Pre-school
Getting ready for big school!
After the children’s second birthday we start to prepare them to make the transition to pre-school. Parents are invited with their children, to come and view the pre-school room and meet the staff before the children start their settling in sessions. Their key person will ensure they give a detailed handover to the children’s new key person to make sure their individual needs continue to be met.
During the settling in sessions, the children will spend time exploring the environment with their new key person, taking part in activities which are planned around the children’s individual interests and stage of development. The days are a little more structured to help prepare the children to make the transition to school and to help them to develop listening skills, social interaction and continue to grow in confidence and resilience.
Our Pre-School days look a bit like this…
The children take part in circle time in the morning and afternoon where they can share their news, learn about our golden rules and take part in singing and rhyming activities within a group.It is then time for free flow play where the children can choose whether to play indoors or outdoors. Their key person will invite their key group, or individually to take part in planned activities to help them to achieve their next steps in their development.
We have snack time in the morning and afternoon, a hot lunch at around 12pm and a high tea around 4pm each day.
During snack times, each group will pick a special helper of the day who will help to give out the plates and cutlery to the children. They are encouraged to develop independent skills by washing their hands before snack, pouring their drinks independently and cutting up their fruit in a safe environment. Our snack times are also for chatting and learning about new topics which are chosen by the children.
The children also enjoy ‘wake me up and wear me out’ time during the day – where there is a lot of singing and dancing and we also ensure there are plenty of opportunities to the children to enjoy engaging in story time both individually and within a group of children to help nurture a love of reading.
Other activities may include:
- Sand, water and loose parts play
- Construction
- Home corner/imaginative play
- Physical activities including walking out and about in the community – bear hunts are popular!
- Sensory play
- Time in the cosy corner with a range of books
- Making food and potions in the mud kitchen
- Taking turns on the slide
- Counting and problem solving activities
- Learning about different emotions
Tay says
‘Research has shown that a two year old needs time to explore and be in charge of their own learning – they enjoy taking part in the same activity many times and also love to transport objects from one place to another so we try and provide lots of bags trolleys and baskets for them to do this.’
Contact Details:
Rooksdown Community Centre
Park Prewett Road
Basingstoke
RG24 9XA
(please use RG24 9RG for sat nav)
Tay Mason: 07739 329518
Mel Mulley: 07876 751662
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