“All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat…” –Robert Fulghum.
Dear Parents, welcome to the January edition of LLN News.
Robert Fulghum’s words have inspired me for a long time and now more than ever, they ring true and bring a smile. Once again, I wish to warmly welcome all the new children, their families and new members of staff to the nursery. I would like you to please join me in welcoming Miss Salam Zabalawi, our Nursery Manager who joined us after a long search for the right candidate for our setting through a tough year of continuous bumps. Miss Salam is a qualified, experienced and KHDA approved leader in Early Childhood Education and her boundless energy has inspired all of us at the setting. I personally wish her every success at Learning Ladder Nursery.
January always is a busy time at Learning Ladder, but this year has been busier than any, understandably. We have worked very hard to keep closer communication with everyone, often communicating long after work hours and on weekends in order to keep everyone safe when someone has reported any suspected signs of illness. I thank you all for being so careful and understanding.
We saw children dressed in beautiful traditional clothes from their home countries on international day. We loved seeing their flag art and even posters they made at home and shared with us.
We at Learning Ladder Nurseries JLT, have been outside a lot more as well and children have enjoyed the exciting settings teachers have lovingly put together each day for them to play in. Thank you for sending back the consent forms for use of communal outdoor places around our nursery. We have yet to venture out, but we will as soon as we are very confident of our children’s safety for some additional outdoor activities like kick a ball, explore nature and eat our snacks in the open.
I thank all members of staff at Learning Ladder Nurseries JLT, for working so hard keeping up with the challenges of settling so many new children despite the additional health and safety policies.
I hope you enjoy reading news from the teachers about your children’s activities in the following sections.
Coming up, important dates
– Thursday February 4th – Teddy Bear Picnic, please send a teddy
– Wednesday February 10th – Chinese New Year
– Thursday February 11th – class photos tentative
– Sunday February 14th – Hearts Day
– Wednesday & Thursday February 17th – 18th – Half term, Nursery closed to children
– Sunday February 28th – Artists’ day
Thank you, Miss Sajida Ismail.
Dolphins News
Reaching for the stars!!
A warm welcome to all to the second term. As the temperature dipped in Dubai, the Dolphins soared high in the sky. The topic of ‘The Universe’ was explored through hands-on, audio, visual and print media. The children learnt the names of the planets and at least one special feature of the planets. The concept of day and night was introduced and Dolphins were quizzed on typical activities done during the day or night. Astronauts, rockets, aliens, mission – big words for the little ones. But they proved the sky was the limit to their learning.
This month the Dolphins investigated some properties of light. They ‘deduced’ light travels in a straight line. Further, they identified materials that allow light to pass through them and those that block light.
As International Day was celebrated at the nursery, the topic was extended through the week, and the children learnt about the geography, food and culture of their native countries. We learnt to appreciate diversity that makes our world beautiful.
Dolphins have started reading CVC words. The Show and Tell on the topic ‘My favourite Toy’ was a resounding success. Vocabulary words are introduced every week and children are encouraged to recall synonyms and use them in sentences. In mathematics, 3D shape sphere and cylinder was introduced. Dolphins can tell which shape can roll, slide or be stacked.
In the coming weeks, we will focus on the topics seasons and animals.
Miss Vibha Kumar
Rainbow Fish News
A very warm welcome to all parents of Rainbow fish class. The children came back with lots of stories and experiences to share with their friends and teachers after the winter break.
In the topic ‘The Universe’ , Rainbowfish class learnt about the solar system. They have learnt the names and some special features of the planets. We learnt about night and day, talked about how they are different. The children showed particular interest in talking about space, rockets and aliens. We made our own rockets and pretended to be astronauts zooming off in space to rescue friendly aliens.
Alongside the topic, the Rainbowfish class are putting good effort in learning their letters and sounds. This month they recapped all the letters they have learnt so far as we focused on letters ‘g, o, c, and k’. They are matching words/pictures with the same beginning sounds. The children are also practicing their letter formation and writing skills through varied activities to help them develop fine motor skills.
Rainbowfish children have thoroughly enjoyed their outdoor play. They have practiced their balancing skills, their skipping and hopping in rhythm as they count and enjoyed their races with their friends. The topics next month will be seasons and animals.
Miss Beatrice and Miss Zunaira
Starfish News
Hello Starfish parents.
All our Starfish children are now well settled in their routines at the nursery and I am amazed at their eagerness to learn. We too explored the topic Universe, learning the names of the planets, learning about our world and our countries, but always allowing children to explore their own interests too.
We enjoyed many free choice activities while developing language and motor skills. We enjoyed singing and movement the most. All the children now know each others names and recognize all the adults that work with them.
We sang songs and did art activities around the numbers 1 to 10. We used our number cards, magnetic boards and peg boards to aid in number recognition.
We have shown some good improvement in sharing toys with our friends. Responding when asked simple questions and learning to become independent at removing our shoes, feeding ourselves, washing our hands, tidying up our room and even recognizing our names!
We have enjoyed outdoor play a lot and have loved sensory play with sand and water. We even took art activity outside. We will continue to enjoy the good weather and make inviting play settings outside around our new topic.
Next month we will explore the topics animals and seasons.
Miss Annie Sacmar