Here are our summer displays, using childrens’ individual and collaborative work based around our topics of Teddy Berars’ Picnic and Seaside and Holidays.

The Pre-School AGM will be held on 21st September at 8pm in the Wesley Rooms. As some children leave us to go to school we are also losing some committee members. If you are interested in joining the committee in September please contact Lesley Blundy on 07876 796977.

Jan Derbyshire will be giving a talk on ‘The journey to Reading and Writing’ on the night.

The sun was shining again this year for our annual Teddy Bear’s Picnic. Pre-School children, siblings, parents, grandparents and carers enjoyed a sociable afternoon with their teddy bears. Following their picnic they could enjoy a bounce on the castle or browse through our book stall. Everyone taking part made a donation and £70 was raised to go to Action Medical Reasearch, so a big thank you to everyone who took part.

With the weather starting to improve the children have enjoyed a lot more outdoor play.  They have been building with giant Jenga blocks, painting outdoors as well as playing with trikes, pushchairs, balls and hoops.  One form of painting the children seem to love is water painting outdoors.  If you have your children asking you what to do or if you have the grandchildren for a visit, tell them to paint the shed, garage, wall or fence!!!!   Give them a clean bucket of water and a clean paint brush and they are set to paint to their hearts content without ruining your property.

 We are hoping the good weather will last as the children will be going on a outing to White Post Farm later in May. 

 All the Preschool children and parents are also invited along to the Teddy Bears picnic at Preschool, on Tuesday 29^th June.  Which bears will attend? Whose will be the oldest?  The children will also be able to enjoy the bouncy castle provided.

 Thank you again to all those who helped and supported the Spring Fair where we raised £518 towards the all weather canopy.  A big thank you to some of our parents, staff and child who were involved in the canter and crawl on Sunday 16^th May, again raising some funding for the all weather canopy.  I hope you enjoyed it and have recovered!!!

 If you require any further information about the Preschool please feel free to contact Sally Lee on 07814613782 or visit our website www.collinghampreschool.co.uk. 

From the committee of Collingham and District Preschool.

As part of our growing theme, children heard the tale of Jasper. A cat who found a bean, planted it, but just couldn’t wait for it to grow! Some children planted their own beans and took them home to look after. Watch out for for the beanstalks we’re growing in Pre-School – they’re getting bigger……

The children attending Pre-School on a Thursday afternoon enjoyed helping to make a ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’  scarecrow for the Collingham May Fair. You may have seen him sitting outside Pre-School or on the green!

Our annual Spring Fair was held last month and we would like to give our thanks to all who helped support the event, including the teachers, parents, stall holders and those who donated raffle prizes.  A big thank you to everyone that was able to attend the afternoon all whom helped make it such a success.  The final amount raised is yet unknown but whatever has been raised will be put towards our fundraising target, which is to purchase an all-weather canopy for the playground.  This will mean the children can enjoy playing outside no matter the weather (but we will only need it for sun this summer, I hope!!).  Other fundraising we shall be doing later in the year will be taking part again in the Collingham Canter and Crawl.  You may some speedy teachers, parents or even children joining in the sponsored run.  Please give them a cheer!!

 The children at Preschool will be singing the speckled frog song when looking at the topic thread of ‘Pond life’. They will be able to look at the life cycle of frogs, watch frogspawn eggs slowly hatch into tadpoles and then watch the tadpoles grow tails and legs before they turn into frogs.

 Later they shall be looking at the topic thread of Mini beasts and animals.  The children will be able to attend a visit to White Post Farm as part of this topic thread.  One of the mums will also be bringing some of her little chicks to Preschool for the children to see. 

 After enjoying making and entering the scarecrow competition for the first time last year the Preschool will be entering again this year.  Following on from learning about ‘growing things’ the children will help to make Jack (with or without his beanstalk). Please look out for our entry at the May Fair.

 If you require any further information about the Preschool please feel free to contact Sally Lee on 07814613782 or visit our website www.collinghampreschool.co.uk. 

From the committee of Collingham and District Preschool.

 After the Easter break the children will be looking at the general theme of Spring.  This will be broken down into topic threads of Plants and Birds in April; and in May they will be looking at the topic threads of Pond life and mini beasts.  The children will be able to plant seeds when looking at the Plant topic thread.  They will be planting beans and cress seeds to grow.  An understanding of how the seeds will grow will be developed through discussion as well as singing the ’I had a little cherry stone…’ and ‘5 little peas in a pea pod pressed…’ rhymes.  Craft activities for the children have been arranged and will include making tissue paper flowers and making observational drawings of spring bulbs and flowers.

 The life cycle of a chicken, which came first? will be one of the things the children will discuss when looking at the topic thread of Birds.  They may also look at the variety of birds that land in their gardens and count which is the most frequent. To encourage more birds into the Preschool play area the children will be feeding the birds on the preschool bird table. 

 The children on a Friday afternoon were able to take a visit to Collingham Library.  Our thanks are given to Sam and Jenni for making this possible.  The children were able to scan the borrowed books from Preschool to return them.  Sam then read the children stories in the childrens area.  After this they were able to do some colouring.  The children were able to queue up to check out some new books for the Preschool to borrow.

 If you require any further information about the Preschool please feel free to contact Sally Lee on 07814613782 or visit our website www.collinghampreschool.co.uk or see the staff on the second-hand book stall at the Spring Fair on Saturday 17th April in the Memorial Hall.

 From the committee of Collingham and District Preschool.

The Preschool would like to thank Tracey and Neil at the Post Office for allowing the children on Friday afternoon to go and visit behind the scenes.  The children were able to put stamps on some of the post and put the envelopes into the correct postal bags ready for collection from the Newark sorting office.  The visit was made during the week when the children were looking at the topic thread of ‘the Post Office’.

 The children just before half term looked at the topic thread of ‘Dinosaurs’ during which they helped make a wall display and some of the children were able to take part in a volcano experiment.

 Last month I wrote to let you all know about our annual Spring fair which was to take place on Saturday 27^th March.  Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control we have had to change the date.  I am now writing to inform all that our Spring Fair will take place on Saturday 17^th April between 2-4pm in the Memorial Hall.  There will be various stalls including, second hand books, home made cakes, a raffle, and stalls from local businesses.  In the Mayfield Room the children will be able to participate in some craft activities.

 The children will be looking at the topic thread of ‘Food’ when they come back after half term.  They will also be looking at the topic treads of ‘Books’ and ‘Easter’ in March.  During book week the children and staff are invited to wear a mask made of their favourite book characters.

 It will be a short half term with Easter being a bit earlier.  The children will finish the Spring term on Friday 26^th March and return after the Easter break on Monday 12^th April.

 If you require any further information about the Preschool please feel free to contact Sally Lee on 07814613782 or visit our website www.collinghampreschool.co.uk

Two of our topic threads for this half term have been ‘dinosaurs’ and ‘food’. Here is some of the children’s work, around these themes, that we have on display at Pre-School.