Dear parents and carers of our Kingston and Worcester Park nurseries – Welcome to our newsletter for February 2017.
January had an international flavour in our nursery. The children learned about celebrations like Chinese New Year, Indian Republic Day and Australia Day.
From the 4th February until 18th March 2017 we will be celebrating the Rugby Six Nations. The children will be designing their own rugby kits and rugby balls. Coming up in March we will be holding our very own parent/carers rugby tournament. The children will also be playing different ball games during garden time.
We will celebrate important dates throughout the month like Waitangi Day, National Flag of Canada Day and Imbolc. We will also celebrate Charles Dickens’ Birthday by reading and discussing his stories.
February is a month of love, kindness and cakes at our nursery. We will be thinking of ways to be kind to each other on Random Act of Kindness Day. For Valentine’s Day, the children will be making cards for their families. We will also be indulging our sweet tooth by decorating Valentine’s cakes and making pancakes for Shrove Tuesday.
Coming up in February
Imbolc – Thursday 2nd February, 2017
Imbolc, also known as Candlemas or Brigid’s Day, marks the passing of winter and the return of the sun. The children will celebrate by buying seeds and pots to grow their own flowers. We will watch them grow, learning about their life cycle along the way.
Rugby Six Nations – Saturday 4th February – Saturday 18th March, 2017
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international Rugby Union competition. The participants are England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. We will design our own rugby kits and rugby balls while learning about the teams and their languages. The children will play different ball games during garden time and we will also be holding a parent/carers rugby tournament on Friday 17th March.
Waitangi Day – Monday 6th February, 2017
Marking the signing of the Waitangi Treaty in 1840, this is a public holiday in New Zealand as it marks the day the British granted equal rights to the Māori people. We will look at Māori carving designs and make our own masks. The children will learn the ‘HAKA’ dance and research the ‘Treaty house’, where the signing took place.
Charles Dickens’ Birthday – Tuesday 7th February, 2017
This year is the 180th birthday of Charles Dickens, the world-famous author of Oliver Twist. We will read some of his stories and discuss the characters with the children. We will predict story endings, discuss the mood of the story and how it makes us feel.
Valentine’s Day – Tuesday 14th February, 2017
The annual celebration of love, friendship and admiration will involve the children making Valentine’s Day cards for their families. We will also be decorating cakes and biscuits with red icing and hearts.
National Flag of Canada Day – Wednesday 15th February, 2017
On this date in 1965, Canada raised its national flag on Parliament Hill for the first time. The children will explore Canada on the world map and learn about famous Canadian sports, like ice hockey.
Random Act of Kindness Day – Friday 17th February, 2017
Random Act of Kindness Day encourages people to perform an act of kindness, big or small so we will think of ways to be kind and helpful to each other. We will discuss ways to be kind in groups and will make a ‘Random Act of Kindness’ poster. This will list all the kind things we did for each other throughout the day.
Pancake Day – Tuesday 28th February, 2017
Marking the last day before the Christian period of ‘Lent’, it is traditional to indulge your sweet tooth before being abstinent throughout Lent. People eat pancakes on this day as they contain forbidden ingredients like fat, butter and eggs. The children will make pancakes for tea, with fillings that we will provide.
Pictures from January 2017
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Partnership with Parents
Charles Dickens’ Birthday – Tuesday 7th February, 2017
We kindly ask that all parents/carers bring their child’s favourite story book into nursery to share with their peers during our ‘Charles Dickens’ Birthday Circle Time’. If your child also has any Charles Dickens stories, it would be fantastic to share them with the rest of the nursery.
Reminders
- All parents/carers should make sure their children have suitable warm clothing for outdoor play. Children will need a warm waterproof coat, a hat, gloves, a scarf and wellington boots for the rain.
- When dropping your children into nursery in the morning, please ensure their bag and coat are either in their cupboard or on their peg.
- We would like parents/carers to share family photographs so we can make family books for the children. This is important to help with settling in new children and with room transitions.
- Look out for details about our parents/carers rugby tournament, which will take place on St Patrick’s Day, Friday 17th March, 2017.
Home Activities
- Plan a trip to the park to look for the first signs of spring.
- Make a special photo frame for Mummy and Daddy using lolly sticks to make a square shape. Decorate the sticks with paint and sequins, and insert a photograph.
- Using junk modelling materials, build your own ‘Treaty House’ for Waitangi Day (Monday 6th February, 2017).
