Category Archives: Newsletters

32. Great Fireworks – November 2021 Newsletter

Sunday, December 5th, 2021

Fireworks

Fireworks: November was a fun filled month. We started off by talking about what we did during the half term holiday in circle time. The children energetically described Bonfire Night and all the wonderful fireworks that they had seen. We used the opportunity to also explain the importance of fire safety and separately created multiple firework pictures in the craft area.

The next week we discussed hibernation and we learnt how some animals sleep during the winter. We read a story about a hedgehog called Hodge and how he sleeps through the cold winter and we learnt a song called ‘I’m a little hedgehog.

During the second half of November, we had a road safety week. We discussed how important it is to listen to a grown up when walking, to use the path and how to cross the road safely.  In the craft area we made a big set of traffic lights which we used outside when riding the bikes and driving the cars.

Pre-school playing outside on their scooters on the morning on the fireworks displayAt the start of the last week of November we enjoyed the snow and in the afternoon we had a very exciting visit to Petersfield Library where Hermoine, the librarian read some stories to the children and then they participated in a hedgehog craft activity. We borrowed some books, which we have been enjoying at circle time and also learnt about Diwali.

We even had a special Diwali lunch prepared by one of the parents – a big thank you! The delicious lunch that all of us enjoyed consisted of coconut rice, lentil and aubergine curry and chapatis. Even some treats for the teachers to enjoy at home.  Alongside this the children made some candle holders from clay and some lanterns to take home.

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31. Delicious Apple October 2021 Newsletter

Monday, October 25th, 2021

Apple

October has been a fun packed month. We started learning about apples and we discussed some language around apples, such as sweet, sour, crunchy, peel and  apple seeds. The helper of the day chopped up lots of them at snack time and discovered the seeds inside. This led to a discussion about the life cycle of the apple tree, which the children also drew. In the book area we also read lots of books about Autumn, Trees and Fruit.the cycle of the apple tree drawn by a 3 year old

At group time the children told us what fruit they like to eat best and if they had any fruit trees in their gardens. We collected a few small apples from the field and used these for some apple printing in the craft area. Miss Veronica also brought in apples from her garden, which were called “Golden Gelicious”

We have also been learning about Autumn and the children learned a special Autumn song called “Leaves are Falling”. We discussed what changes take place during the Autumn, Miss Veronica told the children about the large courgettes growing in her garden and she bought some in for the children to look at. We decided to use some of the courgette to make a courgette loaf cake and even the children who said “I don’t like courgette” agreed that the cake was delicious!

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30. September 2021 Newsletter- happy new faces

Sunday, October 10th, 2021

New faces

We started September by welcoming some lovely new faces, both children and staff. We are lucky to be joined by Miss Paula for a few mornings each week as a member of staff. We started off setting everyone back in to the nursery routine and the children shared stories about their summer holidays. We played outside in the garden and had some great news as we finally were able to use our sandpit again as Covid 19 restriction were eased. Our – new face – stone dove also got lots of love and attention and crates were emptied to comfortably sit in by the younger ones as the new happy faces picture reveals!

Happy new face: a 2 year old making himself at home by relaxing in a crate

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29. July newsletter – sport is fun

Thursday, July 22nd, 2021

Sport

We have been very busy learning about a variety of different sports. The children shared with us the sporting activities their families took part in. What a sporty bunch you are! Apparently, some are Footballers, Cricketers, Horse Riders, Runners, Cyclists and some even practice Yoga and Pilates. We discussed why it is important to exercise and eat healthy foods. We also read books about this topic and talked about our upcoming sportsday and did lots of exercises outside.


Pre-school children having fun at Privett Montessori sports day Pre-school children having fun at Privett Montessori sports day

 

 

 

 

 

Sport: The egg and spoon race at Privett Montessori nursery School

The children all worked very hard practising for sports day, and we were eventually blessed with a lovely sunny day. They participated and performed at their very  best, enjoying each moment. After all their hard work, the children sat down with their parents and enjoyed a scrumptious picnic.


For those children moving on to a new school, we had lots of conversations about the schools they are moving on to and the things to look forward to. We also had a few visits from reception teachers and the children enjoyed the ‘transition sessions’ to their future schools.

Finally, we say farewell to those children moving on to primary school, as they start on their next learning adventure. We hope you will have relaxing, safe and fun packed summer holiday with all your friends and family. We would like to give our gratitude for all the lovely presents and cards we have been given for the end of the summer term.

We will open once again for a new school year on Monday 6th September.

Please see our Dates & Fees

 


28. June 2021 – Great jobs

Sunday, July 4th, 2021

Jobs

We started off in June learning about people’s jobs. Who are helping us and so, we learnt about a variety of occupations or jobs. We, discussed how some people are police officers, doctors, nurses, teachers. The children got very involved and listed many different jobs. They even knew the job of friends and family. This resulted in fun and humorous responses.

In the craft area, we made police and fire fighter helmets and painted a large box which we turned into a fire engine, complete with ladder and hose!

       4 children in a made shift fire truck trying to be a fireman or firewoman as a their jobs

We, watched a short educational video called, I can help you. This taught us, who can help in emergency situations. We also used our library and read a variety of books relating to our topic, which really helped us to better understand.

The dressing up area also gave support; the children dressed up as surgeons, nurses, firefighters and police officers. As we continued learning about people who help us, the children were encouraged to help each other, some of the older children helped their younger friends to put on their shoes or zip up their coats.

     Jobs: A child dressed up as a nurse     

Outside, we had lots of fun in the sun with a paddling pool; lots of splashing fun and smiles all around. We also enjoyed our nature walks and picked wildflowers as well as strawberries from our garden

With the Montessori equipment, for those children able to count confidently to 10, we introduced numbers 11-15 using the Seguin Board whilst some children continued using the number rods.

For our fun science topic, we sprouted Alfalfa seeds and hopefully you enjoyed trying them with your child at home. We also decorated a worry jar which they can shake and watch as the glitter settles.

 

During the last two weeks we learnt about dinosaurs, we learnt many dinosaur names, we learnt how some dinosaurs were carnivores and some were herbivores. The children designed their own dinosaurs from clay. In the play tray we had a variety of dinosaurs for imaginative small world play.

We, read lots of books about dinosaurs and learnt a song about dinosaurs called The Dinosaur Stomp.

For those children moving on to school, they practiced getting changed for PE, finding their own PE bag and putting on their shorts and t-shirts, then the tricky part …….remembering where they left their clothes and putting them back on. We, furthermore have been practicing taking jumpers on and off a very useful skill before starting school.

We lastly, finished the month with a very successful Free Play & Stay session for some of the new children joining us in September, resulting in positive feedback and we will therefore definitely do it again.


27. May 2021 – good dental health

Sunday, June 6th, 2021

Dental Health

Dental: We have explored a variety of topics during May and one of them was learning about the importance of good dental hygiene. During circle time, we discussed the importance of brushing our teeth regularly and the children learnt a song called “Brush brush, brush your teeth.”

In line with our healthy eating topic from April, we continued to identify which foods are good for our teeth and leads to good dental health. We also learned about what foods are bad for our teeth and lead to sad dental health. The children also had the opportunity to participate in a matching game to reinforce this concept.

In the practical life area, the children practiced squeezing a little toothpaste on to a toothbrush and brushing the teeth in a plastic mouth. At circle time some of the children shared their experiences of visiting the dentist and of course getting a sticker afterwards for good dental health.

 

We, have also been practicing our grace and courtesy, the children have been practicing how to ask for something if someone else is using it. They have been encouraged to say something as:

  • Can I help you with that?
  • Can I work with you and of course?
  • Yes please/No thank you

For the last two weeks our topic was recycling. The children watched a short video called Reuse, reduce recycle and learnt a song about recycling.

In the book area, we read lots of information books about reducing waste and recycling and discussed what we should do with rubbish so it does not end up in the oceans harming the wildlife.

In the craft area, we used lots of recycled items to make some model robots and discussed how we can re-use cardboard and paper for drawing and other activities such as painting and model making. We also made some bags from old newspapers. We secured them with staples, which the children used unaided but under supervision. We also made our own Recycling Center. The children really enjoyed this and practiced sorting tins, paper and cardboard, plastic and glass into groups.

 

During our nature walks we discovered that the grass and flowers in the meadow had really grown a lot. It moreover is actually quite nice to lay in as one of the pictures reveals. We also picked a few flowers and took them home with us to show our parents how beautiful these flowers are. We also found that our beetroot seeds had grown into plants, so we now planned them outside.

Two children walking in the meadow at Fawley Farm Two 3-year old Picking meadow flowers at Fawley Farm a child laying down in the meadow enjoying herself at Fawley Farm 4 children with Privett Montessori manager and owner Veronica van Ingen, planting strawberries in a flower bed

At snack time, we discussed how we reuse the fruit and vegetable peelings by putting them in the compost bin and that over time they turn into compost and we can use it on the garden.

In our cooking activity, we made some simple flat breads that hopefully the children enjoyed eating at home. Notwithstanding, the carrot juice was a hit as children loved making and above all drinking it, resulting in many smiling faces and empty cups.

Want to know the carrot juice recipe? Click the Read more button Read more

Finally on Thursday afternoon we had a very special visitor. Nightingale, a 2-week-old baby goat came in for a run around in our garden with the children. Nightingale, is currently being hand reared. One of our parents is looking after little nightingale. Nightingale, enjoyed being stroked by the children and running around freely in the garden. She seemed to enjoy herself and was even seen nibbling at some of the plants in the garden.

We by the way hope all have a safe and relaxing half term.

Let’s hope in particular that we can swap our raincoats for sun hats and enjoy some sunshine at last!

      

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26. April 2021 – healthy eating

Saturday, May 1st, 2021

Healthy eating

Our healthy eating theme proved very popular with the children. We, learnt about healthy and unhealthy foods. The children, identified lots of different fruits and vegetables. We learnt that some grow in the ground, like the potatoes we planted. Others grow above the ground, such as the strawberries, which we also planted and fruits grows on trees and bushes. 

Pre-school children planting strawberries in the flower bed at Privett Montessori Nursery School

 

We, discussed the importance of eating a healthy varied diet including lots of different coloured vegetables on our plate. We, even made some rainbow kebabs with lots of different fruits and vegetables.

Healthy eating: Pre-school children preparing fruit sticks at Privett Montessori Nursery school

We furthermore, at lunchtime we chatted about the food in our lunchboxes and the importance of drinking water to keep us hydrated.

The Montessori fraction puzzle was proving very popular and the children continued playing and learning about whole, halves, thirds and quarters and even fifths. The theme continued itself during snack time, as the children started talking and cutting pears or bananas in halves, which was great fun.  

3 year old girl, who is very pleased using Montessori equipment to learn about halves and quarters
child fascinated by using montessori equipment to learn about 6th
child puzzling with Montessori equipment

In our fun science topic, we discussed the importance of washing our hands and we did a fun experiment putting glitter on our hands. We then washed them by firstly using water and secondly using soap. This, lead us to surprisingly discover that we need to wash our hands with soap and to remove all the germs thoroughly and if we don’t they will stick with us just like glitter.

Veronica, the teacher is sitting outside with 6 children showing them a stamp
Children doing arts and craft using glue to stick their pictures in a book

In the craft area, we made some amazing healthy eating plates with rainbow-coloured vegetables and fruit. We even made some recipe books with healthy food pictures. In the book area, we read lots of books including, Oliver’s Fruit Salad and Handa’s Surprise, which made our tummies rumble.

To consolidate our healthy eating topic, we planted some tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs and strawberry plants that were very kindly donated to us by Two Acres Nursery (2acres.co.uk)

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25. March 2021 – happy world book day 2021

Saturday, April 3rd, 2021

World Book day 2021

World Book day 2021: What a busy month we have had at nursery. During the first week of March, we celebrated World Book Day, the children brought in their favourite books to share with their friends and to celebrate further many dressed up, we had a skeleton, cat, ninja, puppy, fairy and pirate. One of our favourite books is Goldilocks and The Three Bears. We enjoyed reading the story and having porridge at snack time, a key highlight of world book day 2021. We learnt about small, medium and large and ordered some bowls and spoons according to size.

To read more about World book day 2021, please press the button

World book day

children celebrating world book day 2021, all dressed up at Privett Montessori Nursery School

During the second week of March, our topic was Mother’s Day, we discussed how much we love our families and we learnt a very special song called “I love my Mummy” .Hopefully your child sang it to you. The craft area was very busy as well, as we made cards, flowers and some vegan chocolate hearts for Mummy. During our cooking sessions we made our chocolate hearts. We also learnt during our fun science, how chocolate melts, when it is heated and then solidifies when it cools down.  

During the third and fourth week we started planting some seeds to put in our raised beds when the weather warms up a little. We planted some beetroot, carrots and potatoes. Hopefully, in the summer we can all taste some home grown produce. We have also entered the Privett and Froxfield virtual flowers show and we painted some daffodil pictures and spring flowers. For fun science we discovered how a bean starts to germinate when it is placed in water, then the children draw what they could see sprouting from the bean.

For our final week, we were busy with Easter craft, we decorated some eggs to hang on our tree we made some Easter Bunnies and had an Easter Egg Hunt in our garden. The best part of the end of the term must have been our Easter, chocolate. The children were very surprised to find little chocolate rabbits hiding in the garden.

We made the most of the lovely early spring sunshine and had a picnic lunch outside. We hope you all have a safe and relaxing break we start back on Monday 19th April.

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24. February 2021 – birds

Sunday, February 28th, 2021

Birds

Birds: During the first week of February, we all enjoyed learning about ‘Garden Birds’. Some families joined in the ‘RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch’ and they recorded the birds they had seen in their gardens.

At nursery we made some bird feeders and hung some in the woods when we went for a walk. The children also made a hide in which to watch the birds and of course every birdwatcher needs binoculars. We made some binoculars and used them as we went for walks in the fields, we even saw a red kite flying overhead and some pheasants in the nursery car park.

Three children at Privett Montessori Nursery School, using binoculars for the big bird watch!
children at their look out to watch birds

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-school children at Privett Montessori Nursery School Eating Noodles to celebrate Chinese new year

During the second week we learnt about the Chinese New Year, at snack time the children used some chopsticks to eat some noodles. We watched a short video about Chinese New Year celebrations and we danced with some streamers to a Chinese dragon dance.  Before half term we also made some small vegan heart shaped biscuits to share with our families.

During the last week of February, we had fun learning all about opposites. We created a train out of chairs and drove all around. The children made some day and night pictures, we chatted about things that make us happy and things that make us sad and we learnt an opposites song. The children practiced their cutting skills and cut some short pieces of paper and some long pieces.  

Outside we had a floating and sinking activity and we tried to work out if different objects would float or sink.

 

Finally, we have started to see signs of Spring in our nursery garden as snowdrops and daffodils are coming out.

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23. January 2021 – Arctic

Sunday, February 28th, 2021

Arctic

Our ‘Arctic Topic’ certainly fitted in with the weather this month, as we have been learning about the Arctic and the amazing animals that live there. We, watched a short video about the Arctic Tundra and one called a ‘Walk in the Arctic’. We, conducted a small science experiment and discovered how water turns to ice and we rescued some toy animals that were stuck in the ice. Outside we also found some ice and made footprints on the frosty grass.

Arctic: Child playing with ice find outside

The children worked together to create an Artic area display made out of cardboard, white paint, cotton wool and other materials with artic animals, a cave and snow.

Most excitingly, we were granted permission from Fawley Farms to take the children for our “squirrel walks” around their fields. We have enjoyed lots of long muddy walks exploring the fields and the woods, where we built a den and jumped in muddy puddles. Hopefully, you saw some of the photos on Tapestry or Facebook.

 

 

 

 

Children at Privett Montessori playing in the same coincidentally in the same week when we were teaching about the Arctic as a topic

Finally, during the last week of January the weather aligned to “our topic” enabling lots of snow to play in. We headed off with a backpack containing hot chocolate and homemade bread, after all that walking and exploring in the snow, we needed a snack to warm us up.

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The next day with the snow still in the garden we made some snowmen and used Miss Veronica’s hat for our biggest snowman.

We continued with our cooking activities as well and we made bear faces out of yoghurt. The children furthermore cut their own bananas or cucumbers, spooned the yoghurt into a circular cutter and made a bear face with banana cucumbers and blueberries. The best part of it all was eating it during snack time, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

The children have certainly enjoyed learning about the Artic. They can name many animals that live in the Artic and they understand how these animals keep warm in snow and ice. As the lockdown continues, we hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe and well.

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