Going places

This term we have been focusing on places and in particular those places which have a special connection to our children and their families.  On Friday, one of the Mums came in to give the children a talk on her home country of Zambia.  The children found out about the different animals that live in the Game Reserve and saw pictures of the mud houses that people in the countryside live in. They learnt how to say hello (“Bwanji”) and saw how to put on a chitenge which is a traditional dress wrapped around the waist like a sarong also used to carry their young children.  We would love for more parents to come in to our assemblies over the next two weeks to talk about the places where they are from as we are proud to have such a diverse mix of families from all over the world at the nursery.

Like the England football team’s World Cup performance our Mary’s Meals backpack appeal got off to a slow start but is now building momentum.  We are  collecting the backpacks right up to the end of term so there is still time for you to put one together with your child.  So far just under 20 backpacks have been donated but we are sure we can get over 50 this year.  We love supporting this charity as it is a great way to talk about those less fortunate than ourselves with our children and do something practical to help other children.  Mary’s Meals has produced a video which shows the journey of the backpacks which is a lovely thing to watch with your child when preparing your backpack.

Here is the guidance on what to pack:

• Clothing for children aged between 4-12 years is suitable.
• Second-hand items are fine if they are in good condition.
• Please label your backpack to indicate whether it is suitable for a boy or girl, and suggest what age.
• Please don’t include any liquids (including liquid soap) and don’t be tempted to add any other gifts such as toys or sweets, as these can cause problems with Customs during delivery.
• Notepad
• Pens, pencils, crayons
• Eraser, ruler, sharpener, pencil case
• Towel
• Shorts or skirt, t-shirt or dress
• Flip-flops or sandals
• Soap, toothbrush, toothpaste
• Small ball
• Spoon

A number of parents have commented on the Sports Day video that I posted last week.  Did you know, you can download a copy to your computer and save it to your computer. Click here to go to the video on Vimeo and follow the link to download it.

Next week’s sound is “y” for yellow.