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Edition14

Augusts NewsDirectors NewsSparkwellForest SchoolWoodlandsIvy TownSchool ClubMike's Meal - Mushroom andCourgette StroganoffStaff NewsMontessori Information - Sand PaperNumeralsParenting Help - Look, Say, Sing, PlayIdeas for home from our MontessoriHourDates for your diary

This time of year is always bittersweet as we saygoodbye to children and families as the time tomove onto school approaches. This year we held our school leavers party atWoodlands Park primary school and we all had lotsof fun! Emmaz dad amused us with his magic tricks,delicious food was eaten and faces were painted. Allthe adults tried to be brave as we sang goodbye toeach nurserie's children wishing them "HappySchool Days". Don't forget to come back and visitus, we love to hear how our Little Orchard family aredoing. Tracey and CarolineWe enjoyed our National Management Todayevent where we met different nursery suppliers,other setting owners and had a question andanswer session. From this event we have nowmade a few changes to the way we manage ouraccounting and are looking at a couple ofimproved software packages. We hope you are having a lovely summer break,enjoying the sunshine when we have it andmaking the most of the rainy days when we don't.Work has begun at Woodlands on the outside area toreplace, repair and improve. We are having a largedelivery of rubber bark which should reduce the dustand dirt when the children are playing, although thereis still the mud kitchen and plenty of sensory activitiesso only old clothes to be worn to nursery please. Thework will carry on over the summer and into theAutumn term.

Our 2 year olds have had a big interest with the Grimms Rainbow. They havebeen working out what ways they are able to build it and helping each otherto find different ways to make shapes and towers. This has been great forcolour recognition also, with the older children matching objects in theclassroom with the colours of the rainbow.We have enjoyed the lovely which weather has bought out all of the amazing wildlife we have here atSparkwell. In particular the children have been fascinated with all of the bees we have had on the deckingand noticed how others can be afraid of them. With this in mind we have been talking about howthey are very useful and how we can behave around them and help to look after their environment. Thechildren were very keen to look at the parts of a bee and how they collect pollen from the flowers and whatthis is then used for.Our under 2’s have been enjoying exploring different textures. With variousactivities available to them, they have been able to feel the way things feelwet, hard, soft, and cold when playing in certain activities. This is good forbuilding on their sensorial development as well as their vocabulary with lotsof words about how the textures feel when doing the activities.LauraDuring the summer we will be continuing looking at minibeasts and insectsin line with the children’s interests. We will have many exciting activitiesfor the children to explore and look forward to another great month atSparkwell.

For our last session in small groups we made dens for little animalcharacters with the aim of the den being water tight. This wasquite a challenge and there were lots of discussions regardingwhich natural material we should use, sticks, stones, leaves ormoss. A combination was decided upon. Forest school has now finished for this academic year, we havethoroughly enjoyed our sessions with the Hedgehogs class fromSparkwell All Saints Primary school. They will restart in the Autumnterm once we and school have settled in.Each group foraged for fallen objects and began to build the den aroundtheir woodland character. Once built then each den was tested for it'swatertightness. Quite a few leaked causing a lot of laughter, reflectionon what to do next time and drying of the soggy animal. Forest School ClaireWe had an extra special snack that Hedgehogs class had made for usand as we enjoyed our food and drink we reflected on the year we spenttogether. We shared our highlights whichincluded enjoyed eating thedifferent snacks such as freshlymade garlic bread, climbing in thetrees, making dens, having a turnon the slack line, making clayfaces, making magic potions andlistening to stories. What fun wehave had.

During the hot weather (when we have had some) we have been trying to cool down by having an ice pop as a treat now and again. We also allmade paper plate fans which were decorated as watermelons to help us inthe hot weather. Even the teachers made a fan each as they were soeffective. We are beginning to develop our role play area providing different propsfor the children following their interests. We have props to create an icecream shop with a till so purchases can be made. There have been greatdiscussions regarding their favourite flavours! Hairdressing is also acurrent favourite so items have been added to create differing styles. Wehave a new pretend kitchen so when, not actually baking our puddings forlunch, tea parties can be prepared for the teddies.Hannah Some of our children have developed aninterest in colour so Hayley has createdsensory coloured boards for the youngerchildren to explore. We have also beengrading colours using the Montessoricolour boxes and we have some newsensory, colourful building blocks whichhave been very popular. This month we have had a fantastic time getting prepared to say farewell to our school children withThinking and Doing sessions at Woodlands school, a sports day, leavers party and much more. It hasbeen a absolute pleasure to watch your children blossom and we wish you all the best for school. Wewill miss you all so please do come back and visit. If you are going on holiday or having aday trip we would love to receive a postcard and hope you have a wonderfultime!

Breakfast and After School ClubHannahWhat a lovely end to a great school year. It has been anemotional month, saying farewell to our year 6’s, we wish them all thebest in their new start at secondary school! We’ve really enjoyed taking our indoor games outside this month. The children have enjoyed creatingnew structures with the Zoob out in our garden area, it gave them more space to be able to include morefriends in their play and expand their designs. The hot weather hasn’t stopped us from cooking either, ginger biscuitswere a favourite one week, super yummy and easy to make! We also had lots of fun with water balloons, making the most of the hotweather and being out in it whenever we could.We are excited for the new term to start, we havelots of new games to play and new books to enjoy,Books are always very loved at after school clubby all ages, they love sitting down in our comfy areaand having the opportunity to read a new book. Ifanyone has any books or games at home that youdo not use anymore, we would love them! Theywould be greatly appreciated and well looked afterhere!

What a lovely month July has been! We have been so busy it hasflown by. We started off July by celebrating American Independence Day. We did some really lovely blue, whiteand red activities for that! We had to say goodbye to somechildren that were leaving for schools andpreschools. We wish them all the best in thefuture and they will all be missed greatly. BrionyWe have had a great start to the summer holidays and theweather has not stopped us, we are doing so many craftactivities and we get to go for walks nearly everyday. Puddlesmake it even more fun! We cannot wait to see what the rest of the summer holidayshold!We started off really lucky with the weather and have beenenjoying so many trips out! We have been making new friends atthe nursing home and making lots of lovely things such as naturebook marks! We are so happy with them and so were theresidents!

Mushroom and CourgetteStroganoffMike's MealsPut the pan on the stove and heat. Add in some cooking oil, the onions and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add in the half a jar of paprika and stir for about two minutes Pour in a splash of water, just enough to cover the ingredients in the pan, bring to a simmer andleave until the contents of the pan looks like a paste. Add in the courgettes mushrooms, tarragon and yogurt or sour cream stir and then add in water toget to desired consistency. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the courgette is soft. Add in the peppers and peas and bring back to a boil. Serve with roasted new potatoes and a side vegIngredientsMethod Cooking oil. 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped. 2 red or white onions cut in to half slices. 350 grams mushrooms, washed and cut in to quarters. 1 large courgette topped and tailed, and sliced in to cubes. 1 Red pepper julienned. Paprika, Tablespoon of tomato pureeGood dollop of Soured cream or natural yogurt, the moreyou add the richer it will be. 2 teaspoons Tarragon Good sized cup of peas.

Staff News At our Woodlands setting we are delighted that Hayley has accepted the position of deputy manager.She and Hannah D will make a great leadership team and are full of enthusiasm. We welcome Lenni to our Ivy Town team to be their new deputy manager and lead of the under twoarea. Lenni has many years experience in early years settings. We hope you soon feel settled in yourrole Lenni. At Sparkwell Tracey will no longer be teaching three days a week. Claire G is now the deputy whilstClaire W is taking the lead role in the teaching and learning for the over two's. We are excited to see thewonderful learning opportunities that will be available for the children. I started working for little orchard in July 2017.I started doing work experience as it was a part of mychildcare level one. When I started working at the nurseryI was not very confident and had no experience. With thesupport from the staff and Tracey and Caroline, I reallyenjoyed my time at the Ivytown nursery. After finishing work experience Tracey and Carolineoffered me to do a level 2 apprenticeship. After my level 2I then went on to do my level 3 which I am currentlyworking on. Over the past few years I have not just developed as aperson, with being more confident. I have learned somuch knowledge and experience working with amazingpeople and teaching such lovely children and watchingthem grow as individuals. Featured staff member - Saisha I enjoy my job so much, coming in the morning and see how happy the children are to see me. I alsolove doing messy activities with the children and watch them develop new skills and knowledge andwatching them grow.I can’t thank Tracey and Caroline and the staff enough at Ivytown for the opportunity to work in such anamazing setting.

Montessori InformationMaths Area ; sand paper numeralsThe sand paper numerals are cut out of sand paper and mounted onto a green background eithermade of stiff card, wood or plastic and include the numerals 0-9. They are designed to be texturedas Montessori felt children learnt better if the mind and body work together. Having not only a visualbut muscular representation of the numerals would help a child learn and be active in their learning. We only look at the sand paper numerals once a child is interested and have been exposed to theconcept of counting and numbers. We do lots of counting games, look at books and sing songsinvolving numerals. Then when a child begins to notice numerals we introduce the sand papernumerals three at a time. Ideas for homeHaving a variety of number puzzles.Have a number hunt walk spotting numbers on doors, on manhole covers, post boxes etc. You could crayon rub thenumerals.Sing number songsPoint out numbers in books or on birthday cards. The child is shown how to trace the numerals the way we wouldwrite them thus also preparing the child for later writing skills. We play games with the numerals asking the child to pass aparticular numeral or place it somewhere, this is often quiteamusing and a fun game. We create fun combinations which link to current interests suchas hunting for the matching numbered golden nugget in thegarden, playing pairs with another set, counting out the correctquantity of shells and matching to the numeral. This helps keepthe activity interesting for the child.

Parenting InformationNSPCC Look, Say, Sing, Play The NSPCC currently have a fantastic campaign to encourage families to 'look, say, sing andplay' with their children under two. We feel you can never have enough singing and playing in afamily and are keen to promote awareness of this free scheme. You can sign up here toreceive tips on how you can support your child's brain development specific to their age group,and it's all free. Your babies brain is amazing and develops at such a fast pace, the more we interact with babiesthe more their brains develop. We need to watch out for babies very subtle cues when they arecommunicating with us and respond which in turn encourages them to respond back to us. Thisis early stage communication and helps a child learn how to take part in a conversation, theybegin to understand as they communicate with gesture, looks or sounds and we mirror backwhat they have done and they in turn respond back to us. Like a game of tennis or ping pong. Turn taking games such as peek a boo, rolling a ball to each other, copying movements such ashand clapping, waving and shaking are interactive, fun and engaging for your baby. They learnhow to take turns, follow a lead, to socialise and to have fun with another person. Providing language for a baby and young child helps their vocabulary to increase and theirunderstanding. It provides names for what they see in the world around them and they can shareexperiences with you. Watch your baby or child and see what they are looking at, provide aname or sentence for what you can see together. Singing and rhymes are so important for a babies development and provide so much happiness,the best part is you don't have to be a great singer, your baby will just love hearing your voice,the intonation, pitch and rhyme you use. Have fun, laugh and sing like no one is watching. Sharing books at even a young age helps your babies brain to develop, they will look at thepictures, begin to turn pages and enjoy that special time spent together. They will have favouritebooks that they will want read over and over and over! There can never be enough books andlibraries are a great place to spend time reading, or borrowing or attending a parent session. It is important to follow your child's lead though and be certain they are ready to engage, if theyare smiling, happy, content they will be more likely to engage. If they are tired, hungry, need anappy change or not in the mood save it for later.

Easy to Recreate Activity IdeasFrom The Montessori HourGroupYellowfruit tosmell, feeland tasteDifferentmaterials tofeel andmove over. Balls andlargeplastic seacreaturesUmbrella, cd'sand ribbons fora young babyto lie under andexploreSelectionof blueitems toexploreSand in acontainerwith aselection ofpots

Dates For Your Diaries Summer Bank Holiday August 26th Autumn Term 4th September-17th December Half Term - 21st OctoberChristmas Closure 25th Dec-1st Jan inclusive Spring Term 6th January-27th MarchHalf Term - 17th FebruaryEaster Bank Holiday 10th and 13th April Summer Term 14th April-17th JulyHalf Term - 25th MaySummer Bank Holiday 8th and 25th May and 31st August We are closed for all Bank Holidays and for approx a week at Christmas.Ivy Town- Briony: ivytown@littleorchardmontessori.co.uk Tel: 893498 Term DatesContact DetailsWould you like to order a jumper or T shirt for your child in purple with our logo on? Please let us know via email or message on Famly T Shirt; £6.95Jumper; £8.95 Jumper/ T Shirt PurchasesPlease contact managers direct regarding changes to sessions, extra days andholiday notice: Sparkwell- Laura: sparkwell@littleorchardmontessori.co.uk Tel: 837883 Woodlands- Hannah: woodlands@littleorchardmontessori.co.uk Tel: 658567 Director Caroline: caroline.lucas@littleorchardmontessori.co.ukZara: Invoice queries: admin@littleorchardmontessori.co.uk Tel: 07549066082