Happy House Preschool Clayton-le-Woods

News

Check back here regularly to find out what's going on at Happy House Preschool Clayton-le-Woods.

March 2020 News

Hello and welcome to our March newsletter.

Before you wonder how you missed our February newsletter, well you didn’t I have just been feeling so ill with the same bug as your little ones (which has lasted for four weeks and is still on my chest) and doing paperwork that when I sat down at weekend to do February’s news I realised there was only one week left so here it is our March News.

Nursery News

Head Lice

I have recently had a letter from Lancashire County Council educational department to please advise everyone attending the nursery to be vigilant and check their child’s hair carefully for nits and or nit eggs, as there has been an increase in children in local nurseries and primary schools contracting head lice.

Coronavirus

I am confident that by now all of you will be very aware that the risk of infection by this virus is becoming more prevalent with more confirmed cases every day. To date there are 90 confirmed cases and most of these have been brought back to the country from tourist travel to virus hot spots. One of these being Italy which is a popular destination with British holidaymakers

Because of this and following government advice: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

I would like to make you all aware that should you be traveling to one of the known virus hot spots then when you return your child will not be allowed back into the nursery for a two-week period to ensure that they are virus free. During this period fees will still apply.

Also, as a further precaution to try to contain the spread of the virus the government recommend that anyone with a cold should also self-isolate, because of this if you child has a cold and cough then we will ask you not to bring them into nursery for one week

A detailed list can be found on this link: www.pharmaceutical-technology.com

and

www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

The government are doing coronavirus news updates on their web site at 2pm every day and I will check regularly to identify the countries that they are classing as hotspots which will require parents and children to self-isolate if they have visited them.

Government hotspots to date:

Hubei (China)

Iran

South Korea

Hong Kong

Japan

Macau (Asia)

Malaysia

Singapore

Taiwan

Thailand

Italy

Cambodia (Asia)

Laos (Asia)

Myanmar (Asia)

Vietnam

Spain

Also, as a precaution to try to contain the spread of the virus the government recommend that anyone with a cold should also self-isolate, because of this if you child has a cold and cough then we will ask you not to bring them into nursery for one week

Monthly Focus

Our monthly focus will be mathematics (aspect) Number: the older children age phase 30 - 50 months will be encouraged to match numerals to the correct number of objects i.e. the number three to three balls

The younger children age phase 22 – 36 months will be encouraged to make comparisons between quantities i.e. when a group of objects such as two towers of bricks has more bricks than the other

Understanding the world (aspect) The world: the older children age phase 30 – 50 months will be supported to develop an understanding of growth, decay and changes over time i.e. that bananas turn black when they start to go bad, flowers and the leaves on the trees begin to grow when it starts to get warmer

The younger children (aspect )people and communities age phase 22 – 36 months will be supported through activities to understand that they have similarities and differences that connect them to and distinguish them from others i.e. for example talking about how their friends hair is a different colour than theirs, that they have a unicorn on their dress and their friend is wearing a dress but she doesn’t like unicorns.

Early Years Foundation Themes: (The Unique Child) States:

Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured

Resilience is an important trait for everyone, and an essential one for our children to develop. It is well known that resilience creates happier, less stressed children wherever they are – whether it’s at home, nursery, school, before and after school care or attending school holiday programs.

Being resilient means a person’s ability to cope with the ups and downs of life. For children it also encompasses how they deal with the challenges they might face throughout their childhood. This could mean dealing with events like a death in the family, the birth of a new sibling, having to wear glasses, moving to a new school or changes in family life.

Resilience is important mostly for our mental health. It’s a life skill child will take with them into adulthood. It is thought that the more resilient a person is, the less they experience stress as they are equipped to deal with life’s pressures. Starting to build resilience in children helps them to overcome obstacles more easily and reduces the chances of them suffering from anxiety or other stress-related disorders. To help children to build resilience they need to be able to express how they are feeling, just asking them what they understand or how they feel may not be enough to get them to voice their feelings. Young children need help to find the words to express what they are feeling. Offering them words to choose from by telling them it's normal to feel sad, upset, or confused and being a good role model by encouraging them to express feelings through play, drawing, storytelling, or other creative activities is an important role for early years practitioners.

Our stories for the month: will support the development of expressing feelings.

The Huge Bag of Worries is a story about a little girl who worries so much she wakes up to find all of her worries in a huge bag at the bottom of her bed.

How Do You Feel Is the story of a young boy who describes how?

he felt each day of the week that was a very eventful week.

The Not-So-Perfect Penguin is about a group of penguins who are all smart and sensible except for Percy, who is not so perfect.

The Otter who Loved to Hold Hands

Otto is always frightened and needs to hold his family’s hands day and night. What will persuade the little otter to face his fears and let go.

Songs for the month

CRY, CRY WHEN YOU’RE SAD
To the tune: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”

Cry, cry when you’re sad.
Just between me and you.
Don’t be afraid to shed a tear.
It’s the thing to do.

I HAVE A HAPPY FACE
To the tune: I’m A Little Teapot”

I have a happy face,
Just watch me grin.
I have a great big smile
From my forehead to my chin.

When I’m upset
And things are bad,
Then my happy face
Turns to sad.
(Let the children sing this song as they first make a happy face and then a sad one at the end.)

FEELINGS
To the tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

I have feelings, so do you.
Let’s all sing about a few.
We get happy, we get sad.
We get scared, we get mad.
I am proud of being me
That’s a feeling, too, you see.
I have feelings, so do you.
We just sang about a few.

Forthcoming Events

Some of you may know that we sponsor a charity called Crackerjacks who raise funds for disabled children. We have been contacted by them recently and asked if we can do a fund-raising event to help raise funds for an electric wheelchair for a local disabled child. So, on Friday 17th April we will be having a fund pyjama day and doing some fund-raising activities. More information about this event to follow

This year the 8th May (Friday which is the 75th anniversary of VE day) is the first May bank holiday so nursery will be shut until Monday the 11th May

Finally

You will all by now be very aware of some measures that the government are saying they may eventually introduce to try to alleviate the spread of the covid-19 virus. One of these measures is the closure of schools, universities and possibly nurseries. Should this become necessary I will try to give you all as much notice as possible.