22 Street Lane Nursery - April 2023 Newsletter

Newsletter April

Play • Discovery • Growth

April Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers, Welcome to our April Newsletter, and as always, a warm welcome to our families who have recently joined us. Things are definitely looking brighter with the warmer days ahead, the beautiful spring flowers and some sunshine these past few weeks. We're also looking forward to longer days now that the clocks have changed. The children at 22 Street Lane have lots to look forward to throughout April, including our annual Easter Bonnet Parade & Egg Parade, Vaisakhi celebrations and our St. George's Day activities! To find out more, please read on...

April Newsletter STAFF NEWS

Introducing our new chef, Oliver! We're excited to introduce our new chef, Oli, who will be joining the 22 Street Lane team on Monday 3rd April. He is looking forward to getting started at the nursery and cooking some fabulous meals for the children. "As someone who lives locally in Roundhay with my partner and two children, I found a real passion for cooking healthy and nutritious meals while cooking at home with my family. I love to use fresh ingredients to create exciting new recipes, which are infused with creativity to enhance the final dish. I love using seasonal produce, and in my spare time, I like to head over to our allotment and pick out home-grown herbs and vegetables to use in my meals. Outside of work, I also I love trying different craft beers and I’m a great fan of Liverpool FC.”

Welcome four new members our Bank Staff team We would like to welcome Felix, Elizabeth, Eleanor and Amanda to our team who will be joining us as bank staff. They will be working in all of the rooms at the nursery and are looking forward to getting to know all the children.

Eleanor Hale “I am a newly qualified art therapist and specialise in working with children and young people. I have had many jobs where I have supported, cared for and empowered others. I have previously worked with children teaching English in Japan as well as in volunteering roles such as being an assistant for scouts and rainbows. I am thrilled to be joining the team here at 22 Street Lane Nursery as I adore working with children and providing them with a safe space to explore, play and learn about themselves and others! In my spare time, I enjoy walking, art making and socialising with friends and family."

April Newsletter STAFF NEWS

Amanda Schofield-Smith “I am a caring, hardworking person with five children of my own. I'm excited to see children develop and reach their milestones, and am very grateful to have the opportunity to work in an outstanding nursery. During my time in the setting, I'm eager to enhance my childcare skills in a rewarding environment. In my spare time, I love to spend time with my family and friends.” Elizabeth Hoey “I have enjoyed working with children of different ages and have loved seeing them develop and learn new skills along the way. I'm passionate about getting the best out of every child and hope I can achieve that at 22 Street Lane Nursery. In my spare time, I enjoy horse riding, exploring new places and doing fun and exciting activities with my friends and family.”

Felix Barresi-Halsall "I’m excited to be starting with 22 Street Lane Nursery and continuing to learn and develop in childcare. I have been working in childcare for the last year and have found a passion in the industry."

Country of the Month, April 2023 – Turkey Throughout April, we will be exploring Turkey as our Country of the Month. We will be exploring Turkish traditions such as Henna art, the spinning dance and the evil eye. We will taste a banquet of traditional Turkish foods such as Mercimek - Cabasi, Mucver, Borek and Pide.

April Newsletter NEWS

World Book Day Celebrations The children and staff had lots of fun celebrating World Book Day. The children came dressed up as their favourite characters and loved taking part in lots of fun and exciting activities relating to their favourite books.

Holi Colour Festival Activities We celebrated the Hindu festival Holi by exploring lots of colours. The children decorated their own t-shirts using spray paints and made pictures using powder paint and coloured water. We learned that Holi celebrates spring, love and new life!

Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea Party To celebrate Mother’s Day the children all really enjoyed making a special card for their mummies. Each room also had two lovely tea parties, where the children loved playing and showing their mummies and grandmothers what they get up to when they are at the nursery. We made photo frames, bracelets and planted some sunflower seeds! We would like to say a big thank you to all of the mummies and special people who came along to our Mother’s Day Tea Party. It was so lovely to welcome to you all into the nursery and share our activities.

April Newsletter NEWS

St. Patrick's Day Celebrations In support of St. Patrick's Day, we created colourful rainbows, shamrocks and the Irish flag. We also celebrated Ireland as our Country of the Month, explored St. Patrick's Day-themed messy play and enjoyed a lunch of Irish Stew.

Comic Relief Fundraiser Thank you to everyone who donated to Comic Relief fundraiser last month. We held a fun day for the children where they dressed in clothes which were ‘back to front’ and we raised a total of £81.11!

Celebrating Passover Passover is a Jewish festival lasting eight days, which links to the biblical story of the Jewish people escaping from slavery in Egypt. During Passover, families will hold a ‘seder’ night on the first and sometimes second night of Passover. A seder night is a religious service set around a dinner table, where everyone will eat, pray, sing, and read stories from a prayer book called a ‘Haggadah’. A number of traditional foods are also eaten during the festival, including Matzah (which is a type of unleavened bread/cracker), gefilte fish and chicken soup. The children will be learning all about Passover and will have the chance to make their own Matzah crackers, listen to some Israeli music, and design their very own seder plate using a range of resources. We will also be trying some traditional foods too.

A message from the Child Accident Prevention Trust As Easter approaches, many families will be buying different treats and gifts for their children, but we need to remember to be cautious about the different kinds of mini eggs on offer. They look like the perfect small treat for your little one, but their size means they can block a small child’s airway and cause them to choke. Please stay safe and choose another, larger treat that's safer for your little one.

April Newsletter NEWS

Vaisakhi Festival Celebrations: Friday 14th April This festival marks the Sikh New Year and Harvest Festival, and is celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs alike. The colourful and energetic celebrations involve singing and dancing, chanting hymns and processions throughout the town. The traditional Bhangra folk dance is becoming more and more popular. The children will be listening to traditional folk music and may also give some traditional dancing a go. If any families have any clothing, decorations, traditional meals or photographs they would like to share with us, we would love to see them and help support the celebrations.

St. George's Day: Thursday 20th April St. George’s Day is England’s national day and celebrates St. George as the patron saint of England. The story goes that he rode into Silene (a town in modern-day Libya) to kill a dragon that was eating the citizens. The children will have the chance to learn about the George Cross, which is the highest award given out for gallantry. They will also learn about traditional medieval armour and gear worn by knights in the Middle Ages.

Eid Al Fitr: Friday 21st April Eid al-Fitr is a religious holiday that occurs at the end of Ramadan. The meaning of Eid al-Fitr, translated from Arabic, means 'the feast of the breaking of the fast'. Eid al-Fitr officially begins once the religious authorities have confirmed the sighting of the new moon. Approximately 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide will mark Eid as the sun sets and the moon rises on the last day of Ramadan. We will be celebrating Eid al-Fitr with a delicious feast cooked by our chef Oli! We would love to see your Eid celebrations on Tapestry.

April Newsletter Easter Bonnet Parade: Thursday 6th April

On Thursday 6th April, we will be holding our annual Easter Bonnet Parade and Egg Hunt. The children are welcome to bring their decorated bonnets from Monday 3rd April to Wednesday 5th April. We hope you will get creative with your children to produce some masterpieces and we’re looking forward to the children showing us their works of art.

April Newsletter Easter Bank Holidays: Friday 7th - Monday 10th April Please remember that the nursery will be closed on Friday 7th April (Good Friday) and Monday 10th April (Easter Monday). We hope that everyone has a lovely four day weekend with their families! Will we be reopening on Tuesday 11th April and are looking forward to the children return to the nursery.

April Newsletter

Dish of the Month

Scones with Clotted Cream & Jam

• 350g self-raising flour, plus more for dusting • 1 tsp baking powder • 85g butter, cut into cubes • 3 tbsp caster sugar • 175ml milk • 1 tsp vanilla extract • Squeezed lemon juice (see tips below) • Beaten egg, to glaze • Jam and clotted cream, to serve See our past selections on: 22streetlanenursery.co.uk/dish-of-the-month/ Ingredients

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Tip the self-raising flour into a large bowl with ¼ teaspoon of salt and the baking powder, then mix together. 2. Add the butter, rub it in with your fingers until it looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the caster sugar. 3. Put the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds until warm, but not hot. Add the vanilla extract and a squeeze of lemon juice, then set aside for a moment. 4. Put a baking tray in the oven. Make a well in the dry mix, then add the liquid and combine it quickly with a cutlery knife - it will seem pretty wet at first. 5. Scatter some flour onto the work surface and tip the dough out. Dredge the dough and your hands with a little more flour, then fold the dough over 2-3 times until it’s a little smoother. Pat into a round disc that's about 4cm deep. Take a 5cm cutter (smooth-edged cutters tend to cut more cleanly, giving a better rise) and dip it into some flour. Plunge into the dough, then repeat until you have four scones. Press what’s left of the dough back into a mound to cut out more 6. Brush the tops with a beaten egg, then carefully arrange them on the hot baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes until risen and golden on the top. 7. Eat once they've cooled down (but still warm) or cold, generously topped with jam and clotted cream. If freezing, wait until they have cooled before putting them in the freezer. Defrost, then put in a low oven (about 160C/140C fan/gas 3) for a few minutes to refresh.

April Newsletter Chicklets Room News

What a fun-filled month March has been here in the Chicklets Room! A lot of our Chicklets have started walking independently and tackling the climbing frame with ease, some Chicklets have started practising drinking from open-top cups and others have learnt how to sing the tune of some of our favourite nursery rhymes. Well done everyone! We have witnessed lots of different weather throughout March including snow and sunshine. The Chicklets have loved exploring outside in all weathers and even wrapping up to make marks in the snow. We look forward to seeing the sunshine even more throughout April as Spring fills the garden with lots of new life. Speaking of which, the Chicklets were lucky enough to take a visit to the Swans Room recently, where we saw some real-life chicks. Over the coming month, we aim to make the most of the warmer weather by spending lots more time outdoors - exploring the different natural objects we find during Spring. We will be looking more closely at the Chicklet's interest in mark-making using different materials like crayons and paints to help with our Easter celebrations too. Have a HOPPY Easter everyone!

CHICKLETS ROOM

April Newsletter

Ducklings Room News

The Ducklings started the month off by celebrating World Book Day. There were some fantastic costumes, so we'd like to give a huge 'well done' to everyone for making such a great effort! The children enjoyed dressing up as their favourite characters and reading their favourite stories. To celebrate Mother’s Day, we invited someone special to come and join us for an afternoon tea and a stay and-play session. The children enjoyed exploring different activities with their mummies, such as planting sunflower seeds, and pink flower water play, as well as enjoining some yummy sandwiches and scones as a delicious treat. The Ducklings were also lucky enough to have a snow day in March, the children loved playing in the garden as we enjoyed exploring the snow in many different ways. We spoke about the texture and how it's ‘cold’ on our hands. We then watched as the snow slowly turned into water and melted away. Our Home Learning Challenge this month is our Spring Hunt Checklist As we have now entered Spring, we have set a Spring Checklist Hunt Home Learning Challenge for the Ducklings. The Spring Checklist has lots of different items and animals to look out for. This could be when you are out for nice Spring walks, trips to the farm or even just in your garden. Please feel free to collect a sheet from the basket outside our room. Could we also ask that you bring back any natural resources you find on the checklist so we can use them in our ‘Spring’ setups at the nursery - we can’t wait to see what you find!

DUCKLINGS ROOM

April Newsletter Goslings Room News

It has been a busy few weeks in the Goslings Room. We have enjoyed dressing up, reading new books and exploring new things. We started off with World Book Day which was such a fun day for the children to dress up as their favourite characters and bring in books of their choice from home. We had children dressed up as dinosaurs, fairies, tigers and astronauts - just to name a few. The Goslings have shown lots of interest in books such as ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ over the past few weeks and they enjoy the suspense when turning each page and are so excited to do the actions, such as walking through the mud and the river! We have even enjoyed a few activities inspired by these books using different textures which have been a great hit. Moving on, as the Country of the Month has been Ireland, in order to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day, the children have been busy decorating shamrocks and enjoying Irish music. We also dressed wearing our clothes front to back to celebrate Red Nose Day in order to raise lots of money. To celebrate Mother’s Day weekend, we were very busy making cards using flower petals and cards with glue. We also enjoyed a Mother’s Day Tea Party with lots of fun activities, yummy sandwiches and scones to enjoy on the day. We would like to say a big 'thank you' to all the parents and grandparents for taking part and spending time with our Goslings!

GOSLINGS ROOM

April Newsletter Cygnets Room News

To start March off we celebrated World Book Day. The children shared their favourite books and spent lots of time in the cosy area together. The Cygnets also came dressed up as their favourite characters and loved taking part in lots of fun and exciting activities relating to their favourite books. A big favourite in the room at the moment is The Gruffalo so we decided to make a Gruffalo Crumble! The children were all very independent and loved cutting up the fruit for the crumble as well as adding other ingredients. We also had a very exciting snow day in March. The children had so much fun exploring the snow, as well as making snowmen and snow angels. We also brought some of the snow inside for the children to explore; we talked about what the snow felt like and how it melts. To celebrate Mother’s Day the children all really enjoyed making a special card for their mummies. We also had two lovely tea parties, where the children loved playing and showing their mummies and grandmothers what they get up to when they are at the nursery. We made photo frames, bracelets and planted some sunflower seeds! Finally, we have started planting in our Big Garden as we move into Spring. The Cygnets have loved helping and we can’t wait to see the progress. Throughout April we are going to continue to plant some more vegetables and flowers. This will give the children the opportunity to take care of the plants as well as watch the process. We are also looking forward to celebrating Easter and Passover, where the children will have the opportunity to make Matzah, which is a traditional food eaten during the festival!

CYGNETS ROOM

Swans Room News April Newsletter

The Swans Team and children are looking forward to another new month of learning and playing, especially now we are in Spring. In mid-March, we got to see the end of Winter by having a couple of snowy days. The children wrapped up warm and had lots of fun playing in the snow. We have learnt all about the different signs of Spring and can talk about them confidently. We took part in Spring hunts, learnt about new farm animals, looked after our own chicks, planted cress seeds and spoke about the weather changes. When the chicks came to us, they were still in their eggs and we had the job of making sure they stayed nice and warm. The children did a fantastic job of being gentle and were very excited about the arrival. After one day the chicks began to hatch and we had nine altogether. We all enjoyed holding, watching and feeding them and we were all very gentle. We also got to learn about and celebrate the ‘Holi Festival’, also known as the ‘Colour Festival’. To celebrate we enjoyed lots of colour-related activities including wearing bright colours, making bonfire pictures, mixing colours in flour and spraying white t-shirts with paint. During March we also enjoyed taking part in ‘National Science Week’. We took part in lots of science experiments including learning how we can pick up ice with string, using our noses to try and guess five mystery smells, and making ‘elephants toothpaste’! This month we are looking forward to learning about and taking part in lots of different religious celebrations including Passover, Easter and the Vaisakhi festival. We are particularly looking forward to taking part in our Easter Egg Hunt and seeing some super Easter Bonnets.

SWANS ROOM

April Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Thursday 6 th April Easter Bonnet Parade & Egg Hunt Friday 7 th - Monday 10 th April Good Friday & Easter Monday, Nursery CLOSED Friday 14 th April Visakhi Celebrations Thursday 20 th April St. George’s Day Friday 21 st April Eid Al Fitr Celebrations Monday 1 st May May Day Bank Holiday, Nursery CLOSED Monday 8 th May Bank Holiday for Coronation of King Charles III, Nursery CLOSED

April Newsletter

*ATTENTION* Important Information - Please Read

Car Park Please can we kindly ask that parents ensure they are only parking in a single car parking bay. As you are aware, we have very limited space, and it is very busy a peak times. Thank you for your support.

HMRC Additional Funding Code (3- & 4-year-olds - 30 hours) If you are eligible and in receipt of additional 3- & 4-year-old funding, look out for a prompt every three months from HMRC to reconfirm your details so that your eligibility can be re-assessed. If you do not do this, please note that we are unable to claim the funding on your behalf. Absence Please note that we are unable to swap days or offer an alternative day if your child is absent from nursery. We are now extremely busy, and it is impossible for us to do this for all children. This is stated in our terms and conditions. Thank you for your co operation. Labels in Clothing To avoid items being lost, please can you ensure that your child’s uniform is clearly labelled including their coats, hats, scarves and wellies. If your child brings gloves to nursery, we strongly advise for these to be attached and threaded through their coat to avoid any gloves going missing. Drop Off and Collection Can we kindly remind you that we open at 7.30 am and close at 6.00 pm and any parents who pick up after this time will be charged.

CONTACT US 0333 043 22 22

www.22streetlanenursery.co.uk info@22streetlanenursery.co.uk