Oh starry night

With the days growing shorter and the sun setting earlier it has been a perfect opportunity for us to talk about the night time. In the art room the preschool children drew pictures of things they see at night including fireworks, spaceships and owls. The younger children made night-time paintings by printing moons and stars onto black paper. In our circle time sessions the children impressed us with their knowledge of the planets in our solar system and brought in an interesting selection of bedtime stories for show and tell.

In Tuesday’s cooking session the children talked about nocturnal animals whilst making bread hedgehogs by snipping the dough with scissors and adding chocolate eyes. The afternoon children also got to have a go at cooking by making their own bread rolls.

This week the children have been creating hanging decorations ahead of the Christmas Tree Festival at St Saviours Church in a few weeks time. The children made and decorated figurines in a variety of traditional outfits. We will be having our own Mount Carmel Christmas tree on display at the festival which is from the 16th-23rd December. Please see the notice board in the hall for more information.

Our Nativity rehearsals have been steaming ahead and both groups of preschool children are getting to grips with their lines and the songs. This week we have been rehearsing the parts of the shepherds and Mrs Federici asked the children if they knew what the word cattle means. Suggestions included a family of cats and a group of caterpillars!

Some of you may not have been aware that the online application for state primary schools opened on the 7th November and closes on 15th January 2016.  Mrs Federici has some top tips for those parents visiting schools at this time:

• Make sure you apply early so that your child’s name is on the top of the list.
• Don’t waste time visiting more than three schools. You are only likely to get a place if you live in the school’s catchment area.
• When you visit a school listen to your instincts. If you feel comfortable then your child will too.
• At the visit don’t ask too many questions. You will learn more if you listen and observe.
• Don’t worry too much about the fabric of the building – a school should look ‘lived in’.
• Finally remember that the greatest influence on your child’s future educational success is you, not the school. Providing a loving, stable and happy home will have the greatest impact on your child’s well being and long term achievement.

Christmas may have begun in some supermarkets as early as September, but with the big day only five weeks away we now commence our countdown to Christmas at the nursery.  Our theme for the rest of the term will be Christmas and next week we will be focusing on Christmas songs.  The item for show and tell is something that can be recycled.