Nursery News 22nd May 2023

NURSERY NEWS
Monday 22nd May 2023 – Edition 298.
Find out About
A. Term Dates. Bank Holiday Dates A reminder.
B. Houghton Regis Dental Centre now accepting new patient children.
C. Chicks and Butterflies have hatched!
D. Sun Safety
E. What the children are learning about this week?

A.Term Dates. Bank Holiday Dates. A reminder
I plan to leave this information in the newsletter for the next few weeks as there are a number of Bank Holidays coming up….
Monday 29th May to Friday 2nd June 2023, Half Term Week, School Closed
(29th May is a Bank Holiday)
Thursday 20th July 2023 will be the last day of term for all children. School opens for normal
hours.
Friday 21st July 2023 school will be open only for the Big Nursery children that are leaving us.
The session will be a morning only session from 8:50am to 11:50am

B. Houghton Regis Dental Centre now accepting new patient children.
Anyone under the age of 18 is now welcome to register with Houghton Regis Dental Centre for NHS dental Care. This can either be done online, over the phone (01582 865001) or by completing a form at the practice.(105-111 High Street, Houghton Regis, Dunstable LU5 5BJ)

C. Chicks and Butterflies have hatched!
During the summer term we learn about things that grow. We introduce the children to the idea of ‘lifecycles’. We have been observing the lifecycle of some caterpillars. We have watched
them grow from small caterpillars to big, fat caterpillars. We watched as they spun cocoons around themselves. Four butterflies have hatched successfully in our butterfly house.
We have also provided a ‘Living Eggs’ experience for the children. Living Eggs is a company that provides everything we need to enable our pupils to see eggs hatch successfully into
chicks.
Our eggs arrived last Monday, and since then we have cared for them in an incubator. They began to hatch last Thursday. After a few hours we moved the newly hatched chicks to their
new home, a light clean box with a warming lamp, with a big clear window so that the chicks can look out and our pupils can look in. We have ten chicks.
The chicks will be with us until Friday. They begin to grow rapidly and their wing feathers start to develop. At this stage they become more difficult for us and the children to handle as they start
to flap around. The lady from Living Eggs will return and take the chicks back to the farm.

D. Sun Safety
We are moving swiftly towards the hottest part of the year in school. I have been doing some research online to ensure I can give parents good advice about Sun Safety.
I have taken some information from Cancer Research UK’s website:
 The best way to enjoy the sun safely and protect your skin is to use shade, clothing and sunscreen.
 Shade and clothing are better than sunscreen at protecting your skin.
 Sunscreen shouldn’t be used to spend longer in the sun. But they can be useful for protecting the parts of skin not covered by clothing or shade.

Clothing
Clothing should cover your shoulders and have long sleeves. The more skin that’s covered by your clothing, the better the protection.
Choose clothing that’s loose-fitting and darker in colour
Look for materials with a close weave- as a guide you can hold the material up to the light tocheck you can’t see through the fabric

Hats
Choose a wide-brimmed hat that shades your face, ears and neck for the most UV protection.

Shade
Spending time in the shade is one of the best ways to protect your skin from the sun’s UV rays.
So what does this mean for us at Willow?
We still go outside everyday, but we do limit how long children can go outside if it is very hot.  We encourage all children to drink plenty, reminding them that their water bottle is always
available. We do encourage children to come inside for a rest in the shade. At some points in the day we completely close outside, so that we know all children have had a break from the
sun. We are very lucky in that our school remains fairly cool in the summer, with lots of windows for ventilation.
You know your child best!
Some children are more vulnerable to the sun than others. I have red hair and freckles, which means that I can burn very easily, (Sometimes in very strong sun, in as little as 20 minutes).
Some children are less likely to burn than others. People with naturally dark or brown skin burn less easily. But people with darker skin can still burn – it might feel itchy or tender rather than
changing colour.
So, I can give advice, but you must make day to day decisions regarding your child’s sun safety.

How can you help us?
Dress your child appropriately. Try to avoid too much bare skin. A t-shirt gives much more protection from the sun than a strappy sundress or a vest top. Think about children’s feet.
Exposed skin in sandals may burn. nWe would ask you to apply sun protection cream to your child before they attend morning or afternoon sessions. We will assume that all pupils will have
had sun protection cream applied at home. If your child attends all day and you wish your child to have additional cream applied at lunchtime, please send a bottle of sun protection cream into school (please pass it to their Keyworker) and we will store it safely in the classroom, out of the children’s reach. This cream should be left in school. Ensure their name is on it. Staff will assist
children to apply sun protection cream at lunchtime. We will help pupils to apply sun protection cream to their face, neck and arms. Please do not leave sun protection cream in your child’s
bag. We do not want children sharing their cream with their friends. One year we found a pair of children applying it to their teeth to use as toothpaste! Please provide your child with a hat with their name on when the weather is sunny. A hat with a broad brim is better than a cap for sun protection. A cap is better than no hat. Remember 2, 3,and 4 year olds cannot always remember the whereabouts of clothing that they have taken off. Put their name on it if you want it to return home!

More information regarding the summer term:
Consider what you would like your child to wear at school for safety. Children are still climbing and riding bikes so long sundresses and strappy sandals are not always practical!
Messy Play: As the weather improves we take more and more activities outside. More water is used and play can become much messier. Please ensure clothes are play friendly and send in
spares as children can become soaked if they pour water down their clothes, even with aprons on!

E. What the children are learning about this week?
The theme in Little Nursery is the flower shop.
In Catkins, Mrs Field will be working with the children on developing their fine motor skills. They will have the opportunity to look at some daffodils in a vase and be shown how to recreate this image as a painting using cotton buds and appropriate colours. In the Link, Mrs Watson will set up a flower shop role play for the children to use. She will model language and counting skills for the children to learn. They will experiment with numerals, symbols and marks as they use clipboards to write down lots of orders for customers. Outside, Mrs Brinkley will have music playing as she shows the children how to move around the nursery in different ways. She will praise the children for trying to hop, skip, balance and dance to the music.

The theme in Big Nursery is ‘Chicks’.
This week our chicks have hatched in Room 1. Miss Howe will be teaching the children about caring for them and keeping them safe. All children will be offered the chance to hold the chicks and they will be encouraged to sit sensibly as they hold them on their laps. Children will be shown how to hold the chicks without hurting or scaring them and praised for taking such great care of them while they are at our school. Staff will talk to the children about the life cycle of a chick and discuss how they have already seen part of that cycle as the chicks have hatched from the eggs.
The chicks will spend some time in Room 2 with Mrs Patterson to enable the children to observe them. The children will look at the features of the chicks, including their beaks, feathers
and wings. After spending some time observing the chicks, the children will try to paint still life images of them, including as many details as possible.
Outside, Miss Skai will support the children in making kites that they can fly around the garden. She will be teaching from a science point of view, talking about the weather conditions we may
need to make our kites fly and where might be the best place to fly them outside of school.