Hello everyone, and welcome to Ballykeel Nursery! The adults in our class this year are Mrs McGuckin (Teacher), Miss Cameron (Classroom Assistant) and Miss Cameron (SEN Assistant)

March- April

What a great start to 2025! The children have really enjoyed our topics so far and have been fully involved in all the learning and experiences which have been provided in January and February. We have yet more fun and learning on the way in March and April. As we approach the spring season we look forward to the better weather arriving to enjoy, more extensively, the full benefits of the nursery outdoor play facilities and the range of equipment that we have (let’s hope the sunshine arrives soon!).

Routines:

Please remember that Nursery hours are 9am-1.30pm. Doors will open at 9.00am and 1.15pm to facilitate drop offs/collections. We would ask that all children are collected by 1.30pm sharp as teachers have afternoon classes in the Primary School.

Breakfast Club is available for Nursery children - this costs 70p per day and is open from 8am. Please ask your class teacher for more information.

Themes

During March and April we will be focusing on Pancake day, Mother’s day, St. Patrick’s day, Spring, growing and Easter. In nursery we will be encouraging the children to count to 10 (and above if they can), count up to 5 objects (or more if they can), recognise numbers 1-5, their colours and basic 2D shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, diamond, oval, star and heart). You can do these things at home with your child as well! Just try to incorporate these into everyday life or an activity that your child is interested in – it should be fun for them so don’t make them sit down and ‘learn’ at the kitchen table… unless they want to!

A Few other reminders:

Name It –Can you please continue to ensure that all items (uniform, coat, hat, gloves etc) have your child's name on them. It's a good idea to check these regularly as sometimes they can fade or come off in the wash.

Nursery Newsletter - our newsletter will be sent home, posted on the school website and sent on Seesaw. Please read carefully the information contained in this, and try to encourage your child by talking about the topics we are covering.

Getting Ready to Learn

As part of Getting Ready to Learn we will continue to share various resources over the coming weeks to give you more knowledge about the 'Ages and Stages' and 'Education works' elements of the programme. Alongside this the 'busy bags' will continue to go home every Friday, a different bag and contents each week. It is important for parents/carers to note that this resource is for use at home with an adult, or older responsible sibling, in order for the appropriate learning and development to take place. The activities in the bags have been created by staff and target learning which is appropriate to the children’s age, abilities and interests. The contents therefore must be returned fully and undamaged to ensure the activities are available for other children and families. When engaging with the resource you should focus on turn taking and celebrate participation and your child’s efforts.

We look forward to all of the special learning experiences ahead!

Mrs McGuckin & Miss Cameron