Welcome to PreSchool.
Morning routine.
In the morning one of the team will greet your child at the door, this might be Miss Liz, Morgan or Jolene. Initially we will support them to hang their things on their peg, and put their lunch box away if they have one. Then they come into class and sit and wait for their friends. We will be using this time for a little mindfulness, and calm before our busy day.
Food and drink.
Your child can either have a hot school lunch ordered through parent pay, or they may bring their own packed lunch to enjoy. We are a no nut school, and this includes nuts in chocolate spreads, cereal bars and other treats. No popcorn or marshmallows in their packed lunch please, and grapes and large berries or cherry tomatoes need to be quartered.
Your child can bring a named water bottle into class which we keep by our sink. This needs to only contain water, no juice or milk please.
There is always water available for all children. We provide a mid morning snack in line with the latest recommendations for under fives.
Can we ask if your child has an intolerance or allergy to a particular food or food group, or dietary preference that we are aware of this.
Birthdays.
We love to celebrate special times in PreSchool and it is an important part of our learning about the wider world. However, in line with the latest guidance we respectfully ask that children do not bring cakes or sweets to share. If your child is celebrating a birthday or another special occasion and you would like to share something with the class, we suggest considering alternatives that can be kept by the class at school to enjoy. These include items like an indoor or outdoor plant or a book. Thank you for your support and understanding.
We will make a big fuss of the birthday child on their birthday, and each half term we will have a celebration snack day. We will share a special treat, perhaps something we have baked together and make even more fuss of those children.
Stories, books and rhymes.
Each term we will share a ‘super six’ set of stories in class. We will do lots of work on retelling with our small world, and other activities. We will practice the phrases ‘Once upon a time’, ‘One day’, ‘Luckily’, ‘Unfortunately and ‘Finally’ in our story retelling. In the Autumn term we will be sharing;
Walking through the jungle - Stella Blackstone & Debbie Harter.
Brown bear, brown bear what do you see? - Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Shark in the Park - Nick Sharrat
Dinosaur Roar! - Paul Strickland
Zoom! - Trish Cook
Shhh we have a plan! - Chris Haughton
We are also learning, and practicing a variety of traditional songs and nursery rhymes. This term this includes;
Rain, rain go away
Humpty, Dumpty
Pat a Cake
Little Miss Muffet
Star light, star bright
Jack and Jill
Polly put the kettle on.
As the term progresses we will be sending home a book for you to share at bedtime - or any quiet moment! We will change these on a Friday each week.
Maths.
In maths this first half of the Autumn term we are thinking about two main things. The first is counting to 5 in order, and beginning to recognise the numerals. You can really help us with this, spotting numbers in the wider environment - on house numbers, post boxes, aisle numbers in the supermarket etc. Then we are looking at ‘how much’ the numbers 1 - 3 are worth; what does 3 look like? Again you can help us with this getting your child to match 2 socks, count out 3 biscuits or find 1 book.
Illness and medicines.
If your child is asthmatic, please ensure that you bring in a named inhaler to be kept at school. Any prescribed medicine that needs to be administered please bring clearly labelled to the office. If your child is sick or has an upset tummy they need to stay home from PreSchool for 48 hours. If your child should be sick or have a poorly tummy in school, we will telephone you to collect them as soon as possible.
P.E
P.E is on a Tuesday morning. Please wear loose comfortable clothes such as leggings/joggers and tshirt, or shorts and tshirt. Velcro or pull on trainers, daps or plimsolls please.
Clothing.
We are working really hard to help your child to be resilient and independent when dressing themselves. Shoes need to be pull on, or velcro straps with no laces or hard buckles. Coats also need to have simple fastenings without complicated buttons or duffles. It will soon be time for tights and it really helps the girls to go a size up in their tights, although it can sometimes mean wrinkled ankles the extra bit of room makes it easy to pull them up and down. Everything will need your child's name on it somewhere.
Hometime.
We will dismiss from the classroom door into the Early Years garden area. This will take a little time as we get to know who is collecting who, so please be patient with us. If your child is going home with someone other than yourself, you must always let us know who will be collecting them, as otherwise we will be unable to let them go (unless they have been named as an approved person to collect on your forms to the office). If it is an emergency situation, please phone the school office.
We hope this helps you understand a little more about PreSchool and we look forward to getting to know you and your child. We use Tapestry as a key part of our communication, so please make sure you check this regularly, and like the posts we send. Each week we plan to have an outside focus for tapestry and an inside focus, as well as sharing ‘wow’ moments. Please add some of your own as we love to see what the children get up to outside of school and celebrate this with their peers.
Thank you for your support!
Miss Liz - Pre-school Room Leader
Morgan and Jolene- Early Years Practitioners