We will be learning all about road safety in The Children’s House as well as discussing our personal space, following on from our theme of emotional well-being last week. We will be learning how to ‘stop, look and listen’ when crossing the road, and practicing this in the classrooms as well as outside. Then we will link this to interactions with our friends, and how to stop, look and listen to them when we’re in their personal space! The children will be doing activities such as standing in a hula hoop firstly by themselves, and then with another child, and we will be asking them which they prefer, and how it feels when somebody is right up against them as opposed to giving them space.

Stop, Look and Listen (tune of Three Blind Mice)

Stop look & listen, stop look & listen,
Before you cross the road, before you cross the road,
You use your eyes & you use your ears,
You use your eyes & you use your ears,
And if no traffic at all appears,
Then we cross the road,
Holding an adult’s hand.

This week the theme in The Children’s House is emotional well-being. At the pre-school age, children are usually learning a lot about emotional self-regulation, often needing support to handle their emotions; we as adults can help by doing things such as naming their emotions for them e.g. ‘I can see that you’re feeling upset/ angry/ frustrated by what’s happened’, and coming up with possible solutions e.g. ‘maybe taking some deep breaths would help you to feel better’ / ‘do you think you’d like a hug?’ / ‘would you like to snuggle Ted Bear?’; then at a later stage when the child is familiar with using strategies to calm themselves, ask them to choose their own self-regulation strategy, e.g. ‘what do you think would make you feel better?’. So at the start of the year, we talk about emotions, how they make us feel, and start to use various props in the classroom such as an emotions wheel (children can turn the arrow on the wheel to point to the image of the emotion that they’re feeling). During the week we will be making a worry box with each of the classes – this is a box that we decorate together, and if any of the children are worried about something, we write it down on a piece of paper and put it into the box until the child decides that they’re not worried about it anymore, whereupon they can tear it up and put it in the recycling bin! This gives a very real representation to the children that worries are temporary things, which come and go, so it can help to put anxieties they may have to rest.

We are holding observation days in the classes at the moment, where family members  are invited to come in and observe the children at their work, to give an understanding of what they are  doing while at school (as we hear that some children are less communicative at home about what exactly they do than others!) Following this we will be scheduling parent teacher meetings, which is a great opportunity to meet up and review the observations, to discuss any questions there may be, and to have a chat about your children’s progression throughout the year in general and how you can be involved in that as much as possible. We value your input and will be inviting you to come in throughout the school year, whether to observe in the classroom, join in activities, or demonstrate/talk to the children about your own specialised skills! Also, please remember that if you ever have any issues or concerns, we are always here to talk to.

If You’re Happy & You Know It

If you’re happy & you know it clap your hands,
If you’re happy & you know it clap your hands,
If you’re happy & you know it & you really want to show it –
If you’re happy & you know it clap your hands!

If you’re sad & you know it wipe your tears…
If you’re angry & you know it stamp your feet…
If you’re tired & you know it rest your head…
If you’re happy & you know it shout hooray!!…

We will be celebrating our uniqueness this week, as the topic is ‘About Me’, so at the start of the week, the classes will be sharing what differences & similarities they have with each other, starting with things such as their names & birthdays (& making the class birthday chart), their favourite food, colour, song etc.

As well as this, we have the arrival of a new month – October – already!! The children will be going on a nature walk to observe and collect autumnal objects for the nature table, and we would encourage them always to bring in anything they find outside of school to share with their friends and class.

Then later in the week they will be practising mindfulness and yoga – we always find that no matter how young the children are, that they all get so much from these practices, whether it’s just learning to take deep breaths to calm down, thinking about their favourite place to relax, stretching their bodies or making up their own imaginative & unique poses!!

I Am Special (tune of Frere Jacques)

I am special, I am special,
If you look, you will see.
Someone very special, someone very special,
That is me, that is me.

This week in The Children’s House we will be learning all about the Autumn and harvest time! The children will be doing lots of  arts & crafts activities such as making corn on the cob, designing their own farm yard and scarecrows, as well as learning about the parts of the apple, and talking about different types of tractors!

Autumn Days

Swirling, twirling autumn leaves,
Whooshing, whirling, from the trees.

Snapping, cracking, conkers fall,
Dropping, popping near the wall.

Grouping, swooping, birds up high,
Crying, flying round the sky.

Curling, furling, smokey fires,
Flowing, blowing, higher, higher.

After settling back in over the last week & a half, & getting used to their new class routine, this week the children will be learning about the season of Autumn. We will be asking them what they notice about the weather these days & discussing things such as the shortening days & lenghening nights, as well as making a handprint tree, painting hedgehogs, and making lollipop leaf puppets! We will also be doing leaf rubbings, and looking at the nature table, so we will be encouraging the children to bring in items to add to this, for example leaves or conkers.

As it is the start of the year, we are focussing on the Practical Life area of the classroom, as it is an area which underpins the entire Montessori curriculum. While using the Practical Life exercises, children learn about care of themselves & their environment; they grow to realise the importance of the work cycle – returning an activity to where they got it from, & in the same state as when they got it; they develop their hand-eye coordination, gross & fine motor skills, concentration & independence. It is a wonderful area for new & returning students alike as we can extend the exercises as a child needs to stimulate their interests & learning (e.g. going from opening & closing pegs to hanging up clothes with pegs), and we also support & encourage the ‘vertical learning’ which Maria Montessori was such a huge advocate of – this is where younger children actively learn from older ones, & the older children gain more confidence in themselves as they can see they are competent & capable within their school environment – we always find there are wonderful interactions within the mixed age groups!

Autumn Winds

Autumn winds begin to blow,
Coloured leaves fall fast and slow.
Whirling, twirling all around,
Til at last they touch the ground.

Welcome to the first full week of school at The Children’s House!! This week we will be having a Friendship Week, where we will focus on supporting the children to get to know each other, and to feel comfortable in their classes, so we will be making a friendship tree from their handprints, friendship bracelets, and also making a friendship poster after having a discussion with the children on their views of what types of things that good friends do for each other.

The More We Get Together

The more we get together, together, together,
The more we get together, the happier we’ll be.
Cause your friends are my friends,
And my friends are your friends,
The more we get together, the happier we’ll be!

We will be holding our open day on Monday 3rd September from 10am – 12pm & 7 – 8pm

All welcome to come in, view the school with your children, meet the teachers….

Looking forward to the start of another fantastic year at The Children’s House –

classes will be resuming on Wednesday 5th September – we can’t wait!!!

The Children’s House is closed for summer holidays until Open Day on Mon 3rd September,

re-opening on Wednesday 5th September for classes –

have a fantastic summer everyone!!

It’s the last few days of the school year at The Children’s House, and we’ve got mixed emotions about it!!! We’re going to miss those children who are heading on to ‘big school’, but at the same time are so excited for them and also very proud of them and all the growing they’ve done in their time with us – their new teachers are going to love them, and are very lucky to be getting them in their classes – and we’re delighted that so many children will be returning to us in September for another year, and look forward to it already!

This short week will be spent doing activities that the children have chosen themselves; after some discussion last week it was decided that they would like to set up the classrooms for next year (!) as well as doing cooking, so they will be making buns on Wednesday, and will also be doing some drama – the big bad wolf poem as below.

We would like to thank you all for helping us and your children throughout the year  – whether by coming in to do activities, or coming on nature walks/ sports day/ school tour etc, or coming into school with your child to celebrate their birthday with us, or in general just by being such a supportive positive part of your child’s preschool experience! It’s been a privelege to teach these children throughout the year – thank you for trusting your precious little people to our care.

The Big Bad Wolf

I’m a big bad wolf and I look for things to eat –
I don’t like leaves and berries; I only like meat!
I see those little piggies – am I dreaming, or awake?
Those chubby little creatures…
What a dinner they will make!!