April 2024 at Atworth
We have had lots of new families join us over the past month so a big hello and welcome if this is you! It has been so lovely settling some new faces in to the rooms and watching them get stuck in making some new friends!
Babies have been enjoying the outdoors and taking in every little bit of sunshine they can get! They have been shaping up their skills on the balance bikes, and enjoyed a little scoot around the garden with some of the grown ups! They have also been taking their messy resources outside and adding a splash of colour to our fences!
Toddlers have been getting v e r y messy indoors and exploring all new kinds of textures! Not only have they been making puffy paint by mixing the shaving foam and paint together with their hands, but exploring the different marks they can make with textured rollers!
Pre-School have been busy getting our vegetable patch ready for its next season! They have been refreshing the soil and have sprouted some seeds ready to plant! They have been talking about what the plants need to help them grow and have done such a good job of taking care of them. This year we will be growing some corn, broad beans and cucamelon!
Its warming up!
Now that the sun is starting to shine and we are spending more time in our lovely outdoor spaces we do ask that you provide a named suncream and sun hat for your child. If we don’t have these items your little one may not be able to enjoy as much sunshine as we’d like! Extra changes of clothes are also a bonus, as in the warmer months we do like the hose pipe!
Earth day
This month we celebrated Earth Day on 22nd April. This years focus was ‘planet vs plastics’. We have been talking about all things recycling and even created a littered beach in our pre-school room which they cleaned with a real litter picker! We have been discussing why it is important to look after our planet and the world around us, including the little bugs in our forest garden! Toddlers enjoyed making some collages of land and sea using blue and green tissue paper and paint, whilst babies mixed blue and green playdough to create the globe!
If you want to find out more about Earth Day and how you can do your bit, please follow the link below.
A few staffing updates
Whilst Jadea is still patiently awaiting the arrival of her little one, we have been celebrating the news that Kim is also expecting a little one in the coming months! Kim will be here to see our older children off to school before she kicks back on maternity leave and awaits her arrival in July. Congratulations Kim and family!
We also have news that Gabby has joined the team at Atworth! Gabby has been part of Snapdragons for eight years, covering roles from head of room to head of early year practice and even manager. Gabby will be spending the next year with us here at Atworth overseeing both our Baby room and our Pre-School room whilst we eagerly await Kim and Jadea’s return! Gabby will also be supporting the nursery as our deputy manager so feel free to grab her for a chat!
We are also wishing Charlotte a HUUUUGE CONGRATULATIONS on being with Snapdragons for a whole ten years! Charlotte started out as our nursery chef here at Atworth before moving to our Pre-School room where she is now so close to completing her Early Years qualification! A big thank you to Charlotte for all of the smiles and delicious bakes she provides for all of us!
If you are a pre-schooler…
It is that time of year where some of our children are ready for their next phase in their education - school! Now that you all know which schools your little ones will be attending we really ramp up the school readiness in to full swing! Over the coming months we will be looking at pictures of the schools your little ones are heading to, having visits from teachers and passing you lots of information around open days and settling days. In the mean time we ask that if your child attends on a Monday or a Thursday in the Pre-School room and they are going to school this year that you bring in a change of clothes to act as a ‘pe kit’ for them on these days. One of the main aspects of school readiness is independence, so our lovely Charlotte will be hosting a little ‘pe session’ twice a week for our school leavers!
Upcoming dates
Friday 24th May - end of term for our TTO children
Monday 27th May - nursery closed: bank holiday
Monday 3rd June - first day back for our TTO children
Tuesday 18th June - international picnic day
Saturday 20th July - Pre-School leavers celebration