Welcome and welcome back!

As well as welcoming back our lovely children (who had lots to tell us about their Christmas holidays), we said hello to some new starters this week. And continuing the “Welcome” theme, some of our children have new siblings! Welcome to the world, tiny ones! We used circle time this week to read books about welcoming a new baby and how to be a great big brother or sister. We also talked about different kinds of families. The children were very keen to share their experiences with the rest of the class. All the staff at St Mary’s would also like to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to all the families who have welcomed their new members!

Our new weekly yoga class started on Thursday, and it was a big hit with the children. The teacher told a story and encouraged the children to move their bodies in different ways to match the action. They showed amazing focus throughout the session - even the teacher commented on it! The class ended with a wind-down, where the children lay down with a little duck on their tummies (this helped them to concentrate on their breathing) and listened peacefully while the teacher re-told the story they’d just recreated with their bodies. Afterwards, the children were asked to choose their favourite activity during the session, which enabled them to reflect upon what they’d just done. We’re so thrilled that we are able to bring this fantastic session to the nursery - the aim is to change the day it runs on a termly basis so as many children as possible can benefit from it.