We hope you are all doing well, staying safe and healthy and making the most of this time with your families. If there are any positives from these difficult times, it is the ability to just slow everything down. Your children will love the extra time they can spend with you and they will continue to learn and develop in countless ways as they always do.
Remember that, at Pre-school, the children learn through play, in the moment. They don’t need ‘lesson plans’ or ‘worksheets’, they need stimulating and interesting environments, with lots of hands on experiences. Things such as construction with junk modelling, blocks, lego – inside and out. Cooking; what better way to help them understand weights, shape and measure. Water play; fun, but also educational – what sinks, what floats, the properties of water, gravity. The opportunities for learning and development do not stop and you are your child’s best educators. Make the most of this beautiful weather but don’t forget that children love being outside whatever the weather, they just need the right clothes. We know that not everyone has a garden, so use that time when you are allowed to go outside for some exercise to look at the world around you with your child and try and see it through their eyes. Have fun and treasure this time when your children can just be children – the rest of their lives will come along soon enough.
In terms of the Pre-school, we will continue to remain closed next week. We are monitoring the needs of those critical keyworkers and weighing it up with the safety and wellbeing of the team. We will therefore be remaining closed until after the Easter holidays, when we will review the situation again.
I hope the WhatsApp group is going well and you are sharing your ideas with each other and keeping connected. Thank you to Sam for organising this. We would love to see your photos and we think Sam’s idea of keeping a journal over this time is fantastic. Don’t forget to carry on with your Education for Sustainable Development booklets. Whilst you may not be able to do all of the things in the book, this is a good opportunity to have a look and see what is possible.
Keep well and safe. With our very best wishes.
Sam, Donna, the Pre-school Team and Committee