26. April 2021 – healthy eating
Saturday, May 1st, 2021
Healthy eating
Our healthy eating theme proved very popular with the children. We, learnt about healthy and unhealthy foods. The children, identified lots of different fruits and vegetables. We learnt that some grow in the ground, like the potatoes we planted. Others grow above the ground, such as the strawberries, which we also planted and fruits grows on trees and bushes.
We, discussed the importance of eating a healthy varied diet including lots of different coloured vegetables on our plate. We, even made some rainbow kebabs with lots of different fruits and vegetables.
We furthermore, at lunchtime we chatted about the food in our lunchboxes and the importance of drinking water to keep us hydrated.
The Montessori fraction puzzle was proving very popular and the children continued playing and learning about whole, halves, thirds and quarters and even fifths. The theme continued itself during snack time, as the children started talking and cutting pears or bananas in halves, which was great fun.
In our fun science topic, we discussed the importance of washing our hands and we did a fun experiment putting glitter on our hands. We then washed them by firstly using water and secondly using soap. This, lead us to surprisingly discover that we need to wash our hands with soap and to remove all the germs thoroughly and if we don’t they will stick with us just like glitter.
In the craft area, we made some amazing healthy eating plates with rainbow-coloured vegetables and fruit. We even made some recipe books with healthy food pictures. In the book area, we read lots of books including, Oliver’s Fruit Salad and Handa’s Surprise, which made our tummies rumble.
To consolidate our healthy eating topic, we planted some tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs and strawberry plants that were very kindly donated to us by Two Acres Nursery (2acres.co.uk)
25. March 2021 – happy world book day 2021
Saturday, April 3rd, 2021
World Book day 2021
World Book day 2021: What a busy month we have had at nursery. During the first week of March, we celebrated World Book Day, the children brought in their favourite books to share with their friends and to celebrate further many dressed up, we had a skeleton, cat, ninja, puppy, fairy and pirate. One of our favourite books is Goldilocks and The Three Bears. We enjoyed reading the story and having porridge at snack time, a key highlight of world book day 2021. We learnt about small, medium and large and ordered some bowls and spoons according to size.
To read more about World book day 2021, please press the button
During the second week of March, our topic was Mother’s Day, we discussed how much we love our families and we learnt a very special song called “I love my Mummy” .Hopefully your child sang it to you. The craft area was very busy as well, as we made cards, flowers and some vegan chocolate hearts for Mummy. During our cooking sessions we made our chocolate hearts. We also learnt during our fun science, how chocolate melts, when it is heated and then solidifies when it cools down.
During the third and fourth week we started planting some seeds to put in our raised beds when the weather warms up a little. We planted some beetroot, carrots and potatoes. Hopefully, in the summer we can all taste some home grown produce. We have also entered the Privett and Froxfield virtual flowers show and we painted some daffodil pictures and spring flowers. For fun science we discovered how a bean starts to germinate when it is placed in water, then the children draw what they could see sprouting from the bean.
For our final week, we were busy with Easter craft, we decorated some eggs to hang on our tree we made some Easter Bunnies and had an Easter Egg Hunt in our garden. The best part of the end of the term must have been our Easter, chocolate. The children were very surprised to find little chocolate rabbits hiding in the garden.
We made the most of the lovely early spring sunshine and had a picnic lunch outside. We hope you all have a safe and relaxing break we start back on Monday 19th April.
24. February 2021 – birds
Sunday, February 28th, 2021
Birds
Birds: During the first week of February, we all enjoyed learning about ‘Garden Birds’. Some families joined in the ‘RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch’ and they recorded the birds they had seen in their gardens.
At nursery we made some bird feeders and hung some in the woods when we went for a walk. The children also made a hide in which to watch the birds and of course every birdwatcher needs binoculars. We made some binoculars and used them as we went for walks in the fields, we even saw a red kite flying overhead and some pheasants in the nursery car park.
During the second week we learnt about the Chinese New Year, at snack time the children used some chopsticks to eat some noodles. We watched a short video about Chinese New Year celebrations and we danced with some streamers to a Chinese dragon dance. Before half term we also made some small vegan heart shaped biscuits to share with our families.
During the last week of February, we had fun learning all about opposites. We created a train out of chairs and drove all around. The children made some day and night pictures, we chatted about things that make us happy and things that make us sad and we learnt an opposites song. The children practiced their cutting skills and cut some short pieces of paper and some long pieces.
Outside we had a floating and sinking activity and we tried to work out if different objects would float or sink.
Finally, we have started to see signs of Spring in our nursery garden as snowdrops and daffodils are coming out.
23. January 2021 – Arctic
Sunday, February 28th, 2021
Arctic
Our ‘Arctic Topic’ certainly fitted in with the weather this month, as we have been learning about the Arctic and the amazing animals that live there. We, watched a short video about the Arctic Tundra and one called a ‘Walk in the Arctic’. We, conducted a small science experiment and discovered how water turns to ice and we rescued some toy animals that were stuck in the ice. Outside we also found some ice and made footprints on the frosty grass.
The children worked together to create an Artic area display made out of cardboard, white paint, cotton wool and other materials with artic animals, a cave and snow.
Most excitingly, we were granted permission from Fawley Farms to take the children for our “squirrel walks” around their fields. We have enjoyed lots of long muddy walks exploring the fields and the woods, where we built a den and jumped in muddy puddles. Hopefully, you saw some of the photos on Tapestry or Facebook.
Finally, during the last week of January the weather aligned to “our topic” enabling lots of snow to play in. We headed off with a backpack containing hot chocolate and homemade bread, after all that walking and exploring in the snow, we needed a snack to warm us up.
The next day with the snow still in the garden we made some snowmen and used Miss Veronica’s hat for our biggest snowman.
We continued with our cooking activities as well and we made bear faces out of yoghurt. The children furthermore cut their own bananas or cucumbers, spooned the yoghurt into a circular cutter and made a bear face with banana cucumbers and blueberries. The best part of it all was eating it during snack time, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
The children have certainly enjoyed learning about the Artic. They can name many animals that live in the Artic and they understand how these animals keep warm in snow and ice. As the lockdown continues, we hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe and well.
22. December 2020 – prime colour fun
Sunday, February 28th, 2021
Prime colour fun
Prime colours: Another busy month at nursery. We have been exploring colours and discovering what happens when we mix the prime colours together. We had a lot of fun making a large mail box. The children worked together to paint and decorate it, then lots and lots of letters were written and posted to Father Christmas.
We have all been busy making Christmas craft, some clay candle holders, bauble cards with buttons and sparking decorations involving lots of glitter. The children have been learning some Christmas songs, you may have heard them singing some at home.
During “Welcome Time”, we have been learning how to have kind gentle hands and how to help our friends. We have introduced some grace and courtesy demonstrations and the children have been practicing how to set the table for snack time. We also continue our PE classed and had lots of fun outside.
Finally, we finished the last week of term baking some vegan Gingerbread cookies and having our Christmas Party.
So, it is goodbye to 2020! And yes, the Christmas Holidays will be a little different this year! We, on behalf of Privett Montessori Nursery School, wish you and your loved ones a safe, happy and peaceful break and look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
21. October 2020 – Happy Autumn learning
Tuesday, October 27th, 2020
Happy Autumn learning
Autumn learning: During October, we have been learning about Autumn. The children enjoyed finding colourful leaves outside and lots and lots of acorns. They found so many that some may have found their way home, hiding inside coat pockets.
We learnt about the life cycle of the apple tree and cut up apples to discover and count the seeds. The children asked many questions and were amazed to learn that a tree could grow out of just a seed.
The had fun in weighing apples on scales and helped with making apple crumble. We also enjoyed tasting apples from miss Veronica’s apple tree during snack time
In our tactile sensory learning, we discovered what happens when corn flour and water mix together. It resulted in lovely slime that we felt slipping though our fingers.
We, also decorated a pumpkin and drew faces. After slicing the top, the children brilliantly worked together to scoop out the pumpkin seeds & flesh
On the last day of half term the children came in many different outfits. We had lots of spooky fun, made spiders, pumpkins, passed the parcel and danced to some Halloween songs.
Read more on where to find local pumpkins
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20. September 2020 – Welcome
Sunday, October 4th, 2020
Welcome
Welcome, it has been a new start in many ways at Privett Montessori Nursery. The children have said goodbye to Kate and her excellent team and welcomed a new team, Miss. Veronica, Miss. Sarah and from time to time Miss. Maike. All of the children have settled in happily and we are spending a few weeks getting to know each other. With this in mind, we started off with the topic “ All About Me” and have been learning about ourselves, our families and pets. The children have also been working on a little book entitled “All About Me” and these will be coming home next week and some already have arrived home.
During the sunny September weather, we were able to enjoy our snack in the garden, resulting in smiles all over. Our new mud kitchen has been well received, occasionally even resulting in a queue to play in it. Mrs Sarah also took the opportunity to read great stories in and our lovely willow den, capturing the children’s full attention.
Towards the end of September, we welcomed Lorna back with, coaching us in our first outdoor playball session of this school year.
In October, our topic is about the life cycle of apples and leaves and we encourage the children to bring different types of leaves from your home surroundings for our nature table. During this month we will also start to use Tapestry to support and share your child’s learning with you.
Please press the box to download the September newsletter including pictures.
September 2020 Newsletter Home Page
19. Summer Term 2019 – Happy Busy bees
Wednesday, July 31st, 2019
Happy busy bees
Happy busy bees: I cannot believe how quickly the weeks have flown by and as I look at the photographs we have taken during the Summer term I realise just how “happy busy bees” we were and how much we did and so it is not surprising that the last week arrived too soon.
At the end of April Freddie’s Dad brought some of his lambs to Nursery. He cleverly selected ones that were a few weeks apart in age so that the children could see how they grow and change. Some of the children were able to feed the lambs bottles of milk and many of them enjoyed stroking and cuddling the lambs. We had a further opportunity to cuddle some young animals when Alby’s mum brought their 5 pups to see us. They were gorgeous and so well behaved – not a single accident on our floor!
At the beginning of May, the village hall was once again in use as a Polling Station and so we moved to Roessa and Robin’s house for the day. After Yoga followed by quick drink and a snack we set off on a walk into the countryside. There were gates to climb, animals in the fields and butterflies to spot. The children smelled the wild garlic and listened to the birdsong.
We collected a few bits and pieces to make natural collage pictures and after a picnic lunch in the garden, the children made their pictures, visited some lambs and had a great time rolling down the slopes. It was a really lovely day and we are so grateful to our hosts for having us.
Another highlight of the term was our visit to the Nature Reserve in Winchester. The weather was very kind to us and we enjoyed all the activities organised by Kate Barrett including a bug hunt, a butterfly spotting walk, art and craft activities
and discovering the huge variety of moths that she had caught the previous evening. Who knew that beautiful leaf prints can be made simply by covering them with a piece of muslin and hitting them with wooden hammers to release the chlorophyll?
Activities this term in Nursery were very varied too for us as “happy busy bees”. We made some very colourful pictures that brought the outdoors into the classroom by dipping dandelions, daisies and cow parsley into paint and printing onto card. We gave the children clay to explore and challenged them to make the roundest ball, longest worm and flattest pancake.
This was surprisingly difficult for most of them and a reminder that we should not assume that just because our children have regular opportunities to explore dough does not mean that they can do basic things with it.
A glut of sweet peas in my own garden (thanks to my very enthusiastic gardening hubby) inspired us to make paintings of them. We chose water paints for this activity and the results were beautiful. The paintings will be on display on 17th August in Froxfield Village Hall at the Horticultural Summer Show.
We, as “happy busy bees”, planted bean seeds in pots and over the following days the children had regular opportunities to examine their growth beneath and above the soil. We also observed the growth and development of caterpillars to butterflies when we grew our very own Painted Ladies. Metamorphosis will never cease to amaze me. For the Dads this year the children made gingerbread people and they made sure that there was one for them as well as their Dads!
As usual the Summer term means lots of teachers visiting and children visiting their next schools. The children often find this time quite challenging and we do our best to minimise the disruption and some of the stress and anxiety that the children can feel by encouraging them to talk about their new schools and their thoughts and feelings.
Games Day was on the last day of term and for the first time in 16 years, we held it indoors! After weeks of dry weather it decided to rain but we did not allow this to spoil the fun and games led once again by Lorna. This term we have said goodbye to 12 children and their parents. We wish them well and hope to hear from them from time to time
.
We are looking forward to the start of the new school year on 7th September under new ownership of Veronica van Ingen and to welcoming some new children and our “old” children back after the summer break. We are also looking forward to our half hour longer morning sessions which begin in September and will enable us as “happy busy bees” to spend more time outdoors.
18. Spring Term 2019 – culture
Sunday, April 14th, 2019
Culture
Culture: Maike’s travels abroad were too good an opportunity to miss for introducing the children to some different cultures and environments. Some of the things we learned included the huge difference in the types of homes people in different countries live in. For example, in Singapore the majority of the population live in giant skyscrapers whereas in Malaysia houses are built on stilts to keep them cool and to help keep out unwelcome
visitors, mainly of the snake variety!
We discussed some of the different foods eaten in different cultures and although we weren’t brave enough to try bird nest soup we did enjoy some different fruit including guava and papaya. The children were fascinated that in Malaysia it’s quite usual to sit on the floor when eating but a little concerned that refusing food in this country is considered bad manners! When Maike went to New Zealand we showed the children our model of an erupting volcano. It made quite an impression.
The animals of Australia were a great source of interest and we also talked about the aboriginal people and their art. We learne
d the meaning for some of the symbols they use and this inspired us to have a go at producing our own artwork based on what we had learned on the culture. The pictures were so colourful and interesting we d
ecided to exhibit them in the Spring Show in March.
At the beginning of February we were treated to some light snow and naturally we made the most of it!
March 
was extraordinarily busy with World Book Day, Red Nose Day, Mothers’ Day and the Froxfield and Privett Horticultural Show to enjoy and participate in. Our children dressed as characters from stories and brought in their favourite books for us to share. We are grateful to the parents who came in to read some of them to the children. On Red Nose Day we provided breakfast for the children and we all enjoyed wearing our pyjamas to Nurs
ery. Christina who worked at the Nursery a few years ago very kindly came to lend us a hand and we raised just over £100. A great achievement for a great cause.
The children spent a number of weeks making small paintings of Spring Flowers. We put these together to make Mother’s Day cards. They looked beautiful! Our Aboriginal Art inspired paintings were entered into the Spring Show and we were very proud of all the artwork which received lots of interest and praise from visitors. We were also very pleased for Freddie whose work achieved first place and for the two runners up, Iria and Jonah. In the garden we have managed to get some potatoes planted and are wondering what else we can grow this year without feeding the pigeons and rabbits.
On April Fool’s Day our children arrived to find their chairs facing the wrong way and name cards turned upside down. Not many of the children seemed unduly concerned although a couple of them did turn their chairs round and at snack time when the children take their name cards from the board, Harry very crossly commented “someone has turned my name upside down!”
Dilys’ Dad, Nick came and read Zog to us and in a very interactive session the children were able to practise their first aid skills by applying plasters and bandages to Zog and they could even listen to his heart!
In the last week of term we made our Easter Garden and despite the rain the children went looking for eggs in the garden. They found several!
We are
sad to say goodbye to Louise who has been a wonderful help while Maike has been away but we are looking forward to the start of the Summer Term on Wednesday 24th April and to welcoming back Maike. I am sure she will have plenty to tell us! In the meantime, we wish you all a very Happy Easter!
17. Autumn Term 2018 – great fruits
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019
Fruit
Fruit: After a long, dry and hot Summer, we fully expected a wet, cold and windy Autumn. Instead the weather was, for the most part, warm and dry. There was, for many people, an abundance of fruit and we helped ourselves to the plentiful supply of blackberries from the hedgerows. We showed the children how to crush the blackberries using a pestle and mortar
, sieve the 
pulp and use the juice like paint to make pictures with their fingers or brushes.
Want to know more on how to paint with Blackberry fruit? Press the below button for a video
Painting with Blackberry Fruit
Fruity, apples were turned into delicious crumbles and the children created Autumn Collages arranging seeds, grasses etc onto sticky back plastic. We discovered that the marks made by seed heads from cow parsley dipped in paint and pressed onto paper looked like fireworks exploding and in November these made very attractive pictures.
Louise joined us as a volunteer in early September and within a very short time has become very much part of the Privett team helping us on Tuesday mornings
At the end of September we organised a Macmillan Coffee morning. This was attended by many of our children and parents several of whom also provided cakes to be 
enjoyed on the day or to be bought and taken away. We raised £82, which is a great achievement in aid of such a worthy cause.
During the term one of our ex-pupils, Joyce whose brother Arthur currently attends Nursery visited us. Joyce read stories to a group of our children much to Arthur’s delight! We also managed to talk Antonio, Aaron’s Dad, into reading a story in Spanish to all of us. It was interesting to see the children listening to him with the same attention and interest as they do to stories read in English.
As part of our ongoing self evaluation we sent out questionnaires to all our parents to survey their opinions on our provision. We also asked the children to tell us what they like and don’t like about our Nursery. The responses were overwhelmingly positive and very encouraging. When we asked for parents to suggest hobbies and skills they could share with us, we were offered some very interesting ideas including learning how to do head stands, which we have politely declined on the grounds of our combined mature years!
Our Christmas party, held at the beginning of December, was great fun. We played lots of traditional party games with a Christmas twist; What’s the time Father Christmas, Father Christmas’s Footsteps, Musical icicles and sleighs! Lunch was a feast with the food and drink provided by parents.
As usual, the children performed this year’s Nativity on the last day of term and we were treated to a very fine show with James excelling as a very grumpy innkeeper and some great dancing from all the children to Rock around the Clock.
Next term Maike will be taking a few months off to go travelling with her family and we look forward to receiving regular updates on her adventures which we will be following with the children in Nursery. In the meantime, Louise has very kindly agreed to cover Maike’s hours with us. We also look forward to welcoming new children to the Nursery and wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Other News:
- Early Years Teacher Status September 16, 2024
- Montessori Star Accreditation – 24 August 2024 August 27, 2024
- Summer 2024 diverse activities July 22, 2024
- Amazing Spring 2024 -newsletter 42 April 2, 2024
- Reasons and overview of positive childcare Changes for April 2024 February 23, 2024
- 4. Free Funding update for 2 Year Old January 4, 2024
- Creative Authum Term – newsletter 41 December 18, 2023
- A great Privett Montessori welcome back- 40 September 6, 2023
- Summer 23 – Newsletter 39 – Healthy Eating July 24, 2023
- Spring ’23 Newsletter number 38 – world book day April 6, 2023
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