22 Street Lane Nursery - January 2023 Newsletter

Newsletter January

Play • Discovery • Growth

January Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers, We hope you have all had the most magical Christmas and we would like to wish you a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. On behalf of all the staff, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the lovely cards, gifts and kind words that we received before the Christmas holidays, we were all very touched by the generosity of our children and families. We would love to see what the children got up to over the festive period and I am sure they’d enjoy sharing photos of their Christmas adventures when they return to the nursery. Please could we ask you to upload these to Tapestry, along with their current interests, so we can follow these in the New Year? As always, we extend a very warm welcome to our new families joining us throughout January. To find out more, please read on...

January Newsletter STAFF NEWS

Aime Mawson Joins The Chicklets Room We would like to introduce Aimee, who will be joining our Chicklets Room as a Qualified Practitioner. Aimee holds a Batchelor of Arts in Early Childhood "I am very excited to be joining such a lovely team at 22 Street Lane Nursery. I am very passionate about helping to create a safe and nurturing environment for children to develop and thrive to their full potential. I recently attended University where I gained a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies. This enabled me to pursue a career in childcare that I have always aspired to have since I was young. In my spare time I enjoy taking my dog on long walks and spending time with my family and friends. I can’t wait to get to know all the children and their families."

Welcoming Chloe Back To The Ducklings Room We would like to give a warm welcome back to Chloe Powell, who will be returning from maternity leave to our Ducklings Room. Chloe will be rejoining as Room Leader on Tuesday 10th January and is looking forward to getting to know the new families!

January Newsletter NEWS

Country of the Month – Iceland The children had lots of fun exploring Iceland as our County of the Month throughout December, they learned about the Northern Lights, animals and their habitats, the Blue Lagoon and the Golden Circle. The children took part in lots of ice play and even froze some of their favourite toys and watched the ice melt. Throughout January, in support of the Chinese New Year, we will be exploring China as our Country of the Month. The children will have the opportunity to sample Chinese cuisine as well as learn about other Chinese customs and traditions.

A visit from Santa’s Reindeer! The children were very lucky to meet Santa’s reindeer who took the time out of their busy schedule to meet all of the children at 22 Street Nursery! Some of the older children even sat in Santa's sleigh for some lovely photos with their friends.

January Newsletter Wrapping Up Warm for Christmas Jumper Day!

The children really enjoyed dressing up in their festive jumpers and outfits for Christmas Jumper Day! It was a wonderful day filled with many festive activities too. Some decorated their own Christmas trees using baubles, ribbon, and natural objects, while others created their own decorations out of playdough.

January Newsletter The Swans Took The Stage In Our Christmas Nativity! On Tuesday 13th December, the Swans children performed their special Christmas Nativity at St. Andrew's Church. The children had been so excited about the performance and had been learning and practising lots of new songs to tell the story of the Nativity to their parents. We had also been reading the Nativity storybook during these times and the children recognised the different characters and related the pictures to their own parts in the performance. Everyone had a different part to play in the Nativity and learned when it was their turn to stand up and sing their song. The Swans did an incredible job with their dramatic roles, taking the parts seriously and showcasing their fantastic work, adorable smiles, waves and sweet dance moves! We are so very proud of all the hard work that has gone into our Nativity, and of the children showing such enthusiasm, determination and resilience. Well done, Swans!

January Newsletter Closing Out The Year With Our Big Christmas Party! The children enjoyed a fun-filled festive day at the Nursery, enjoying both a lovely Christmas dinner, as well as having an awesome Christmas Party in the afternoon! For our annual festive lunch, the children were treated to a lovely spread of traditional food, consisting of roasted turkey with all the trimmings, herbed roasted potatoes, honey-roasted carrots and parsnips, stuffing balls, mini pigs in blankets, sprouts, garden peas with an added extra Yorkshire pudding, all topped off with a cranberry gravy! A huge thank you to Chris and Kim for cooking it for us, what a delicious meal we had, and we loved celebrating with our friends at nursery.

January Newsletter Burns Night Celebrations: Wednesday 25th January On Wednesday 25th January, we will be celebrating Burns Night, which marks the birthday of the Scottish Poet ‘Robert Burns’. The children will be sampling a traditional Burns Night supper of Cock-A-Leekie soup, Neeps and Tatties, Sherry Trifle and Oatcakes and cheese. We also will be exploring other Scottish traditions and creating our own tartan patterns too with different natural materials.

January Newsletter Chinese New Year Celebrations: W/C Monday 16th January 2023 is the ‘Year of the Rabbit’. The children will get the opportunity to look at beautiful Chinese lanterns, learning about why ‘little red envelopes’ are given to children and getting to taste some sweet dumplings. Red is the main colour of the festival, so our rooms will feature plenty of red decorations.

January Newsletter

Dish of the Month

Beef Shepherd’s Pie

See our past selections on: 22streetlanenursery.co.uk/dish-of-the-month/ Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 brown onion, chopped

• 1 large carrot, cut into 1cm pieces • 1 celery stick, cut into 1cm pieces • 2 garlic cloves, crushed • 1kg of beef mince • 2 tbsp of tomato paste • 400g can of crushed tomatoes • 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce • 185ml of beef stock • 120g of frozen peas • 1.2kg of fresh mashed potato • 60g of grated cheddar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C. 2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until the onion softens. 3. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the mince and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps, for 8 minutes, or until browned. 4. Add the tomato paste, tomato, Worcestershire sauce and stock, and then bring to a simmer. 5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until the mixture thickens slightly. Stir in the peas and then set aside for 15 minutes to cool. 6. Meanwhile, heat the mashed potato following packet directions. 7. Spoon the beef mixture into a ceramic 6cm-deep, 22cm-square (4L-capacity) baking dish. Top with the mashed potato and grated cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

January Newsletter Chicklets Room News December has been full of festive fun here in the Chicklets Room!

The Chicklets have been busy little elves and created their Christmas crafts for you at home, all while they explored different materials like paint and oats. The cellophane was a big hit too as the children enjoyed looking at all the different colours. Christmas Jumper Day brought lots of smiles as the children loved showing off their party outfits and taking part in lots of festive-themed messy play! We finished off the year with a Shake, Rattle & Boogie Christmas party, where the Chicklets learnt lots of new dances to some popular Christmas songs. Jingle Bells was clearly a Chicklets favourite. This inspired lots of music sessions where the children enjoyed shaking and hitting the musical instruments to Christmas hits. We hope you all have a lovely Christmas break and look forward to seeing you again in the new year. Merry Christmas Everyone!

CHICKLETS ROOM

January Newsletter

Ducklings Room News

During December, the children took part in lots of activities linked to Iceland, our Country of the Month. The Ducklings had lots of fun exploring the culture and the country through different tuff trays, as well as exploring the colours of the flag and making our own large-scale Icelandic flag! The Ducklings really enjoyed all of the Christmas crafts that we made to send home to our families. The Ducklings have had lots of fun sharing all of their Christmas tree pictures which have been posted on Tapestry. The children loved wearing their jumpers for Christmas Jumper Day and they were really excited to show to all their friends, as well as dancing to a joyous Christmas jumper disco! We had tons of fun decorating our own Christmas jumper crafts and we hunted for different Christmas Jumpers in the sand. The Ducklings have our own Christmas tree in the room and we asked each of the children for their home learning activity to create their own bauble to bring in and hang on the tree. It looks amazing! To continue the Christmas celebrations, we had a special visit from some of Santa's reindeer. The children loved feeding them and stroking them was so much fun too! We have been continuing to look forward to our weekly sensory sessions. The children are loving their new space projector light, and particularly enjoy spotting the different colours and exploring the other light toys too. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing the Ducklings return on Tuesday 3rd January.

DUCKLINGS ROOM

January Newsletter Goslings Room News

What a busy December it has been for the Goslings! We have been getting ready for Christmas by making our Christmas crafts and singing lots of Christmas songs every day. We even made our calendars, baubles, cards and more to take home for our loved ones. The Goslings have enjoyed doing different activities, such as making their own wreaths using all kinds of resources, including pom poms, tissue paper, cotton wool and glue. We also enjoyed making shortbread as the Goslings have been showing interest in the home corner this month and very much enjoyed cooking for their peers and feeding the babies. They were able to follow instructions and roll out the dough using their very own rolling pins. Lastly, we had a very special visit from Santa's reindeer in the Baby Garden! The Goslings were so excited to say 'hello' and feed them, alongside sitting on the sleigh for some pictures! With the Christmas break coming up, we know it can be an emotional transition back to nursery in January, so we thought it would be nice for the Goslings to come back with a scrapbook filled with pictures of their adventures and loved ones so they are able to share it with the others. We look forward to seeing the scrapbooks when they return! We look forward to seeing the Goslings back next year, and we wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

GOSLINGS ROOM

January Newsletter Cygnets Room News

The Cygnets have had a super busy month throughout December. The children have taken part in lots of wonderful Christmas activities and crafts, such as making wreaths, Christmas trees out of natural resources, snowmen and lots of gluing and sticking using lots of different Christmas resources. We have also had lots of exciting tuff trays for the children to explore, including a snowy winter wonderland, the Polar Express and a snowman made from lots of different resources. Once we finished making these, the children loved adding them to our room's Christmas tree and even took some on their trip to Richmond House to share with the residents. We have also done lots of baking activities throughout December, including gingerbread men and shortbread biscuits. The Cygnets were very helpful by adding the ingredients, mixing it all together, rolling out the dough and then cutting them into Christmas shapes. The children were very excited to take their baking home to share with their families too! To continue the Christmas celebrations, we had a special visit from some of Santa's reindeer. We also had a Christmas party, where the children did some amazing dancing and singing to their favourite Christmas songs. Our Country of the Month this month has been Iceland. We set out a winter tuff tray with animals that might be found in Iceland in it. We also explored some ice that had frozen in the garden and the children enjoyed talking about what the ice felt like. They also liked breaking the ice using spades too!

CYGNETS ROOM

Swans Room News January Newsletter

As the weather has been much colder, we have been going out in shorter sessions. But the times we have been outside we have enjoyed spotting the first signs of winter. Lots of us remembered reading about Jack Frost last week and have found lots of frosted leaves. We had fun finding the best ways to melt some of the leaves and even pretended to do some ice skating on the Lookout Tower. The children have all had a good understanding of what clothes we should wear in winter and could explain why. We also read the story ‘The Messy Magpie’ to learn about how people leaving rubbish on the floor is bad for our planet. The children had lots of lovely reasons why this is bad and promised to always put their rubbish in the bin. This week’s Forest School group went out with litter pickers to help clear up Roundhay Park. The children also baked some gingerbread biscuits, which the rest of the children decorated throughout the week. We also had some leftovers and decided to gift them to the fabulous Cygnets teachers. Over the end of November and the start of December, the children did a great job of preparing for the Nativity. The performance took place at St. Andrew's Church and the children wowed Swans staff and all of the grown-ups that attended. Some children also wanted to create their own Christmas tuff tray which we watched them do independently. They thought of The Polar Express and made snow, snowflakes and used silver tinsel and baubles. We also enjoyed taking part in lots of Christmas-themed activities, including our Christmas party, a visit from Ernie the Elf, seeing real-life reindeer and a Christmas book share.

SWANS ROOM

January Newsletter

*ATTENTION* Important Information - Please Read

Car Park As you are aware, there are double yellow lines outside the nursery which have been put there for the safety of the children. Please can we ask that parents do not park on them, and also be mindful when parking on Park Lane that you do not park over the driveways of the residents there. Many of them are Key Workers who need immediate access from their homes when called out. There have been a few vehicles obstructing their driveways recently. 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.

January Newsletter Upcoming Events Tuesday 3 rd January Nursery RE-OPENS for the New Year! W/C Monday 16 th January Chinese New Year Celebrations Wednesday 25 th January Burns Night Celebrations

Tuesday 14 th February Valentine’s Day Celebrations

Tuesday 21 st February Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day!)

January Newsletter

2023 Events Calendar *Dates subject to change - Please check the website for the latest calendar

Nursery RE-OPENS for the New Year!

Tuesday 3rd

January

W/C Monday 16th Chinese New Year Celebrations Wednesday 25th Burns Night Celebrations

Wednesday 1st Thursday 2nd Tuesday 14th Tuesday 21st

Valentine’s Day Celebrations

February

Shrove Tuesday

St David’s Day World Book Day

Tuesday 7th Holi Colour Festival W/C Monday 13th Mothering Sunday Tea Party Friday 17th St Patrick’s Day Wed 22nd March - Friday 21st April Ramadan

March

Wednesday 5th - Thursday 13th

Passover

Thursday 6th

Easter Bonnet Parade & Egg Hunt Good Friday, Nursery CLOSED Easter Monday, Nursery CLOSED

Friday 7th

April

Monday 10th Friday 14th Thursday 20th

Visakhi Celebrations St. George’s Day Eid Al Fitr Celebrations

Friday 21st

May Bank Holiday, Nursery CLOSED

Monday 1st Monday 8th

Coronation of King Charles III, Nursery CLOSED

May

W/C Monday 15th Mental Health Awareness Week Monday 29th

Spring Bank Holiday, Nursery CLOSED

January Newsletter

Team Training Day, Nursery CLOSED

Thursday 8th Monday 12th

Healthy Eating Week W/C Monday 13th Father’s Day Stay & Play Sessions Monday 19th Wednesday 28th Ducklings and Cygnets Parents Evening Tuesday 29th Eid Al Adha

June

Chicklets, Goslings and Swans Parents Evening

Friday 7th

Swans Graduation Ceremony

July

W/C Monday 17th Beach Party Week

Tuesday 1st

Yorkshire Day Carnival Week

August

TBA

Summer Bank Holiday, Nursery CLOSED

Monday 28th

Friday 15th

Rosh Hashanah Celebrations

September

TBA Macmillan Bake Sale W/C Monday 25th Grandparents Stay & Play Tea Party

Monday 2nd Monday 20th Tuesday 31st Thursday 2nd Friday 3rd Friday 10th Monday 13th

Black History Month Halloween Stay & Play

October

Halloween Fancy Dress Day

Bonfire Night Activities

Team Training Day, Nursery CLOSED

Remembrance Sunday

November

Diwali / World Kindness Day W/C Monday 13th World Nursery Rhymes Week Monday 13th

Chicklets, Goslings and Swans Parents Evening

Wednesday 22nd Ducklings and Cygnets Parents Evening

Friday 9th

Christmas Jumper Day

TBA

Swans Christmas Play/Concert 22SLN Christmas Dinner/Party

December

Tuesday 21st

Nursery Closing at 12pm for Christmas

TBA

CONTACT US 0333 043 22 22

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