22 Street Lane Nursery - January 2024 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. 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

Upcoming Staffing Changes We are delighted to announce that Jess, Chelsie and Alexia have received recent promotions! Jess is now Head of Pre-School in our Swans Room, and Chelsie will be the Room Leader of our Cygnets Room. Alexia will also be moving to the Cygnets Room and will serve as the Deputy Room Leader.

Holiday Updates on Tapestry We would love to see what your family got up to over this festive period and are asking if parents could post some pictures along with a few comments so that we can share these with the children. Please note that we always welcome weekend pictures, or anything special that your child has done at home.

January Newsletter NEWS

Country of the Month - Scotland Throughout January, we will be celebrating Scotland as our country of the month. We'll explore traditional Scottish clothing and music, including the ‘kilt’ and bagpipes, and recreate our very own tartan patterns. If any children are celebrating Burns Night at home or have visited Scotland before, please feel free to share some photos on Tapestry of what you did or the places you saw.

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 NEWS

Hanukkah Celebrations To celebrate Hanukkah, the children learned about how Hanukkah is the festival of light, and why the menorah is lit for eight days, adding another candle each day. The Swans children learned how to say hello in Hebrew which is “Shalom” and they enjoyed playing a traditional Hanukkah game with the dreidel.

Allotment Update Oli and Kim have lots planned for the allotment throughout 2024, they have planted rhubarb and garlic. In February they will be planting carrots, onions, spring onions, beetroot, radish, lettuce and many more. Towards June, they will be looking to start planting pumpkins, squash, cabbage, sprouts, peas and parsnips. We have now acquired some large veg trucks to maximise our growing space.

A Festive 'Thank You' From The Team! We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the parents who gave us presents and cards, we were overwhelmed by your generosity.

January Newsletter NEWS

Christmas Festivities Throughout December, the children had lots of fun celebrating Christmas! They took part in lots of Christmas crafts, and messy play, all while learning about the true meaning of Christmas. We enjoyed a visit from Santa’s reindeer, a festive lunch, a Christmas party, Jolabokaflod, and a visit from the big man himself. We took part in Christmas Jumper Day and the Swans children performed a beautiful rendition of the Christmas story!

Funding for two-year-olds From 2nd January, eligible working parents will be able to apply for their 15-hour childcare for their two-year old. Parents have until 31st March to apply for a code, with the best time in mid-January to the end of February, in case they need to provide further information to support their application. To apply for a childcare code, each parent needs to be working and earning the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum/living wage and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year. This means that each parent needs to earn just over £8,600 per year to be eligible for 15 hours a week of childcare during term time.More information on the range of childcare support available to parents can be found in the Childcare Choices toolkit, where they can explore the early education entitlements and other government help with childcare costs. https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/providers/guidance-and-resources/guidance-zone/

Tax-Free Childcare Tax-free childcare accounts are also available and can lead to savings of up to £2000 per child per year. These accounts can also be used alongside funding. For more information, please visit: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

January Newsletter Wrapping Up Warm for Christmas Jumper Day!

The children 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, ribbons, and natural objects, while others created their decorations out of playdough.

January Newsletter The Swans Took The Stage In Our Christmas Nativity! On Thursday 14th 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!

January Newsletter Burns Night Celebrations: Thursday 25th January On Thursday 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 12 th February 2024 is the ‘Year of the Dragon’. 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

Cod Gratin with Sliced Potatoes and Steamed Vegetables

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

• 4 pieces of cod • 55g butter • 550ml milk (Any Type) • 2 finely chopped garlic cloves • 5 large potatoes • 1 large white onion • 1 small tin of sweetcorn • 35g plain flour • 45g cheddar or parmesan • 1 broccoli head • 1 handful of peas • 1 sliced leek

Method

1. Wash your potatoes and slice them thinly. Cover them with oil, salt, and pepper, and add any desired herbs (we used rosemary from the garden). Roast in the oven at 180 degrees for around 15-20 minutes until they become soft. Set aside to cool. 2. Roast your cod fillets until they reach 75C or above. Once cooked, set them aside to rest for flaking. 3. Gently melt your butter in a large saucepan, then add your sliced Spanish onion, allowing it to caramelise with the garlic. Add your plain flour and cook it further, ensuring it’s fully cooked. In a separate saucepan, lightly heat your milk, being careful not to let it boil. 4. Slowly add your milk to the buttery onion mix. The mixture should start to thicken nicely. Reduce the heat, ensuring it doesn’t stick to the bottom, and continue adding your milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. 5. The white sauce should cook for around 15 minutes. Taste to ensure the seasoning is correct. Add the flaked cod and drained sweetcorn to the mix. Transfer it to a baking tray and top it with your sliced potatoes and grated cheese of your choice. 6. Bake until the top is golden and crisp. Serve with steamed vegetables on the side.

January Newsletter Chicklets Room News

December has been full of festive fun here in the Chicklets Room! The Chicklets have been busy little elves creating their Christmas crafts for you at home and have loved exploring different materials like paint and cotton wool. The cellophane was a big hit too. We finished off the year with a Shake, Rattle and Boogie Christmas Party, where the children learnt lots of new dances along to some popular Christmas songs. Jingle Bells was a Chicklets' favourite! This inspired lots of music sessions where the children enjoyed shaking and hitting the musical instruments to Christmas hits. We can’t wait to welcome you all back in the New Year and hear all about your Christmas break. We also can’t wait to welcome the rest of our new Chicklets friends, who will be joining us in the New Year too. January will be super important to help settle in all of the remaining Chicklets and allow our current friends the opportunity to ‘show them how it’s done’ here at the nursery. We will be focusing a lot on our personal, social, and emotional development to ensure all the Chicklets have strong bonds with the staff and the other children too. This will mean lots of opportunities for small group activities, practising our sharing skills, and keeping up with our kind hands. 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

Throughout December, the Ducklings were very busy. We started the month off by baking Christmas shortbread cookies. The Ducklings used their fine motor skills to mix all the ingredients together and did excellent while waiting and turn-taking with their friends. The Ducklings have been using their different senses throughout activities including cinnamon and gingerbread playdough. We enjoyed using our fine motor skills to roll the different pieces of playdough and create our own creations; it also smelled delicious! In the afternoon, the Ducklings explored a winter ice tray, where we had lots of natural materials in a bowl of ice. They could use their fingers and paintbrushes to play with the ice and help break free the different objects. One of the Ducklings' massive interests lately has been ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’. Following this, we set up an exciting activity including different messy plays, as this is also one of the Ducklings' main interests. They enjoyed using their transporting schemas to transport the different ingredients to and from the bowls and also imitating role-play from the story. As Christmas time is nearing, we had some very special visitors come to the nursery: Santa’s Reindeers. The Ducklings enjoyed feeding them their special food and also sitting on Santa’s magical sleigh; this was so much fun. The children have been continuing to look forward to our 'Weekly Sensory Sessions’, so we are going to carry these on throughout January. The children love the new space projector light and particularly enjoy spotting the different colours and exploring the other light toys too.

DUCKLINGS ROOM

January Newsletter Goslings Room News

We've had a fantastic December filled with Christmas festivities, including a visit from Santa’s reindeer and engaging in various celebratory activities. As 2023 draws to a close, we're eager to hear about how you've all celebrated and spent your time over the festive break and how you've welcomed in the New Year. Throughout January, we will be looking to incorporate more focused group sessions to enhance our sharing, turn-taking, and participation skills, as well as movement. We are also going to be encouraging more daily tasks for the children around the room to encourage independence and confidence. This could be anything from putting out the mealtime mats to helping tidy away the resources in the room. This is also a good way of helping the children learn about taking care of the resources and understanding that everything has a place. Curiosity is the heart of our Nursery, and we will be continuing to look at how we can enhance the children’s experiences in this area. We have recently made some adjustments to the Goslings room as we have noticed that many of the children are becoming very curious in the role-play area where they can dress up and act out real-life experiences. We will be looking to implement more resources that enhance awe and wonder, so if you have anything at home that would support our enhancements, then please do check Tapestry to see what items we are hoping to collect. We look forward to welcoming the Goslings in the New Year. Please upload plenty of photos to Tapestry so that we can look at these on our return. We hope you’ve all had a fantastic holiday, and we will see you soon.

GOSLINGS ROOM

January Newsletter Cygnets Room News

We had a very Christmassy month in Cygnets throughout December. Sparkle the Elf visited our room and surprised us every day. We hope Sparkle goes back to the North Pole and tells Santa that all the Cygnets are on the nice list. We had a lot of Christmas crafts, such as making a bauble with natural materials, creating snowmen using a selection of paints, and crafting reindeer with recycled materials, among others. The Cygnets really enjoyed learning different Christmas songs alongside the piano, such as 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', 'Jingle Bells', and 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas'. Therefore, we will continue to have regular piano sessions in the New Year and learn even more new songs! As the Cygnets show a big interest in learning Makaton, we will also continue learning some new Makaton in the New Year. Additionally, we will have different activities for the country of the month, which is Scotland. This will link to our Burns Night Celebrations. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We can’t wait to hear all about the Cygnets’ Christmas in the New Year.

CYGNETS ROOM

Swans Room News January Newsletter

We hope all of our families have had a restful break and are ready for another superb year. December was filled with lots of fun, activities, and celebrations. A real Christmas tree was delivered to Swans Room, which the children had so much fun decorating with their homemade baubles and decorations. The children did a fabulous job of looking after the tree and were very proud of themselves. Additionally, the children visited the local church and decorated one of the beautiful trees there with decorations made by all of the children in the whole nursery. December was also a special month for our Jewish families, so we learned about Hanukkah. We learnt the story of a special trip and the oil lamp that stayed alight for eight days. To celebrate this, we lit our own menorah each day over the eight-day period. 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. We are looking forward to another month of learning together.

SWANS ROOM

January 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. 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. Winter Clothing With the cold months ahead, please can you ensure that your child has appropriate clothing labelled with their name to play outside. Children can play out and explore in all weathers, but a warm coat, waterproof trousers, hats, gloves and scarves would be most suitable for Winter. Could we please suggest that your child have 2-piece outdoor waterproofs if they are toilet trained, as it can be tricky for them to get them on and off.

January Newsletter

*ATTENTION* Important Information - Please Read

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.

January Newsletter Upcoming Events Tuesday 4 th January Nursery RE-OPENS for the New Year! Thursday 25 th January Burns Night Celebrations W/C Monday 12 th February Chinese New Year Celebrations Tuesday 13 th February Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day!) Wednesday 14 th February Valentine’s Day Celebrations Friday 16 th February Random Acts of Kindness Day

January Newsletter

2024 Events Calendar *Dates subject to change - Please check the website for the latest calendar

Tuesday 2nd Thursday 25th

Nursery RE-OPENS for the New Year!

January

Burns Night Celebrations

W/C Monday 12th Chinese New Year Celebrations Tuesday 13th Shrove Tuesday Wednesday 14th Valentines Day Celebrations Friday 16th Random Acts of Kindness Day

February

Friday 1st Monday 4th Thursday 7th

St David’s Day

World Wildlife Day World Book Day

Sunday 10th - Monday 8th April

Ramadan

W/C Monday 11th Mother’s Day Stay and Play Thursday 14th St Patrick’s Day Friday 15th Red Nose Day Monday 18th Global Recycling Monday 25th Holi Colour Festival Wednesday 27th Easter Bonnet and Egg Hunt Friday 29th

March

Good Friday, NURSERY CLOSED

January Newsletter

2024 Events Calendar *Dates subject to change - Please check the website for the latest calendar

Easter Monday, NURSERY CLOSED

Monday 1st

Wednesday 10th Eid Al Fitr Friday 12th

Vaisakhi Festival Celebrations

Friday 19th

Bicycle Day - Bring your bike to the nursery!

April

Monday 22nd Monday 22nd - Tuesday 30th Tuesday 23rd

Earth Day

Passover

St George’s Day

May Day Bank Holiday, NURSERY CLOSED

Monday 6th

W/C Monday 13th Grandparents Stay & Play Monday 20th World Bee Day Monday 27th

May

Spring Bank Holiday, NURSERY CLOSED

W/C Monday 27th National Childrens’ Gardening Week

Team Training Day, NURSERY CLOSED

Tuesday 4th

W/C Monday 10th Father’s Day Stay & Play W/C Monday 10th Healthy Eating Week & Great Big Green Week Monday 17th Eid Al Adha Monday 17th Chicklets, Goslings and Swans Parents Evening W/C Monday 24th Beach Party Week Wednesday 26th Duckling and Cygnets Parents Evening

June

July

Thursday 18th

Swans Graduation Ceremony

January Newsletter

2024 Events Calendar *Dates subject to change - Please check the website for the latest calendar

Thursday 1st

Yorkshire Day Carnival Week

August

TBC

Summer Bank Holiday, NURSERY CLOSED

Monday 26th

September

TBC

Macmillan Bake Sale

Tuesday 1st

Black History Month

Wednesday 2nd Rosh Hashanah W/C Monday 7th Mental Health Awareness Week W/C Monday 21st & 28th Halloween Stay & Play Wednesday 30th Team Training Day, NURSERY CLOSED Thursday 31st Halloween Fancy Dress Day

October

Friday 1st

Diwali

Tuesday 5th

Bonfire Celebrations Remembrance Sunday

Friday 8th

Monday 11th

Chicklets, Goslings, Swans Parents Evening

November

Wednesday 13th World Kindness Day TBC World Nursery Rhymes Week Wednesday 20th Cygnets and Ducklings Parents Evening Thursday 28th Thanksgiving

TBC TBC

Christmas Jumper Day

Swans Christmas Nativity W/C Monday 16th Christmas Party Week Thursday 19th 22SLN Christmas Dinner Day Tuesday 24th

December

Christmas Eve, Nursery Closes at 12 noon

CONTACT US 0333 043 22 22

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