February Newsletter
There have been so many celebrations, special moments and fun experiences across the nursery. From storytelling adventures and creative art activities to celebrating special days together, the children have been learning, investigating and discovering new things along the way! Across the nursery, we’ve been so proud to see the wonderful conversations happening about feelings. The children have been using different tools and stories to help them recognise and name their emotions, and learning new strategies to manage them when those feelings become a little bit “big.”
Chinese New Year Celebrations!
The babies enjoyed getting creative as they painted their very own horses using a variety of mark-making tools. Afterwards, they had lots of fun giving their horses a bubbly bath! From horse-inspired artwork to beautiful blossom painting, our toddlers truly embraced their creativity while celebrating Chinese New Year. Preschool put their culinary skills to the test by making and tasting their own vegetable spring rolls, as well as learning how to use chopsticks. They also designed and created their own dragons using recycled materials, practising their cutting skills along the way. We were thoroughly spoilt by our wonderful Chef, George, who prepared a delicious Chinese-themed menu for the day. It was a fantastic celebration enjoyed by everyone!
Nominate a Star!
Whatever Is there a staff member that you would like to be acknowledged for all their hard work this year or someone who you would just like to thank? At Snapdragons we run a reward scheme for our employees, nominations from parents mean stars for the staff that can go towards a range of different rewards and prizes which can include sweet treats, hampers, meal vouchers and even a trip to the spa, so if you would like to reward the staff remember to fill in the online form sharing your lovely words. Snappies Superstar — Snapdragons Nursery it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
March Events
Wednesday 4th - Holi
Thursday 5th - World Book Day
W/C 9th - Science Week
Friday 13th - Mother’s & Other’s Stay and Play
W/C 16th - Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Friday 20th - Eid Al Fitr
Thursday 26th - Wear Purple Day
Hedgehogs
This month, our Hedgehogs have been exploring the themes of “love” and “kindness”. They have enjoyed expressing themselves by making their own marks using a variety of textures and materials. The children had great fun creating Valentine’s-themed stamp art and digging for hidden hearts in the sandpit. The Hedgehog room has also been busy engaging in sensory experiences during our sunshine circles, where the children explored different lights, colours, and sounds. These activities encouraged curiosity and supported their sensory development. To celebrate Pancake Day, the children enjoyed eating some healthy and delicious berry pancakes — a big hit with everyone! We also celebrated Chinese New Year by going on a lantern hunt outdoors and creating our own lantern-inspired marks through sponge painting.
Squirrels
“We’re going to the park, We’re sliding down a slide…” The Squirrels had so much fun at the park! They learned all about road safety and why it’s important to stay safe. The swings and slide were a big hit, and everyone came back with giant smiles on their faces. This month in the Squirrel Room, the children have been learning about themselves and what makes each of them special. They explored different emotions and talked about how it’s okay to feel different things in different ways — because we are all unique! For Valentine’s Day, the children made playdough hearts for one another and shared ideas about how we can be kind and care for our friends. The toddlers have also been busy exploring colours through lots of exciting experiments with water and paint. They discovered what happens when two colours mix together, using a range of textures and different types of media to create their masterpieces.
Otters
“A teatime surprise is always the best kind… especially when it’s a tiger!” The tiger came to tea in the Otter Room to celebrate storytelling week, and what a wonderful week it was! The children loved reading, role-playing, and creating their own versions of different stories. They especially enjoyed working together to make a colourful patchwork Elmer, carefully adding as many bright patches as possible. The Otters have also been learning about how unique each of them is. They created their own clay emotion faces using loose parts, which led to a big discussion about feelings, keeping healthy, and understanding germs. To bring this learning to life, the toddlers made their own “germ art” by blowing paint through straws to splatter it across the paper — exploring how germs can spread when we don’t catch them! For Valentine’s Day, the children made their own love potion, deciding together what special ingredients to add — including “a pinch of hugs.” They also celebrated Chinese New Year by creating their own beautiful horse pictures, exploring new traditions through creativity and art.
Badgers
The Badger Room have been busy exploring different animals and their habitats. The children sorted and organised animals based on where they live, what they eat, and talked about what they need to survive. It sparked lots of thoughtful discussions and curiosity about the world around us. They’ve also been fantastic mathematicians this month! The children created their own shop, took on the role of shopkeepers and customers, and confidently asked for “£2 please!” as they practised early money skills. Alongside this, they explored measuring — finding out how tall they are and comparing the length of their feet. In Preschool, the children have been experimenting with building their own bridges strong enough to hold the weight of an animal. They worked together carefully, testing and adapting their designs to stop them from collapsing! Preschool have also been talking about what makes each of us unique. They explored questions like: Do we all have the same eye colour? Why is my hair different to yours? What do we celebrate in our families? These conversations led beautifully into exploring emotions, using The Colour Monster to help identify different feelings — especially as some of our children begin talking about going to school.
Deers
This month, the Deer Room have been exploring what makes each of us special. We’ve had lots of discussions about how we all come from different backgrounds, celebrate different holidays, and have different family setups. The children have loved learning that it’s great to be different — just like snowflakes, because wouldn’t it be boring if we were all the same! As part of these discussions, the children also explored emotions through fun games and creative activities. Using paint, they splattered different colours to represent how they were feeling that day. It was wonderful to see the wide range of colours and hear the children, with support from practitioners, talk about why they felt that way. Our preschool mathematicians have been busy exploring weight and shape. They used blocks to make their own creations — one of which even became a theatre, complete with a stage! Inspired by Storytelling Week, some preschoolers also went into the garden to create their own houses for the Three Little Pigs and test their strength when the “wolf” came along.
