HELLO SEPTEMBER
You can also find us on :
Facebook page:(please check out our FB page for more photos and details)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Forest-Grove-Childcare-Centre/485660831505764
Please visit the above and pass on to family and friends and your comments will be most welcome.
Welcome to and families MALCOLM,MADISON,VINCENT,SABRINA,ELLIOT,HAILEY,OLIVER,CATALINA , MAYA and families who joined us this month – please feel free to ask any questions you may have; we are sure you will enjoy your time at the Centre.
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Infant Toddler
The children in the infant toddler room have had a busy summer time in August ,spending a lot of time outdoors and summer themed art and activities indoors as we continued our theme about ‘summer animals and surroundings’.
In September, Theme is ‘New Friends’. With new children joining us , we will find more about each other , names , culture etc. The new children will get to know our routine and become familiar with the surroundings.
"We are friends. Let's play together!!"....
In these last days of a hot summer they will also enjoy outdoors and the parks surrounding us. When appropriate, we may also join the Montessori children for some activities together.
Daycare Montessori
In August , the children were busy with different activities
each day walks, picnics , water days when practical.
Beyond our busy summer plans the children also made some themed artwork - please check
out the walls of the classroom . .
This September’s theme will be 'all about me and my friends’ - the children will be making profiles about themselves to share with the class. If parents would like to send any pictures that the children can use for their profiles that would be great! We will be welcoming our new friends who have joined us this month and make ensure their experience at the Centre is comfortable and enjoyable.
Nearer to the end of September, the children will celebrate the fall equinox with an apple theme-including dissecting apples to learn the parts of an apple.
Wednesdays will be show and tell during the course of the month.
We will continue to work on the following class rules at the outset especially important for new starters . Parents please help us by encouraging the same at home.
NOTE : REMINDERS TO ALL OUR PARENTS:
1. Please ensure your child has indoor shoes which they change into when they arrive at the Centre and which stay at the Centre when leaving.
2. Please have a change of clothes at the Centre , in case they are needed.
3. Please label all you food containers and let us know if any food needs to be heated (note also: as you are aware, ours is a ‘NUT-FREE’ Centre.)
4. Please arrive on time especially if your child is attending the Montessori – this helps keep disruption to the minimum.
5. Please inform us immediately if there are any changes eg address, telephone, contacts.
6. Please ensure you look at your child’s cubby when you are leaving and take home their work etc.
7. Please inform us as early as possible (by 9am – would be great) if your child is not attending the Centre that day.
8. May we also suggest that you drop-off your child and leave soon thereafter. This makes the transition much easier and conducive to a good start to the day, both for the staff and the children.
9. As is becoming common practice generally, the Centre is also moving towards a policy of NOT warming food using a microwave . We would like to request parents to provide food which does not require warming or alternatively provide warm food in thermos containers. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
‘AIR FRESH LEARNING’
Our aim is to provide healthy and happy environment for children. Experiential education outdoors immerses students in their learning in ways that traditional education models can’t. With a holistic, learner-centered focus, students become invested in their education and foster a lifelong relationship with the land, their mentors and classmates, and the community. They are allowed and even encouraged, to push their own boundaries through supported risks, teaching them independence, resilience, and perseverance outside of four walls. Instead of stand-alone subjects taught in a vacuum, skills and lessons are woven together, becoming transferrable across environments and connecting students to the world around them. We draw inspiration from many educators: Maria Montessori, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ray Mears, Jon Young, Daniel Quinn, Nancy J. Turner, and research in Sweden which indicated positive outcomes like improved social skills, co-ordination and concentration. “We're trying to get away from the ‘cotton wool’ culture and when we take risks we are learning. But the training is all about helping kids take risks that are reasonable."
Forest schools seek to motivate, engage and inspire children through positive outdoor learning experiences.Children learn new skills and then apply these as they navigate their own learning journeys and develop a deeper connection with nature. It takes a holistic approach to learning and the benefits are intellectual, physical, cognitive and emotional.
Research in Sweden concluded that pre-school children in a forest school setting:
*Had enhanced social and team building skills
*Took fewer days off sick
*Were more able to concentrate
*Had enhanced co-ordination
*Could play independently, for longer and had enhanced self-esteem and confidence
*Were more resilient as they had the opportunity to take risks in a safe, natural environment
*Improved motor skills
*Enhanced language and communication skills
e are very fortunate at Bishops Down in that we have such a rich and varied environment. The children have lots of places where they can explore, get dirty and learn about plants and animals and how to care for them, thus setting the seeds for growth of environmental awareness and responsiveness. We have access to a woodland walk, a pond, growing gardens, outdoor classroom and a magical ancient woodland, managed by the Woodland Trust, on our doorstep.
The children will need to be appropriately dressed for the weather:
Every visit they will need trousers, long sleeve tops and wellies, trainers or walking boots.
If it is wet then children will need a waterproof jacket, waterproof trousers and wellies and for the colder months an additional warm jumper, scarf and hat. For sunny days a sun hat and sun cream will be needed.
The children should come to school in their forest clothes, but wearing school shoes. Their wellies should be in a bag, so that they can change out of them at the end of the session.
Drawing on nineteenth century European pedagogical theories on the importance of outdoor learning, and more recently on Scandinavian principles of open-air, play-based education, the ethos has grown in popularity in the UK over the past two decades in parallel to growing concerns over "cotton wool kids" overly protected from risks and rarely exposed to nature.
We're trying to get away from the cotton wool culture and when we take risks we are learning. But the training is all about helping kids take risks that are reasonable."
Children thrive in healthy and happy environment. Our aim is to provide healthy and happy environment for children. Experiential education outdoors immerses students in their learning in ways that traditional education models can’t. With a holistic, learner-centered focus, students become invested in their education and foster a lifelong relationship with the land, their mentors and classmates, and the community. They are allowed and even encouraged, to push their own boundaries through supported risks, teaching them independence, resilience, and perseverance outside of four walls. Instead of stand-alone subjects taught in a vacuum, skills and lessons are woven together, becoming transferrable across environments and connecting students to the world around them. We draw inspiration from many educators: Maria Montessori, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ray Mears, Jon Young, Daniel Quinn, Nancy J. Turner, and research in Sweden which indicated positive outcomes like improved social skills, co-ordination and concentration. “We're trying to get away from the ‘cotton wool’ culture and when we take risks we are learning. But the training is all about helping kids take risks that are reasonable."
We will continue to work on the following class rules at the outset and parents please help us by encouraging the same at home.
NOTE : REMINDERS TO ALL OUR PARENTS:
1. Please ensure your child has indoor shoes which they change into when they arrive at the Centre and which stay at the Centre when leaving.
2. Please have a change of clothes at the Centre , in case they are needed.
3. Please label all you food containers and let us know if any food needs to be heated (note also: as you are aware, ours is a ‘NUT-FREE’ Centre.)
4. Please arrive on time especially if your child is attending the Montessori – this helps keep disruption to the minimum.
5. Please inform us immediately if there are any changes eg address, telephone, contacts.
6. Please ensure you look at your child’s cubby when you are leaving and take home their work etc.
7. Please inform us as early as possible (by 9am – would be great) if your child is not attending the Centre that day.
8. May we also suggest that you drop-off your child and leave soon thereafter. This makes the transition much easier and conducive to a good start to the day, both for the staff and the children.
9. As is becoming common practice generally, the Centre is also moving towards a policy of NOT warming food using a microwave . We would like to request parents to provide food which does not require warming or alternatively provide warm food in thermos containers. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
