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Nappy Days Newsletter The Autumn is just simply a great season to learn so many things about the world. The great array of colours and materials (dry, rustling leaves, conkers etc) make for some really great creative activities. Unless of course you live in a place where the Council cut down the trees to stop children injuring themselves collecting conkers or ban outside floral displays in case they fall on somebody. Examples of our ‘nanny state’ going mad. What happened to the simple pleasure of children enjoying themselves and learning through play? This month we have had lots of visits from People who help us – ambulance service, firemen etc, - yet there are some in Authority who regard such visits as bringing their own potential perils and would seek to stop them. Our response? Let the children play…and learn by doing so. Childcare is good for business… Link this with the Early Years Scheme and you could be making big savings on your childcare fees. Interested? See the leaflet on the Parents Notice Board for further details or ask us for a copy for you to discuss with your employer. …And good for food too… The things our children say: When the Food-lab people visited York, their representative asked if anyone knew where sweetcorn comes from and Andrew replied, ‘Asda!’ Jack came down the corridor towards pre-school and kept falling over the carpet. Gemma asked him if he was drunk this morning and Jack replied, ‘Yes, it’s all the malt-loaf I’ve had for breakfast!’ Francesca was asked where she had been to on holiday. She said, ‘I’ve been on a big aeroplane again’, and when asked if she could remember where she had been to she said, ‘Thomas Cook!’ On the day the fire engine visited us they parked their vehicle in the car-park so the children could have a look around it. Nat said to the fireman, 'You've parked where my Mummy parks her car, where is she going to park now?’ Luke’s joke corner… He may have gone to big school now but Luke Walker cannot resist sending us his jokes. Here are his latest gems: Q: What does Winnie the Pooh say when he comes home? Q: What do sharks eat with their ice cream? Q: Which is the sleepiest part of a car? Q: What kind of snake do you find on a car? Q: What does the baby skunk want to be when he grows up? Q: What do snowmen eat for breakfast? Q: Which side of a sheep has the most wool? Thanks a lot Luke – now you can get on with your homework please! News from York and Boroughbridge What a busy time for visitors at both nurseries – we’ve had people from the lifeboats, the paramedics - when we had great fun hearing the siren go off. Then we had the firemen and women and we just loved those big hats and boots! And one of our Parents – Nancy Brooks - telling us about how she has helped a children’s project in Africa. It’s all been part of our ‘People who Help Us’ theme and just look at the displays and photos we have on the walls. We had great fun – as well as learning a lot – on our staff teambuilding days in September – just look at the photos of us tackling obstacles and solving problems in the great outdoors! Why do we do it? Well, we believe that teamwork is about everybody being involved and achieving more than we could possibly do on our own. So every so often we take a Saturday out to remind us of this, so that we can do a better job for you and your children. It’s part of our Investors in People philosophy and our commitment to be constantly improving the things that we do. Faye, Andrea and Nicola visited the Special Baby Care Unit at Harrogate to present them with their cheque from the Sponsored Toddle at Boroughbridge. This was a great success raising £935 and beating last year’s total and a big thank you to all our children and parents who took part in it. Lot’s of good photos and coverage in the press recently about us… James Lowe came to do one of his pasta-masta classes at Boroughbridge which we all enjoyed and little Abbie from Malton has become a star with her great photos on the new Scarborough site. Also Jacqui has been nominated for an Evening Press Business Award (unbeknown to her!) and has reached the final three in her category – we’ll find out more on the 18th November. Well done to our Mizzi who has given birth to a beautiful little girl called Alesha Mai who weighed in at 6lb, 5 ozs. As they say on the news, both Mother and Baby are doing very well! With Winter weather now on the way, would parents please ensure that your child has a coat, hat and gloves with them so that they can still enjoy the brisk outdoors without getting cold! If you are a parent of a Pre-schooler at York, I’m sure you will have been told about our latest addition – Heather the Hamster! There’s few things in life better than being able to do messy play and eat it at the same time! Have you seen the pics of our York babies doing just that with their chocolate mousse play? Our topics for the next few months are… November: Autumn Parents Evening York: Wednesday 17th November
Clothing Songs to sing Are you helping? Are you helping? And our Boroughbridge pre-schoolers have been learning the ‘Fireman song’ which goes as follows: With his helmet and his axe, He is a man who is very brave, When they hear the firebell, Standing on the engine, Ready, Steady Cookery Corner Autumn Sausage casserole Good quality sausages (as many as you like); Chop all the veg into small equal size pieces and add to a pan of boiling water. Leave to gently boil. Place sausages in a baking tray in the oven and cook for about half an hour. Once the veg has softened, drain off half the water and add the gravy granules and stir to thicken. Add the sausages when cooked and serve with mashed potato for a tasty treat! Meanwhile our York Tweenies have been demonstrating their culinary
skills with their jam tarts. To make these at home you will need
(for 12 tarts): 1.Mix flour and salt in a bowl and rub in the lard; Use your imagination! This is a great game to play at home and a Pre-school favourite at Boroughbridge. We go on a ‘magic carpet’ ride on a white sheet where we have dressed up in our invisible cloaks and other clothes. We have been to a magic castle and managed to tiptoe past the sleeping dragon to have a tea party with the fairy and enjoy our favourite sandwiches, cakes, ice cream and juices. However, to get to the tea party you first have to find the magic key which is underwater at the back of the castle and then feed the pink swans using magic dust. After the party we make our way out of the castle and down the path to the magic carpet and home to nursery. Try it out – the children love to use their imagination! Faye’s Word Search Can you find all the hidden words relating to the following month’s topics:
Advice Corner… A Parents Guide to Music When at home or at weekends you can introduce the following ideas with your child to continue some of the activities they do at nursery: Remember that a song can help change the mood and energy level of both parents and children – to calm them if they are upset, tired or anxious as well as to make them more lively when weary or needing to concentrate. Music is a great way to entertain or keep your child’s interest, perhaps during travel times or long journeys. It doesn’t matter what song you choose – it’s more to do with how well fits the circumstances. Time together, doing little rhymes is important for young children. Being playful together is about sharing affection, and making children feel loved and secure. Rhymes and children’s songs also tend to contain many of the building blocks of language and so help to develop a child’s verbal communication. Music is about rhythm and movement, especially dancing to music. Lots of babies enjoy being held and jiggled about to music or being ‘danced’ around the room. Older children love to dance freely to recorded music – it not only feels good it also helps develop control over their movements. Children’s toys that produce sounds can be good playthings as they allow children to produce sophisticated sounds with simple physical skills. However, remember to choose something that you won’t find irritating after the third time…there’s plenty of examples in this category! Young children are receptive to all kinds of music – play them a variety of what you like in the car, home or wherever – as well as children’s songs and stories. Children love to watch live music being performed – just watch them when a busker or other performer is playing on the street. ‘Twinkle, twinkle little star is the nations no 1 nursery rhyme with the counting rhyme ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, once I caught a fish alive,’ coming in at a close second. No excuses for not knowing either of these! Remember that children are highly sensitive to sounds – have you noticed how sometimes they will slap both hands over their ears at unexpected or loud sounds? Take care to keep music at an acceptance level – there will be plenty of time in the future for ear-bashing disco, house, rave or whatever they will have in 20 years time! Please speak with us if you would like some further information or assistance on this matter as we are only too happy to help wherever possible. AND FINALLY OUR PICTURE FILE The following snaps caught our attention and we hope you like them…
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