The weather may have turned but it hasn’t stopped us form having another great week in Nursery.  I apologise for any mud your child may be bringing home with them but we want them to have exactly the same opportunity to be outside as much as they want despite the weather. Because of this please can you ensure that your child is sent in with coats and wellies that are named if you have not already done so.

Next week we are going to be asking you to drop your children off at the main gates instead of bringing them directly to the classroom. This will bring us in line with the rest of the school, which is continuing to ensure safety by limiting parents onto the site. I will be at the gate to meet them in exactly the same way as I do every morning. They will only have to walk down the ramp to another teacher, who will be stood at the door to the unit. This system was used before the summer holidays and we feel it worked really well.  As your children are now nicely settled in I am confident they are more than capable of doing this and I encourage you to not prep them too much as sometimes this makes it a far bigger issue than necessary. Please email me if you have any concerns regarding this matter.

You made have noticed some changes at the front of the unit, we have made some alterations to the layout to allow us to continue to use the outdoor space whatever the weather.  As you can see from the photos, the children have all enjoyed the new opportunities provided.  This week we have also focused on the story of the Gingerbread man, exploring it through story telling and song.

In the classroom, we have a special board where we can display pictures of ourselves and our families.  As you can see, it is a bit bare at the moment and we would like to get this filled up with family photos.  Could you please provide, either a physical photograph or email an image that we can print to be displayed.

One final reminder, please only send water in your child’s water bottle, if you want your child to have juice at lunch, then this will need to be in a separate bottle or carton to be kept with their packed lunch.  Can you also ensure that no sweets or chocolates are supplied in their packed lunches.  Please refer to the school’s policy for further details.

I must apologise, there has been a technical issue with my email and some of you may have not been able to contact me.  Hopefully this will be fixed before next week but if you wish to contact me in the meantime, please use crobinson@littleheath.herts.sch.uk and the message will be passed onto me.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and I will see you next week.

Mr da Rocha

What a wonderful week it has been in Nursery.  The children are all getting settled and comfortable and they are now expressing themselves in a myriad of ways.  It is lovely seeing their characters come out and learning so much more about them.

You should have received the settling in forms for you to feedback about what you have noticed in your child over the last two weeks.  I look forward to reading these and responding with the observations I have made of them here.

This week we have continued to explore and learn through play and guided activities.  The story of The Three 3 Little Pigs and The Very Hungry Caterpillar have provided great stimulus and the children have used this in their play.  We have continued to make the most of the September sun with our outdoor play, which the children are revelling in.

I have been very impressed at how well all the children can line up.  There are a few more pictures to let you see a little bit of what we have been doing this week.

Have a lovely weekend, I will see you all on Monday.

Mr da Rocha

 

What a fantastic start we have had in nursery this week, it seems to have flown by in a flash. 

The children have settled well and have enjoyed their start to Nursery. I hope it has not been too stressful for you, as I too have been leaving my child for the first time this week. Please be reassured that if your child is upset we will endeavour to sort it and comfort them. We will also contact you if they do not settle as we are happy for you to adjust their hours until they are comfortable here.

As part of our new way of working we are asking if you could complete a settling in form for your child online. This information sharing will help you see what we have observed about your child during the first couple of weeks in the setting. Could you please complete the parent’s comments section at the end and return the forms to adarocha@littleheath.herts.sch.uk.  These will be sent out next week.

This week your children have enjoyed all the new experiences on offer in the setting, with the weather allowing us to take advantage of plenty of outdoor play.  I have put some photographs on the blog to show you what we have been doing this week.

We have all enjoyed spending this week with your little ones and look forward to seeing you all next week.

Mr da Rocha

Well we have finally arrived at the end of the school year,  I have to say it has been a very strange and emotional journey for us all. We would like to thank you  so much for the gifts, vouchers and support you have showed us throughout this difficult time. We look forward to seeing you all again in September.
Have a great and safe Summer.
Mrs Robinson:

The weather has certainly let us down this week and we are beginning to count down the days.
Although we are looking forward to a break we are looking forward to having all our children back in school in September. We have been asked on many occasions how things have been in school over the past few weeks. Myself and The Foundation team have been so impressed with the resilience of our children and their ability to accept change without question.  They have kept us going and we have all adapted well to our new norm. One thing that I believe has come out of this is the children's independence. They have learnt to do all the things that we as teachers and you as parents so easily do for them, like fastening coats, turning sleeves inside out, peeling an orange and many more. One thing they are amazing at is washing their hands and this is what we need right now so this needs to continue so that it becomes second nature. I do think we need to change the song that they sing to though!!!!!!!
For all the children who have not returned we have missed you but we look forward to welcoming you back in September.
Mrs Sheehan and myself are now ready for a break and a pamper, maybe this facial will help.
Have a great weekend.
Mrs Robinson:)

We are coming to the end of term and it is a very strange feeling as we are normally very busy organising end of year activities. The children in school have enjoyed the weather and the opportunity to play with their friends. For all our families who are still at home we hope that you have all been ok and we are looking forward to welcoming you back in September. Thank you to those who have responded to the reports, if you have not returned the form can you please try and email your thoughts before the end of term. We have 2 videos to show you this week, one is of the teachers doing a dance and the other is of the children dancing. Even though they have not being able to have physical contact they have been enjoying social dancing together everyday, this has been lovely to watch as they have worked out what to do and have created their own routines.

Could you please check to see if your child has brought home the correct coat as we have a blue thin jacket missing and also a pink Tottenham hat.


Have a great weekend.
Mrs Robinson:)

What a hot week it has been. We have all been trying to keep ourselves cool in the shade for most of the day. Luckily we have the sun shelters outside to protect us from the rays. We mustn't complain though as the weather has been such a help over the last couple of months. I hope you enjoyed our Oceans topic. Next week we are learning about the cold. We have put lots of ideas on the class page for you to do at home. We have also included a video about Pip and Pop so take a look.
We are sending out the children's reports in the post for those who are not at school. We have attached a section for you to fill out and return to us. If you would rather do this electronically please send them to my email. crobinson@littleheath.herts.sch.uk. Please can you make sure you  respond in which ever way that suits you. It is important that we get your responses and it will help us determine future planning in the foundation stage.
Have a great weekend.
Mrs Robinson:)

We have had a good week in nursery and have still managed to be outside despite the weather. The children have enjoyed the wildlife and have made some very interesting snail homes.
Next weeks learning is about the ocean. We have put lots of activities on the class pages and we have included a song from Mrs Sheehan and a poem from me.
Next week it is going to be very hot so if your child is in the setting can you make sure they have sun cream on. We will not be able to reapply cream throughout the day.
I hope you have a good weekend.

Mrs Robinson:)

Good afternoon from a cold and cloudy nursery. I am sat inside having just done our zoom meetings. It was lovely to see some of you and hear about what you have been doing at home. Next weeks learning is about the rainforest and we have put lots of things on the class page for you to do. Please email some photos for me to see as I really enjoy looking at them.
The weather has not been as good this week but we are hoping for a better weekend.
Have a great weekend.
Mrs Robinson :)

Having enjoyed so much sun I cant believe that it has changed so much. It is freezing cold outside and I have resorted to a big coat, hopefully it will improve next week. We are continuing to put activities for the children to do at home on our class page on the school website. We would really like your feedback about what we have been putting on. Please could you email me your thoughts. This could help us moving forward to make sure we are giving you plenty of opportunities to engage with learning at home.
I am hoping you dont need these activities but just in case.
.
Here is the link to 50 exciting ways to play in the rain
 https://mothernatured.com/nature-play/50-ways-to-play-in-the-rain/

From next Friday we are starting to do zoom again with the children who are not in school. I will send out the link during next week. Please email me if you do not want to take part as I am aware not all the children enjoy this.

Me and Mrs Sheehan have been working hard to perfect a dance for you so take a look. https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/brazilian_samba_dances/e1043dc4-b600-4906-8b24-6edb3c0d09f3

Stay safe.

Mrs Robinson

I hope you have all had a good week and are still enjoying the sunshine. The weather has really helped lift spirits and I  have a feeling that things are beginning to change for the better. I know we have a long way to go but I am hearing more positive things.
Following on from Mrs Custis letter this week I thought I would answer a few queries that have arisen.
The nursery children and reception children will not be mixing at all throughout the day. The toilets will be split between the two rooms and children will only be allowed to use the allocated ones for their class. We are very fortunate that we have such big grounds which allows us to use the front and the back. Nursery will be using the back and reception will use the front.
The start times are staggered so it allows space for movement. You will need to be able to drop your child at the main gate. As you are all aware young children differ in their ability to separate from mum or dad. We will be giving them lots of verbal support to leave you but unfortunately we will not be able to provide any physical support. This means that we will not be able to take their hands or help you with getting them in. This potentially may be a challenge for some families and needs to be considered as we don't want the children distressed in any way. If you feel this will be a problem for your child can you email me so that we can discuss this further. Our start times are very strict so we will not be able to spend a lot of time with children who don't want to come in.
The room is very different and we have removed all soft furnishing and role play areas. Some parents have asked if they should prepare the children for this. Unfortunately until they get in there they will have no comprehension of what we have done so I think that it may be better to allow them to explore and see it for themselves.
For the children who will be at home we will be continuing to put the activities online and the children in the setting will be accessing those activities too. I know this all seems very strange and even stranger for us as we are going to be working in an environment that is not the EYFS as we know it. We will do our upmost to make this a positive experience for those who are returning and we look forward to a time when we can all be back together.
Please contact me with any concerns as I am happy to discus things with you.
I hope you have a great weekend and look forward to seeing some of you soon.
Mrs Robinson
Mrs Sheehan

Well another week has past and things are beginning to change. It is very strange to see people moving around more freely. I am still a little unsure about being outside and am very cautious around people. Hopefully this will change as we get use to more freedom in the weeks to come. I apologise for the zoom meetings last week. I had a huge technical hitch at the last minute so I abandoned the whole thing. I am going to do them this Tuesday 19th May. I will send out a link to your email addresses tomorrow. I am only doing 6 children at a time so they should get chance to speak a bit more.
This week I have put a video on for you to hear me singing one of our favourite songs. We have put a link on the class pages asking the children to do something that relates to the song. I am sure you will all realise that I will not be auditioning for the x factor any time soon, but I think the children might enjoy it.
I have also put on some photos of Honey and Ginger.
Hope to see you on Tuesday.
Stay safe.
Mrs Robinson:)

It was good to see you all on zoom on Thursday even though it was a little manic. We feel it is a positive experience for the children to have so we have decided to do it in smaller groups. This will start on Tuesday morning at 9.30am. I will email your time slot with an invite to join zoom.
It has been another very hot week and I am really enjoying being outside. It is lovely to see people walking around and I have seen quite a few Little Heath children passing through our field. It is very strange when they come running over to me and I have to say stop as they automatically forget the distance rule when they see people they haven't seen for a while. Hopefully one day that may change but for now we must continue to distance ourselves.
I hope that the activities are still working for you all but please email if you have any concerns or requests for other things. We are starting to use more topic based ideas for you to do with your child. This will eventually fit in with what other year groups are doing.
Have a good week.
Mrs Robinson:)
Here are a few photos of my family and the dogs. We had a family quiz and we dressed up as Yoda and Chewbacca from Star Wars.

                                                         Can you guess who is Yoda?

                                                   Having a rest after a long walk.

                                        Naughty Ginger decided she wanted to lay on the table.