Mother Hubbards Newsletter
September 2011
Welcome to our first newsletter of the new school year. This month we would like to welcome all of the new children who started with us at the beginning of September and their parents. We hope you are all very happy here at Mother Hubbards.
Look who has a birthday this month…
Emma in afterschool was 9 years old
Aleksis in Montessori was 4 years old
Mia in Montessori will be 4 years old
Reminders
Change of Clothes
Also we would like to remind parents that if you have not brought in a spare set of clothes for your child could you do so as soon as possible. It is very important that we have them in case of emergency. The following clothes should be provided a t-shirt, sweater, underpants, trousers, socks and a vest. After school children are encouraged to bring in a change of clothes so they can change out of their uniforms. Please remember to label all of your child’s belongings!
Scrap Book for Montessori children
Could all parents of children in the Montessori room please send in a scrap book for their child if they have not already done so by Monday 3rd October. This is to keep a copy of your child’s work from throughout the year.
Healthy Eating
We would like to ask all parents to try send in a healthy lunch for your child for snack time. Mother Hubbard’s Childcare promotes a Healthy Eating Policy. This is based on the Department of Health and Children, Health Promotion Units publication ‘Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Pre-School Services. No chocolate, crisps, fizzy drinks etc. Children are only given these foods on special occasions such as birthday parties, Halloween, Christmas etc.
ECCE Children
All sessional EECE children, our Montessori session starts at 9am. We cannot take children in before this time as we do not have staff to supervise the children before this time as we need to keep to the adult:child ratio at all times.
If you are running late to collect your child, please phone the centre on 046-9070558 to let a member of staff know.
Sessional Montessori Year Calendar
All parents received a school calendar with their information packs but this is a reminder of the mid terms etc;
Halloween Mid-Term: Closed Monday 31st October – Friday 4th November 2011 (inclusive)
Christmas Break: Closing Friday 23rd December 2011 and reopening 9th January 2012
February Mid-Term: Closed Tuesday 14th – Friday 17th February 2012 (inclusive)
St. Patrick’s Day: Monday 19th March- closed Bank Holiday
Easter Holidays: Closing March 30th and reopening 16th April 2012
May Bank Holiday: Monday 7th May 2012
June Bank Holiday: Monday 4th June 2012
Summer Holidays: Closing Friday 29th June 2012
-these dates may be subject to change, you will receive adequate notice of any changes made.
Welcome
We would like to welcome Rachel Hogge to Mother Hubbards. Rachel has Fetac Level 5 and will be working between here and our Slane rd. centre. We hope Rachel is very happy here with us at Mother Hubbards ☺
What have we been doing in our rooms…
Montessori Room
The children have all settled in very well here with us. This month they have been learning “All about me”, making books about themselves and singing songs. They have also been busy learning about Autumn, doing their Autumn Tree, squirrel paintings and hedgehog collages. They have begun on the practical life exercises in the Montessori area which teach the children every day skills which they need to learn to gain independence and confidence in the world around them.
Afterschool Room
This month the children have been busy playing outdoors, painting and making crafts with paper plates and paper. They enjoyed making paper hats and boats and other origami crafts.
Note for parents of Afterschool Children
Can all after school parents please provide us with a copy of their child’s school calendar. Also can you ensure you let a member of staff know when your child needs to be collected early or doesn’t need collection on a particular day. Thank You!
Note for parents of Montessori children:
Display Table
Each fortnight there will be a topic posted up on the door. This topic will run for two weeks, we encourage all children to bring in items relating to the topic for the display table i.e. books, posters, jigsaws, pictures etc. We ask for all the children’s participation as much as possible. The more participation your child has the more interest s/he will have in the topic being discussed.
Book of the Week
Each fortnight there will be a ‘book of the week’ posted up on the door. When your child’s name is on the notice board for the ‘book of the week’, please encourage your child to bring in their favourite book for one day for us to read to the class (please ensure that the book is child friendly and a reasonable length). This gives your child a great sense of importance within the group.
Sound of the week
Every week from October the children will do a “sound of the week” and will be covering the phonetic element of a letter. For example the letter “S” makes the sound “sssss”. We will ask the children to bring in one item each week for the sound box if possible. Please check the notice board just inside the room on the right for our sound of the week.
October Mid-term Break
We will be having a fun camp running for the week of the Halloween mid-term break from 9-12 daily for children age 3 years +. During this week we will have plenty of arts and crafts, fancy dress, face-painting, cooking and lots more. The cost for the week will be €45 per child. If you or anyone you know of may be interested in this please tell them to contact the centre and speak to a member of staff.
Something for the weekend… ☺
Freddy Fyffes Fun this Weekend to Celebrate the Gorilla Rainforest at Dublin Zoo
Make sure to get down to Dublin Zoo this weekend (1st and 2nd October) to celebrate the opening of the brand new Gorilla Rainforest proudly sponsored by Freddy Fyffes.
Freddy Fyffes will be ape-ing around on Saturday and Sunday to help the gorillas settle into their new home. There will be fun for all the family with face painting, giant games, music workshops and much more. Freddy Fyffes will be giving out plenty of yummy bananas and activity booklets for all the kids and don't forget to bring your camera to get your pic taken with Freddy Fyffes.
For more information please go to www.dublinzoo.ie or www.facebook.com/dublinzoo
Topic of the month – Getting your child to eat lunch!!
Fact; children who eat their lunch at school find it easier to concentrate and behave better than those who don’t!!
10 tips for getting your child to eat their lunch
1. Try making their lunch colorful and interesting. Cut foods into different shapes and into small portions e.g. triangles of sandwiches, chunks of cheese, chopped mixed fruit.
2. Vary the food from day to day, e.g. whole meal and white bread (or half and half), rolls, pitta, crackers. You can fill these with a choice from the meat, fish or alternative (protein) group or with cheese.
3. Something tasty like a favorite yogurt or fromage frais can be included.
4. A piece of fruit or diced fruit is a quick snack for little break.
5. A carton of milk is an excellent choice of drink and is available in many schools. Otherwise a carton of unsweetened fruit juice or a flask of warm soup or hot chocolate are good alternatives.
6. Try alternatives to bread and rolls with pitta or scones. Encourage your child to have whole meal varieties.
7. Use salads like lettuce, tomato, and cucumber also in sandwiches/rolls to brighten them up and to help ensure your child gets a good balance of nutrients.
8. Make sure the lunch you prepare is child friendly eg peeled oranges, chopped meat, etc
9. Get your child involved in planning their own lunch as they are then much more likely to eat it.
10. Ensure that you haven't packed a forbidden food: some schools have a ban on certain foods such as chewing gum or crisps
151 Blackcastle Lodge Phone: 046-9070558
Flowerhill Fax: 046-9070670
Navan E-Mail: flowerhill@motherhubbardschildcare.ie
