Our Newsletter

September 2005

Hasn’t the recent weather been just gorgeous! We have had to get the shade sails up early for much needed shade and it’s just the beginning of spring!

Well it’s election time again and it appears to be a ‘vote buying’ election. I think this election will be the closest between the two major parties I have ever seen.

The Nursery Room
The children are really enjoying the spring weather with lots of outside play and the ever-popular water trough. We have taken the opportunity to get out and about with walks to the park, the bush walk and the Donkey Farm.

We had a great trip out to the Donkey Farm at Gordonton where they got the chance to ride on a donkey and pat brand new chickens and calves. We have had several special days e.g. dress-up days. This provides variety, interest and fun to our week. See also the upcoming trip to the Silly Billies concert. Thank you to all the parents that help with trips and become involved in our wider curriculum e.g. bringing pets to visit. We continue to encourage this as valuable learning experiences for the children.

Recently we have had a few children turn 2 and move to the Keas, so we welcome new families to our centre. As we are having a ‘Special Person’s Day” on the 16 September, it will be a great opportunity for extended family to visit the centre and see what B4 Five is all about. We are also having a bike day on the 9th September so remember to bring a bike or any other form of transport.

Also a reminder that planning is done every week within the nursery and that you can feel free to read our weekly planning, comment on it or if you would like to suggest any activities/shared moments you do at home that you would think the children would enjoy or benefit from.

It would be great to have extra spare NAMED clothes in the children’s bags. We have begun to apply sun block, so please let us know if you think your child may have an allergy to this.

We all had a lot of fun on Wacky Friday; it was a good opportunity for us all to be a bit crazy. A small group of the Kea’s got to take our Daffodil Poster and donations to the National Bank. Thank you to all the parents for their donations.

Our trip to the library was a very successful one and the children chose some really good books for us to enjoy. On the way home they got to see a lot of large machinery like diggers and a group of rabbits playing in a paddock.

Thank you to the parents who brought in materials for our Heuristic play. We will let you know how the children respond to this type of play. The children looked great in their bright shirts for “LOUD SHIRT DAY”. Thank you for all the donations to the Hearing House. Our Centre managed to raise about $40 dollars…. How fantastic is that!

We have been focusing on gender-bias and the different jobs that men and women do. Today we had a visit from “Jo” a policewoman who came to show the children that Police are not just men but women who do the same work as men.

Now the weather is warming up we will be having a lot more water play so could the children have extra changes of clothing. Please name their clothes as it makes it so much easier to keep track of them.

The Kiwi Room
We have had a great month. You can see lots of great artwork around the room. Bike day was great fun. The children enjoyed being out on their bikes, having the opportunity to share and talk about their bikes with their friends.

Thank you also for supporting Daffodil Day. Representatives of the Kiwi room went with Vanessa and the Tuataras to the National Bank to give them our poster and donations.

The trip to the pet shop was also a fun learning experience for our profile children this month. Speaking of pets we had 2 dogs visit B4 Five in the past month. Zoe a golden retriever and Trouble a Siberian husky. We’ve also been lucky enough to have 3 lambs to play with, thanks to Caleb’s grandma who also fed her lamb while we watched.

Finally just 2 reminders from the Kiwi Staff
1. Please don’t let your child bring toys from home to crèche. A small upset in the morning with them will save them being upset throughout the whole day as we need to put the toys in the cupboard to avoid conflicts and things getting lost and broken.
2. Please, please ensure your child has sufficient spare clothes in their bag for toilet training, water play etc. We have very limited amounts of underwear and pants and any donations would be appreciated.

The Tuatara Room
Yayyy! Wohoooo! Spring has arrived! Now that it is getting warmer we are playing with water! It would be appreciated if you could please bring 2 changes of clothing with your child each day. Also bring in a NAMED pair of shorts for when the day warms up.
A reminder that Friday is “show and tell” day. This is the ONLY day for children to bring in toys to talk about. These will be left in the cupboard for you to collect at the end of the day.
As it is getting warmer we recommend children wear sandals with Velcro as they are easy for them to take on and off by themselves.
Thank you very much for all your donations for Daffodil Day. This was greatly appreciated to help support cancer victims.
Feel free to look at the programme planning on the opposite wall to the white board. This can be a good conversation starter with your child at the end of the day i.e. “Did you do a puppet play today? Why don’t you tell me about it?”

The National Bank is encouraging early saving of our young peoples. If you are interested in this scheme, please collect an info pack from the Tuatara Room.

Parenting Worx
Wednesday 14th September Lisa McKimm from Parenting Worx will be holding a introduction night at B4 Five. Lisa runs a “Positive Parenting Course” to enhance parenting skills, she is a great speaker, and will have you in stitches. Let us know if you intend coming, as places are limited.
To assist you in your decision-making all those attending on the night will go into a draw to win “One weeks Childcare fees” We will also make a supper for you, so book at reception and we will see you there!

Haircuts
If you are interested in having your child/ren’s haircut on Monday 12th September, please write down your name and room on the sheet at reception. Cost is $10.00 per child.

The Silly Billies Comedy Variety Show
The Silly Billies will be visiting Hamilton for a 45-minute live comedy variety show of Sing-Along, Dance-Along fun with human size puppet characters for children age 2 to 6.
Details as follows:
Venue: Westpactrust Theatre
Date: Friday 30th September 2005
Time: 10am
Cost: $8 each under 12 months free
Tickets: Available now from Ticket Direct phone: 858 5858

Daffodil Day
Thanks for all your support for this, parents, staff and children of B4 Five donated around $100 for this much worthy cause. Cancer in New Zealand is increasing @ 6.5% per year and we have little resources – doctors, nurses, technicians, radiologists, money, facilities & equipment to cope. (North & South Sept 05) Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Playground
You will have noticed the lack of grass in the 02’s, which is an ongoing battle for us! So many little feet running around, it’s difficult to keep the grass growing!
We have purchased more safety matting for this area but have had to wait for good weather to add soak holes (for drainage) & then lay the matting. Hopefully it will not be too far away now! So please bear with us, our goal is to mat this area by Christmas.

Centre Roll
The centre is extremely full and we are bursting at the seams! A BIG thank you to those parents who have been very patient waiting for extra days for their children. Our busiest month will be October – so if you are planning on holidaying at this time, please let us know as soon as possible. Thanks.

Positive Negatives – Photo’s
The Positive Negatives team has agreed to stay longer to meet demand! We now have about 4 spaces left to fill. See reception for available times.

Quilt
Some of you will be wondering what is happening, well, we are nearly finished! At this moment it is being ‘quilted’ and is expected to be completed by the end of September. We will be having an “unveiling” and morning tea for the hanging and display of the quilt.