus

This Autumn we will be exploring our landscape and observing how the change in weather affects nature. What are the signs of Autumn.

The majority of what we will be doing is helping nature get ready for winter.

We will do this by building habitats like ponds, hibernatoriums bug hotels and bird houses.

We will also make some wildlife feeders to take home. These will be re fillable so you will be able to care for your wildlife throughout winter.

Alongside these we will make wildlife trackers and pitfall traps to monitor our wildlife at Portland Nurseries.

Other activities will be to build a giant nest and group shelters. This will help the children think about the effort it takes to create a habitat. This will help us think of ways we can help our wildlife things like collecting pet fur or making a mud bath.

And finally we will attempt to filter dirty water. By using different materials we can clean muddy water to make it much clearer. This is to illustrate the challenges of having safe drinking water.

Safeguarding: Oral Health in under 5s

Why is oral health important in children?

Keeping your children's teeth healthy will help them to maintain clean and healthy teeth and gums and develop good oral hygiene habits they will need throughout the rest of their lives. Remember the most important thing is brushing at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.

For more information and helpful tips visit: Protecting your child's smile | Pre-school | Health for Under 5s

Book and Resource Recommendations

Books

0-2s

Words: First 100 Soft to Touch by Roger Priddy

Your little ones will love discovering new words, animals, trucks, and more in these bright and colourful board books! With simple words, engaging photographs, and a soft, padded cover, these books are designed for hours of reading and learning!

2-5s

You Can't Take An Elephant On the Bus

Get ready for a fun-filled ride and join a whole range of crazy creatures on a hilarious picture book adventure!

Resources we love!

We have recently purchased these amazing and climate- neutral blocks for the nursery and are eagerly awaiting their delivery:

Korko – Our Products

Project Update

We have been working over the last 12 months on the Woodland Trust Green Tree award and we are very proud to announce that all 6 sites have achieved the Platinum award. The award centres around helping children understand the importance of looking after their environment especially trees and wildlife by completing fun tasks including taking pictures of the world around them, identifying types of leaves and looking at the world from the perspective of an animal.

We have also achieved our annual Eco Schools Green Flag award, which again teaches children about the environment, not just locally but worldwide. Each site has an eco-committee who have decided on actions to work on during the year and have submitted evidence to Keep Britain Tidy to assess. We have already started on our award for 2023/2024 and will be choosing our eco committee soon. If you would like to be involved with the project or think it is something your child might be interested in then please speak to your nursery manager.

Wellbeing also continues to be a major focus of ours this year. We plan lots of thoughtful and interesting activities for our children throughout our weeks and have some events planned for parents and staff throughout the year too. Please keep an eye on your emails to see what we have planned and ask your child’s key person about the wellbeing activities they are doing in their rooms. If you have any ideas for activities or events, then please speak to your child’s key person or the nursery manager.

Staff News

Please join us in wishing the cooks huge congratulations and all the best as they go to London on 30^th September being a nominee for this year’s the Healthy Eating Award at the Nursery World Awards, we are all extremely excited!

Head Office

A big goodbye and good luck to Lindsay our Administrator of over 13 years. Lindsay has relocated to North Yorkshire and will be greatly missed. We can still hear her voice day to day as she’s the recorded message on our phone system!

Welcome to Martina who has joined Head Office as the HR Administrator and to Susan who is our new office administrator.

Diary Dates

Charity Events

Macmillan Bake sale Friday 29^th September

We are organising a bake sale to raise funds for the Macmillan charity. The preschool children will be busy practising their baking skills in their science kitchen and their culinary delights will be available to purchase on the day along with the cooks who will making delicious baking from the nursery menu. Please bring along lots of change for the collection pots every penny will go a long way to making a difference for the charity.

Spooktacular Event- Tuesday 31^st October.

Children are invited to dress up and wear orange and black and enjoy an array of spooktacular colour themed activities and spooky stories. A donation of £2.00.

Sponsored 5 rhymes challenge. Monday 13^th – Friday 17^th November

Children will taking part in the national challenge to learn 5 rhymes. Further details and sponsor forms to follow.

Harvest Festival 16^th – 27^th October

All donations of tinned and dried goods will be distributed within the local community

Selection Box collection – Monday 27^th November – Friday 8^th December

All donations will be taken to the wellbeing centre

Parents Wreath Making session- Monday 4^th December - (details to follow)

Preschool carol concert Thursday 14^th December 4.30-5.30pm

Tickets £2.00 including refreshments

Christmas Jumper week Monday 18^th December – Friday 22^nd December

Children will be invited to wear their Christmas jumpers for a small donation.

Nursery closure dates- Christmas Holidays

The nursery will be closed for the festive period on Monday 25^th December 2023 and will reopen on Tuesday 2^nd January 2024

Stay and Plays for all parents

Wednesday 4^th October – World animal day

Monday 13^th November – World kindness day

Other information

Please join us in wishing the cooks huge congratulations and all the best as they go to London on 30^th September being a nominee for this year’s the Healthy Eating Award at the Nursery World Awards, we are all extremely excited!

Lost and Found property

We kindly request your cooperation in labelling your child's belongings, including shoes, clothes, hats and other personal items. Clear labelling with your child's name will help ensure that everything is returned to its rightful owner. This simple step will save time and minimise any potential mix-ups. Please check the Lost and Found property boxes periodically to retrieve any misplaced items.

Warm Clothing

As the nights draw in and the temperature is getting colder, please can you ensure your child has suitable clothing to participate comfortably in all aspects of outdoor play. If you would kindly bring a fleece to wear under the waterproof coats, hats scarf and gloves and wellingtons that are all clearly labelled with their name and that can be kept at nursery.

Mobile Phones

Please can I remind parents that the use of mobile phones on nursery premises is strictly prohibited, you must not take any photographs or videos at nursery or at any nursery events. Using your mobile phone breaks the statutory welfare requirements and is also a breach of safeguarding policies to which we must adhere.

Afterschool and Holiday club

Just a reminder of our Fun Club at Portland House should you require any After School Care from Reinwood School as well as our holiday club which offer ad hoc sessions throughout the school holidays – all children welcome. Please email the office if you would like to be added to the mailing list or require further details.