Well, that was a short but sweet half term!

We continued this half term emerged in our life cycles topic, the Little Owls continued to be amazed by the metamorphosis of our tiny tadpoles. They watched them grow their front legs, absorb their tails and turn into tiny frogs that they loved to watch jump off their rock! Some of our Little Owls also got to help them move into their big new pond at Boxted St Peters Primary School, we hope they will be very happy and thank the school for having them.

We have had lots of updates on our not so little ducklings, they are now all grown up and loving their new life at Gladwins Farm. Nicola couldn’t resist a little visit to see how they were getting on.

We celebrated VE Day and the children created a wonderful window display. They concentrated on red, white and blue colours after seeing the union jack bunting, some made poppies to remember and they also decorated their very own medal, such a variety of resources and materials used. We were very proud of all their hard work.

As many of you are aware we have been taking part in the NDNA (National Day Nurseries Association) Maths Champion development programme and we are so proud to say that we are now a Dedicated Maths Champion Provider! Louise led the team and the team really embraced the programme, developing their own knowledge and skills and that of our Little Owls. To stand back and observe it is lovely to see how it is embedded into our everyday practice. We have also been involved in the Making It Real programme, to raise early achievement in Literacy. This programme helps The Little Owls Team support our families to build confidence and knowledge within the home learning environment. The team have some great simple home learning ideas that I know they like to share; you will be amazed how an everyday activity can become a learning opportunity. We do have a home learning library, including activities and stories to share, please help yourself or just chat to the team they are always happy to help. Please do share your family experiences with us through Tapestry, we love to share them with our Little Owls.

We transitioned into our new topic towards the end of the half term, people that help us. The Little Owls were keen to become vets so the team quickly set up a veterinary surgery, making appointments, administering medicine, bandaging and caring, some days the set up turned into a doctor’s surgery too! We spent some time learning about dentists and opticians as well. The highlight though must be the visit from Colchester Fire and Rescue service. The children loved the interactive experience; they received a shout-out on the fire engines radio from the control center and got to use the hoses!

Over the next half term we will continue to learn about people and animals that help us and our community. The transitions into primary schools will also start to take place for some of our Little Owls, it is exciting but can be a little scary, the team are prepared to support our Little Owls and their families, if you have any worries please speak to one of the team, we are always available.

Fundraising is so important to us, and we have been enjoying the new resources from the money that has been raised, it has been invaluable for enhancing our resources and experiences for our Little Owls. We are looking forward to the sponsored fun run and thank you in advance for supporting our lovely preschool. Please don’t forget you can also sign up for easy fundraising and support us whilst you are shopping!

Enjoy the half term break everyone and we will see you all when we return on Monday 2^nd of June.