September
Month in pictures
We would like to welcome friends, old and new, as we see the end of Summer and embrace all that Autumn begins to bring.
Teaching Toolkit
Each month we focus on a theme from the Snapdragons curriculum, the teaching toolkit. Our curriculum covers ten themes of learning. This month we have encouraged and supported the children ‘develop a love of books and stories’.
babies have been enthralled and engaged with a range of different stories.
Toddlers know that stories can be entertaining and fascinating as they choose to look at books, hold them the right way up, and turn pages one at a time.
Pre-school can listen to longer stories and remember much of what happens, recalling main events and characters, and predict what happens next.
September Stories
To encourage the children develop a love of books and stories, each month we set out two to four ‘books of the month’. Below are this month’s.
Handa’s suprise
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Gingerbread Man
Chef’s Corner
In honour of world Gorilla day that took place on Tuesday, September 24th, our chefs have provided an ape-tizing banana bread recipe for you.
Ingredients
140g butter, softened, plus extra for the tin
140g caster sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
140g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
50g icing sugar
handful dried banana chips for decoration
Method
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Butter a 2lb loaf tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.
Cream 140g softened butter and 140g caster sugar until light and fluffy, then slowly add 2 beaten large eggs with a little of the 140g flour.
Fold in the remaining flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 2 mashed bananas.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 50 mins, or until cooked through. Check the loaf at 5-min intervals from around 30-40 mins in the oven by testing it with a skewer (it should be able to be inserted and removed cleanly), as the time may vary depending on the shape of your loaf tin.
Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove to a wire rack.
Mix 50g icing sugar with 2-3 tsp water to make a runny icing.
Drizzle the icing across the top of the cake and decorate with a handful of banana chips.
Drop Offs
We have recently seen an increase in the children being dropped to their rooms in the mornings. Understandably drop offs can be a little tricky, especially after a fun family weekend! However, as part of our daily routine, a staff member will come out, welcome, and collect the children from the nursery car park. This procedure has been put in place to best support the children over this transitional period and is a chance to share important information and to discuss anything your child is enjoying or is interested in at home, so that we can build this into their nursery day.
If you or your child is struggling with the morning drop offs, please do communicate your worries with a member of the team or nursery manager and we will look at any additional support we can put in place.
In addition, if your child is entering the nursery having had an accident or previous injury, we require a ‘pre-existing injuries record’ form be completed by the person dropping them off. You can complete this at the nursery foyer with a manger or print it through the Snapdragons nursery website, under parent info and common forms to complete at home and bring in.
Health and Wellness
Struggling with burnout and bloating? Or even just looking to create healthy habits, then come along and join Louise Mitcheson, a registered nutritional therapist, for one (or more) of her free wellness talks.
6:30-7:30 @ Weston Moravian Church, High Street, Bath. BA1 4D
Dates for your Diary
Parents evening - Wednesday, October 16th
Spooky S’mores - Tuesday, November 5th
Pre-school leavers Nativity - Wednesday, December 4th
Nominate your Superstar
We love to hear from our families across Snapdragons about excellent service they have received. If someone at the nursery has impressed you, please fill in their details below and submit to the nursery. We run a rewards scheme for our teams and they can earn gifts by receiving nominations!
