The end of term has arrived and what a wonderfully busy half term we have had!

Our forest school sessions started back this half term for some of our Little Owls and despite having some cold and wet sessions the children have loved exploring the forest school area. They have learnt the rules that will keep us safe and enjoyed the freedom to explore with their friends. As the sessions have gone on, we have seen the children grow in confidence especially with the rope swing and hammock! The campfire is always a highlight at the end of term, toasting fruit bread for snack was exciting too.

We started the term with lots of sparkly firework activities, we moved like fireworks, made sounds like fireworks, and even made our own fireworks. The children made their own poppies and created a display for our window as we learnt about Remembrance Day, we watch a lovely video created by CBeebies. There was lots of exploration for world science day, encouraging our Little Owls to investigate, ask questions and make predictions.

This half term also saw us celebrate World Nursery Rhyme Week, one of our favourites! Nursery rhymes are so important to develop early reading skills and a big part of Phase One Phonics (information on phase one phonics was sent out with end of term reports). Creating an indoor bus was a hit and all the children turned into doctors and nurses to help make Miss Polly’s dolly better!

Supporting oral health is very important, so this half term we spent some time brushing some rather large dirty teeth! We shared stories about visiting the dentist and talked about how a healthy diet is good for our bodies and our teeth.

We have finished the term the way we started, lots of sparkly activities! Christmas arrived at Little Owls! We decorated the tree and built a workshop for Santa and his elves, we wrote cards and letters, we wrapped presents, balanced baubles, and used tweezers to decorate pinecones with pom poms, fantastic activities that promote all areas of development. During our festivities we also invited our Little Owls parents and carers into play, it was lovely for them to be involved in our learning and we hope they enjoyed it as much as we did, look out for the next one!

Today we finished the term with our Christmas party. We all enjoyed party games, dancing, and party food, but most importantly the children looked on in awe as we had a visit from Father Christmas himself and he had presents for everyone!

As we look to the New Year and a new term, I’m sure we will have lots to talk about when we return. The Little Owls team can’t wait to hear about all your Christmas and New Year adventures. Our term starts back on Monday, 9th January 2023 and with Chinese New Year and Burns night at the end of January it will give us the opportunity to look at some different types of celebrations. The beginning of February is National Story Telling Week – stories are so powerful, and we will encourage the children to develop their enjoyment of familiar stories and foster a love for creating their own. The end of the half term will be filled with more love and kindness than usual (if that’s possible!) as we get ready for Valentine’s Day.

A little reminder – if your Little Owl is due to start primary school in September 2023 you must apply online for a place by 15th January 2023. If you need any help and advice with this, please speak to one of the Little Owls team.

We would just like to take this opportunity the thank you all for your love and support this year and we would like to wish all our Little Owls, their families, and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!