New children
We would like to welcome the following children and their families to our nursery: Alissa A, Cora and Isabelle W (all Baby Room); and Calliope (Preschool Room).
New staff
I am pleased to announce that Hiba Alquraishi joined the Monkey Puzzle team in February as a Nursery Assistant. Hiba previously worked as a Teaching Assistant in both Sweden and London. Welcome, Hiba!
Babies and Teenies activities
The Babies and Teenies have been looking at, and talking about, different textures (senses) and new toys and books in the Baby room. The children have also been learning how to hold bottles, and spoons, and to feed themselves with support. The children have been learning to share and to take turns. Our younger babies have been learning to sit and stand without support. We are very happy with the progress that our babies are showing, and are pleased that our new babies are settling in well. The new babies feel comfortable with all of us, and are enjoying exploring the baby room, particularly our sensory room!
The older babies have been involved in many creative activities. The children made beautiful Valentine’s Day cards with their teachers’ support. The children have been learning to hold books, and to look at books for a longer period, while listening to the book’s story on a CD, with their teacher’s support. This will help to improve children’s attention span for longer periods, and also improve their reaction to the sound of speech.
Why not continue this activity at home by sitting with your child, and allowing your child to hold a book while listening to the book’s story from a CD. “We’re going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury is a favourite. Most of our older babies are developing their language skills rapidly, and this is such an interesting stage, where they can express themselves in their own individual way.
As the weather slowly begins to improve, the children have been enjoying the garden more. Most of the children are confident to go down the slide, and to have a go on our small bikes!
Toddler and Preschool activities
The Toddlers (2-3 year-olds) and Pre-school children (3-5 year-olds) celebrated Chinese New Year, and the children made lovely, individual Valentine’s Day cards for their families. The children also enjoyed Pancake Day, World Book Day, and International Women’s Day.
The Toddlers have been working on potty training, using the toilet, and feeding themselves. Several children have transitioned from the Baby Room to the Toddler Room.
The Toddlers have been learning to register themselves at the nursery, by recognising their name and photo in the morning.
The children have been talking about families, and enjoyed talking about their parents, siblings, grandparents, and aunties and uncles. The children followed these discussions with art activities. We also talked about different countries and painted flags of the countries.
We also talked about nature, different animals and bugs, and compared the creatures using mirrors and magnifying glass.
Why not look at old photos of you and your family. Ask your child simple questions about the photos, and ask who they recognise. This can help your child learn new words, and enable their use in conversations, as language is rapidly improving in this age group.The Toddlers also played with sensory items, and compared how long, small, warm or cold these items were.The Preschool children were learning to match numbers with quantities, and to recognise shapes around us. The children concentrated on pronouncing and writing the letters ‘p’,’q’,’r’ and ’s’, and the numbers 1-10 for younger Preschool Children, and over 10 for older Preschool Children.
The children engaged in some fascinating science experiments! One experiment compared the mass of a boiled egg versus a fresh egg. We put these in water to discover which egg would sink and which would float.
The experiment did not go well, so we removed the contents of the inside of the fresh egg so that the egg would float on the water!
We also talked about volcanos, how they erupt, and the people who live around them. The children prepared some activities on this topic with the support of their teachers.
Why not continue this activity with your child at home by setting up different experiments. Put some ice cubes in a bowl of water. Ask your child what will happen? Will the ice cube float, melt, or stay the same?
We have been preparing the planting area in our garden. The children prepared the soil ready to sow the first seeds. The children are enthusiastic about this, and cannot wait to see what will happen! The children chose to plant some flowers and vegetables. We are waiting for the weather to warm up a little more before we start our planting project!
We have introduced a Children’s Committee, where our Preschool children are given the opportunity to say and chose what activities they would like to do in the nursery. We like to give our children a voice and choices, and ensure that the children understand that it is important for us to hear what they would like to do, and to follow this through.
Positive word of the month
‘Love’ is our word of the month for March. We will be talking about ‘humour’ as our word of the month for April.
Language of the month
Our languages of the months of March and April are German and French, respectively.
Forthcoming special days/celebrations
17th March – St Patrick’s Day
31st March-Mother’s Day
21st April – Easter Sunday
23rd April – St George’s Day
Parents’ meetings
I would like to remind parents that we will be holding our Parents’ meetings week, commencing on 23rd April 2018. Please come to the office to book a 20-minute appointment with your child’s Key Teacher if you have not already done so.
Did you know…….
The nursery is committed to contributing to a greener environment. We try to create a paperless nursery wherever possible (all newsletters and invoices are sent to parents by email). All waste generated at the nursery is bagged together and sorted for recycling by a specialist company.
Picking up and dropping off by car
I would like to remind all parents who pick up and drop off their children by car to please park responsibly. You are welcome to use our nursery car park (Chandos Avenue entrance) for pick ups and drop offs, but please do not leave your car there afterwards. If you are parking on the street, please do not block any residential driveways nor park on the zigzag lines outside the schools opposite the nursery. Your co-operation is much appreciated.
Nursery closure for Easter
The nursery will be closed for the Easter Bank Holiday on Friday 19th April and Monday 22nd April, and will re-open at 8 am on Tuesday 23rd April.
Nursery closure for INSET day
Our INSET days this year will be on Friday 19th July and Friday 29th November 2019. The nursery will be closed on these days for essential staff training. Please arrange alternative childcare for these days.
Please note that monthly fees take INSET days into consideration so that you are not charged.
Nursery opening/closing time
I would like to remind all parents that the nursery opens at 8:00 am. Please do not come earlier and do not enter the Nursery before 8:00 am as our staff will be conducting risk assessments and prepare the nursery for breakfast before 8:00 am. Please do not ring the bell before 8:00 am to avoid delays in our preparation of the nursery for opening.
Please also note that the nursery closes at 6:00 pm. Please come to collect your child prior to 6:00 pm to allow a few minutes for feedback. A few parents have arrived late for collection recently.
Pushchairs
Thank you to all parents for storing pushchairs folded and upright in the buggy storage area. Your continued co-operation is much appreciated and will ensure that all parents can access their pushchairs with ease.
Scooters and bicycles
Please do not bring scooters or bicycles into the nursery, as we do not have space to store these.
Toys from home
Several of our Toddlers and Preschool children have been bringing their toys from home into the nursery. We understand that children are attached to some special toys, but these can be lost or inadvertently hidden in the nursery, leading to upset children. It is time consuming trying to locate these toys at the end of the day, when staff are at their busiest and need to be in ratio with the children. If your child insists on bringing a toy with them to nursery, please ensure that these remain in their bags before they enter the nursery.
We have ‘show and tell’ on Tuesdays where children can bring their special toy along on the day to talk about.
Emergency mobile telephone number
If you need to call the nursery, please phone our nursery landline on 020 8840 1116. If for any reason the landline is down, please call the emergency nursery mobile on 07745219888 (please do not leave voicemail or text messages on the nursery mobile. Messages may, however, be left by email). If in doubt, you can contact Head Office on 01442 878887.
Extra sessions
If you require extra sessions at the nursery, please let me know. Please give as much notice as possible, as we need to ensure that our staff to child ratios are met at all times. However, if you have a last minute request for extra sessions, we will try to accommodate when possible. Please check with us whether we can accommodate extra sessions for your child before you bring your child into the nursery. Please note that extra sessions must be paid for prior to attendance and cannot be cancelled once booking has been confirmed.
Absences
If your child is unwell or intends to be away from the nursery for any reason (eg, holidays or sickness), please could you let us know as soon as possible. This helps us to plan our activities and staff rotas.
Please note that nursery fees are payable when your child is off sick or away on holiday, as specified in our Terms and Conditions. In addition, registered attendance days cannot be changed or swapped.
Late collection
Please could all parents ensure that they pick up their child promptly as soon as their nursery session finishes at 1 pm or 6 pm. Late collection is disruptive and can affect our staff/child ratios. Late collection charges will apply.
Contacting the nursery
If you need to contact the nursery, please telephone us on our landline. You may also email me at manager@monkeypuzzleealing.co.uk, but please be aware that I am not always at my desk to pick up emails throughout the day. Please phone me for anything urgent, or for anything that needs my same-day attention.
Children’s development profiles
Your child’s development profile is available for you to see at any time. Just ask your child’s key person if you wish to view this.
If you have any concerns, queries or suggestions, please feel free to speak to me at any time.
Biljana Dokmanovic
Manager, Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Ealing
020 8840 1116
