AUTUMN HEDGEHOGS !

At Broadway playschool the younger children are really settling into their routines nicely and starting to play together more.  They have enjoyed the lovely dry sunny days playing outside in the sand.

At Towerview - we have had a great week looking at our faces in the mirror, looking at different features and  using the resources to make self portraits with different mark making materials such as chalk, pen and pastel.

It’s wonderful to see the new children settling in well, knowing the routine of snack time (taking their name off the tower board /helping themselves to plates and cups and pouring their own drink) it’s so nice to see their independence and confidence growing.

We have been making bread - measuring and weighing the ingredients - looking a what implements we need - sieve , bowl etc and watching the dough rise - literally grow in the sun!   then rolling and snipping the balls to make hedgehog prickles. A few of the children have got hedgehogs in their gardens which is good to hear ! 

REMINDER - Friday Forest School - all children need their own NAMED welly boots - thankyou  

PHHS STUDENT IN SETTING WEEK BEGINNING 30TH SEPT - on work experience 

WELCOME TO THE AUTUMN TERM !

Welcome back to all our older littles ones and a big welcome to our new ones!

Broadway Horticulture show - we won the cup again ! for our painted stones animals- well done everyone !

It was lovely to meet returning children and new children along with their parents. One of our activities to get to know one another is sitting in a circle and rolling a ball to a friend and learning and remembering their  names aswell as the staff. Great way to introduce ourselves to one another and have fun whilst learning. Lovely to see the older children guiding the little ones in role play. 

The children have enjoyed being outside in the autumn sunshine -building with the foam blocks using the guttering to make ball runs.  Great creations and imaginations being shared already, including a 'helicopter pilot' and 'lorry driver', their 'machines' made out of tyres and crates. 

Fantastic how the children confidently explored during their first forest school session, they all listened, followed the routine and joined in brilliantly when we did the forest school circle.  

The little ones at Broadway playschool are settling in to the routine and enjoying the 'Dear Zoo' storysack.

It is lovely to notice the older ones how they have grown in confidence over the summer break and we look forward to seeing them progress even more.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING seen this week 
-Playing and exploring – engagement =
Finding out and exploring - Playing with what they know  -Being willing to ‘have a go’
we are seeing all these solid characteristics in the children's play as they settle into Playschool. All good foundations for competent learners.

questionnaire RESULTS !

Thankyou to all those who returned their questionnaire. We had a 37.5% return. 

• Of those all 100% felt happy with our service and didn't feel any changes were necessary.
  
• One suggested that we should have our Forest School Information evening and meal  - and we will be offering this again and that it will hopefully illicit more support next time.
  
• 20% were recommended Playschool by a friend. 50 % word of mouth and 30 % either 'googled' or saw board outside/ or a poster.
  
• 94% found the staff 'very helpful' easy to approach with 6% finding them 'helpful'.
  
• One parent stated how wonderful the slide shows at the end of each term were and also praised the activities the children were offered. 
  
• One parent suggested that we include the question - " is my child happy"   and we have added this to the questionnaire for next time.
• 12% said they were "very happy with the wonderful Playschool and the wonderful staff"

          Thankyou all for your support - we shall always endeavour to improve our service ! 

HAPPY SUMMER HOLS !

An emotional time saying our 'goodbyes' to the children leaving for school in September. 

It's been fabulous to be part of their learning journey, have some great memories that will be recalled between the staff team on many future occasions. 

      Wishing them "all the very best" for their next steps.

We wish all the children and their families a lovely summer !

term dates -

AUTUMN TERM 2019

(Staff training day – TUESDAY 3^rd Sept)

Begins:                    WEDNESDAY 4^TH SEPT 2019

 

Half Term:  Mon 28th  Oct – Fri 1st Nov

                                      

Ends:      (last day)    TUESDAY 17^TH  DECEMBER 2019

(for FEES  ( 14.00 x 7 ½  & 6 ½ ) = 14 WEEKS)

 

SPRING TERM 2020 

Begins:                      MON 6^TH  JAN 2020

Half Term: Mon 17^th Feb – Fri 21st Feb  

                                                                     

Ends:       (last day)    FRIDAY 3rd APRIL  2020 for Easter

(for FEES ( 6 & 6 ) = 12  WEEKS)

 

SUMMER TERM 2020

      

Begins                            MONDAY 20^TH   APRIL 2020

   

FRIDAY 8^TH MAY -  BANK HOLIDAY

Half term: Mon 25^th MAY – Fri 29th MAY

Ends:           (last day)   FRIDAY 17TH   JULY 2020

(for FEES  (5 & 7  ) = 12  WEEKS)

                                                                                                      

CLEANING OUR ENVIRONMENT - FOREST SCHOOL and much much more !

This years Forest School Trip was a huge success. The children really enjoyed their trip to the Forest and really made full use of all the areas.  It was lovely to see the children jumping in the muddy areas and having a good go at everything.  We light a fire and toasted crumpets - kindly supplied by one of our families. We also used the Kelly kettle to make hot drinks for staff and we also popped pop corn over the fire. The children were so good at respecting the fire pit area and remembering the rules too. They all sang on the bus on the way home despite being immensely tired ! 

Great imagination and involvement building a 'museum' outside. Adults supported by inputting ideas as to 'what you might see in a museum' and we talked about things that were worn and used a long long time ago which prompted language such as "this is a olden day wheelbarrow" and "I've got a statue". One child went inside to get "old army clothes" to display. We talked about who works in a museum e.g tour guides, security etc encouraging them to negotiate roles in their play. Some great cooperative play seen.

The children were fascinated with the idea of painting ice moulds they had made. They watched as the paint made its way down the ice and formed a puddle of colour. The children painted the large  ice mould red. " It looks like a volcano" said one child ( we have 'made' a working volcano model recently) . "the larva is flowing out the top "said another. Children showed curiosity and interest in using different media to create new effects.

The children are enjoying an increasing range of books and brought them to staff to look at the illustrations- so this shows that they know that information can be retrieved from books. A favourite book being the life cycle of the butterfly. ( as we have hatched real butterflies in playschool this term). The children showed a good understanding of the sequence of events referring to past real life experiences with our own butterflies. 

Good fun was had cleaning up our environment - scrubbing the chairs clean, rinsing them off and carefully stacking them in the sun to dry.  We counted 14 to 41 !!  Every child helped at some point. Good work everybody! 

- see notices below 

Characteristics of Effective Learning- Active learning - motivation

 * Being involved and concentrating

 * Keeping trying 

 *Enjoying achieving what they set out to do

This weeks play shows how the children are taking responsibility for their own environment - cleaning and sorting - enables the children to develop a sense of belonging and involvement.   The children discuss with the staff what needs doing, and then they get on with it with staff support and at their own place  This helps develop a sense of ownership and pride  

NOTICES 
slide show in Playschool Tues and weds at 2.30 pm 
PLAYSCHOOL CLOSES FRIDAY AT 3PM 

VOLCANOS AND CLEANING !

This week we made a volcano at the beginning of the week. The children got busy sticking paper towels at the base and up the sides of a plastic bottle, then dinosaurs were added to the tuff tray. By the end of the week lots of imagination was being used. The we made the volcano erupt using bicarbonate of soda, vinegar and red food colouring, the children were amazed on seeing this.

The children worked hard to follow the recipe to make the sour dough next step, so that we could make actual sour dough bread on Tuesday.  They took turns counting out spoonfulls of flour and weighing it out then sifting it. 

The children really enjoyed outside play at Towerview, they were practising their mark making /writing skills and sending each other letters, complete with envelopes covered in butterflies and hearts. Very sweet to watch!

Lots of great washing of the toys using sponges and paint brushes happened.  There were some very enthusiastic helpers and there are only a few more resources to be washed and packed away for the holidays.

The children at Towerview have been enjoying Christmas role play......in July.......love it!!

Characteristics of Effective Learning- Active learning – motivation

 * Being involved and concentrating

 * Keeping trying 

 *Enjoying achieving what they set out to do

These characteristics are very visible this week with the children persevering to make volcano model , clean toys and practising their mark making. They are very willing and keen to get stuck and get the jobs done  from making dough into bread and from model to volcano. All these tasks and activities help build resilience and that concentration that support that 'want to learn' that  will support them in everything they do in life.