Gong Xi Fa Cai!! It’s the Chinese Lunar New Year on Tuesday 1st February, so this week we will be learning a bit about China – looking at where it is in Asia, learning about some customs & superstitions, and looking at some photos and objects from China. It’s the Year of the Tiger, and the children will be making Cherry Blossom tree art pictures and learning about the lucky Red Packets/Envelopes, and at the end of the week we will be dancing with streamers in the garden to a special Chinese New Year Song – link as below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl_eiQ9BzwU
Chinese New Year Poem

Dragons, lions, red & gold,
In with the New Year, out with the old.

Banners flying, bands playing,
Lions prancing, dragons swaying.

Fireworks crackling, lanterns swinging,
People laughing, dancing, singing.

It’s all about Art Appreciation this week at The Children’s House!! The children will be learning about 2 abstract artists: Jackson Pollock who pioneered the “drip technique” of splashing paint onto horiontal canvases in a manner which was called “action painting”, & Wassily Kandinsky who used colours & geometric shapes in many of his paintings. They will be experimenting with different methods of painting & shape-making, looking at the colour wheel & colour mixing, painting to music, thinking about whether different types of music reminds them of different colours, & much more!! Any art at this stage is all about the process & the enjoyment that brings, not the end product!

The Colours Song (tune of: If You’re Happy & You Know It)

If your clothes have any red, any red,
If your clothes have any red, any red,
If your clothes have any red,
Put your finger on your head….
If your clothes have any red, any red!

Blue – finger on your shoe
Yellow – smile like a happy fellow
Brown – turn your smile into a frown
Black – pat yourself upon the back
White – give yourself a hug with all your might!

Our theme this week at The Children’s House is road safety – & a very topical one considering the road works going on at the moment in Sallins!! We will be talking about the importance of road safety & the things we do to be careful around traffic, e.g. stop, look & listen before crossing the road, holding an adult’s hand, wearing hi-vis jackets…we will be discussing what the different coloured traffic lights mean, playing games using coloured sticks, safe/unsafe cards, and at the end of the week we will be putting our safety strategies into practice while we go on a walk to the GAA pitch!

Traffic Light (tune of: Twinkle twinkle)

Twinkle, twinkle, traffic light,
Round the corner shining bright.
Red means stop, green means go,
Yellow means go very slow….
Twinkle, twinkle, traffic light,
Round the corner shining bright.

We will be learning all about our health, & the importance of keeping healthy habits this week at The Children’s House! There will be great discussions about why we, for example, brush our teeth or wash our hands, and the importance of eating healthy foods & exercising to look after our bodies. The children will also be doing some meditation with us, as looking after our mental health is just as important as our physical health, & developing healthy habits in that area from an early age is so important. And of course we will be doing lots of fun physical movement, stretching & exercises – I just hope we can keep up with the children!!

Keep Healthy

You need to drink water,
You need to eat well too,
You need to play & do exercise –
It’s good for you!

Come on everyone,
Keep healthy, keep healthy,
Come on everyone, keep healthy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xu8qNXb51M

Happy New Year everyone!! We hope you all had a lovely break, & wish you a happy & healthy 2022!

This week at The Children’s House we will be talking all about the New Year & new month of January, & catching up with the children’s news from Christmas! We will be doing New Year firework art, practising mindfulness, & on Friday we will have a celebration of the New Year, so if your children would like to come in wearing fancy dress please feel free to encourage them!! It’s great to be back

Months of The Year Song 

January, February, March & April,
May, June, July & August,
September, October, November & December –
Now we know the months of the year!