We have had a lovely week in Bumblebees this week 🐝

As the weather is now getting much colder please can you ensure your child has a hat, gloves, wellies and any other weather appropriate clothing ( please ensure these are also labelled). The doors are open to outside every day, no matter the weather!! ☀️❄️⛈️🌧️

❄️ The polar express came to Bumblebees- we created a train scene in a tuff tray which we also added flour in to create a snow effect. The children have really engaged with this activity whether it be with the trains or having lots of fun with the flour getting messy!! 🚂

❄️Penguin sorting- the children have been using different coloured penguins to create patterns. Some children were using their favourite colours or others created a rainbow 🌈🐧

❄️Water and Ice- in our water tray this week we created an arctic scene with a range of animals. We also had ice in the tray and the children were using the hammers to break animals free. This was a very popular activity this week!!🧊

❄️Melted Snowman ☃️- in our sensory tray we made some gloop ( cornflour and water mixed together) the added buttons, googly eyes and carrots to create a melted snowman. The children explored this activity in a range of ways such as using the carrots to make marks instead of their hands.

❄️ Christmas Tree Decorating 🎄- we now have our tree up in the classroom, the children helped to decorate the tree with lots of tinsel and baubles. This was a lovely experience and we think it looks wonderful🎄

❄️ The children have been decorating their Christmas folders with lots of glitter and sparkles! These folders will be used for all Christmas creations and will be sent home during the last week of term.

This time of year there are lots of nasty bugs and colds going around, this is a reminder that if your child is sick or has diarrhoea then they will not be able to return to Nursery until 48 hours after the last time. If your child becomes unwell during their sessions then we will call you for collection. We cannot administer Calpol. We thank you for your cooperation with this.

Lots of fun and festive activities will carry on throughout the next two weeks❄️☃️

As always, thank you for your support✨✨

Cora, Kay, Amy, Emma, Katie and Caroline🐝

Autumn Fun 

A fun week filled with Autumn fun and mess. Thank you to all of our families who have been collecting natural resources for us, we are still collecting them (especially pine cones) so if you find any them please consider saving them for us!

This week we have noticed huge progress regarding children settling and we are so proud of them all. Children are building positive relationships with their key people and other staff within the room and this is so lovely to see and promotes children to feel safe and secure by building those attachments.

Please take a look at the photos below so you have see what we have been up too..
🍁Nature sticking- we used natural resources to create beautiful Autumnal pictures.
🍁Sensory tray- we had coloured rice (red, orange and brown), the children used tubes and jugs to practice their filling and emptying.
🍁 Sensory painting- in our art area we added a range of mixed spices to the paint to add a scent! The children have enjoyed exploring this area and telling us what they think.
🍁Conker Run- outside we created a conker run where we used the conkers that have been collected for us to roll down the tubes from different heights.
🍁Cinnamon playdough- We made brown playdough and added googly eyes and pasta to create our own hedgehogs! This was a very popular activity and some children even decided to use the pasta to make cakes using the pasta as the candles!

We hope your children have had lots of fun🍁

Have a lovely weekend and we will see you next week!

Cora and the Bumblebee team 🐝

Week ending 20th January 2023

Welcome to all of our new children and families! We are so proud at how the children have settled and adapting to Nursery life. We know that children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships and that has been our focus this (and every) week. We are a small team and get to know all of the children really well, ensuring they can explore their environment knowing we are near to support them.

This week we have been making sense of what is happening around us by exploring Winter! It has been so cold and frosty in the mornings, creating some wonderful glistening spiders webs and slippery footpaths. The ice that was left by Little Jack Frost has been explored, broken and tasted! This created lots of lovely language opportunities including words like, ice, frosty, cold, white, slippery, wet.

Outside in the garden, we have been looking at ways to keep warm. We have been running around, riding on the bikes, digging in the sand, rolling hoops and banging the ice to break it. We have had a fun-filled time trying to keep warm whilst using lots of physical gross motor skills. We have also had lots of trips to the Ballpool this week, as the children haven’t wanted to be outside for very long!

In the lovely warm classroom we have been learning the names of shapes and their sizes e.g. big triangle, small square, bigger and smaller. The children have carefully tried to draw round them and then copied the shapes free hand. Lots of circles being drawn in a variety of colours, using lovely fine motor skills.

We have enjoyed some 3D painting in the art room, as the children focussed their attention to ensure all areas of their objects are covered. Our little Bumblebees love painting their hands and exploring the texture of the paint, but the best bit is washing their hands under the running water!

The construction area had lots of ramps as the children explored how fast the cars could travel and the distance covered. It was fun running after the vehicles and watching them crash into things!

The children have been practising their scissor skills on the playdough. Using scissors builds up the tiny muscles in the hands and encourages hand eye coordination. We use the plastic scissors on playdough before letting them loose with the real scissors, under careful supervision!

Our stories have been The Hungry Hen for story group and Down in the Jungle for the Attention and listening group. Our songs have included Two little dickie birds, The wheels on the bus, Old MacDonald. Wind the bobbin up and Clap and stop. We hope you have been hearing about these at home.

Next week we will be learning about Chinese New Year and we will be trying noodles and other yummy things at snack time.

Please remember -
Hats and gloves as we are outside in the cold and the little Bumblebee fingers get so cold.
If your child is sick or has diarrhoea we have a policy which states they are unable to return for 48 hours. Thank you for adhering to this as it helps to keep other children and staff from being infected.

As always please like and/or comment on our posts so we know you have read them. Many thanks.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing you next week, which is sadly my final week in Bumblebees 

Sarah and the Bumblebee team

Week ending 13th January 2023

What a wet, but fun week! Who can resist jumping in a puddle or bouncing a ball to make a huge splash? Puddles teach our children so much and have so many possibilities. You can do big jumps, little jumps, kick the water, hop, run, star jumps, in fact anything to make a big splash or move the water somehow 😄 As well as physical skills development there is a lot of science involved in a puddle. What happens if I stir the water with a stick? How wide is the puddle, how many feet does it take to walk it? So much learning happens outside in the rain ☔️

Inside, we enjoyed exploring our new classroom as we opened up the other end. This is a quieter, low distraction area where the children can read, build and explore the fine motor activities on the floor or low table. By not having chairs, the room feels more open and children can access their learning and explore more freely. We have lots of open ended resources that encourage children to explore and be imaginative as well as working together and problem solving. Pop in and have a look!

This week we have been learning the names of woodland animals as we made marks in the playdough. The children added lots of natural things to the table too and made some interesting creations. Squashing, squeezing and rolling are all skills needed to help build strength and coordination.

On the builders tray we enjoyed making homes for the animals as we explored habitats and talked about where we live. This came about as the children have been enjoying the three little pigs story and making houses from straw, bricks and sticks. I have attached some photos of some of the other building that has been happening this week.

In the sensory trays we have buried penguins in the oats and transported the oats to the role play area and water tray. The other sensory tray had wooden nuts and bolts as we used our fine motor skills and hand eye coordination to turn the bolts to remove them and then replace them.

Our songs have been Head shoulders knees and toes, Incy winch spider, wind the bobbin up, dingle dangle scarecrow and the wheels on the bus to name a few. It is lovely to hear that you have been hearing these sung at home too!

It was so sad telling you all that I will be leaving Lanterns and thank you for your kind words. I am pleased to say that somebody has been appointed to take over the Senior position and will be starting on Monday! Her name is Cora and I will be spending the next two weeks making sure she knows everything there is to know about all of the Bumblebee children. Please introduce yourselves and ask questions if you have any.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing you all next week.
Sarah and the Bumblebee team.

Week ending Friday 2nd December 22

🎶It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas🎶🎄
The children were so surprised to see the Christmas tree in the Role play area and quickly started decorating with the tinsel and baubles. Carefully placing the string over the branches is so tricky to do and takes a lot of patience and concentration. Our tree has looked quite ‘decorated’ all week and very colourful indeed!

The children have pretended to make hot chocolate for their friends and bake cookies in the oven. Wearing a Christmas hat, whilst filling stockings and sacks with presents and reading stories around the Christmas tree have been enjoyed by all. We may even have some real hot chocolate for snack next week as the weather gets colder ☕️

We made stars and other Christmas themed shapes with the playdough. Rolling the dough and pressing in shapes helps to gain strength and improve dexterity in our hands and fingers. Important for writing, drawing, using scissors and other tools etc.

We explored the baubles in the cinnamon smelling water tray. The colours looked lovely and it was tricky trying to catch them in the nets. The children added ducks, fish and boats to the water tray and continued their independent learning. It’s amazing how many things you can fit in the water tray!

We made Calendars in the art room with plenty of paint and glitter! These will be sent home next week along with cards and decorations that the children will be making. Apologies if your child hasn’t brought any artwork home, they will very soon!

In the garden we have continued to climb and jump from the small steps. Some of the children have become very confident doing this now and independently jumping, whilst others require a helping hand. We are proud that our little Bumblebees are taking risks and boosting their confidence and self esteem!

Our sand pit became a Grotto to sit and read, sing or chat! (We have very little sand and are waiting for it to be replenished). The children have enjoyed sharing this space with their friends and adults. I think next week we’ll be adding some blankets!

We began to learn our Christmas songs and hope you have heard lots of ‘Jingle bells’ at home! We will be inviting you to join our singing sessions during the last week of term, or alternatively if you’d like to come in before then, please let me know.

We have enjoyed lots of Christmassy stories and learning about Baby Jesus and the three wise men! Our main story group has read Pass the Jam Jim and the Attention and listening group had Polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear? Lots of wonderful repetition and alliteration.

REMINDERS:
A letter was sent home regarding our Christmas Party which will take place on Wednesday 14th December during the morning session. If your child isn’t usually in on Wednesday, please let us know if you would like to swap a session that final week.

Please remember to provide hats and gloves as the weather turns colder. We had lots of children with cold hands this week. We are an all weather provision and outside lots! Thank you

Please check your child’s school bag and replace spare clothes, nappies and wet wipes etc. Thank you

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.
Sarah, Zainab, Kay and Cathy, Emma 🐝