(Reg Charity 1199330)
C/o Greystones Primary School, Tullibardine Road, SHEFFIELD S11 7GL
Telephone: 0114 2671111 email:greystonespreschool@ymail.com
23rd November 2022
Dear all,
Wow, how have we got to week 10 of the autumn term already?
This week will be the last one where we will be looking at the topic of light and dark before we turn attention to CHRISTMAS! So we will be talking to the children about road safety. We are hoping to take small groups of children outside Preschool to teach them how to cross the road safely. We will be making our own vehicles out of junk, working together to draw a large road inside and outside we will be having a car wash where the children can wash bikes, scooters and cars. We will also talking about traffic lights and playing the stop and go game. As part of our maths work we will also be looking at numbers and shapes in the environment.
Over the last three weeks of term we will be celebrating the festival of Christmas. We will be focusing on the story ‘The Jolly Christmas Postman’ by Allan Ahlberg. We will be having a role play post office and Santa’s workshop, we will also be looking at the characters in the story, including Little Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread boy, Humpty Dumpty and The Three Little Pigs, as well as practising our Christmas songs and the Nativity! I will continue to update you about what is happening in the weekly newsletter, but we need your help in providing some resources if possible?
We would like to have a wrapping station where the children can wrap their own pretend presents and wondered whether you could look through your recycling and save small boxes; tubs etc. and send them into the setting? We are also looking for old Christmas wrapping paper, Christmas cards and envelopes, tinsel and fairy lights.
We are hoping to make table decorations using fresh foliage and would ask that if you have a real Christmas tree and need to trim off any branches that you save them and bring them into the setting? You could also go on walk and collect pine cones, laurel, and holly!
Thank you to those of you that have already returned the permission slip for your child to perform in our Christmas performance. If you haven’t there is still time, please make sure your slip in handed in by December 2nd 2022. I have received a couple of emails from parents wanting to know why we have decided to record our performance rather than stage it live. This was a decision that we took as a staff team taking into consideration the needs of the children that attend the setting. We are an inclusive setting and wanted to ensure that all children would feel comfortable in taking part. We know from past experience that some children find it hard to perform in front of a large audience of parents, grandparents and siblings, they are only aged two, three and four and we felt that they would feel more at ease if they were singing and dancing in the setting which is why we decided to record it. I can assure you that the staff and the children are working very hard to bring you a very special performance so watch this space!
If you have not done so already please can you complete and return the termly pattern of attendance form to enable us to claim the funded hours on your behalf. We have noted that for some children their attendance at the setting is sporadic. Please note that we cannot claim funding for your child if they do not attend, so we would ask you to consider whether or not your child needs the place as we have a waiting list of children that are requiring a place from January.
Finally just a reminder that a child with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia will be phasing into our setting from next week. Please do not send your child into preschool if the a suffering from gastroenteritis, chickenpox or measles as contact with any of these viruses will make the child extremely unwell due to her lowered immune system.
Home Learning Challenge
Talk about road safety with your child on your way to and from Preschool.
Go on a winter walk and collect pine cones and holly for our table decorations.
Read a snuggly story on the sofa.
Make a den from blankets.
Draw or paint a Christmas picture and bring it in to preschool to show your friends.
Help your child practice a song for our Christmas performance.
Only four weeks to go to the big Ho Ho! The staff team and I are really looking forward to celebrating this very special time of year with your children.
Take care,
Julie.